On the Dr. Phil show yesterday, “Generation Rx” was the topic — kids who use over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to get high. Three stories were told:
- A boy who started smoking marijuana at 10 and by 12 was dealing pot and OTCs. At 14, he was using alcohol, cough syrup, whatever he could find, to get high.
- A 21-year-old woman, Christina, who drinks a couple bottles of Robotussin a day and has for four years. She looked horrible — wan, her once-thick hair thin and scraggly, weak. If she doesn’t get clean, I’d guess she has less than a year to live.
- Another boy, 13 I think, who also uses OTCs and alcohol. He did not want to be on the show, and was taken to a recovery program immediately after the taping.
If you go to the message board on the show, you’ll find more than 30 pages of messages — many of them from parents who are worried sick about their kids. These medications are a terrible blight on our young ones — be on the watch, and if you find out your kids are doing it, deal with it firmly and immediately.
If you’re using these drugs, understand the risks. Read the message boards and understand that a lot of kids have died from these medications — especially after prolonged use, or if they mix them.
That’s not always the case. One parent tells of her daughter who took 12 cough medicine tablets, had to be hospitalized, was released — and went into a coma and died three days later because of the damage done to her liver.
The Drug Report 