Drug addiction treatment approaches that works

November 23, 2015

Drug addiction treatment approaches that works: How it should be done?

Effective approaches for drug addiction treatment are essential in delivering a drug free society

Because of the nature and complications of addiction, it is always very important to be very careful with the way one choses to handle the recovery process. Professionally doctor Dalal Akoury MD and addiction expert of several decades is registering that the effective approaches for drug addiction treatment should include and is not limited to medication and behavioral therapy, especially when combined. It is important to appreciate that these are very important elements of an overall therapeutic process that often begins with detoxification, followed by treatment and relapse prevention. Bringing the withdrawal symptoms complications to manageable levels can be very important in the commencement of treatment. And besides that, preventing relapse is also very necessary for maintaining the effects of treatment. And according to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury, it is important to note that sometimes just as with other chronic conditions, incidents of relapse may require a return to the prior treatment components. A variety of care and services that includes a customized treatment regimen addressing all aspects of an individual’s life, including medical and mental health services and follow up options like for instance, community or family based recovery support systems can be crucial to a patient’s success in achieving and maintaining a drug free lifestyle says doctor Akoury.

Drug addiction treatment approaches that works: Medications

Medications can be used to help with different aspects of the treatment process including:

Withdrawal – From the past experience it is worth noting that medications is very essential as it facilitates the process of suppressing withdrawal symptoms during detoxification. And besides that it is also important to note that, medically assisted detoxification is not in itself treatment of an addiction, as a matter of fact, it is only the first step in the treatment process. It therefore means that patients who go through medically assisted withdrawal and fail to go for any further treatment show drug abuse patterns similar to those who were never treated.

Treatment – Medications can be used to help re-establish normal brain function and to prevent relapse and diminish cravings. Currently, we have medications for opioids which may include heroin and morphine, tobacco, (nicotine), and alcohol addiction. Efforts are also being made in developing others for treatment of stimulant e.g. cocaine, methamphetamine etc. and cannabis (marijuana) addiction. Most people with severe addiction problems, however, are poly-drug users meaning that they are using more than one drug at the sometime. Such people will definitely require treatment for all of the substances that they abuse like for instance:

Opioids: Methadone, buprenorphine and, for some individuals, naltrexone are effective medications for the treatment of opiate addiction. Acting on the same targets in the brain as heroin and morphine, methadone and buprenorphine suppress withdrawal symptoms and relieve cravings. Naltrexone works by blocking the effects of heroin or other opioids at their receptor sites and should only be used in patients who have already been detoxified. All medications help patients disengage from drug seeking and related criminal behavior and become more receptive to behavioral treatments.
Tobacco: A selection of preparations of nicotine replacement therapies now exist including the patch, spray, gum, and lozenges that are available over the counter. In addition, two prescription medications have been FDA–approved for tobacco addiction: bupropion and varenicline. They have different mechanisms of action in the brain, but both help prevent relapse in people trying to quit. Each of the above medications is recommended for use in combination with behavioral treatments, including group and individual therapies.
Alcohol: Three medications have been approved by FDA for treating alcohol dependence: naltrexone, acamprosate and disulfiram.

Naltrexone blocks opioid receptors that are involved in the rewarding effects of drinking and in the craving for alcohol. It reduces relapse to heavy drinking and is highly effective in some but not all patients—this is likely related to genetic differences.
Acamprosate is thought to reduce symptoms of protracted withdrawal, such as insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, and
Dysphoria (an unpleasant or uncomfortable emotional state, such as depression, anxiety, or irritability). It may be more effective in patients with severe dependence.
Disulfiram interferes with the degradation of alcohol, resulting in the accumulation of acetaldehyde, which, in turn, produces a very unpleasant reaction that includes flushing, nausea, and palpitations if the patient drinks alcohol.

Compliance can be a problem, but among patients who are highly motivated, disulfiram can be very effective.

Drug addiction treatment approaches that works: Behavioral Treatments

Behavioral treatments help patients engage in the treatment process by modifying their attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse besides increasing healthy life skills. These treatments can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people stay in treatment longer. Treatment for drug abuse and addiction can be delivered in many different settings using a variety of behavioral approaches.

