drug addiction Archives - Page 28 of 29

‘Trail Mix’ Brings Dangerous High

June 30, 2015 by Editor

trail mix drug detox

People are mixing drugs to enhance, produce and stretch out their own preferred hallucinogenic high and calling the concoction “trail mix”. Illegal drug use can be risky and lead to addiction. Mixing drugs can increase the danger and the problems. There does not seem to be one set formula for “trail mix”. Some crush ecstasy and add the veterinary tranquilizer Ketamine. Some include methamphetamine, known as “crystal meth,” or cocaine, or both stimulants. Blending drugs is chancy and an unsafe practice risking drug addiction, overdose and death.

The Treatment Gap

March 27, 2015 by Editor

According to the NIDA (National Institute of Drug Abuse), there continues to be a large problem in the United States (and around the world) for people to receive help to become free of drug dependence. “In 2012, (date of last study) an estimated 23.1 million Americans (8.9 percent) needed treatment for a problem related to drugs but only about 2.5 million people (1 percent) received treatment at a specialty facility.”

As drug addiction is on the rise, this disparity and availability to resources plays a larger role and presents an increased problem in our society. The gap between the number of drug abusers who need assistance and the number who receive treatment is sizeable. Exploring the need, available assistance, and social stigma associated with drug addiction is important to look at to measure improvement and define success.

It is not only finances and lack of resources that cause this gap, the nature of the disease and how our society perceives drug addiction plays a substantial barrier and continues to block many from receiving needed assistance. Drug abusers often do not seek treatment not only because of denial of the issue but because entering drug rehabilitation and treatment may disclose stigmatized, illegal behavior and the risk of adverse family, social, and economic consequences.

Rapid Drug Detox detoxification treatment center understands the barrier to receiving treatment and the fear of being “found out” and is set up to protect personal and confidential information so people can start on a path to recovery. Read more about how RDD values privacy.

Addiction Does Not Discriminate

March 27, 2015 by Editor

Addiction Does Not Discriminate It is not just the homeless or mentally ill who suffer the trauma of addiction. Many legendary people who seem to “have it all” with money, power, fame and resources were unsuccessful in kicking the drug habit. The difference between celebrities and us is that they make the news when they overdose and die.

A few of the famous celebrities who died due to drug addiction:

Whitney Houston
Michael Jackson
Heath Ledger
Philip Seymour Hoffman

Unfortunately, drug overdose and death is not uncommon and on the rise. Most people have been touched by a family member, friend or person in the community who have lost a loved one due to drugs.

“In 2012, an estimated 22.2 million persons aged 12 or older (8.5 percent) were classified with substance dependence or abuse in the past year based on criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV).” *

“The number of persons with heroin dependence or abuse in 2012 (467,000) was approximately twice the number in 2002 (214,000).” (US Dept of Health and Human Services)*

Drug detox is the best first step to remove the physical addictions of drugs from your body so that you are able to focus on the rest of your recovery with a medical professional. You can learn to live again. Call us 1-866-399-2967 or contact us online, we can help.

*Most recent published information from this source http://archive.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2012SummNatFindDetTables/NationalFindings/NSDUHresults2012.htm#highlights

Suboxone/Subutex (Buprenorphine) Facts

August 5, 2010 by Editor

What is Suboxone?

Used to treat users with opioid addiction, Suboxone/Subutex (Buprenorphine) is an addicting opiate drug. Approved in October 2002 by the FDA, the high-dose sublingual pill Suboxone/Subutex has also recently been introduced in European countries as treatment for chronic pain. It can be used both for chronic cancer pain as well as chronic non-malignant pain.

Why is Suboxone prescribed?

Many doctors prescribe this drug for withdrawal and/or addiction without warning the patient about the drug’s addictive nature, and the fact they are trading one opiate for another. Some Anesthesia Detox Facilities (2 facilities at this time) give it to patients for up to 6-12 weeks after the detox procedure, and approximately 99% of in-patient rehab centers are using it. These patients do well while taking the drug, but after being discharged and within 3 days, patients typically suffer from withdrawal and seek help for Suboxone/Subutex addiction.

What are some Suboxone side effects?

Suboxone side effects may include:

Drowsiness, dizziness, weakness
Constipation
Headache, nausea, or vomiting
Slow, shallow breathing
Heavy feeling in the chest
Mental and mood changes
Stomach/abdominal pain
Dark urine, yellowing eyes and skin, vision changes
Symptoms of an allergic reaction include: rash, itching, swelling, severe dizziness, trouble breathing.
Loss of libido
Frequent night time urination
Anxiety
Depression/sadness
Lack of interest (no “zest” for life)
Personality changes

What are symptoms of Suboxone withdrawal?

Symptoms of Suboxone withdrawal can be very uncomfortable and cause patients to revert back to their original drug use. Suboxone withdrawal symptoms can also last up to 2-5 weeks.

Severe anxiety, thoughts of suicide, malaise & severe depression
Diarrhea & sweating
Cramp-like pains in the muscles, leg kicking, convulsions
Severe and long lasting sleep difficulties (insomnia)
Goose bump skin (cold turkey)
Cramps, abdominal pain
Dehydration & fever

How do I choose a Suboxone detox program?

