Can Meloxicam Get You High?

In the world of prescription drugs, you always want to find one that treats your symptoms and helps you lead a pain-free life. For people suffering from acute joint pain, rheumatoid arthritis, or osteoarthritis, their doctor may prescribe Meloxicam, more commonly known as Mobic, for their pain. While this nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory has proven to treat and manage their symptoms, can abusing it get you high?

What Is Meloxicam?

Meloxicam is a prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug often referred to as an NSAID. Doctors often save this for older adults with joint pain or arthritis to help them get through their day pain-free. While other drugs used for similar conditions remain over-the-counter medications, Meloxicam can only be prescribed by your physician due to the potential side effects.

What Are the Possible Side Effects?

While these side effects won’t affect every patient taking Mobic, there is still a chance you can experience them — especially if you start abusing them. Some of these potential side effects include:

Ulcers
Gastrointestinal Bleeding
Renal Failure
Cardiac Failure

Most people take Meloxicam under the close supervision of their physician to monitor the results and their reactions to the drug. However, when you take more than the prescribed dosage or take it without a prescription, the likelihood of experiencing these side effects increases dramatically.

Is Meloxicam Addictive?

Unlike other prescription medications, Meloxicam is not as addictive as Valium or Oxycodone. People don’t become addicted to taking the drug because of the sense of euphoria or numbness it can create in patients — it’s the psychological effects.

Narcotic or Controlled Substance — Which Is It?

While Meloxicam is not addictive on its own, that doesn’t mean people can’t abuse it when taken in excess. When classifying this drug, people need to ask — does that automatically make it a narcotic?

A substance classified as a narcotic generally has to affect a person’s mood in some fashion. Since Mobic directly affects the user’s pain receptors, it’s generally not considered a narcotic. However, its status as a controlled substance is a different story.

A substance must meet certain criteria to earn classification as a controlled substance. One of the key characteristics of a controlled substance is that it becomes more dangerous when it’s misused. Patients with preexisting gastrointestinal disorders, hypertension, and heart conditions can see more serious side effects from Meloxicam abuse.

How Do People Abuse Meloxicam?

When someone begins to abuse Meloxicam, it’s often for the same reasons that they would abuse an opioid painkiller — they want to feel the same relief they did previously. They want to alleviate the pain that haunts them and be able to function as they used to. However, while they don’t get the same physical high as some other painkillers, people can still experience similar negative health effects when abusing them.

Is Meloxicam Really Safer Than Opioid Painkillers?

For doctors looking to provide their patients with the best care possible, knowing what to prescribe and how much is vital in administering care. Medical professionals have trended toward prescribing Meloxicam because of its non-addictive properties. However, simply because it does not trigger the same euphoric effects as other opioids doesn’t mean they can’t be abused.

Get the Help You Need at Steps to Recovery

When dealing with psychological dependency on Meloxicam, you want to find an addiction treatment center in Levittown, PA, that can help you deal with your issues. Steps to Recovery has an array of resources and treatment programs that can help you deal with any withdrawal symptoms from this particular pain medication. If you or someone you love needs help dealing with prescription painkiller abuse, don’t hesitate to contact the Steps to Recovery team to learn more about our prescription drug treatment center today.