Outpatient behavioral treatment encompasses a wide variety of programs for patients. Most of the programs available involve individual or group drug counseling. Some programs also offer other forms of behavioral treatment such as:

Cognitive–behavioral therapy, which seeks to help patients recognize, avoid and cope with the situations in which they are most likely to abuse drugs
Multidimensional family therapy, which is targeting adolescents with drug abuse problems alongside their families. It addresses a range of influences on their drug abuse patterns and is designed to improve overall family functioning
Motivational interviewing, which capitalizes on the readiness of individuals to change their behavior and enter treatment
Motivational incentives also known as contingency management, which uses positive reinforcement to encourage abstinence from drugs

Residential treatment programs can also be very effective, especially for those with more severe problems. For example, therapeutic communities (TCs) are highly structured programs in which patients remain at a residence, typically for 6 to 12 months. TCs differ from other treatment approaches principally in their use of the community treatment staff and those in recovery as a key agent of change to influence patient attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors associated with drug use.

Drug addiction treatment approaches that works: Treatment within the criminal justice system

We conclude with the treatment in a criminal justice setting which is tailored into succeeding in preventing an offender’s return to criminal behavior, particularly when treatment continues as the person transitions back into the community. Finally with these effective approaches for drug addiction treatment, you can call on doctor Akoury for professional help by scheduling for an appointment so that your concerns can be addressed effectively and professionally.

Drug addiction treatment approaches that works: How it should be done?

Confronting friends struggling with drug addiction

November 23, 2015

Confronting friends struggling with drug addiction: The best ways of approach

Confronting friends struggling with drug addiction can be quite challenging. However, it is the right thing to do and very necessary more so in helping solve the problem

The best thing you can do to your friend who is struggling with an addiction is to give moral support and advice on the need to seeking professional treatment from experienced qualified addiction experts. This may seems easy by word of mouth but in reality there are very many obstacles that can make you keep distance even if there is the willingness to help. Fear is always the biggest obstacle and many at times confronting friends who are struggling with addiction becomes difficult thereby causing our loved ones to suffer because we are afraid of facing them with their addictive habits and lifestyle. The purpose of this article is to help you in understanding certain tips you can apply in confronting a friend with a drug addiction problem. Doctor Dalal Akoury MD and President of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is a veteran addiction expert of several decades and she is sharing with us in this article that if you have a friend who may need drug intervention help, you must never choose to keep quite with that. Remember that substance abuse can be life threatening if not addressed in good time. Therefore we want to share with you some of the valuable tips that you can use to have a breakthrough in helping your friend consent to treatment without feeling embarrassed or intimidated. Before confronting friends struggling with drug addiction, doctor Akoury says that there are things you can do to prepare for your talk with the friend as well as specific practices to carry out when you talk to them. Remember that you have one very powerful tool (friendship) with you to break the silence, and because you are the friend the first step to recovery is getting your friend to the position of admitting that they have a problem, and getting them into a drug treatment program. This is always the greatest challenge because many addicts do not want to acknowledge that they have a problem which needs to be fixed. Denial is very rampant with most addicts and any breakthrough on this will be a great achievement. Here are some basic drug addiction intervention guidelines that have been proven to be effective with other patients in the past.

Confronting friends struggling with drug addiction: Intervention tips for before you talk with the friend

Like we have said before that, confronting a friend with a drug addiction problem is such an uphill task and so when considering this journey you must be very well prepared for it. For your objective not to fail it is important to be prepared for your encounter with the friend. Remember that you want to help and therefore you must be well informed of various consequences of addiction, your approach must not be intimidating or provocative, you are on a mission and you must show them that you are supportive and committed to helping. Achieving this will not be anyone’s cup of tea and be ready for rejection and formulate ways of handling that when it comes so that you are not demoralized in the process. These tips may not be conclusive, but they will help you make some progress in winning your friends mind into acknowledgement of the problem they are going through and enrolling into a treatment program.

