prescription-pill-addiction-increasing-rapidly-in-nevadaLin Michaels stayed clean from drugs for fourteen years; however that changed due to no fault of her own. Lin trusted her doctor when he prescribed her pain killers that turned out to be very addictive.

Being the daughter of an alcoholic father, Lin partied hard on cocaine and acid in her late teens. At the age of 32, she decided to quit this lifestyle and left her drug addict husband and shifted to Georgia. She was clean until she was in a serious car accident and her doctor put her on Lortab, which is a blend of acetaminophen and hydrocodone and also methadone. Lortab gave Lin a great high so she preferred it over methadone. When her body got used to Lortab it stopped making her high, so she switched to methadone.

Prescription narcotics have a similar affect on the body as heroin, as it creates a feeling of euphoria. Lin tried to quit the drugs but somehow always found her way back and continued to be addicted to it for eight years.

One day, she found herself waking up to a police car and an ambulance, as she had blacked out. She got checked into a recovery program by her brother and stopped using prescription drugs from 14th September 2012.

Her struggle continued as two years later she injured her hand and the doctor prescribed her Vicodin, another painkiller.

This is one of many examples. The painkiller addiction problem in Nevada is escalating, as it has the largest number of painkiller prescriptions written, the maximum painkiller abuse issue and the most number of deaths due to overdose.

Nevada officials are making efforts to ensure that prescription painkillers are only prescribed to those who genuinely need them. A legislature was passed last session that required doctors to track painkiller prescriptions through the state database.

It’s not that the doctors are not doing their job properly but those who are addicted can find different ways to feed their addiction. They can switch from doctor to doctor and fake extreme pain, to get more and more drug prescriptions.

Local providers are also trying to curb this problem on their own. Doctors in Nevada are encouraging patients to manage their pain instead of relying on painkillers.

Lin also decided to fight back as she tore up the Vicodin script prescribed to her and has been sober for three years. Lin is grateful that she got a chance to re-create her life and start over.