by Maria Teresa L. Ungson
HAVE you ever met a “walking drugstore?’ Say what?! A walking drugstore is a person who has a regular stash of assorted medicines in their bags, drawers or cabinet at the office and/at home. These are the people that usually get comments such as, “ano ba yan ang dami mo naman gamot para kang botika” (Yikes! You have so many medicines with you, its like you own a drugstore!). And they don’t just have these medicines with them, they also do not hesitate to take these on a daily basis whether they feel any symptoms or not. They are also, to a certain extent, into self-medication. They could be health buffs who are afraid to get sick. These are people who read a lot and are updated into the latest medicines in the market and are always in the lookout for the best medication for their affliction (imagined or not). They just have this regular routine to “take their meds.” And they are very willing to share their knowledge and meds with those who suffer from the same pain or condition as theirs.
Last week the new form of addiction was about shopaholics. This week let’s take a look into another new form of addiction…the fearless scrip junkies a.k.a. pill poppers! Yes, it’s a daily habit to them. They have to take a daily “dose” of their “medication” to make their day complete. They do not realize that they have developed an addiction to their meds already.
Here are some signs of a scrip junkie:
Keeps a stash of pills in the purse or desk drawer “just in case” they get sick. The line between prevention and addiction is thin. They feel that they are doing what’s best for their health but are actually getting addicted to their supposed medication or its ingredient/s without realizing it.
They have taken the same mood-affecting drug or sleeping pill for a year but still suffer the same symptoms. But they still take it anyway because of their formed addiction to the drug/s.
They may have changed doctors to maintain the “supply” of the drug or something similar with a stronger “kick” or effect on their condition or mood.
There are times when scrip junkies look actually cute with all their colorful pills placed in equally colorful pill boxes. But if we seriously think about it, they may be hurting themselves because of the tendency to self and over medicate that could do more harm that help. Over medication can affect our bodies especially our internal organs. Too much of anything is actually not healthy especially since we do not easily remove chemicals from our body. So, we develop this unhealthy habit of popping a pill whenever we feel a little pain or anticipating the possibility of contracting a disease.
Medicines are actually very useful and helpful to those who really need them. But we have to remember that it is best to take medicines under the guidance of a doctor. We practice self-medication of simple conditions such as headaches and the like but if you will notice at times you are not getting any better thus, we need a doctor to look into this. For all we know, we already developed resistance to the drug or probably need a stronger type of drug.
Doctor-supervised methods of breaking the pill popping habit include:
Joining a rehab, detox, or 12-step program. Yes…just like what drug addicts have to go through. Remember, pill poppers are like pseudo junkies…similar but not the same, the difference is in the drugs taken…both still considered addicts.
Naltrexone, which blocks withdrawal symptoms, is sometimes prescribed to analgesic (OxyContin, Vicodin) abusers. The medical practitioner would know what would be the best “friendlier” alternative.
Taper meds before discontinuing completely. Since it is a form of addiction there will be withdrawal symptoms that should be dealt with. It would be best to do it gradually to give time for the person to adjust lifestyle and address these symptoms.
Medicines are here to help us get better when we get sick. Let us not abuse these useful and helpful products. Let us use these properly under doctor’s supervision.
