You may take medications for both physical and psychological ailments. But are you familiar with the dangerous interaction that medication and substance abuse can produce? You should know how alcohol and drugs impact the side effects, potency, and the overall effectiveness of your medication. Your addiction may even be the reason you are dependent on medication. Beginning a residential addiction treatment program for prescription medication abuse can help you to learn how to take your necessary medications and avoid mixing harmful substances.
Necessary Prescriptions Vs. Drug Abuse
It’s quite common for people to struggle with some type of mental health disorder. Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder are common mental health disorders that exhibit symptoms that may require medication to manage. What isn’t discussed in the midst of describing these symptoms is whether or not your addiction is producing these symptoms. Those who struggle with an undiagnosed mental health disorder often look to illicit substances to manage their symptoms, which tends to lead to addiction.People use medications and substances to treat symptoms such as:
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Dangerous Interactions of Medication and Substance Abuse
Using drugs and alcohol with other medications can be dangerous. Along with the medication side effects, substances may speed up the process. For example, if you are a bipolar alcoholic on lithium, you are speeding up liver damage. Both alcohol and lithium are metabolized in the liver, and the presence of both can overwhelm your liver, causing severe damage.We know that:
- Alcohol and drugs reduce the effectiveness of your medication.
- You may incur additional damage on top of the original symptoms for which you received medication.
- The destructive interaction keeps you in the cycle of addiction because drugs and alcohol offer temporary psychological relief while creating more damage.
