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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment options for prescription drug abuse vary.
Medications
- Opioid withdrawal. Buprenorphine (Buprenex, Subutex) or methadone may be used to ease the symptoms of withdrawal from opioid painkillers. However, the use of these medications to ease withdrawal from opioid addiction in the absence of pain problems is tightly regulated and subject to strict guidelines and at times special licensure. Other drugs — including clonidine (Catapres), a medication primarily used for high blood pressure — can be used to help manage opioid withdrawal symptoms.
- Sedative withdrawal. If you've used prescription sedatives for a long time, it may take weeks or even months to slowly taper off them. You may need other types of medications to stabilize your mood or help with anxiety, and you'll need to work closely with your doctor.
- Stimulant withdrawal. There are no approved drugs used for treating stimulant withdrawal. Treatment typically focuses on relieving withdrawal symptoms — such as sleep, appetite and mood disturbances.
Counseling
Counseling — whether it be individual, group or family counseling — is often useful. In addition to helping determine what factors may have led to the prescription drug abuse, counseling can also help people learn the skills needed to help prevent its recurrence.
- Parran TV. Prescription drug abuse. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 11, 2010.
- NIDA InfoFacts: Prescription and over-the-counter medications. National Institute on Drug Abuse. http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/PainMed.html. Accessed May 11, 2010.
- Prescription drugs facts and figures. Office of National Drug Control Policy. http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/prescrptn_drgs/rx_ff.html. Accessed May 17, 2010.
- Prescription drug abuse chart. Office of National Drug Control Policy. http://www.drugabuse.gov/DrugPages/PrescripDrugsChart.html. Accessed May 11, 2010.
- Preventing and recognizing prescription drug abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse. http://www.drugabuse.gov/researchreports/prescription/prescription6.html. Accessed May 11, 2010.
- McCabe SE, et al. Motives for nonmedical use of prescription opioids among high school seniors in the United States. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2009;163:739.
- Prescription drug abuse. Nemours. http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/drugs/prescription_drug_abuse.html. Accessed May 17, 2010.
- Youth risk behavior surveillance - United States, 2009. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5905.pdf. Accessed June 8, 2010.
- Proper disposal of prescription drugs. Office of National Drug Control Policy. http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/prescrip_disposal.pdf. Accessed May 11, 2010.
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