West Los Angeles Handbook 2023 - 50

If you have pain, you have the right to have your pain
recognized and addressed. Your responsibility as a
patient at Hazelden Betty Ford includes treating your
pain as part of your ongoing recovery from substance
use.
Medication Guide for People in
Recovery
Introduction
Many medications, both over-the-counter (OTC) and
prescription (Rx), have mood altering effects. Not only
do these medications have addiction potential of their
own, but they may also lead to return to use.
The following are guidelines to medication use for
people with addictions. It is not meant to replace the
advice of your physician, pharmacist, or other health
care professional. If you have any questions regarding
medication use during your recovery, please contact
your physician and/or pharmacist.
In addition, since there are so many medications on the
market, it is impossible to list all of those that should
not be used. We tried to pick common reasons why
medications would be used and give a few examples
in each category. Again, if you have questions about
a specific medication not listed here, contact your
physician and your recovery team.
Using this guide
Medications are listed as generic names (i.e.,
acetaminophen) with a few examples of brand names
(i.e., Tylenol) given in parentheses. The active ingredient
listed is the generic name. For an example, a common
generic name is chlorpheniramine, and it is included
in brand names like Tavist. Since there are too many
brands to list, it is important that you always check the
active ingredients for the generic name.
Abbreviations used in this guide:
Rx = prescription only
OTC = over-the-counter
General guidelines
Be up-front with your physician and/or pharmacist
about your addiction. If they are aware of your
addiction, they can recommend suitable medications.
Read all labels. This cannot be stressed enough. Many
OTC medications contain one or more ingredients that
you should not be taking. Make sure you check both
the active and inactive ingredients as many contain
alcohol as an " inactive " ingredient. If a medication that
you should not be taking is deemed medically necessary
by your health care professional, make sure you notify
your sponsor as well as your recovery team. It is also
important that you have a plan for use as well as a plan
to discontinue use.
Cold, allergy, and asthma medications
Most OTC cold and sinus preparations contain the
medication pseudoephedrine. This medication has
stimulant-like properties. It is very important that you
check for this ingredient and AVOID it.
A few examples of OTC medications that contain
pseudoephedrine are:
* Sudafed
* Advil Cold and Sinus
* Tylenol Cold Products
* Claritin-D
* DayQuil
* Zyrtec-D
* Mucinex-D
* Alavert-D
Other cold/allergy/asthma OTC medications to AVOID
(listed as generic, then a brand name):
* Diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
* Clemastine (Tavist)
* Brompheriramine (Dimetapp Elixir)
* Ephedrine (Brokaid Primaten)
* Dextromethorphan (Robitussin-DM-or any cough
syrup with " DM " )
* Nighttime preparations containing alcohol (i.e.,
NyQuil)
Some examples of medications/remedies that are SAFE
to take for cold, sinus, or allergy symptoms:
* Loratadine (Claritin, Alavert)
* NasalCrom nasal spray
* Saline nasal spray (Ocean)
* Cough drops (Halls)
* Vicks VapoRub, Vicks VapoSteam
* Sore throat lozenges
* Guaifenesin (Mucinex, Vicks 44E)
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West Los Angeles Handbook 2023

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