Prescription Drug Painkillers
Codeine
Fentanyl
GHB
Hydrocodone
Meperidine
Methadone
Morphine
Oxycodone
Propoxyphene
The drugs listed above are very powerful painkillers and are chemically related to heroin. They are among the most widely abused drugs, and they are highly addictive and dangerous to use. They have medical uses, but they are also widely available through illegal street dealers.
Codeine
Codeine is the most popular painkiller in use today. It is found in more than 50 prescription drugs, most commonly in Tylenol 3 and many cough syrups.
Although codeine is not as strong as other opiate painkillers, it can take only a week or two to become chemically dependent on it. One particular danger is that most of the products that contain codeine also contain aspirin or acetaminophen. This means the user risks permanent liver and stomach damage by consuming too much aspirin and acetaminophen, especially when mixing these painkillers with alcohol.
Teenagers use codeine recreationally the way they use alcohol – to relax in social settings and to get high. Sometimes they crush the pills or inject codeine as a liquid to get a stronger sensation. Younger teens are more likely to abuse cough syrups with codeine. Some “syrup-heads” center their entire lives on obtaining and using these medications.
Dangers of Codeine Use
Symptoms of codeine abuse are pinpoint pupils, loss of appetite, weight loss, shallow or bluish skin and moodiness.
Side effects of codeine use are lightheadedness, dizziness, vomiting, sedation, shortness of breath, nausea, constipation, abdominal pain, itching, dry mouth flushing, sweating, changes in vision and mood changes.
People can have serious allergic reactions to codeine and experience shortness of breath, rash, swelling of face and lips, itching and severe dizziness. People who are overdosing on codeine can die. They need immediate medical attention, and may experience muscle spasms; slow, labored and/or shallow breathing; loss of breath; pinpoint pupils; bluish fingernails and lips; itching; stomach and abdominal spasms; weak pulse; and low blood pressure.
People who are chemically dependent upon codeine experience withdrawal symptoms about eight hours after they stop using it. These symptoms are anxiety, weakness, sneezing, chills, fever, headache, clammy skin, nausea, loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle aches and tremor. They can last up to two weeks.
Codeine abusers need to withdraw under medically supervised conditions, and then remain in treatment programs for several months or longer, depending upon how long and how often they abused codeine.
Codeine Products
Ambenyl® Cough Syrup
Bromanyl® Cough Syrup
Brontex®
Capital and Codeine®
Cheracol® with Codeine Syrup
Codimal® PH Syrup
Colrex® Compound (contains acetaminophen)
Cycofed® Expectorant
Cycofed® Expectorant Pediatric
Decohistine® DH
Decohistine® Expectorant
DAC®
Dihistine® DH Elixir
Dihistine® Expectorant
Fiorinal® with Codeine
Gani-Tuss® NR
Guiatuss DAC® Syrup
Guiatussin® DAC Syrup
HaNew Riversin® DAC
KG-Fed® Expectorant Syrup
KG-Fed® Pediatric Expectorant Syrup
KG-Fed® Syrup
Mytussin® DAC
Novahistine® DH
Novahistine® Expectorant with Codeine
Nucofed®
Nucofed® Expectorant
Nucofed® Pediatric Expectorant Syrup
Nucofed® Syrup
Nucotuss® Expectorant
Nucotuss® Pediatric Expectorant
Pediacof® Cough Syrup
Phenergan® VC with Codeine Syrup
Phenergan® with Codeine Syrup
Phenhist® DH with Codeine Modified Formula
Prometh® VC with Codeine Cough Syrup
Robafen AC® Syrup
Robitussin®-DAC
Ryna-C®
Ryna-CX®
Triacin-C® Cough Syrup
Tussar® SF Syrup
Tussi-Organidin® NR
Tussi-Organidin®-S NR
Tylenol 2®
Tylenol 3®
Tylenol 4®
Fentanyl
Fentanyl is an extremely strong, extremely dangerous drug. Fentanyl is a thousand times stronger than heroin, and is highly addictive. Some Fentanyl products look like lollipops, making them more appealing to kids.
There have been some movements to take it off the market because people have died just from touching the wrappers. Fentanyl is only allowed legally in hospital settings or for cancer patients. Nevertheless, people abuse it, and about 500 people die every year from illegal overdoses, often when they mix it with heroin.
Signs that someone is using Fentanyl may be flushed face, pinpoint pupils, skin abscesses from injections, drowsiness and inability to concentrate. Side effects are drowsiness, dizziness, headache, constipation, mouth sores and, in rare cases, paralysis.
