Prescription Drug Misuse

What is prescription drug misuse?

If you take a medicine in a different way than your health care provider prescribed, it's called prescription drug misuse. It could be:

• Taking medicine prescribed for someone else.
• Taking a larger dose than you are supposed to.
• Taking the medicine in a different way than you are supposed to. For example, instead of swallowing your tablets, you might crush them and then snort or inject them.
• Using the medicine for another purpose, such as getting high.

Misusing some prescription drugs can lead to addiction. These include opioids, sedatives, tranquilizers, and stimulants. Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease. It causes a person to take drugs repeatedly despite the harm they cause.

Who is at risk for prescription drug misuse?

Prescription drug misuse can affect anyone at any age, including teenagers and older adults. It can happen if you need certain medicines to treat a medical condition, reduce pain after an injury or surgery, or for chronic pain.

Risk factors can include:

• A lack of knowledge about the prescription drug and possible risks
• A previous addiction to other substances, including alcohol and tobacco
• Certain mental health conditions

What are the risks of prescription drug misuse?

Prescription drug misuse can have serious medical consequences. Every medicine has some risk of side effects, which providers think about when prescribing medicines. People who misuse these drugs may not know the risks. Some medicines may not be safe for them, especially at higher doses or when taken with other medicines.

What are treatments for prescription drug misuse?

Treatment for prescription drug misuse often includes medicines and counseling, but it depends on the type of drug and your needs.

The counseling may be individual, family, and/or group therapy. It can help you:

• Understand why prescription drug misuse began
• Learn how to change unhealthy patterns of thinking and behavior
• Manage personal problems and develop positive relationships
• Learn how to manage cravings and avoid situations that could lead to a relapse

Stopping or cutting back on prescription drugs used for a while, may cause different symptoms for different drugs. This is called withdrawal. Your provider will work with you to manage the symptoms as your body gets used to being taken off the medicine.

How can I prevent problems with taking prescription drugs?

Providers and pharmacists play a role in preventing or reducing prescription drug misuse, but you can also take steps to reduce your risk.

A few ways to help reduce your risk and make sure that you are using any prescription medicines correctly include:

• Talk to your provider about any other prescription medicines, over-the-counter-medicines, and supplements that you're taking to see if it is safe to take the prescription drug with them.
• Follow the directions carefully and take medicine as prescribed. If you're taking prescription drugs for pain and it isn't working, don't stop or change the amount you're taking without talking to your provider.
• If your provider prescribes opioids, ask about the risks and benefits of taking the medicine, and if another medicine with less risk of addiction could be used.

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Questions for your care team

General prompts to help prepare for your appointment.

• How does this information apply to my situation?
• Which symptoms or results need evaluation?
• Which tests are useful, and what can they tell us?
• What care options, benefits, and risks should we discuss?
• When should I seek urgent help, and whom should I call?
• When is follow-up, and how will we know whether the plan is working?