Addiction comes in many forms, and sometimes those forms can result from trying to medicate your original addiction. When someone is addicted, that means that their body and/or mind is dependent on a particularly substance. To help them with the anxiety of withdrawal, they are sometimes prescribed medication to help ease the pain. But what can sometimes happen is that the patient becomes so dependent on the medication that they form a new addiction. At Recovery Care Partner, these prescriptions are only given with the upmost concern for the particular patient. We don’t just give medication to anyone. But what should we, the patients, do if the chance for addiction to this medication arises? Here are a few things to remember when taking prescription medication.

 

Proper instructions

Addiction creates a mental and/or physical dependency in your body for a particular substance. Therefore, if one is trying to remove the addiction to that substance, sometimes that means using prescription medication to help the recovery process. Rather than becoming dependent on another destructive substance, the patient can use this medication to help them work through their withdrawals. However, the medication is not meant to be taken outside of the recommended prescription instructions. They shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol or other potentially addictive substances, and they also should never be taken more or less than the prescribed dosage. Doing this could be a sign of dependency and have unintended effects on the user. But if just taking the medications the way they are doesn’t seem to be currently helping, you can still resist the urge to abuse through other means.

 

Regular Consultation

One way to avoid prescription abuse is to contact either your Recovery Care Monitor or your doctor if you are starting to feel the desire to take more than your prescribed dosage. This is not a sign of failure or your inability to handle yourself, in fact this is quite the opposite. Recovery is a process of figuring out what works and what doesn’t, and as long as you are honest with your doctors and counselors, recovery will be achievable.

 

Clever Precautions

Another way to keep prescription addiction at bay is to take physical precautions that block the addictive effects.

Note: Only take these precautions if your doctor approves them.

One of these strategies is placing an unpleasant effect into the drug that appears if the drug is taken improperly. Another similar fashion is to have the drug mixed with an antagonist substance that counteracts the addictive sensation if it is also taken improperly. But the always ideal precaution is to contact your doctor and/or prescriber to figure out which way would be best for you to take your medication. They are more than capable of providing the proper adjustments to make sure that your medication has a positive effect on your recovery.