Prescription Drug Addiction: Hypnotics And Sedatives

Nearly all prescription medications have the potential to be abused or cause an addiction. With the recent dramatic increases in pharmacological treatments in modern medicine, this trend of addiction will continue. While many people think of pain relievers and such when it comes to prescription drug addiction, they should also consider hypnotics and sedatives.

Prescription Sleep Aids

Some of the first drugs that people may think of when they think of sedatives are prescription sleeping aids. Some common sleeping medications include:

• Ambien

• Lunesta

• Sonata

All of these prescription sleep aids have some potential for abuse which will lead to addiction. Many of them may result in an addiction even when they are used as prescribed.

Benzodiazepines

The most commonly found class of prescription drugs that fits into the hypnotics and sedatives category are benzodiazepines. According to the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland, these medications include:

• Xanax

• Valium

• Librium

• Ativan

• Rohypnol

All of these medications are prescribed to combat mental disorders in the anxiety spectrum and aid in sleep. However, when they are not used as intended, they are very likely to create a dangerous addiction.

Negative Effects of Hypnotic and Sedative Addiction

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, medications in the hypnotics and sedatives categories can have a number of negative consequences when abused. These are:

• Dizziness

• Poor coordination and motor control

• Memory loss

• Blackouts

• High risk for sexual assault

• Decreased breathing

• Coma

• Death

All of these consequences show the very real need to end an addiction to these medications as soon as possible.

Finding Treatment Options

Stopping the use of any of these medications suddenly can be very unpleasant or even deadly. Many of these medications cannot simply be stopped. They must be tapered until they are out of the body. Medical professionals supervise this process to ensure the safest and smoothest transition possible. For this reason, it is imperative to seek treatment for a prescription drug abuse to hypnotics and sedatives.

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