Self –Medicating Teens A Growing Problem Volume 1, Issue 1 Parent Corps NATIONAL FAMILIES IN ACTION November 17, 2006 While the holidays are often viewed as a cheerful time of year for many families, some teens may suffer from depression from stress or loneliness, and may be risk of self-medicating. legitimate uses, but taking them without a prescription to get high or “self-medicate” can be an dangerous-and addictive– as using street narcotics and other illicit drugs. Teens may abuse illicit and prescription drugs to mask their emotions to friends and family. Kids as young as 12 are trying or using prescription medication because they can be taken from the medicine cabinet at home, rather than marijuana which necessitates knowing someone who uses or sells the drug. The Partnership for a Drug Free America’s annual tracking study released recently showed: 1 in 5 teens has abused a prescription pain medication 1 in 5 report abusing prescription stimulants and tranquilizers 1 in 10 has abused cough medication Many teens think these drugs are safe because they have What to tell your teens about prescription medications: Pharmaceuticals taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision can be just as dangerous as taking illicit drugs or alcohol Abusing painkillers is like abusing heroin because their ingredients (both are opiods) are very similar Prescription medications are powerful substances. While sick people taking medication under a doctor’s care can benefit enormously, prescription medication can have a very different impact on a well person. Many pills look pretty much the same, but depending on the drug and the dosage the effects can vary greatly from mild to lethal. Prescription medications, as all drugs, can cause dangerous interactions with other drugs or chemicals in the body. Prescription medications, as all drugs, can cause dangerous interactions with other drugs or chemicals in the body. Helping your child adjust to a new school According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, up to 13 percent of kids suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder. Experts say adjusting to a new school takes time and patience, “But I would say after about a month to six weeks, if you really don’t see your child adjusting or they’re having major changes-discipline issues that they never had before, grade problems that they never had before, than parents really need to find out what’s going on.” says Julie Lance, a Inside this issue: school social worker. You don’t have to tell them what to do but allow them to tell you what’s going on. And don’t forget that this is their life and this is something that’s very important to them and that they’re trying to adjust. Special points of interest: 11 Myths about Abuse and Treatment 2 Inhalants: Who, What and Effects of 3 Diet Pills 3 Internet Awareness 4 Sarah Panzau 4 • Look for any changes in behavior that signal that your child isn’t adjusting well. • Encourage your child to join school activities where they can meet likeminded people. • Don’t forget that change is hard on teens. • Contact the school to make an appointment with the counselor before the next semester starts 11 Myths About Drug Abuse and Treatment Myth #1: Drug addiction is voluntary behavior: A person starts out as an occasional drug users, and that is a voluntary decision. But as times passes, something happens, and that person goes from being a voluntary drug user to being a compulsive drug user. Why? Because over time the addictive drugs change your brain into a dramatic, toxic way. Myth #2: More than anything else, drug addiction is a character flaw: Drug addiction is a brain disease. Every type of abuse has its own individual mechanism for changing how the brain functions. The drug becomes the single most powerful motivator in a drug abuser’s existence. He or she will do almost anything for the drug. This comes about because drug use has changed the individual’s brain and its functioning in critical ways. Myth #3: You have to want drug treatment for it to be effective: Virtually no one wants drug treatment. Two of the primary reasons people seek drug treatment are because the court ordered them to do so, or because loved ones urged them to seek treatment. Myth #4: Treatment for drug addiction should be a one-shot deal: Like many other illnesses, drug addiction typically is a chronic disorder. To be sure, some people can quit drug use “cold turkey,” or they can quit after receiving treatment just one time at a rehabilitation facility. But most of those who abuse drugs require longer-term treatment and, in many instances, repeated treatments. Myth #5: We should strive to find a “magic bullet” to treat all forms of drug abuse: There is no “one size fits all” form of drug treatment, much less a magic bullet that suddenly will cure addiction. Different people have different drug abuse-related problems. And they respond very differently to similar forms of treatment, even when they’re abusing the same drug. As a result, drug addicts need an array of treatments and services tailored to address their unique needs. Myth #6: People don’t need treatment. They can stop using drugs if they really want to: FACT: It is extremely difficult for people addicted to drugs to achieve and maintain long-term abstinence. Research shows long-term drug use actually changes a person’s brain function, causing them to crave the drug even more, making it increasingly difficult for the person to quit. Especially for adolescents, intervening and stopping substance abuse early is important, as children become addicted to drugs mush faster than adults and risk greater physical, mental and psychological harm from illicit drug use. Myth #7: Treatment just doesn’t work: FACT: Treatment can help people. Studies show drug treatment reduces drug use by 40 to 60 