Wooton: Education the key to parents understanding drug use
By Will Wooton
Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing area of concern not only nationally but in Southern California. Due to our close proximity to the border, many teens venture to Mexico to obtain very common prescription drugs — not only for their abuse but also for sales.
Will Wooton
How can parents stop this growing problem? Sadly, most individuals don’t know enough about medications prescribed and the implications of taking them. I talked with Dr. Dan Smith, associate director of Urgent Care for Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group in Rancho Bernardo, about how he treats and manages this issue from a professional side.
Dr. Smith and I agree that when treating adolescent patients for problems which are painful, it is very helpful if the parents disclose any history of drug/alcohol abuse or prior/ongoing addiction treatment. Frequently, patients with substantial substance abuse problems may easily conceal this from their physician. Surprisingly, some parents are not aware how important this information is to the physician as they formulate a pain management plan.
It is also helpful if parents agree to oversee their child’s pain medication use, particularly when narcotics are being considered. All narcotic medications in the household should be secured if they are still needed or disposed of if they are not.
The top five most commonly abused prescription medications can be classified broadly into one of three categories — narcotics, benzodiazepines or stimulants.
Narcotics, or opiates, are used to treat moderate to severe pain. The most common of these include: Hydrocodone (Vicodin); Oxycodone (OxyContin); Oxymorphone (Opana); Propoxyphene (Darvon); Hydromorphone (Dilaudid); Meperidine (Demerol); Diphenoxylate (Lomotil).
A second class is benzodiazepines. These medications are typically used in a variety of settings to treat symptoms of anxiety or to help with insomnia. Their use in conjunction with alcohol is quite common.
Central nervous system depressants include: Pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal); Diazepam (Valium); Alprazolam (Xanax).
The third class is the stimulants and include: Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine); Methylphenidate (Ritalin and Concerta); Amphetamines (Adderall).
For a parent, knowing what drugs your child is taking, or possibly trying to obtain, can be a key in cutting off their supply. If you see your child texting, emailing or talking about these drugs, be concerned. Slang terms can be the key to understanding what your child is discussing. Become familiar with the terms below:
Xanax – Z-bar, Bricks, Benzos
Oxycodone - Oxy’s, Hillbilly Heroin, Dope, 40s, 20s, 80s
Valium – Blues
Ritalin – Vitamin R, Rid, Rittys, Rits
Adderall – Beans, Black Beauties, Speed, Uppers
Vicodin – Vike
Percocet – Percs
Sedatives and Tranquilizers - Chills Pills, French Friends, Tranqs
According to Dr. Smith, patients who are in severe pain can use a number of non-narcotic medications including ketorolac (also known as Toradol) and tramadol (also known as Ultram). Toradol is equipotent to morphine in postsurgical pain treatment studies and is highly effective in treating patients with kidney stone pain, pain related to traumatic injuries and pain associated with headaches, gallstones and other issues. Toradol is related to aspirin and ibuprofen but is a much more potent pain reliever than either of those medications.
Even severe pain can frequently be managed quite effectively with acetaminophen or ibuprofen, also known as Tylenol and Advil, respectively. When narcotics are required, ibuprofen can be used in combination with small doses of hydrocodone.
Keeping your physician updated can be a critical component in the treatment plan. Educating yourself as a parent is always your safest bet to prevent teenage addiction.
Thank you to Dr. Dan Smith for his time and discussing how quality medical care works on a clinical level.
Wooton is director of Pacific Treatment Services and co-author of “Bring Your Teen Back From The Brink”. PTS is a substance abuse company working with teens and young adults. Website: www.PacificTreatmentServices.com.
Related posts:
- Wooton: Is there value to drug testing?
- Will Wooton: What if someone doesn’t want to be helped?
- Will Wooton: Finding effective treatment
- New report: Prescription drug-related deaths on increase
- Will Wooton: How do you tell if your teen is on drugs?
Short URL: http://www.pomeradonews.com/?p=29002
Posted by Staff
on Sep 28 2012. Filed under Columnists.
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I find Mr Wootens articles the best part of reading this paper. They are always informative and well written. I'd like to see more of them. Plus he's really really cute! Maybe a piece on if he's married? Dating?
