Tag Archives: outpatient drug treatment

Mental health healing

Outpatient detox for abusers of opioid painkillers

November 21, 2016
Outpatient detox

Outpatient detox for abusers of opioid painkillers marks the beginning of real professional treatment.

Outpatient detox for abusers of opioid painkillers: How true is this?

People get addicted to various substances of choice at will despite the knowledge of their consequences. When one is getting into drugs, initially it is voluntary but as they get used to the substance and the addictive nature of the substance takes effect they become prisoners of the substance to the point that they can’t do without it. If this state progresses for a long time the level of addiction becomes stronger and stronger and within no time the individual graduates to more powerful substances or take more of the same to attain the high they expect at their new level of addiction. While these are happening, many times we often fail to take immediate action to remedy the situation and this is what we want to correct in this article even as we focus on the topic outpatient detox for abusers of opioid painkillers with a view of finding lasting solutions.

We spoke to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center to help us in bringing this topic to perspective and doctor Dalal Akoury (MD) a veteran addiction expert and founder of the facility (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) is registering that “under normal circumstances patients addicted to opioid painkillers achieve good results with outpatient detoxification.” This according to one of the recently NIDA-funded clinical trial, it was established that a significant portion of individuals who are addicted to opioid painkillers may initiate and maintain abstinence with a brief but intensive outpatient detoxification treatment followed by opioid antagonist therapy using naltrexone. From this trial it was evident that patients achieved higher abstinence rates than are typically obtained with detoxification regimens. The duration of a taper with buprenorphine/naloxone (Bp/Nx) was a determinative factor in patients’ success, with longer tapers yielding greater abstinence.

Outpatient detox for abusers of opioid painkillers: Research findings based on tested opioid users

In this trial, Dr. Dalal Akoury and her team of experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center studied the findings from the enrolled 70 adults who were addicted to opioid painkillers into a double-blind, randomized clinical trial that involved a three-step detoxification process:

  • Stabilization on a Bp/Nx (Suboxone) dosage that suppresses withdrawal symptoms, craving, and use of illicit opioid painkillers
  • Gradual tapering of the Bp/Nx dose to zero over 1, 2, or 4 weeks
  • Transition to the opioid antagonist naltrexone once a patient provides opioid-negative urine samples and reports no opioid use within the past 24 hours

Under this trial says doctor Akoury, away from other treatment the participants also received twice-weekly behavioral therapy using the evidence-based Community Reinforcement Approach and underwent thrice-weekly staff-observed urinalysis testing? Supplementary non-opioid medications were used as needed to treat breakthrough withdrawal symptoms. The patients randomly assigned to the 4-week Bp/Nx taper provided the highest percentage of illicit opioid–free urine samples during the 12-week trial. Of these 22 patients, 63 percent were abstinent at the 5-week mark, and 50 percent were still opioid-abstinent at the end of the 12-week trial. In contrast, 29 percent of each of the two groups receiving shorter tapers provided drug-free urine samples at 5 weeks, and 20 percent or less of each provided drug-free samples at 12 weeks. Similar findings were seen with adherence to naltrexone ingestion and treatment retention.

Outpatient detox for abusers of opioid painkillers: How true is this?

http://www.awaremednetwork.com/

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outpatient-treatment

Medically supervised opiate detox

November 19, 2016
Medically supervised opiate

Medically supervised opiate detox and natural detox options for body cleansing are primarily done to pave way for the real treatment

Medically supervised opiate detox: Inpatient versus outpatient

Opiate addiction is a difficult addiction to deal with normally because of the extreme physical withdrawal symptoms associated with this type of drug addiction. Opiates or painkillers as they are commonly known can be natural or synthetic. Drugs like heroin, Fentanyl, hydrocodone, morphine, OxyContin and opium are types of opiates. The dangers of using opiate are that when a person becomes physically addicted to an opiate they must constantly use that opiate repeatedly to avoid the experience of withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms begin slowly in the form of agitation, anxiety, running nose, sweating and yawning but eventually they become much more intense. The later stages of opiate withdrawal include extreme hot and cold sweats, nausea and vomiting, intense muscle cramping, diarrhea and acute insomnia. That is why medically supervised opiate detox is very essential as a strategy of finding permanent solution.

Opiate withdrawal is painful and can last for several long, agonizing days. It is often the fear of this painful withdrawal process that keeps most addicts to continue using opiates for many years past the point where they wish to stop. In amidst all these seeking for lasting solution from the experts of addiction then becomes very necessary, and that is why the experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury are coming on board to help us understand some possible ways of lasting solutions. We have actually talked about treatment of addiction before and today we want to compare and contrast this by looking at inpatient versus outpatient medically supervised opiate detox as we progress into the discussion.

