Do you know if many people commit suicide from withdrawal symptoms from addiction or dependency on pain pills?

Question

I wonder where a person can find statistics or facts such as this on the internet? I hear about people on drugs committing suicide, and I wouldn't doubt the reason would be the withdrawal symptoms, since the sickness is so brutal. I know there are times that a user can not buy the pills because they don't have the money, or because they cannot find anyone selling the pills at the time.

Answer 1

YEP. Search it on Google... they have a ton of sites!

Answer 2

In the realm of Psychology, the depression is a co-morbid condition and is not caused by the withdrawal. It can be caused by a person's frustration or feelings of no control over the habit or nasty consequences of the habit such as deteriorating family relationships and things like that, but by the time the withdrawal starts, the depression has most likely been there for a good while. Sometimes, the depression is what brings about the substance addiction to begin with.

Anyway, suicide certainly can be a consequence of depression and the person should consult with a therapist.

Answer 3

(Ok, so to respect the anonymity of my friends and colleagues, I'm going to refer to my friend as "John")

....John has been a perscription pain medication user for over 6 years and has had numerous professional consultations with pain physicians.
The consistent advise those physicians have given him, according to John, is that withdrawal symptoms are both physical and psychological.

In comparison, suicide is typically an emotional reaction involving numerous factors. Could withdrawals, addiction, dependency be contributing factors in a suicide? Perhaps. The truth is: only the one who commits suicide would know what they were thinking.

John also commented to me that his physicians note most strongly that "accidental overdose" is often mistaken for suicide. This is because the person who is dependent on pain medication often varys their dosage based on availability...low doses (when unavailable) followed by high doses when available.
When a high dose follows a partial withdrawal, this causes the liver to release excess converted chemicals into the person's system and unknowningly overdose...usually at night while resting after the first high dose following a withdrawal.
The physicians have repeatedly cautioned John 1)not to vary his dosage, 2)not to drop too low, and 3)not to rapidly resume a "normal" dosage after dropping off. They said "what your body could handle a week ago, it can't tolerate today if you just take the same amount as before."

Bottom line, I doubt there are publically-available statistics on the influential role of dependency on suicide. If anyone is concerned about their, or someone elses drug dependency, or has thoughts of suicide, please seek medical attention!

Physicians (including psychologists) are the best source of help.

Answer 4

Suicidal thoughts are very common when withdrawing from drugs as well as later when the drug is out of your system. Drugs afftect the chemistry in your brain ie: saratonin, dopamine etc. Without the drugs the levels change in persons brain. Often times dr's prescribe psch meds to try and "level" a person out

Answer 5

yes. it is very common for drug addicts and alcoholics to go into a major depression for up to 18 months. this is why it is helpful to seek professionals and to be careful of the advice recieved from groups such as AA.

Answer 6

I would say addiction, it is much more common with suicide. But Yahoo! Search might be a good idea for complete information and data.

Answer 7

It's on kaplan medical books called "behavioral science"...suicide is the 5th cause of death in the US after heart disease, cancer...bla bla....

Answer 8

yes they do.
some suicides are committed for reasons we would never imagine.

Answer 9

sad to say I lost a very dear friend that way :(

Answer 10

AHHHH if I knew I would be dead and not typing I know that.