Tricia Smith of Sparta never took more pills than prescribed for her
fibromyalgia, but the amount and mixture of drugs from a single doctor
and pharmacy took a toll on her body.

In the summer of 2003, she developed a heart condition and other
problems. A doctor said her new health problems were from the
medications, but that she couldn't simply stop using the drugs.

She'd become addicted but didn't know it. The dependency required a
gradual rollback to avoid more medical strife, or even death, doctors
said.

"I felt about an inch tall," she said. "I was embarrassed, shocked."

Smith, now 48, went through a rugged three-month withdrawal period.
Fortunately, she was not psychologically addicted and had the support
of a close friend and the K.E.E.P. board of directors, where she is
chief executive officer.

Smith's story is just one example of prescription drug dependency in
Sussex County, an issue that defies a one-size-fits-all description.

Unlike Smith, some county residents are prescribed a drug and seek
more pills through illegal means. Some addicts are looking for a new
high, but some, like Smith, were never high to begin with.

Prescription drug abuse has been a persistent problem in Sussex County
for more than five years, according to the Center for Prevention and
Counseling in Newton. Abusers span all ages and socio-economic
classes, from teen party usage to seniors who go "doctor shopping" for
duplicate prescriptions, county officials said.

Many students in the first category will go to school and seek out a
"happy little pill," she said. The most popular are Percocet, Xanax,
Adderall and Coricidin HBP Cough and Cold, known as "Triple C" in user
circles.

"Since they are prescription and over-the-counter, they are not
perceived as harmful," Becky Carlson, coordinator of Sussex County
Coalition for Healthy & Safe Families, said, noting party usage is a
national trend.

"Bowling" is a new trend at parties, where bags of pills are emptied
into a bowl and teens pick random ones out. Pills are often mixed with
alcohol, adding to the danger, Carlson said.

"You're doing a double-whammy to your body," she said.

There are many teens in the county who do not know what pill they are
taking or its effect, said Carlson.

Carlson recalls one local high school girl who, at home one day,
sighed and said, "I'm so tired I could use a Percocet."

The girl's mother was astounded. The statement wasn't even logical,
because Percocet is a painkiller, Carlson said.

"They don't know pharmacology," she said. "It's just what they hear."

Parents may also be astounded to learn teens are knocking back cough
syrup for a high. One elderly couple, living in a Sussex County lake
community, saw empty Robitussin bottles in the street during their
evening walks and thought it was a shame polluters couldn't clean up
after themselves. After the couple saw a local presentation on drugs,
they realized the bottles signified drug use, Carlson said.

"It was just another place where kids got high," Carlson said.

Prescription drug addiction can go further than raiding the medicine
cabinet and using what's there. Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Reed, who
handles most drug cases in Newton, said he has faced defendants who
posed as doctors or altered written prescriptions.

The everyday nature of prescription drugs may cause problems for
defendants who associate jailtime with heroin users or other illicit
drugs.

"They really don't consider themselves to be criminals," Reed said.

In Superior Court on May 30, a Hopatcong woman confessed to forging a
Xanax prescription on forms she stole from a nurse practitioner. On
June 26, a Sparta woman admitted she obtained Vicodin in February by
calling the Sparta Stop 'n' Shop pharmacy and representing herself
being from a doctor's office. She repeated the fraud against the Weis
pharmacy on May 4.

"Some people do stupid things, like change the number of prescribed
pills," Reed said.

A six becomes a 16, for instance, or sometimes suspects change the
amount of refills, Reed said. Many prescription fraud cases are caught
at the pharmacy.

Luckily for county prosecutors, local pharmacies are "quite good" in
catching fraud and cooperating with the criminal justice system, Reed
said.

Elsa Iglesias, the pharmacist at Sparta Pharmacy for six years, checks
numerous details to verify prescriptions.

The prescription should be a written on New Jersey blanks of a blue
color with a specific design and cannot be more than 30 days old, she
said. Iglesias also gets a feel for irregular customer behavior.

"They'll come once and disappear, then show up again coming from a
different doctor," she said, describing a common practice known as
"doctor shopping."

When the Sparta Pharmacy calls a doctor's office, they find the
correct phone number by calling information, Iglesias said. Otherwise,
the number on the prescription script could be fake, with someone
posing as a doctor on the other end.

Iglesias will also ask for photo ID from new patients. She photocopies
the ID and staples it to the prescription to ensure the right person
receives the drug. Insurance information will display recent activity
in the pharmacy's computer system, which it can use to keep customers
honest.

If the pharmacy suspects fraud, they wait until the customer returns
and call the police, Iglesias said.

"We'll stall and tell (the customer) we're a little backed up," she said.

In her more than 15 years as a pharmacist, Iglesias noticed fraud is
blind to age, race or economic status.

"It's everyone," she said.

Smith, who never strayed from "doctor's orders," said she felt let
down by the medical system. Neither a doctor nor pharmacist raised
questions about the quantity or interactions of the prescriptions she
was taking.

"At the least, the pharmacy should have said, 'Hey wait a minute,
what's going on here?'"

In the aftermath of it all, Smith found the law relies on a
layperson's understanding of what they are prescribed. There seems to
be little liability on the physician or pharmacy, she said.

"I don't think the doctors should be punished, per se, but I do think
that they need to stop creating addicts and they need to stop it right
now," she said.

Smith's three-month withdrawal from the medications was "just like
every B movie you ever saw about it. I have now been to the mountain
and am back."

She experienced muscle cramping, sweating, nausea, hallucinations and
the pain and loss of friendships.

Today, Smith enjoys life and "plays a mean round of golf," she said.

Although shortness of breath, one of the side effects of two
medications mixing, caused her to leave her church choir where she was
a soloist, she has found a new home in the Harmony Hill United
Methodist Church's choir.

"I have no regrets. I didn't do anything wrong. But, if I had to
change one thing, I wish I was smarter about it and about where I
placed my trust."

A professional for most of her life, Smith feels sorry for anyone who
might find themselves "over-prescribed, under-served, and addicted."

County residents who need help for prescription drug addiction can
seek it at the center in Newton. There is no quick fix, however, and
detoxing often requires both therapy/counseling and medical
intervention, said Pat DeCoste, clinical director at the center.

Detox may occur in a hospital setting, while some patients check into
rehab centers like the Sunrise House in Lafayette, she said. Some
cases require inpatient treatment, while others can be treated as
outpatient.

"All types of people can have drug problems," DeCoste said.

Counselors at the center worry that a lack of awareness, both by
parents and prescription users, will only add to the problem. Since
2001, they said, prescription addiction and abuse has not wavered in
Sussex County.

"It's just there," Carlson said. "And it doesn't seem to be going away."

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 6:06 PM