Prescription Stimulant Abuse

Introduction:

It is well known that illicit and prescribed stimulants boost strength and alertness. When taken as directed, prescription stimulants can have therapeutic advantages. However, there is a considerable likelihood that both prescribed and illegal stimulants are misused, resulting in harmful potential health impacts and a substance use disorder (affects a person's brain and behavior and makes it difficult to control their use of drugs or medications).

What Is a Prescription Stimulant?

Many prescription stimulants treat mental and physical health disorders, including attention-deficit or hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Stimulant drugs increase the energy and attention of a person. As a result, they are both excellent treatments for the diseases they are intended to treat and appeal to drugs of abuse to some people.

What Are the Types of Prescription Stimulants?

Several prescription stimulants available go by different generic and trade names, but they all function in the brain similarly and have comparable effects. The most frequently misused stimulants are:

• Dextroamphetamine.

• Dextromethylphenidate.

• Combined Dextroamphetamine and Amphetamine products.

How Do Prescription Stimulants Act?

Dopamine and norepinephrine, two highly important neurotransmitters in the brain, are enhanced by prescription stimulants. While norepinephrine is essential for preparing the brain and body for action, dopamine is linked to emotions of pleasure and is a crucial part of the brain's reward system.

What Is Prescription Stimulant Abuse?

When someone misuses prescription medications (for example, without a prescription) or uses illegal stimulant drugs, they engage in stimulant misuse and abuse. Numerous reasons exist for abusing stimulants, depending on the substance and its effects. Stimulants are often misused to:

• Create euphoric sensations.

• Get thinner.

• Become more awake.

• More focused and clear in thought.

• Increased self-confidence.

• Increase libido.

• Boost performance in job, school, or sports.

The potential negative side effects of stimulants, whether they are prescribed or not, are comparable and include the following:

• Cardiovascular stressors include constricted blood vessels and a faster heartbeat.

• Hyperthermia or an elevated body temperature.

• Attacks of panic.

• Psychosis (a mental illness that makes it difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is not real).

• Hostility.

• Violent conduct.

How Are Stimulants Used?

There are various ways to consume stimulants, all of which have different effects. The most popular form of prescription stimulants is pills or capsules meant for oral consumption. Sometimes, people would try to smash the pills and snort them or dissolve the pills' contents in water to inject.

The quickness and duration of a stimulant's effects vary depending on how it is administered. When medicines are injected or smoked, the stimulant effects are more quick and intense. However, they may only last for a short time, as they may with other types of use. While snorting stimulants are still noticeable, they may be less intense and stay longer than those from smoking or using needles. The effects of stimulants taken orally start slowly but last the longest.

Certain health hazards may be more likely depending on how a stimulant is taken. One can use stimulants by:

1. Injecting - Using stimulants intravenously raises the risk of overdose, infections, and abscesses. Blood-borne diseases like hepatitis C can spread through shared needles.

2. Smoking - Smoking stimulants increase the likelihood of having breathing problems.

3. Snorting - Stimulants can harm the nasal tissue when snorted.

Additionally, when stimulants are used in methods that quicken the onset of desired effects and intensify them, the chance of developing an addiction may significantly rise.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Stimulant Abuse?

A few of the warning signs and symptoms of problematic stimulant use that could exist include:

• Often dilated pupils.

• Rambling, talking excessively or faster.

• A higher level of energy than usual.

• Less than typical eating and sleeping.

• Noticeable weight reduction.

• Lessening the importance of personal cleanliness.

• Unusual breath, hair, or clothes odor.

• Abrupt changes in behavior.

• Encountering difficulties at a job or school.

• Skipping days of work or school.

• Cutting off contact with relatives or friends.

• Legal issues brought on by theft, possession, driving while intoxicated, or as a result of irrational or violent behavior.

• Financial issues include borrowing money, stealing assets, or accruing debt.

• Engaging in conversation with a distinct set of friends.

What Are the Effects of Stimulant Abuse on the Body?

Whether stimulant use or misuse is short-term or long-term, it can significantly influence physical health.

Even short-term usage of several substances can have negative effects, including

• Anxiety.

• Insomnia.

• Headaches.

• Dizziness.

• Elevated heart rate and blood pressure.

• Chest pain.

• Palpitations in the heart.

• Difficulty in breathing.

• Reduced appetite.

• Shakiness.

• Sweating.

• Skin itchiness.

What Are the Effects of Stimulant Abuse on Behavior?

Abuse of stimulants can affect a person's behavior and psychological state. These effects can worsen with continued use and become more obvious. These may consist of the following:

• Becoming irritated, violent, or nervous.

• Developing social isolation.

• Committing to routine actions that have no clear aim.

• Clenching one's jaw, grinding one's teeth, and consuming sugary drinks aggravate "meth mouth."

• Impaired capacity for thinking, recall, and communication.

• Inability to sleep.

• Inappropriate conduct.

• Coordination issues.

• Mood changes.

• Using stimulants first and foremost.

• When "tweaking," one might have jerky eye motions, poor hand-eye coordination, and quickly spoken sentences that make no sense.

• Inconsistent actions.

How to Diagnose Stimulant Use Disorder?

A physician makes a definitive diagnosis, and it is based on a person meeting two or more of the characteristics of a substance use disorder as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). These criteria include:

• Using drugs for a longer time and in greater quantities.

• Cravings for drugs.

• Unsuccessful attempts to reduce or control substance use.

• Continued use while knowing it could be physically harmful.

• Giving up or limiting the time spent participating in social, recreational, or professional activities.

What Are the Treatment Methods?

It can be just as challenging to recover from prescription drug abuse as illicit drug abuse. Therefore, those who abuse prescription stimulants should enroll in programs for substance abuse. These programs aim to assist patients in progressively going off stimulants to lessen withdrawal symptoms and regain control of their life.

The programs also provide a range of therapies, like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), to facilitate rehabilitation. The foundation of cognitive-behavioral therapy is the idea that ideas, behaviors, and emotions are interconnected.

The following are a few ways CBT can enhance addiction-related behaviors:

• Acquiring the skills to deal with urges.

• Recognizing negative thoughts and using constructive replies.

• Displaying assertiveness in the face of social pressure.

• Learning how to solve problems and learning about addiction.

• Using constructive self-talk.

• Substituting harmful activities with good ones (like yoga or meditation).

CBT mainly focuses on learning to use these new abilities in practical circumstances. People can learn to help themselves and enhance their quality of life with CBT. Cognitive behavioral therapy is very effective when used alone or with other therapies and medications.

Conclusion:

When misused, stimulants, whether prescribed or illicit, pose severe health problems. Whenever there is any related symptom, contact a physician who can help overcome this problem. Before the issue becomes an addiction and escalates into more serious issues, it is easier to address it.