Talking to a trained detox or medical professional is the right first step in choosing the appropriate program. Call the Rapid Drug Detox Center at 1-866-399-2967 or contact us if you’d like to learn more.

Bipolar Disorder Overdiagnosed?

April 2, 2010 by Editor

Study Shows Many People Who Are Told They Have the Disorder Don’t Meet Standard Criteria

By Charlene Laino
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Many people who have been told by their doctors that they have bipolar disorder don’t really have it.

So say researchers who used a standardized, comprehensive, psychiatric diagnostic interview to evaluate 700 adult psychiatric outpatients.

About 20% had previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But only 13% met the criteria, says Mark Zimmerman, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence and practicing psychiatrist at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

“In about half of patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder, we couldn’t confirm the diagnosis,” he tells WebMD.

There are real dangers to overdiagnosis, chief among them unnecessary exposure to mood stabilizers and all their powerful side effects, Zimmerman says. There’s also the stigmatization of having a serious, possibly lifelong mental illness.

The study is being published online by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association.

Why Is Bipolar Disorder Overdiagnosed?

Bipolar disorder used to be called manic depression because it is characterized by bouts of depression and bouts of mania. Patients experience dramatic mood swings between euphoria and severe depression; they may have hallucinations or delusions.

Patients with anxiety, agitation, irritability, and restlessness that does not persist are sometimes misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, Zimmerman says.

“These could be symptoms of bipolar disorder. But they really have to be accompanied by other criteria, such as hyperactivity, feeling energetic despite just a few hours of sleep, or inflated self-esteem,” he says.

Ironically, one reason the disorder is being overdiagnosed is “because so much has been written about it being under-recognized,” Zimmerman says.

“It’s difficult to go to a lecture on bipolar disorder that doesn’t begin with, ‘Make sure you don’t miss…,'” he says. “So clinicians are loathe to miss it.”

The increased availability of medications for the treatment of bipolar disorder may also play a role in overdiagnosis, Zimmerman says. “Physicians have a tendency to diagnose something that they feel they are comfortable treating,” he says.

So what should you do if you think you’ve been misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder?

“If you’re at all uncertain about the diagnosis, speak to your doctor and make sure you understand why you’ve been given that diagnosis. If you remain unconvinced, get a second opinion,” Zimmerman says.

A Note from Rapid Drug Detox

According to several researchers, marketing tactics by the drug industry are contributing to a huge overdiagnosis of bipolar disorder. Studies have shown evidence that fewer than half of patients who were given a diagnosis of the disorder actually had it, as reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Their finding contradicts previous claims that the illness was underdiagnosed. Results from this study suggest that bipolar disorder is being overdiagnosed, and, given the serious side effects that the treatments can cause, patients need to be aware of this.

Psychiatric Disorders

March 22, 2010 by Editor

The psychiatric and pharmaceutical industry compare psychiatric disorders such as Bi-Polar Disorder, Depression, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, etc. to medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. However, no scientific tests can verify the medical existence of psychiatric disorders.

The psychiatric industry claims that there are certain medical conditions that exist without verifiable tests, therefore there does not exist one for mental illnesses. While there may exist rare medical conditions without verifiable medical tests, there are no psychiatric disorders that can be verified medically as a physical abnormality or disease.

Often brain scans used to prove schizophrenia or depression have not been conducted on people not taking antipsychotic drugs. Such scans have been documented to cause brain atrophy, or shrinkage. Other brain scans have compared brains of smaller children to show smaller brains in comparison to larger and older children. The scans were used to claim that children with ADHD have smaller brains. However, none have been conclusively proven to verify mental disorders as abnormalities of the brain.

This is not to say that people don’t get depressed, troubled, or even sometimes act psychotic. For example, can soldiers returning from war experience extreme and often debilitating stress? Yes, but it is less likely to be a medical condition of the brain. Can mothers become distraught after a joyous occasion such as the birth of a child? Yes, but again, it is unlikely to be a brain abnormality or mental disease. It may not be the best decision to prescribe these people certain drugs documented by international regulatory agencies to cause mania, psychosis, worsening depression, heart attack, stroke and sudden death. Additionally, new or nursing mothers may risk birth defects or damage to infants from prescription drugs.

Any drug taken influences behavior or mood, whether it be cocaine, marijuana or heroin. This does not mean someone who acts or feels differently on cocaine does so because they had a cocaine imbalance, with which the cocaine then corrected. It means that drugs change moods, emotions and behavior. But while the illicit use of drugs is universally frowned upon, psychiatric drugs are conversely viewed as “good” drugs, despite the fact many are more addictive than cocaine or heroin. Drug addiction leads to the greater issues of drug abuse and withdrawal.

The larger problem is that the biological drug model prevents governments from allocating funding to actual medical solutions to people experiencing difficulty. There are also viable, non-harmful medical treatments that do not receive government funding because the psychiatric/pharmaceutical industry spends much of its budget on advertising and lobbying efforts.

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