Addictive Prescription Drugs Hello and Welcome to Ask the Expert On Tonight s Show we have Nurse Nelly from Nashville Hello Nurse Nelly Hello to You Popular Television Anchorman I understand you are here to tell us about what people are beginning to call a new American epidemic. That s Right. This is a serious problem that affects people from all walks of life; the rich the middle class and the poor, and people from all races and beliefs. And what is this huge problem? Prescription drug addiction. With these drugs being so heavily advertised and being prescribed so frequently more and more people are becoming addicted. And this addiction leads to all sorts of other problems. Like what? Well, for one thing, more people are now dying from prescription drug overdose than are dying from street drugs. Wow! That s frightening. And these people never thought they d become addicted. Most people think that if a drug is prescribed by a doctor then it must be safe. They don t think about the possibility of addiction or overdose or death. What kinds of prescription drugs are most addictive? Which ones should people be most careful of? I will tell you. But this isn t all of them. And please never stop taking a prescription medication without first talking to your doctor. I am not trying to give you medical advice. m sure they know that. We are just cartoon characters, after all. Speak for yourself. Anyway, here are some of the prescription drugs that many, many people find themselves becoming addicted to. One type of prescription drug that has been in the news lately is painkillers. These come under dozens of different names. Here are just some of the ainkillers Vicodin Oxycontin Fentanyl Percocet Percodan Oxycodone Actiq Darvon Demerol Lortab Codeine Morphine Dilaudid Methadone Lorcet That certainly is a lot of addictive painkillers. Are there other prescription drugs that are addictive? Yes there are. For instance, most people don t know that antidepressants are also addictive. Antidepressant oloft Paxil Prozac Wellbutrin Remeron Vivactil Adapin Doxepin Anafranil Celexa Desyrel Effexor Elavil Luvox Marplan Pamelor Parnate Serzone Are there a lot of people who have been prescribed antidepressants? Yes. It has been estimated more than one in ten Americans use antidepressants. Wow! I guess many of those people must be addicted. You guess right. Are there other kinds of prescription drugs that are addictive? Yes, antipsychotic drugs such as Seroquel are known to be addictive as are insomnia drugs like Lunesta and Ambien. Seroquel Abilify Zyprexa Thorazine Haldol Risperdal Sedatives / Insomnia Drugs Ambien Lunesta Sonata Restoril Silenor Halcion Are there any others? You also have the depressants like Xanax and Valium. Xanax Valium Ativan Klonopin Librium Centrax Those are also called anti-anxiety drugs. Then there are the stimulants. You know, the kind they give to kids. These includ dderall, Concerta and Ritalin. Stimulants Adderall Dexedrine Dextrostat Procentra Vyvanse Concertal Ritalin Metadate Cylert There sure must be a lot of people out there who would like to get off medication but who are having trouble because they are addicted. There are. And these people should not try to stop taking these medications without medical help. You already said that. I know. But it is important. Some of these drugs have terrible withdrawal symptoms. Is there a place people can go to find out if they re addicted and to get some help? A good place to start is to go to the website of Get Off Meds at GetOffMeds.com Well, Nurse Nellie from Nashville, thank you for being on our show. And thank you for inviting me, Mr. Popular Television Anchorman. Thank you and I hope to see you tomorrow for another edition of Ask the Expert Addictive Prescription Drugs Meridith Normal Meridith Microsoft Word 9.0 "d ddictive Prescription Drugs Title Microsoft Word Document MSWordDoc Word.Document.8