percent and can significantly decrease criminal activity during and after treatment. There is also evidence that drug addiction treatment reduces the risk of HIV infection and improves the prospects of employment, with gains of up to 40 percent after treatment. Myth #8: Nobody will voluntarily seek treatment until they hit “rock bottom”: FACT: There are many things that can motivate a person to enter and complete substance abuse treatment before they hit bottom. Pressure from family members and companies, as well as personal recognition that they have a problem, can be powerful motivating factors for individuals to seek treatment. For teens, parents and school administrators are often driving forces in getting them into treatment once problems at home or in school develop but before situations become dire. Myth #9: You can’t force someone into treatment: FACT: Treatment does not have to be voluntary. People coerced into treatment by the legal system can be just as successful as those who enter treatment voluntarily. Sometimes they do better, as they are more likely to remain in treatment longer and to complete the program. Myth #10: If you’ve tried one doctor or treatment program, you’ve tried them all: FACT: Not every doctor or program may be the right fit for someone seeking treatment. For many, finding an approach that is personally effective for treating their addiction can mean trying out several different doctors and treatment centers before a perfect “match” is found between patient and program. Myth #11: People who continue to abuse drugs after treatment are hopeless: FACT: Drug addiction is a chronic disorder; occasional relapse does not mean failure. Psychological stress from work or family problems, social cues, or environment can easily trigger a relapse. Addicts are most vulnerable to drug use during the few months immediately following their release from treatment. Teens are especially at risk if they return to their same environment situations that initially led them to abuse substances. Recovery is a long process and frequently requires multiple treatment attempts. Page 2 PARENT CORPS Inhalants: What Are They?? Inhalants are drugs that produce a quick, temporary high; lightheadedness, and a general good feeling when their fumes or gases are breathed. It tends to last only a short time, from a few minutes to about three-quarters of an hour and may be followed by after-effects, such as drowsiness, headache, or nausea, which last for an hour or two. Inhalants are readily available and relatively cheap. Many of them can be obtained legally, even by minors. More than a thousand common household products can be used to get high. The average age at which adolescents first try these drugs is 12. What are the Main Types? • • Organic solvents are liquid compounds of carbon that have power to break down or dissolve, other carbon compounds. Examples of products containing high levels of organic solvents are: gasoline, lighter fluid and butane lighter fuel, spray paint, paint thinners and removers, transparent glue, rubber-cement thinner, hair spray, nail polish remover, degreasers, and cleaning fluids. Nitrous oxide are compounds called laughing gas, was first inhalant used for recreational purposes. Introduced as an anesthetic, dentist still use this compound of nitrogen and oxygen. It doesn’t completely block pain, but it does alter the perception of pain. Stored in metal tanks, the compressed gas is also used to make whipped cream. Then packaged in small cartridges, called whippets, and enclosed in a container of Redi– Whip cream,. The gas mixes with the cream when the nozzle is depressed. • Nitrites are compounds of nitrogen and act mainly as vasodilators, causing the walls of blood vessels to relax so that the vessel enlarge, or dilate. The most commonly abuse are amyl nitrite and butyl nitrite. Amyl nitrite is usually packaged in small, crushable glass or plastic capsules, know as poppers or snappers. Butyl nitrite often comes in a bottle or spray can and is sold as an air freshener under such names as Rush and Locker Room. The fumes from organic solvents may be inhaled from their containers. A liquid solvent may also be poured or sprayed on an absorbent material, such as a sock or rag, or a roll of toilet paper. To make the fumes stronger, abusers put the solvent in a paper or plastic bag or a rubber balloon, and then hold the open end over the mouth and nose. This is called “huffing”. The capsules containing amyl nitrite are crushed and held beneath the nose. Butyl nitrite may be inhaled in its container, or like organic solvents, applied to cloth or paper. Nitrous oxide may be inhaled through a mask from a tank or directly from a punctured whippet. The nozzle of a whipped-cream container can also be depressed in such a way that only the nitrous oxide is discharged. Short and Long Term Effects During the high itself and the period afterward, physical coordination and mental judgment are impaired. Abusers often suffer falls and other accidents and cannot drive safely. They may engage in irresponsible or dangerous behavior. Inhalants irritate the breathing passages, sometimes provoking severe coughing, painful inflammation, and nosebleeds. Nitrite inhalants often cause intense facial flushing, feelings of severe weakness and dizziness, and heart palpitations. Repeated use trends to produce increased tolerance to the drugs and larger doses are needed to achieve the same results. Heavy doses increase the risk of permanent brain damage, with effects such as poor memory, extreme mood swings, tremors, and seizures. Heavy, continuous use also increases the risk of heart arrhythmia and respiratory failure. Nitrite inhalants tend to raise the pressure of the fluid within the eyes which eventually leads to glaucoma and blindness. Organic solvents are the most dangerous