Overdose symptoms are decreased respiration, flushing, blue fingers and toes, pinpoint pupils, cold skin, restlessness and unconsciousness. People usually die very quickly from Fentanyl overdoses, and do not have time to get medical help.
People who have become chemically dependent on Fentanyl need to enroll in a hospital or clinic to withdraw from this drug under medically supervised conditions. During withdrawal, they may experience sweats, chills, runny nose, yawning, restlessness, irritability, loss of appetite, nausea, tremors, depression, vomiting, convulsions, goose bumps, nervousness, tearing, cramps, kicking movements and nightmares. Drugs like Naloxone and Naltrexone can ease withdrawal symptoms.
Fentanyl is very hard to overcome because, without it, people feel depressed and nervous. They find it hard to cope with life. For this reason, they need to remain in treatment until they have developed new coping skills and feel well physically. They also need to learn how to handle their drug cravings.
Fentanyl Products
Actiq
Alfentanil
Carfentanil
Duragesic
Fentora
Ionsys
Sufentamil
Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB)
Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB) has a few medical uses, such as treatment for narcolepsy and as an anesthesia. However, GHB is widely abused as a date rape drug, as an intoxicant and as a bodybuilding instrument. It comes as a powder that bodybuilders sprinkle on food, or as a clear liquid in small bottles about the size of nail polish bottles.
GHB is often used as a date rape drug because it is odorless, tasteless and colorless. A perpetrator drops GHB into a victim's drink, causing them to pass out for three to four hours and then have no memory of what occurred during that time. Because GHB is indetectable in urine, police have a hard time proving that the rape victim was drugged.
As a party drug or intoxicant, people use GHB by sipping capsules of it from little bottles. Most users feel a sense of “dreaminess” and relaxation within five to 10 minutes, and that effect lasts four to six hours. Some say GHB causes increased libido.
Side effects of GHB use can be tremor, vertigo, confusion, shortness of breath, headache and sleepiness. One unusual side effect of GHB is called “head snapping.” This is an involuntary movement in which the head suddenly snaps back. People have been injured this way if they are driving or if their head hits a solid object.
The greatest danger of GHB is that when it is purchased illegally, a user can never be sure of how concentrated it is. If it is too concentrated, users are in danger of death by overdose, and such overdoses are very common. Death can occur within minutes. When mixed with alcohol, GHB causes liver failure.
People can and do become dependent upon GHB, sipping capfuls every half hour or so. They seem to have wild mood swings – acting silly, happy under the influence of the drug, and then hostile and sullen after the drug wears off.
Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, restlessness, sweating, edginess, chest tightness, muscle aches, loss of appetite, insomnia, vomiting, rapid heart beat, depression, irritability and sometimes delirium and convulsions. These symptoms last between two and 21 days, depending on the severity of the GHB dependency.
Once chemical withdrawal is complete, most people need counseling and professional help to overcome their psychological dependency on GHB and the GHB lifestyle.
GHB Products
Xyrem
Hydrocodone
Hydrocodone is a prescription painkiller that is usually mixed with other drugs. The most common form is Vicodin, which is hydrocodone and acetaminophen. Another common version is Vicoprofen, which is hydrocodone mixed with ibuprofen.
Hydrocodone is also a highly addictive drug. Addiction to Vicodin is among the top three reasons for admittance to drug rehabilitation centers.
Hydrocodone makes people feel joyful and pain-free. It is easy to develop a tolerance for this drug so that people have to use it in higher amounts to achieve the same effects.
People who have become chemically dependent upon hydrocodone will experience severe headaches, nausea, vomiting and depression when they try to quit on their own.
One of the main dangers of hydrocodone, besides addiction, is that it usually comes combined with ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Taking too much of these painkillers causes permanent stomach and liver damage. Hydrocodone reacts negatively with alcohol, antihistamines, barbiturates and other drugs, sometimes causing death.
Symptoms of hydrocodone abuse are pinpoint pupils, drowsiness, sleeping too much, moodiness and lethargy.
Withdrawal from hydrocodone can be difficult and must be done under medical supervision. People will experience headaches, sweats, abdominal pain and seizures. Many have to simply stay in bed for a week or more.
Once physical withdrawal is complete, a recovering addict will need to undergo psychological withdrawal. The recovering user will need counseling and therapeutic interventions to overcome the “hydrocodone stupor” and learn to cope with everyday life without the drug. That can be difficult because users often lose their ambition and interest in normal activities. Without the drug, a user may be irritable, restless and unable to sleep.
Hydrocodone Products
Anexsia
Dolorex Forte
Hycet
Hydrocan
Liquicet
Lorcet
Lortab
Maxidone
Norco
Stagesic
Tussionex
Vicodin
Vicoprofen
Xodol
Zydone
Meperidine
Meperidine is most commonly sold as the prescription drug “Demerol.” It is a very strong painkiller and highly addictive, and takes only about 15 minutes to produce an effect.