Medically supervised opiate detox: Opiate withdrawal

According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center opiate withdrawal may not be lethal on its own unless the user is mixing together with other drugs while getting high or when they attempt to go through the withdrawal process all by themselves using medications and drugs on their own. Doctor Akoury is registering that the danger of opiate withdrawal is that it makes the addict feel like they want to die. It therefore means that in order to safely withdrawal a person from an opiate addiction, a medically supervised detox will be very necessary. This will involve using medication to take a patient from an opioid-dependent state to an opioid-free state under the care and direction of a medical professional with experience in conducting medical detoxification process. Ideally medications used during a medically supervised detox protocol would be buprenorphine or Suboxone.

These drugs treat the withdrawal symptoms of opiate addiction. Additional medications such as Clonidine may be used to help stabilize blood pressure, and over the counter drugs are often utilized to deal with the headaches, diarrhea and nausea. There are two ways a person can receive a medically supervised opiate detox. It can either be done Inpatient or outpatient detox. These are fundamental medications options we have and we are going address them in detail in our next posting. In the meantime, you may want to consult with doctor Dalal Akoury about any concern you may have in this worthy topic and she will address them professionally.

Medically supervised opiate detox: Inpatient versus outpatient

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addiction-treatment

Outpatient treatment programs for drug addiction

September 17, 2016
Outpatient treatment programs

Outpatient treatment programs for drug addiction helps in containing the problem

Outpatient treatment programs for drug addiction: Critical factors that are not necessarily treatment related

The journey of establishing the right outpatient treatment program for your addiction should be broad and wide. Besides the treatment factors, there are many other critical factors that can determine whether or not a given rehab facility is a wiser choice than alternatives says doctor Dalal Akoury MD. She reiterates that the types of treatments offered matters a lot and must never be overlooked when making that very crucial decision for the treatment facility of choice. But even as you take keen consideration on the treatment elements, when looking for the best outpatient drug rehab centers to give you the help you need, there are other justifying factors that are not necessarily treatment related but still very important. Such may include the following:

  • Distance
  • Flexibility
  • Support
  • Cost

Outpatient treatment programs for drug addiction: Distance

Depending on where you live, distance from home or work can be a huge obstacle to getting proper treatment. It’s important to take the big picture into account when planning a solid addiction rehabilitation strategy. The drive time impacts how effective the treatment can be. Not only does the amount of time you spend getting to and from the necessary treatment matter, but the availability of transportation and the route taken to get there should also be considered. It’s never a good idea to have old stomping grounds between an addict and his or her closest access to addiction help. In other words, distance isn’t limited to physical and literal miles. It can also relate to a psychological distance that must be traveled in order to get from home or work to the treatment facility. Make sure you’re close enough to your outpatient drug rehab center to make a real difference when it matters most.

Outpatient treatment programs for drug addiction: Flexibility

Flexibility is important because flexible programs are able to evolve as treatment needs change. If someone in outpatient treatment isn’t responding to one particular type of treatment, these facilities can quickly change to a different type of treatment in order to maximize the odds of success. With outpatient treatment, specifically, flexibility is a requirement in other ways as well. Many people seeking treatment for addiction want no part of the stigma attached to addiction and rehabilitation. They want to have lives that are as close to normal as possible so that no one needs to know they’re getting help. This means that the outpatient drug treatment facilities in question need to have treatment available when it’s most convenient and needed by the person seeking help.

Outpatient treatment programs for drug addiction: Support

Support is one of the most compelling requirements to look for in the best outpatient drug rehab centers. Without support, you’re left on your own to deal with temptation, withdrawals, and countless other pitfalls you may face as you struggle with addiction. Support is not a luxury and it certainly isn’t an option. The clinic in question needs to offer around-the-clock support for all patients seeking treatment.

Outpatient treatment programs for drug addiction: Cost

Finally the cost of the treatment program, as unpleasant as it may be to consider, is also very important when deciding on a treatment facility. There are certain triggers that can send someone back into addiction. Financial trouble is one of those triggers. There is no price too high to pay for sobriety, but it only works if you’re able to remain sober once the bills start rolling in. The good news is that outpatient treatment often costs considerably less than residential addiction treatment programs and more insurance companies are beginning to cover these costs.

Outpatient treatment programs for drug addiction: Deciding factors that are not expressly treatment related

 

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