What kind of painkillers do people overdose on?

* “Prescription painkillers” refers to opioid or narcotic pain relievers, including drugs such as Vicodin (hydrocodone), OxyContin (oxycodone), Opana (oxymorphone), and methadone. Overdose deaths from prescription painkillers have skyrocketed during the past decade. Prescription painkiller overdoses are a public health epidemic.

What is the problem with prescription painkillers in the US?

A big part of the problem is nonmedical use of prescription painkillers—using drugs without a prescription, or using drugs just for the “high” they cause. In 2010, about 12 million Americans (age 12 or older) reported nonmedical use of prescription painkillers in the past year.

What are the warning signs of prescription painkiller addiction?

This is the stage where the warning signs of addiction begin to appear: craving, preoccupation with the drug, and symptoms of depression, irritability and fatigue if the drug is not used. These symptoms of withdrawal are an indication that a person has become physically dependent on the prescription painkiller.

Is it possible to get high on painkillers?

Pain medications are commonly used for relieving mild and severe pain after surgery and, for chronic pain and many other pain conditions. However, many people use different types of painkillers recreationally. Some abusers may inject, smoke, snort, or simply overuse painkillers orally for getting “high effects”.

How many people die from prescription painkillers each year?

Enough prescription painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for a month. Deaths from prescription painkillers* have reached epidemic levels in the past decade. The number of overdose deaths is now greater than those of deaths from heroin and cocaine combined.

How did father die from prescription painkiller overdose?

A West Virginia father, age 26, struggling for years with pain and addiction after shattering his elbow in a car crash, died from a prescription painkiller one week after telling his mother he wanted to go to rehab.

How often do women die from prescription drug overdoses?

For every woman who dies of a prescription painkiller overdose, 30 go to the emergency department for painkiller misuse or abuse. Tracking prescription drug overdose trends to better understand the epidemic. Educating health care providers and the public about prescription drug misuse, abuse, suicide, and overdose, and the risks for women.