MORE SENIORS ARE ADDICTED TO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

The abuse of prescription drugs has taken place quietly among a segment of
the population where you'd least expect it: the elderly. "I call it the
silent epidemic," says Ruth Sanchez-Way, director of the federal Center for
Substance Abuse Prevention. She says many older people either don't realize
or are ashamed to admit they've got a drug problem. Yet her agency
estimates that 17% of Americans age 60 and older abuse prescription drugs
or alcohol. Sanchez-Way says that, in many cases, prescription drug abuse
goes hand in hand with a drinking problem.

Video: Up To 17% Of Elderly Abuse Or Misuse Prescription Drugs, Study Says

Drugs collectively called the benzodiazepines -- tranquilizers and sleeping
pills -- are most often linked to abuse among senior citizens. Valium,
Librium, Xanax, Halcion and ProSom are some brand names for these drugs
that are prescribed for anxiety and insomnia, two common problems among
older Americans.

Drugs In The Danger Zone

Drugs commonly abused by senior citizens belong to a group called the
benzodiazepines. These drugs slow the activity of the brain and are used to
treat anxiety and sleeplessness. They can easily veer off into the danger
zone of abuse:

.Diazepam (Valium) .Chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride (Librium) .Alprazolam
(Xanax) .Triazolam (Halcion) .Estazolam (ProSom)

The National Institute on Drug Abuse recommends that senior citizens use
those drugs for no longer than four months because of the risk of addiction.

Signs of trouble for users include: .Memory loss or forgetfulness.
.Excessive sleepiness. .Zombie-like effect. .Frequent falls or stumbling.

If you or a family member have any of these symptoms, experts recommend
that you have a frank talk with your doctor about your benzo diazepine
prescription.

"Millions of older Americans are taking these drugs regularly," says Sidney
Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group in Washington,
D.C. "In most cases, they are addicted to them," he says.

Drugmakers disagree. If used as directed, these drugs are "remarkably
safe," says Iris Kingma of Hoffmann-La Roche, the Nutley, N.J., firm that
makes Valium for the treatment of anxiety.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 4 million Americans
ages 12 and older have misused prescription drugs. "Prescription drug
misuse has gone up in the last few years," says NIDA director Alan Leshner.
The NIDA says the problem is particularly worrisome in certain groups,
including seniors.

The Road To Addiction

In the vast majority of cases, seniors take prescription drugs for
legitimate health problems, such as insomnia. They get an order from their
doctor and fill it legally at the local drugstore.

In some cases, seniors get addicted to painkillers like Demerol or Vicodin,
morphine derivatives often prescribed after painful hip fractures, says
Cathy Napier, the director of a drug and alcohol treatment center at the
Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas.

But more frequently, an older person gets a prescription for a
benzodiazepine, then gets into trouble without ever realizing the risk, she
says.

Benzodiazepines fall into a class of drugs known as the central nervous
system depressants. These drugs work by slowing brain activity. Doctors
often prescribe the drugs after a traumatic event, such as the loss of a
spouse, Sanchez-Way says. The drugs do help older people sleep better or
feel calmer, even during a difficult period of life, she says. But once an
older person starts to take these drugs, it's very difficult to stop.

In many cases, people feel better while taking a benzodiazepine. They take
more and more of it, then ask the doctor to refill their prescription, says
Kenneth Schmader, a geriatric medicine specialist at Duke University
Medical Center in Durham, N.C. To make matters worse, doctors often
prescribe an inappropriately high dose of these drugs to seniors, Schmader
says. Older people metabolize drugs less efficiently and thus need a lower
dose, he says.

The NIDA advises against taking these drugs for more than four months.
Schmader and others say these drugs can be used safely -- if used as
directed for short periods of time.

But the evidence suggests many people take these drugs for long periods of
time: Health Research Group estimates that 1.5 million Americans have been
using benzodiazepines daily for more than a year.

Refills are common because older people typically are dealing with problems
that don't go away in a month, Schmader says. The grief after losing a
spouse may continue to cause anxiety and sleepless nights long after the
funeral, he says.

As soon as doctors try to lower the dose of a benzodiazepine, the older
patient starts to complain of anxiety or sleeping difficulty, Schmader
says. Napier says seniors taken off benzodiazepines can suffer from severe
anxiety attacks, a problem that leads them right back to the drug.

The Road Back

A gradual reduction in the drug's dosage will reduce the tendency to suffer
from such anxiety, says Richard Finlayson of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minn.

Napier says that counseling as well as regular exercise can sometimes stop
the anxiety that can accompany an effort to stop taking benzodiazepines.

Often family members look the other way when an older relative suffers from
a drug problem, Napier says. They may not realize that an older person's
drug use has escalated, Schmader adds. They'll say: "There's no way that
Grandma is abusing these drugs." But if the dose has gone up and Grandma is
nodding off in the corner, Schmader suggests that family members take a
closer look.

Families often don't realize the harm that such drugs can do. For example,
older people taking a high dose of benzodiazepines run the risk of
developing memory or thinking problems, Schmader says. A higher than
necessary dose of these drugs can trigger confusion, a problem that can
result in a car accident or difficulty getting home from a familiar place.

Incidents like that may be misdiagnosed as senility, Schmader says. They
can result in a nursing home admission, he says.

Another risk with a benzodiazepine-induced fog is that an older person will
stumble. "They can fall and fracture a hip," Schmader says. A hip fracture
can kick off a cascade of serious health problems, he says.

And in some cases, a benzodiazepine problem can trigger an addiction to
another drug or to alcohol. That's what happened to 73-year-old Gerry Lucas
of Durant, Okla. Lucas says she became addicted to Valium during the 1960s
and kicked the habit only to suffer from alcohol abuse later in life.

But Lucas is living proof that it's never to old to change your life. Last
year, she went to Napier's program in Dallas and is now drug-and-alcohol free.

"I feel better now -- I'm happier," Lucas says, adding that a clear head
helps her take care of her 90-year-old mother and her 14-year-old
granddaughter, who both stay at her home.

"I have to be pretty alert," she says.

For More About Prescription Drug Abuse:

The National Institute on Drug Abuse at 888-644-6432 or www.drugabuse.gov.

The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 800-729-6686
or www.health.org.

For more information about prescription drug safety:

The National Council on Patient Information and Education at 301-656-8565
or www .talkaboutrx.org.