When you bring your suspicions of potential drug abuse to the family doctor, the process begins to get the person diagnosed. In visiting the doctor, there will be a number of questions that you may have to answer. These help the doctor to determine if a pattern of abuse is present. A more in-depth session with a psychiatrist or psychologist is used to give a definite diagnosis. There are several specifics that must be met in order to diagnosed with addiction. There must three or more of these specifics present during any part of a year period. A drug test may be administered to determine what type of drugs you have in your system. This is the primary part of diagnosis, but only a tool.

Some of these include an increased tolerance to the drugs, withdrawl symptoms, increased usage and inability to stop using. This is especially true if you have tried to quit several times, but keep starting again. Using more and more of the drug over time is also another sign of addiction. Behavior patterns are other good indicators of a problem, including the time you spend trying to get hold of it and the reduced time spent at work, with family and friends. The other sign is continued use despite the knowledge that you might have negative physical effects from the drug.

Once a diagnosis has been made, then a plan for treatment can be outlined. This may include rehab, attending a support group, medical intervention of a combination of methods. Counseling is another key aspect of treatment. One of the advantages of having a definite medical diagnosis is that it helps to provide evidence for insurance to help pay for the cost of treatment. If the problem is found and identified early, then it can be addressed before it can cause worse issues down the road.