of all inhalants. They are poisons that break down organic compounds including those that make up living cells. Even first time users run the risk of sudden death (SSD). Abusers may suffer fatal irregularity of heartbeat or complete heart arrest. The danger is especially great if inhalants are taken along with other nervous-system depressants, such as alcohol or barbiturates (sleeping pills). Use of Diet Pills by Teen Girls Soaring It appears that national obsession with weight and looks is hitting teenager girls especially hard. A study of 2,500 females by the University of Minnesota’s Project EAT found that diet pills usage by high school-aged girls nearly doubled in over five-year period—to over 14 percent. And by the time they were 19 and 20 one out of every five of the females surveyed were VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 taking diet pills. Another disturbing fact: nearly 22 percent of the teen girls surveyed were using “very unhealthy weight control behaviors,” which included diet pills, skipping meals, laxatives or vomiting. “These numbers are starling,” says professor Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, one of the study’s researchers, “and they tell us we need to do a better job of helping our daughter feel better about themselves and avoid unhealthy weight control behaviors.” Parents can play an important role by establishing good eating habits, making sure their kids are physically active and by helping children build a positive body image. Page 3 Internet Awareness Program was a BIG Success NATIONAL FAM ILIES IN ACTIO N Pat Giuliani Pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org 404-409-9112 Walton Parent Leader Parent Corps Thank you to the 57 parents who attended the educational internet awareness program held on Monday, November 13th in the Walton Media Center. There are a few hand outs still available if someone was unable to attend and would like an information packet. Please email me and I will arrange to leave you an envelope at the front desk at Walton. Below are the social networking sites many Walton students are currently using. MySapce—free service were members personalize their own Web page and create a social, interactive environment using photos, blogs, user profiles, e-mail/Instant Messaging, chat rooms and Web forums. www.myspace.com Facebook—started off as a social network for college students, recently expanded, offering high school and work directories. Facebook requires a friend confirmation and only those friends can see an individual’s full profile. www.facebook.com Drug Prevention Starts Here To search your child’s account you can google search their name or google search Walton blog, you could also google search a club or group name and see if any sites with individuals you know personality come up. Once you find site click onto individuals pictures and that will take you into their list of friends which might surprise you to see others in that group, on another list or another site. Have fun surfing the internet and educating yourself on what is going on in the world of your teen. www.parentcorps.org The only way Instant Message (IM) can be saved is for the teen to copy the conversation before they exit the computer. Once the computer is closed the message is erased. But that does not mean the other individuals did not make copies before they exited from the computer. Could do damage the next day at school if something was shared in private during IMing. Tell your teen to be careful when talking online. Sarah Panzau Coming to Walton Friends, family, coaches and teachers remember Sarah Panzau as an outgoing, pretty girl with a wild streak, a volleyball star who shined at Belleville West High School and set records at Southwestern Illinois College. Panzau still has most of the body of a volleyball player: tan, tall at 5 feet 11 inches, and muscular. But her left arm is a stump, sheered off mid-bicep, just one more scar wrought by the single-car accident in 2003. Wednesday, December 13, Sarah Panzau will be speaking to Walton students who elect to stay for WEB that day in the theatre. Program starts at 1:10. That night in August, a 21-year-old Panzau went to a Cardinals game and followed it with a binge of chicken wings and booze. The last thing she remembered was somebody ordering her another Bud Light. "I was lying on the highway pretty much dead -- no heartbeat," Panzau, 24, said to students at Madison High School. "My arm was ripped off. They found it in the back seat. "It happened because hours before I was drinking," she said. Panzau has given that speech to tens of thousands of students around the Midwest, telling them of the perils of alcohol abuse, of driving drunk, of being stupid. Driving home to Belleville, she missed the curve where Interstate 64 breaks from I-55/70. Her blood-alcohol content was 0.308 percent, more than triple the legal limit. The accident shattered her jaw, ripped her ribcage from her spine and snapped most of her backbone. She nearly bled to death on the highway. It was almost the grim end of a life that had taken an alcohol-fueled slide. Panzau had dropped out of community college and was working at a Soulard sports bar before falling into alcoholism and cocaine abuse. Now Panzau has gone back to college, coaches volleyball and talks to students. She is living with her mother in Belleville and has recently made the U.S. Paralympic volleyball team. But looking in the mirror or seeing her twin sister remains a reminder of her mistakes. Encourage your teens to come hear her powerful message on Wednesday, December 13th in the theatre. With holiday break coming our teens need to be reminded about how unsafe underage drinking is. We will be passing out FREE Ice Cream Coupons after the program is over and there will be teachers on hand to sign WEB forms.