MyNDTALK - Not as Prescribed – Dr. Harry Haroutunian
Drug and alcohol problems are booming in older adults. Dramatic lifestyle changes, along with growing health problems, have led many to turn to alcohol, prescription painkillers, and marijuana to medicate their physical and psychological pain. You may think, Dad is just enjoying cocktails and retirement, or Mom still has pain and needs her pills. Maybe so, but consider that an estimated 17 percent of people age sixty and older struggle with misuse of alcohol and prescription drugs alone. Older adults are now hospitalized as often for alcohol-related problems as they are for heart attacks. Dr. Haroutunian, physician director of the Professionals Program at the Betty Ford Center, provides you with the information needed to understand the dynamics of addiction in older adults.