Poway mom has a few good points. I really enjoy these columns and actual pick up a few and send them to family in other cities to read. Its a no nonsense approach to kids. Promoting positivity and education. While I've never meet Mr Wooton I have a neighbor who thinks he's a miracle worker. Saving kids with his groups, and he is very handsome and tall but I'm told he has a girlfriend. So now dating but I always look forward to what he has to say.
Having just attended a fundraiser by the HOPE Foundation last night which promotes prescription pill awareness, this article is timely. Parents often don't realize that their "extra" pills are actually contributing to what possibly could be their child's drug addiction or latest source of income. As a result of all this exposure, we now keep all our medication, OTC and prescription, in a locked cabinet with a combination lock that only my husband and I know. It removes any temptation for our teens and we no longer keep any extra prescriptions on hand. Keep the awareness going!
Thank you for all that you do for our community !
Your information is invaluable !
Thank you for all that you do for our community!
Mr. Wooten's articles are incredibly helpful and educational. As a parent, you always try to do what's best for your children and often, being informed is the best way to be proactive and supportive. I am very grateful for all of the knowledge shared by Mr. Wooten. The facts he gives coupled with suggestions of what parents need to be looking for is priceless.
These types of no nonsense articles are vital these days. I think this kind of information for parents today is a perfect example of responsible journalism. Nothing is brushed under the rug. These are real problems for families in real life. Thank you to this newspaper. I look forward to the articles and their important content.
We have talked to our children many times about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, but didn't realize that abuse of prescription medication is the latest epidemic to hit our teens. I think that teens believe prescription pills are a "safe" way to get high because they are prescribed by doctors. Parents, keep your eyes wide open and talk to your teens about this growing problem. Like the guest who commented earlier, we now lock up all our medications, including over the counter medications like cough syrup. Thank you for this article!
Thanks to Will Wooton and Dr. Dan Smith for sharing this important information. Thanks also to the Chieftain for making substance abuse awareness and education a high priority. I hope the topic will continue to be a focus in the paper.
Sellers of fear and distraction.
If people especially teens woul just smoke pot there would be very little hard drug abuse. Parents and our government are the real pushers of hard drugs by driving kids to them with misinformation.
To Wakeupeople
You are ignorant ..end of discussion
IGNORANCE!
Huh??
You must be one of the kids. Right?
WakeUpPeaple???? Can you even spell? Gosh of course I'm going to let my kids smoke pot. Because judging by your bad spelling they'll be functional illiterates in no time.
Peaple? What's you point? You sound angry.
This is great information for parents to have, especially the slang terms. It is hard to speak teen, as a parent. I do not think many parents are aware of the dangers of prescription drugs and how easy the kids have access to them.
Who could argue against an educated public? ignorance breeds bad decision making.
WakeUpPeaple- did you know that smoking marijuana inhibits the commitment of new ideas to long term memory? look up its effects on the hippocampus, if you can remember this in 5 minutes.
"Toradol is equipotent to morphine in postsurgical pain treatment studies"
This is amazing!
Great information knowledge is power!
Thank you for your insight and knowledge. As parents we need to continue to educate our selves regarding the new and emerging trends and then educate our children , being sure they understand the real and present dangers drugs, Rx medication , and alcohol can cause to them. Thank you for your weekly educational column – it is an envaluable tool for parents.
I wish this information was out there when I was going through my nightmare. I looked everywhere, called everywhere, but help and info was limited. It is so important that this information gets out there. Will, this was one of your most informative articles yet. Keep up the good work. You're helping so many people. Knowledge is power. Thank you to the Chieftain for getting this out there. It's an important fight. And to WakeUpPeaple. You are entitled to your opinion, even if it is amazingly ignorant. It would actually be laughable, if it were not such a serious issue.
Never fails with this left minded ideas. Take away everyone's rights. My right to smoke pot or drink beer isn't your concern. Go to some other country with that scary stuff this is America.
Doing something illegal is not "your right." America.
Mr. Wooton seems to have lots of knowledge and experience in his field. Let's get him talking and helping in our schools as well as the newspaper.
Wooton is absolutely right in saying that it's the responsibility of the parent to educate themselves and in turn their children on all facets of substance abuse as outlined here http://www.nonfaithbased-drugrehab.org/longterm-i....