Doing It All Through Prescription Drug Abuse

Daing it all through prescription drug abuse Throughout the modern age, women have been overworked, overwhelmed and overscheduled, juggling families, friends and careers. We may think that--now more than ever-women rely on "mother's little helpers" like stimulants, painkillers and anti-anxiety meds to help them get through their endless to-do lists. But how accurate is that? 1955 Miltown (meprobamate), a minor tranquilizer prescribed for anxiety, was introduced. By 1957, 1 in 20 Americans was taking Miltown or another tranquilizer. Women are 55 percent more likely than men to be prescribed an abusable medication (anti-anxietų meds or narcotics). 1960 Librium (chlordiazepoxide) was introduced. It was the first benzodiazepine, the type of anti-anxiety drug that dominates the market today. 1963 Valium(diazepam) was introduced. It is used to treat anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia. Diazepam was the top-selling pharmaceutical in the United States from 1969 to 1982. 1965 In the United States, 58 million new Women are more prescriptions and 108 million refills likely to hide were written for psychotropic drugs addictions than men. (sedatives, tranquilizers and stimulants). These 166 million prescriptions accounted for 14 percent of all prescriptions written in the country that year. In 1966 The Rolling Stones released "Mother's Little Helper" in the United States. The song deals with barbiturate use among housewives. 1978 It was estimated that about 20 percent of American women were taking Valium. Prescriptions of Valium peaked this year, with nearly 2.3 billion of the pills prescribed. Users who face the greatest risk of becoming addicts are those who combine drugs. 1981 Xanax (alprazolam) was first released to treat anxiety disorders. 1987 Prozac (fluoxetine) was approved for the treatment of major depression. By 2010, more than 24.4 million prescriptions for fluoxetine were filled in the United States. Women are less likely to seek treatment than men because they worry about the people who depend on them. 1993 Ambien (zolpidem), a prescription sleeping pill, was introduced and gained popularity in just a few years, with sales increasing eightfold between 1996 and 1997. 1996 Adderall (dextroamphetamine and amphetamine), was approved to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Between 2002 and 2005, adult prescriptions for Adderall and other stimulants increased 90 percent. A side effect of Adderall, dubbed the 'Adderall Added Bonus,' is suppressed appetite and weight loss. 2010 About 7 million Americans used psychotherapeutic drugs for nonmedical reasons. According to the research firm IMS Health, the use of stimulants has nearly tripled over the past decade. The names have changed, but the reasons have not. Different drugs at different times, sometimes touted as the cure-all for modern society. Tranquilizers, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, sleeping pills, stimulants. All obtained with real prescriptions or borrowed from a friend or even a child. Women all over are trying to find the next "mother's little helper" with little regard for the effects and damage it may cause to their bodies and lives in the long run. Sources: Metzl, J.M., Prozac on the Couch: Prescribing Gender in Durham, 2003, p. 73. Era of Wonder Drugs, North Carolina, Duke University Press, http://www.ncadd.org/index.php/learn-about-drugs/seniors-vets-and-women/215-women-and-drugs?format=phocapdf http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618511000077 http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/gallery/t_diazepam.htm H. Parry, Use of Psychotropic Drugs by U.S. Adults, Public Health Reports, 1968 http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0.,20252269,00.html http://www.americanbar.org/newsletter/publications/gp_solo_magazine_home/gp_solo_magazine_index/shadows.html http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2K10NSDUH/2k10Results.htm RCx http://www.workingmother.com/special-reports/addicted-moms-everybody-knows-somebody Recovery Connection® www.recoveryconnection.org Daing it all through prescription drug abuse Throughout the modern age, women have been overworked, overwhelmed and overscheduled, juggling families, friends and careers. We may think that--now more than ever-women rely on "mother's little helpers" like stimulants, painkillers and anti-anxiety meds to help them get through their endless to-do lists. But how accurate is that? 1955 Miltown (meprobamate), a minor tranquilizer prescribed for anxiety, was introduced. By 1957, 1 in 20 Americans was taking Miltown or another tranquilizer. Women are 55 percent more likely than men to be prescribed an abusable medication (anti-anxietų meds or narcotics). 1960 Librium (chlordiazepoxide) was introduced. It was the first benzodiazepine, the type of anti-anxiety drug that dominates the market today. 1963 Valium(diazepam) was introduced. It is used to treat anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia. Diazepam was the top-selling pharmaceutical in the United States from 1969 to 1982. 1965 In the United States, 58 million new Women are more prescriptions and 108 million refills likely to hide were written for psychotropic drugs addictions than men. (sedatives, tranquilizers and stimulants). These 166 million prescriptions accounted for 14 percent of all prescriptions written in the country that year. In 1966 The Rolling Stones released "Mother's Little Helper" in the United States. The song deals with barbiturate use among housewives. 1978 It was estimated that about 20 percent of American women were taking Valium. Prescriptions of Valium peaked this year, with nearly 2.3 billion of the pills prescribed. Users who face the greatest risk of becoming addicts are those who combine drugs. 1981 Xanax (alprazolam) was first released to treat anxiety disorders. 1987 Prozac (fluoxetine) was approved for the treatment of major depression. By 2010, more than 24.4 million prescriptions for fluoxetine were filled in the United States. Women are less likely to seek treatment than men because they worry about the people who depend on them. 1993 Ambien (zolpidem), a prescription sleeping pill, was introduced and gained popularity in just a few years, with sales increasing eightfold between 1996 and 1997. 1996 Adderall (dextroamphetamine and amphetamine), was approved to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Between 2002 and 2005, adult prescriptions for Adderall and other stimulants increased 90 percent. A side effect of Adderall, dubbed the 'Adderall Added Bonus,' is suppressed appetite and weight loss. 2010 About 7 million Americans used psychotherapeutic drugs for nonmedical reasons. According to the research firm IMS Health, the use of stimulants has nearly tripled over the past decade. The names have changed, but the reasons have not. Different drugs at different times, sometimes touted as the cure-all for modern society. Tranquilizers, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, sleeping pills, stimulants. All obtained with real prescriptions or borrowed from a friend or even a child. Women all over are trying to find the next "mother's little helper" with little regard for the effects and damage it may cause to their bodies and lives in the long run. Sources: Metzl, J.M., Prozac on the Couch: Prescribing Gender in Durham, 2003, p. 73. Era of Wonder Drugs, North Carolina, Duke University Press, http://www.ncadd.org/index.php/learn-about-drugs/seniors-vets-and-women/215-women-and-drugs?format=phocapdf http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618511000077 http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/gallery/t_diazepam.htm H. Parry, Use of Psychotropic Drugs by U.S. Adults, Public Health Reports, 1968 http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0.,20252269,00.html http://www.americanbar.org/newsletter/publications/gp_solo_magazine_home/gp_solo_magazine_index/shadows.html http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2K10NSDUH/2k10Results.htm RCx http://www.workingmother.com/special-reports/addicted-moms-everybody-knows-somebody Recovery Connection® www.recoveryconnection.org