POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 79 Here are some important rules to remember if your doctor or other healthcare professional prescribes you a prescription stimulant: • Honestly and completely answer all your doctor’s or other healthcare professional's questions about medical history, allergies, and other medications, including over-the-counter medicines, that you take. If there is something you don’t know, your parents will help fill in the blanks! • Ask your doctor or other healthcare professional what effects and side effects to expect. • Tell your doctor or other healthcare professional about any unexpected reactions. Right away! • Always follow the directions of your prescription. (IMPORTANT: Never take a larger dose or take more often than the prescription says.) • Never use your prescription medications to treat illnesses, pain or injuries other than for which it was prescribed. • Never share your prescription medications with anyone. • Never take anyone else’s prescription medications. • Keep your prescription medication in a safe place where no one else can use it by mistake or on purpose. Any misuse of prescription stimulants is dangerous, even if it’s not intentional. Use your medication only as directed by your doctor or other healthcare professional. If you follow directions on the container or bottle of your medicine, you can take your medication with very little chance of problems. STIMULANT ABUSE WHAT IS ABUSE OF STIMULANTS? If you’re taking prescription medications to get "high," it’s drug abuse. No one should ever abuse prescription medications. They are to be taken only when prescribed by a doctor or other health care professional for the condition being treated. Abusing prescription drugs can alter your brain’s activity. Prescription stimulants are dangerous to misuse or abuse because if a dosage is too large, the side effects can be especially harmful or deadly. These may lead to extremely high body temperatures, irregular heartbeat, heart failure, seizures, or death. SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF PRESCRIPTION STIMULANT ABUSE Any time prescription stimulants are abused, some very serious problems are possible: • dangerously high body temperatures • loss of appetite • inability to sleep • feelings of hostility, distorted thinking, or paranoia • irregular heartbeat or heart failure • increased heart rate/blood pressure • hallucinations • seizures • death LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF PRECRIPTION STIMULANT ABUSE A lot can happen. People who continue to abuse prescription stimulants may develop a variety of dangerous conditions, including: • severe weight loss or malnutrition • mental illness • periods of restlessness, delirium and panic • insomnia (serious inability to sleep), exhaustion and mental confusion • feelings of hostility, distorted thinking, or paranoia • heart problems • tolerance • addiction Nothing good can happen if you abuse prescription medications. When these are abused, they can be as addictive and dangerous as illegal drugs. (...continued) www.painfullyobvious.com
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==