Meperidine is so addictive that people fake pain symptoms to obtain it legally, or else they make it themselves in kitchen laboratories.
Meperidine has several dangers besides addiction. Since many people are allergic to it, doctors prescribe it in small doses and gradually build it up after they are sure their patients will not suffer a fatal reaction. This means that people who use it illegally are at high risk of overdosing.
Another problem is that it can cause permanent incurable tremors similar to Parkinson’s disease. Addicts sometimes make an injectable version of the drug, which can cause heart disease and lung nodules. Some people have severe or even fatal reactions after they mix meperidine with other drugs such as antihistamines, alcohol, codeine, benzodiazepines and barbiturates.
Symptoms of meperidine abuse are tremors, muscle twitching, flushed face, skin rashes, drowsiness and constipation. Meperidine abusers lose interest in everyday life, and often have trouble sleeping.
An overdose of meperidine can be fatal. Symptoms are very slowed breathing and heart rate, extreme sleepiness, loose muscles, upset stomach, blurred vision, dizziness, faintness and cold skin.
People who have become chemically dependent on meperidine need to enroll in a treatment center, undergo withdrawal and spend time in residential treatment.
Withdrawal lasts seven to 10 days. Symptoms include muscle pain, headache, insomnia, stomach and muscle spasms, shivering, sweating, shaking, nervousness, irritability, anxiety, stuffy nose, yawning, loss of appetite, diarrhea, fast breathing and heart rate, and backache. The period of chemical withdrawal needs medical supervision because the person may experience paranoia.
After chemical withdrawal is complete, the recovering user needs help learning how to live life without meperidine. The user has often has gone many months without taking an interest in career, family or hobbies, and needs to rediscover them. The recovering user needs to find new priorities and learn how to deal with drug cravings, all of which can be achieved in a residential treatment center.
Meperidine Products
Demerol
Demerol Hydrochloride Syrup
Isonipecaine
Mepergan
Pethidine
Methadone
Methadone is a drug widely used by former heroin addicts. In most cases, they can get it free from the government at methadone clinics. The government saves money in terms of crime and prisons, as well as increases in its tax base, by running methadone clinics because former heroin addicts can usually hold down jobs and function in their families while taking methadone.
However, methadone is increasingly being abused as an illegal drug, especially by people under 25 years old. The number of accidental deaths involving this drug increased 11-fold between 1999 and 2005. Part of the problem is that it is cheap and widely prescribed. Doctors are increasingly prescribing it instead of Oxycontin to their patients in pain.
The main reason methadone is so dangerous is that the dose must be carefully monitored to fit the individual. Just a bit too much can cause death, which makes it very dangerous to use the first time. Another problem is that it is highly addictive.
Symptoms of methadone abuse may be itching, sweating, skin rashes, flushed face, pinpoint pupils, lethargy, drowsiness and confusion. People abusing methadone can develop pneumonia because the drug suppresses coughs.
Overdoses produce symptoms like decreased breathing, sleepiness, cold skin, weak pulse, faintness and, sometimes, cardiac arrest.
Withdrawal from methadone should take place under medically supervised situations. If you try to do it on your own, you will probably become uncomfortable and take more methadone. Since your tolerance level has changed while you stopped using your drug, you put yourself at risk for overdose.
Symptoms of withdrawal begin three to five days after last usage. You may experience nervousness, anxiety, muscle spasms, joint pain, backache and stomach cramps. There may be flu-like symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, diarrhea and sore throat. Some people hallucinate and become confused or suicidal. Doctors can prescribe drugs to ease the withdrawal syndrome.
After chemical withdrawal, you will need counseling and help to learn how to lead your life without the drug. This is usually done best in a residential treatment center, where you undergo daily counseling and therapy, and intense professional help.
Methadone Products
Diskets
Dolophines
Methadose
Morphine
Morphine is a very ancient drug made from poppies. Its effect on the human body is not much different from the effect of heroin. Both provide a “rush” of euphoria and then a dreamlike stupor. Morphine addicts usually lose interest in everything but morphine, and time passes more quickly for them.
Doctors prescribe morphine for the terminally ill and, less commonly, to patients in pain who do not respond to other drugs.
People who are using morphine may seem very drowsy and confused. They often experience blurred vision, constipation, lightheadedness, dry mouth, flushing, headache, pinpoint pupils, inability to concentrate, menstrual problems, sweating, seizures, rashes and weakness.
