Alcohol & Drug Addiction Treatment

All drugs and alcohol can produce unwanted, disturbing reactions upon withdrawal or discontinuation. For some drugs that have been around for years, especially opiates like heroin, withdrawal reactions are well documented in medical journals. However, doctors are too often unfamiliar with withdrawal symptoms associated with many prescription drugs they routinely prescribe.

Stimulants like Dexedrine, Ritalin, and Adderall, which are prescribed for ADD and ADHD, have no real medical data in terms of withdrawal effects. Other prescription drugs like SSRI antidepressants, such as Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft often cause suicidal and distressing withdrawal, yet many physicians appear to be unaware of this and continue prescribing.

Oxycontin which was produced by Perdue Pharmaceuticals came under lawsuit because they had lied about how addictive this painkiller is. Now residential drug rehabs have noticed a huge increase in enrollment because of Oxycontin. Many abusers of Oxycontin later turn to heroin because it is cheaper to purchase of the street.