There are several types of prescription drugs, which can be addictive. These are drugs that have an effect on the nervous system, and their use is accompanied by side effects that may appear in different systems. Sometimes, the patient has no escape from regular use of this type of drug, at least for a certain period of his life. After a prolonged period in which the patient needs this type of drug, when it is decided for some reason to discontinue it, he will have to undergo a process of withdrawal from the drug. Ritalin pills, currently consumed by many children (and even adults) in Israel and around the world, various painkillers (such as algolysin, oxycodone, oxycontin, tramadex), psychiatric pills, sleeping pills (mainly from the benzadiazepine family), sedatives and antidepressants (such as Cipralex and Clonex) – all of them may be addictive.
That is, after their period of use, the body develops a dependence on them to achieve balance, and when there is no longer any need, the body has sometimes difficulty to get rid of the dependence. When the body develops resistance to the various doses of the drug, drug dependence is created and becomes a psycho-social disorder. The patient feels the need to increase the dose of the drug, in order to reduce his or her suffering and bursting feelings. When the patient raises the dose on his own, and without medical supervision, this can have serious consequences.
How should a proper prescription-drug detoxification process be performed?
The rehab process of addictive prescription drugs of the type mentioned earlier should be done slowly and gradually, as it is accompanied by many difficulties. The procedure should be supervised by the attending physician (usually a psychiatrist), who should determine how to reduce the use of the drug for some time, and when to lower the dose again until the drug is completely ceased. This process should be carried out in a controlled and planned manner, taking into account the side effects caused by it.
It is a long and complicated process, during which the body is supposed to reach a new balance, after the last traces of the drug have been “removed” from the body. Difficulties in withdrawal from addictive drugs may continue for a month or more, depending on the individual case. Since these are cases of withdrawal from psychiatric drugs, the withdrawal process should also include emotional and mental aspects, which arise more frequently upon discontinuation of the drug.