Because of the mission ahead of you, it is important that you learn more about drug abuse to have a better understanding of what your friend is dealing with. This way you will be more competent to respond to them if they ask you any challenging question.
Before you get to your friend, it is important that you put down in writing a list of all the issues you believe have been a result of the person’s drug use. There are very may indicator you can think of including noting down systematically the times the person missed an appointment, relationship issues, unusual behavior you’ve noticed such as losing interest in hobbies, no longer paying attention to hygiene or dressing or antisocial or argumentative behavior. Take note that these are your observations and so you must be able to display to your friend both the present and the past. What they used to do then which they are not doing now or they are doing but in a funny way.
The place of your first meeting is very important in this mission and therefore you must plan in advance to meet the person in a location that will be private, neutral and free from distractions. It should be a place where you believe you’ll have their attention. Always avoid places that will trigger them into craving for the drug.
Another very fundamental factor of consideration is the meeting time. It is therefore necessary that your choice of time is accommodative more so to your friend. Remember that the time should also be when the person is not under the influence of drugs if at all possible. They might be more open to listening to you when they are sober than when under the influence of their drugs of choice.
Being smart is an asset in this mission. In other words you should be armed with possible solutions to offer when that point comes up. For this reason you should be informed about steps the person can take to get help. We appreciate that this can be challenging but for you to succeed you may want to contact your local community health office for more information before embarking on the mission.

Confronting friends struggling with drug addiction: Confronting a friend about drug addiction

These intervention tips will help you be most effective when talking to the friend about your concerns.

Let the friend know that your friendship is important and that they mean a lot to you, that your concern grows out of the fact you care about them.
Be straightforward. Share what you’ve seen and why you think it’s a problem. Be rational rather than emotional. The more specific you can be the better.
Be supportive rather than condemning or condescending.
Point out, again, without condemnation, the differences you see in the person when they are sober and when they are under the influence.
Don’t argue with the person. Just state your facts and perceptions and let them sink in. Repeat them if necessary, but not in an argumentative tone.
Make a distinction between the person and their behavior. Say, “you’re a great person, but when you’re on drugs, you don’t seem to care about your life, your goals or your friends.”
Encourage the person to seek help, and encourage them that effective treatment is readily available to those who want to overcome drug addiction.
Share with them the pertinent information about where to seek this help.
Assure them that you’ll be supportive of them if they seek help. Let them know you’ll stand beside them.

Finally use this drug intervention help to tell your friend what you see. He or she probably knows that their drug use is out of control, and hearing it from someone who shows care and concern as well as offers help. The encounter could be a turning point in their life. You may not be able to force someone into rehab, but helping them discover the truth about themselves may help them do it on their own by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for timely professional treatment.

Confronting friends struggling with drug addiction: The best ways of approach

Cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction treatment

November 23, 2015

Cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction treatment: Shaping the mind to deliver addiction solutions

The application of Cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction treatment solutions is one of the painless treatment approach that is suitable for everyone

Somebody once said that what you see in the outside of any person is the manifestation of what is taking place in their mind. It is also true that out of the mind we speak and take actions on our daily activities. This is also applicable with the issues relating to substance abuse and misuse of alcohol. It therefore means that if we want to be in total control of our actions, the most important thing to do is to have sobriety and exercise good control of our minds. Many people normally get into drugs because of the influence they have from their friends and pressure of wanting to belong and not to be left out in the process. The drug barons have actually succeeded in luring people both the young and the old into drugs because they have understood that when the mind is destabilized, then they will be in business because you will certainly buy to quench your thirst for the drug and to temporarily escape withdrawal symptoms for a while. Over the past we have dealt with several modalities of offering addiction solution to all people and Doctor Dalal Akoury has been of great help in making us understand the root causes of this problem and also the solution to the same. In view of that, we want to focus on the topic “cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction treatment.” We owe it to ourselves and to our children’s children that we must have a healthy environment to live in. the intoxication of our surrounding is what we must all address and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the avenues of addressing it.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction treatment: When cognitive behavioral therapy becomes necessary