Morphine overdoses are often fatal. They can look like a coma, as breathing and heart rate slow down to dangerous levels.
Morphine is extremely addictive – people have become dependent within a day or so. Abusers also build up a tolerance to this drug, causing them to increase their dosage to dangerous levels to get the same effects.
Symptoms of withdrawal from morphine abuse include restlessness, tearing, twitching, runny nose, yawning and sweats. This will progress into irritability, anxiety, weakness, twitching, kicking, muscle spasms, backache, hot and cold flashes, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sneezing and fever. The symptoms last up to two weeks, and many former addicts experience irritability, aches and insomnia for months.
After chemical withdrawal is complete, you need to stay in treatment and counseling. You need help understanding and preventing relapses and other problems. This is best accomplished in a residential treatment program that lasts several months.
Morphine Products
Azinza
Duramorph
Kadian
MS Contin
Oramorph SR
Rescudose
Roxanol
Oxycodone
Oxycodone is extremely common: Doctors prescribe it about 6 million times a year. Under federal drug laws, the drug is only supposed to be prescribed as a painkiller for long-term pain, usually to cancer patients.
Even though it is a very expensive drug, costing $50 to $400 a pill in illegal markets, oxycodone is one of the most widely abused drugs today, especially among teenagers. According to one government report, one in five teenagers has tried it at least once.
Young people may not understand that oxycodone is a very dangerous, addictive drug, chemically close to heroin. It produces feelings of joy and euphoria, followed by relaxation – effects that are very similar to heroin. It is so addictive that some people become dependent after just a day or two.
Oxycodone is supposed to be a time-released drug, but abusers try to get around this by chewing it. Or they may crush it, mix it with liquid and inject it into their veins. These misuses can cause sudden death.
Symptoms of oxycodone abuse may be drowsiness, cold skin, slow breathing, sleepiness, apathy, seizures, pinpoint pupils, vomiting and confusion. Less common symptoms are itching, skin rashes, sweating, slurred speech, headaches and sleepiness.
People who are overdosing on oxycodone will experience dangerously slow breathing and heart rates, confusion, unconsciousness and coma. Overdoses are usually fatal.
Many young people try to withdraw from oxycodone on their own, and they share various ways to do so over the Internet. Most of them fail and return to using oxycodone. The safer and most likely way to succeed is to withdraw under medical supervision.
Doctors can ease addicts off oxycodone so that their withdrawal symptoms are bearable. These symptoms might be vomiting, diarrhea, chills, sweats, muscle and joint pain, cough, insomnia, depression and heart palpitations.
After chemical withdrawal is complete, an oxycodone addict needs professional counseling and treatment to learn to live a drug-free life.
Oxycodone Products
Endocet
Endodan
Magnacet
Narvox
Ocycocet
OxyContin
Percocet
Percodan
Percodan-Demi
Roxicet
Roxicodone
Roxiprin
Teva
Tylox
Propoxyphene
Propoxyphene was developed in the 1950s as a mild painkiller that would be stronger than aspirin but not as addictive as morphine or codeine. It has been widely prescribed ever since, even though several studies have indicated that it is no more effective than over-the-counter drugs at relieving pain.
It is dangerous because it is addictive, it causes allergic reactions in many patients and because people build up a tolerance to it.
Propoxyphene is one of the most widely abused drugs in the United States, with an annual consumption of more than 100 tons. People addicted to stronger opiates, such as heroin, often use propoxyphene when their regular drug is unavailable.
People who abuse propoxyphene will appear drowsy, sedated and depressed. They may have side effects such as dizziness, nausea, constipation, lightheadedness, headaches, abdominal pain, hallucinations, skin rashes, yellow skin and eyes, and visual disturbances. Another danger of this drug is that people usually take a version that contains acetaminophen or aspirin, putting them at danger of stomach and liver damage.
Propoxyphene has a low margin of therapeutic to toxic levels. This means that even a small amount over a person’s individual tolerance level can be too much and prove fatal. This drug is tricky for even a doctor to prescribe.
Overdose symptoms are coma, blue skin, irregular or very slow heart function, low blood pressure, stupor and extreme sleepiness.
Withdrawal from propoxyphene abuse is similar to that of other opiate painkillers. The person will have symptoms such as anxiety, tremors, insomnia, sweats, headaches and nightmares. Withdrawal should always be done under medically supervised conditions.
After chemical withdrawal is complete, the patient needs to remain in treatment and counseling to learn how to cope with cravings for propoxyphene and how to develop the life skills necessary to remain permanently drug-free.
Propoxyphene Products
Balacet
Darvocet
Darvocet-N
Darvon
Darvon-N
Propacet
Wygesic
