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Prescription Painkillers Have Serious Addiction Potential...
An Indianapolis police officer's arrest is putting a new focus on addiction to prescription drugs. Medical educator Alan Schmetzer says an addiction to prescription drugs can happen without the victim even knowing it.
"Our painkillers are pretty much medicines on which we become dependent. That is, they interact with the body in such a way that over time you have to have that medication in your system in order to function normally," said Dr. Schmetzer, IU School of Medicine.
Dr. Schmetzer says problems begin when the patient abruptly stops taking the medication, and starts going into withdrawal. "The other thing is that sometimes you have to take more and more to get the same amount of pain relief. That's because with dependence comes tolerance. Tolerance is a matter of how it takes more and more medicine to achieve the same effect," he said.
Investigators say Indianapolis police officer Mark Kuykendall faces felony charges for trying to fill a prescription for Valium on Monday. The prescription was valid, but when officer went to the counter, workers noticed a problem with his information. Investigators say he forged the facts that altered the prescription for his painkilling drugs.
"What alerted the clerk was there was some very heavy ink, something in the writing of prescription that caught the pharmacist's attention," said Maj. Lloyd Crowe, IPD.
Pharmacists say detective work is becoming part of the job. "We have found around here, and I'm pretty sure it's the same with other pharmacists, if a customer is overly talkative, and wants to carry on a conversation while you're trying to fill a prescription and it's a controlled substance, then it's a pretty good reason to wonder what's going on," said Skip Tucker, pharmacist.
Doctors insist addiction has nothing to do with a person's mental strength. They say given the right circumstances, drug dependency can afflict anyone.
Experts say serious injuries can leave people with chronic pain that can only be relieved by prescription drugs, and the longer you take those drugs, the greater the risk for addiction.
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