According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center over the past years there has been increasing interest in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a means to help clients escape from the scourge of addiction. CBT is actually a kind of talking therapy where the emphasis is made on empowering the individual patient to take charge of their own thoughts and feelings. In many instances the majority of the problems the individual will often experience will be due to faulty thinking or belief about themselves or others. Like for example, it is possible for the individual give up on life and develops the feeling that they can never be loved by someone. And such negative thought can be very dangerous because such thinking can lead people into addiction. This is what the application of cognitive behavioral therapy needs to address. And by examining thoughts and feelings more closely the client, and with the help of the professional therapist from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, one is able understand them a lot better. Remember that one of the advantages of CBT is that it can lead to breakthroughs in a relatively short period of time – although this is not always the case. During the treatment the client is encouraged to examine those thoughts that are leading them to engage in substance abuse. Once they see that their flawed thinking has been the source of much of their problems they will find it a lot easier to break away from addiction.

Doctor Akoury is registering that even though cognitive behavioral therapy is all about mind set, it may not be as easy as it is pronounced. Many addicts are living in great denial and so even applying what appears to be simple and straight forward may be a great challenge. It is because of such challenges that doctor Dalal Akoury founded this facility (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) primarily to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness that will bring a total mindset change about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. Besides that it will also interest you to note that in her several decades of impacting positively in people’s lives, Dr. Akoury’s practice are of the highest standard of profession and focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms. This is what you and your loved ones need if you are struggling with any kind of addiction. If this description suits your situation, then you need not to die silently. You can therefore call on doctor Akoury today on telephone number 843 213 1480 to schedule for an appointment of your life time and by the time she will be done with you, you will be a completely different and changed person with great life a head of you for an absolute fulfillment and comfort.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction treatment: Pros and cons of behavior therapy as an addiction treatment

And just like any other thing around you, there will be some merits and demerits. Therefore even though cognitive behavioral therapy can be highly effective, it is probably not going to work for everyone. That is to say that some people may lack the insight to be able to benefit from CBT for various reasons. Nonetheless some of techniques like self-monitoring will require a high degree of self-honesty which can be a serious problem to very many individuals struggle with this problem of addiction. Besides that there is also the worry that aversion therapy may prove harmful, and in particular, overt techniques that produce vomiting or involve electrical shocks. Anti-abuse can lead to death if the individual has consumed too much alcohol. And finally doctor Akoury reiterates that there is no doubt that behavior therapies can help the individual beat their addiction. This is why such techniques have been widely adapted in rehabs and other treatment programs. Remember that CBT receives a lot of praise for its ability to get the individual to take charge of their own life. Such empowerment can not only help them escape addiction, but to also build a successful life in recovery in the long run.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction treatment: Shaping the mind to deliver addiction solutions

Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment & Care

November 10, 2015

Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment in Myrtle Beach, SC

Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. Alzheimer’s disease a type of dementia, resulting in loss of brain function. Alzheimer’s Disease is caused by the aging process. Alzheimer’s disease affects your thinking capacity, memory and behavior. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by progressive deterioration of the patient’s cognitive and memory functions.

Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging, although the greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer’s are 65 and older. But Alzheimer’s is not just a disease of old age. Up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer’s (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include serious mental dysfunction including:

Emotional liability and behavior abnormalities
Personality Change
Language impairment
Perception distortion
Thinking abnormality
Judgment impairment
Memory lapse

Alzheimer’s disease can also present by:

Change in sleep patterns
Delusions
Depression
Aggression
Agitation
Hallucinations
Forgetfulness

Alzheimer’s has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues. Although current Alzheimer’s treatments cannot stop Alzheimer’s from progressing, they can temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. Today, there is a worldwide effort under way to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset, and prevent it from developing. There’s no known cure for Alzheimer’s, and treatment consists of therapies designed to slow the progression and manage its symptoms. Together with numerous available prescription drugs, integrative medicine options are available as complementary treatments. The detection of early onset of Alzheimer’s disease can result in better effectiveness of the treatment options. If you or someone you love is beginning to show early signs of Alzheimer’s disease call for help!

To request more information, please call (843) 213-1480 or contact online.

Request More Information on
Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment and Prevention

Inpatient medical detox facility appropriate for healing addiction

October 19, 2015

Inpatient medical detox facility appropriate for healing addiction: Choosing the best

AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is an Inpatient medical detox facility appropriate for healing all your addiction related complications.

