Overdose Research Paper

Drug overdose from medications designed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are on the rise. This is likely due to an overwhelming amount of children, nearly 3 million, prescribed medication for ADHD each year (Spiller, Hays, & Aleguas, 2013). ADHD affects nearly 10% of the national population and is rising due to newer diagnostic criteria (Levine, et al., 2013). In the past, ADHD was only diagnosed in school aged children, but new studies suggest that diagnosis can be made in the preschool age as well (Levine, et al., 2013). Because of the new age criteria affecting more young children, the number of prescription of ADHD drugs will rise each year which will increase the amount of ADHD prescription overdose (Adis, 2014).

Opioid use in the US has increased over the years, and this has led to an increase in substance abuse. Substance abuse is not only associated with use of illicit drugs but also prescription drugs. In 2015, of the 20.5 million reported cases of substance abuse, 2 million had an abuse disorder related to prescription pain relievers and 591,000 associated with heroin.1 The increase in substance abuse disorder has led to an increase in opioid related death. In 2015 drug overdose was the leading cause of accidental death in the US with 52, 404 lethal drug overdoses.2

A common assumption that is made is that people who are addicted to drugs are suffering from a lack of willpower or moral fibre. People assume that these people could stop using if they simply tried a little harder. Unfortunately for those who are addicted, it is not that simple. When someone takes a drug regularly, heroin, for example, their brain chemistry becomes altered. The body produces less natural dopamine and begins to require more and more of the drug to feel its effects. Eventually, the body will begin to crave the drug, and going without it will lead to nasty withdrawal symptoms, including vomiting, increased heart rate, and

First of all, there is the Structural-Functional perspective way people view drug addiction as. The structural-functional perspective is the role the drugs do for the person or the weakening of the norms. It is the way they affect the person and what it does to them that makes them be addicted to drugs. For some people drugs relieves them. It takes them away from their problems from a while and they feel stress free and because of that feeling they receive from the drugs they like it and continue to take more and more. Those with this type of perspective well most likely disagree with this view of drug addiction and would want the problem to decrease.

Heroin overdoses, have become a bigger issue over the last few years. Heroin is made from morphine, which itself is a very powerful and addictive drug. In an article on nlm.nih.gov they found that around .6% of people between the ages of 15-64 use heroin. About 23 percent of people who use the drug become dependent on it. Overdoses frequently involve suppression

The United States is currently in the midst of an Opioid overdose epidemic. Deaths from overdoses of prescription drugs continue to be the leading cause of unintentional death for Americans. Last year, 47,055 people died from drug overdoses - 1.5 times greater than the number killed in car crashes. Overdose is an excessive and very dangerous dose of a drug. Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically, they are primarily used for pain relief. The most commonly prescribed opioid medications are Vicodin, OxyContin, and Percocet. Drug overdoses can be either accidental or intentional. They occur when a person takes more than the medically recommended dose. Treatments for overdose include medications

All families of addiction have big obstacles to overcome, but for less than privileged families the obstacles can be just too great. If there were a simple technological or legislative bandage to heal opioid addiction the problem would have been solved decades ago, but there is not. Opioids are dangerous. Opioids can ruin lives. Opioids can ruin families. The only fix that will work is change. Society needs to change. People need to begin to see and understand drug addiction and end the epidemic

America is struggling with a new epidemic that is taking several lives every day. “Prescription drug overdoses claim at least 40 lives daily” ("Prescription Drug Overdose," n.d.Para 1). The opioid crisis occurring across the nation is devastating. A major problem is that once patients become dependent on these prescription medications, they are reportedly seeking more affordable alternatives such as heroin or fentanyl. In addition, patients may be switching to heroin when their doctor suddenly discontinues the medication they have become dependent on. Chronic pain is a controversial issue because opioid management can be beneficial but also detrimental as seen in recent years. “Between 2002–2016, deaths soared by 533% nationwide, from under

Opiate overdose may cause significant failure to health, physical distress, breathing damage and increase mortality and morbidity. Vitamin D deficiency causes muscle aches, periodontal disease, osteomalacia and osteoporosis [6-10]. Low bone mass has also been reported in opioid-dependent individuals

Addicts blame others when things go wrong, they make loved ones feel guilty or ashamed, and maintaining an addiction can take a financial toll on a family. Children, pets, and other family members are often neglected and left to fend for themselves when living with an addict. Addiction can also cause separation in a family. Eventually patience runs out and people end up walking away from the addict when they refuse to get help or take responsibility.

From 2014 to 2015 natural opiates such as morphine, codeine and semisynthetic prescription pain killers like oxycodone and hydrocodone jumped 10%. (Article 1)

Patient is a 46 year old female who presented to the ED via EMS due to overdose on Benadryl. Patient reports financial issues with supporting her daughter going to college. Patient reports depressive symptoms of fatigue,worthlessness, hopelessness, tearfulness,irritable, and anhedonia. At the time of assessment, patient denies feeling suicidal or having a plan. While patient currently denies suicidal ideation and plan, review of the patient's medical documentation does not support that. When confronted about admitting being suicidal and having a plan, the patient presented guarded and later reports she felt like harming herself during overdose due to financial situation.The patient reports she does not want to let any of her daughters down.

When people start taking drugs, they don't plan to get addicted. They like how the drug makes them feel. They believe they can control how much and how often they take the drug. However, drugs change the brain. Those who use drugs start to need the drug just to feel normal. That is addiction, and it can quickly take over a person's life.

Unfortunately, I have dealt with substance abuse on a personal level. I was in a toxic relationship for five years that dealt with substance abuse and I was the person in the relationship who thought she could change the person and help them get better. Substance abuse can tear families apart and ruin pretty much everything. Even though substance abuse turned into a physical abuse in the toxic relationship I was in, I still want to be willing to forgive those who have an addiction problem because it is a forever battle of disease that they all suffer with. These abusers were once great people, it is just that they were avoiding their emotions and numbing/hiding the pain of something they were faced with in life. Whatever the drug of choice

Drug addiction has been happening for thousands of years. It is commonly known that addiction to drugs is poor for your health. However, drug addiction can affect an addict, their family, and their communities. Drug addiction needs more awareness and treatment because it leads to homelessness, crime, and broken families.