The frustrations that are associated with alcohol and drug addiction can make one to jump into conclusion without really getting the facts correctly. It is true that when one is struggling with any kind of addiction, treatment is very necessary and detoxification is very instrumental in laying the foundation for proper treatment. The challenge that many people often have includes that of identification of the right experts for the job. It is important to note that when the right choice is not made from the beginning, then the whole process is likely to be even more frustrating, demoralizing because the desired objectives may not be realized. In our previous article we did mentioned that detox is very important for individuals suffering from alcohol and drug abuse. We also noted that for this to be done effectively, certain protocols must be observed. In view of this and so that we avoid making costly mistakes, we want to focus the discussion of this article on identifying the right inpatient medical detox facility because it is emerging that not all that glitters is not gold. Many inpatient facilities are business oriented and are focusing more on the financial returns than the key objective of transforming lives. To that effect, doctor Dalal Akoury who is an addiction expert of several decades and also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is going to help us in unlocking the facts about what we must look for, and questions we must ask to get value for our money and eventually free ourselves and loved ones from the scourge of addiction.

To start us off, doctor Akoury is highlighting certain things to ask for before going to an inpatient medical detox facility. She says that it is very important that anyone seeking medical detox at an inpatient facility should ask the following questions and must ensure satisfactory responses from the people concerned:

What is the medical protocol for the substance from which the person will be detoxing?
Enquire of to know about changes if any that will be made to the medical protocol if the patient reacts differently to the withdrawal than earlier expected?
What is the length of time like for instance does the facility offer 24-hour medical supervision?
Trace the statistics of the facility and find out what percentage of people who start a medical detox that actually completes it?
What is the estimated time required for the detox requested?
Will the person leave the medical detox facility on new drugs?
Can the person walk outside and what is the surrounding environment like security wise in terms of availability of potential triggers?
Enquire if the facility has some prohibitions like are there any restrictions on smoking, watching television, making telephone calls, eating meals and internet access?
Assess the level of privacy within the facility. That is to say does the person have a private room?
Read wide and find out for yourself about the experiences your predecessors have. Find out what are the comments of former patients about their experience at the facility?

There are a lot one will need to find out and this is just a pointer to the approach one should always take in identifying the right inpatient medical detox facility. Depending on the way you the above is responded to, you can carry out a self-evaluation on the suitability of the facility.

Inpatient medical detox facility appropriate for healing addiction: The AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center experience

If these questions were to be directed to us at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, we would answer these questions in the following way to help you stick with professionalism and assurance of delivery of results that are not only timely but are also going to last for a life time:

The AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center protocol includes not only the standard medical handlings but also hydration, vitamins, minerals and good food. This gives us the zeal to deliver on our objectives effectively.
AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center offers 24-hour medical supervision is continually monitoring the patient’s progress and frequently will adjust the rate of the patient’s taper in accordance with the comfort and safety of the patient.
AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center has a more than 90% completion rate of people who start their medical detox at our facility.
Generally, people can complete their detox in from six to eight days and even very high doses of opioids can be detoxed in less than fourteen days.
The person will not leave on additional drugs.
AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is on 3.25 treed acres and our patients regularly take walks or sit outside.
AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center has designated smoking areas but our patients are free to smoke at any time. They have a television in their room. They have a phone in their room and there are no restrictions on cellphone usage. They have internet access and the food is rated as excellent by patients.
Each AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center patient has his/her own private room.
There are patient comment forms available for review.

Do we know that if you come to AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center you will not revert to using the substance from which you detoxed? Absolutely No, however what we can associate ourselves with is that almost all of our patients complete their medical detox and that their testimonies keeps us to be among the leading addiction solution providers in the global market. We are actually not a shame to note our team of experts have impacted positively to all our clients both at the present and in the past thereby making all patients who have passed through AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center feeling better than they have in years before. This is what we take pride in and we would wish to request you not to stay with your problem in silence, remember that a problem share is half way solved. Therefore if you or anyone you know is struggling with any kind of addiction, then you have an opportunity of regaining your life back by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today.

Category Archives: addiction