Sugar the sweet source of Addiction

May 5, 2014

Sugar the sweet source of Addiction-The sweet store of Calories

Sugar the sweet drug for addiction. As sweet as they are these blocks of sugar are injurious to your health

It’s the naked truth that addiction is injurious to humanity and so efforts are being made to bring this problem to manageable level. One would wonder why with the current modern technology this is still a challenge, in the cause of this article you will get to know why this is so and possible solutions for this injurious but common problem. The world over is weeping for help because everyone is affected either directly or indirectly and this is causing health bodies and professionals great concern. Different governments the world over are spending huge amount of their budgets in trying to contain this but with very little success.

Sugar the sweet source of Addiction-Self-study/research

Several studies have been conducted just to try to understand why the increase level of addiction that cuts across all age groups. Today even infants are being born obese or with some elements of addiction depending on the parents behavior before, during pregnancy and after delivery. I ask why? Take walk down in any of the streets in your neighborhood, go to learning institutions, work environments e.g offices or places of worships literally every ware you will notice that there will be at least people who are obese or are suffering from one kind of addiction. This is a study you can do and you need not to be an expert for you to notice overweight people around you. Without putting up the figures your observation will certainly capture overweight individuals around which is why we want to get the answer to the question we asked earlier “why?” the answer is all about sugar and it’s becoming common that high fructose corn syrup has become the number one source of calories for most Americans and the world over. Taking a look at the feeding habits of most people you will many people are fun of drinks like soda and consumes an average of 130 pounds of sugar which results in more calories and hence weight gain and poor health.

Sugar the sweet source of Addiction-Why do we love sugar?

Of cause the obvious response to this would be “sugar is sweet” which is true and amidst that sweetness what you may not know is that sugar just like any other drug activates the release of dopamine which reinforces the use of the substance. In fact consuming sugar makes us want more it. Sugar interferes with the body’s appetite creating and influencing the desire to continue eating even when a person is no longer hungry. It should come as no surprise that there is a link between increasing sugar consumption and the obesity epidemic in America.

Consuming all this sugar is addicting. A study conducted recently(Connecticut College) found that when rats eat cookies there are more neurons activated in the brain’s pleasure center than when the rat is exposed to cocaine or morphine. Another study showed that the brain of a person with food addictions reacted to junk food in the same way people with drug addiction react to the presence of drugs. It is therefore no wonder sugar addicts display many of the same behaviors as drug addicts: cravings, tolerance, withdrawal, denial, and continuing the behavior even though negative consequences are recognized.

Sugar the sweet source of Addiction-Why is this information so disturbing?

For sure the various food processing plants across the globe are creating the impression consuming sweet foods and by extension sugar. As a tool of maximization of profit food processing industries use this knowledge of human desire for sweets to increase the consumption of processed foods. The message these companies pass to their consumers especially children is to eat only tasty foods that sweet foods. Parents are also not left out they majorly purchase breakfast cereals, juices, and snacks that were originally designed to have a quantity of sugar that has been formulated to the bliss point the more sugar the better. In an attempt to try to reduce the sugar content in consumables, a seminar was organized by a top official at Pillsbury in 1999 inviting all executives from all major food processing companies to discourse the rising concern that snacks and convenience foods invented to be occasional treats were being linked to the obesity crisis because they are eaten daily.

When this question was raised, an official from Kraft Foods then spoke of the need for industry-wide limits to reduce the copious amounts of sugar, fat, and salt in foods so that cravings could be reduced. This was received with hostility and a direct response to this was given by the then CEO of General Mills in total disagreement of the proposal that his company would not change the recipes that were so alluring to his customer base. His fear was based on the possibility of reduction of sales and by extension low profits margins if this proposal was to see the light of the day. Because every CEO in attendance was up for total maximization of profit, the golden opportunity to change the food industry was lost and all of the major food corporations at the meeting rejected the idea of reformulating their products to improve American health and the world at large. To-date sugar-laden foods continue to be produced and marketed to consumers, who have willingly consented to trade nutrition for convenience and suffer the consequences.

Sugar the sweet source of Addiction-The result of the food industry valuing profit over nutrition

I can now tell you that listening to these professionals you would wonder the serious problems that we under go because of love for money or just greed. Having lost that opportunity today excess consumption of sugar cane, sugar beets, and high fructose corn syrup is linked to increasing rates of diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer, yeast infections, depression, immune system suppression, dental decay, gum disease, obesity name it. Reducing these health disorders will require not only individual responsibility, but also food corporations finally adopting industry standards to enforce limits on what is added to food. Sadly, addiction therapy to help individuals retrain their brain’s desire for substances may also be needed by sugar addicts. It is time for corporate globally to put health before profits. I am left wondering if this will ever happen.

Having read the article you are now informed dear reader with or without doing the correct thing, life has to go on and so if you are in anyway addicted or your love once is there is help at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care. Doctor Akoury and her team of experts are doing their very best to correct what the corporations chief could not by offering treatment based on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. I strongly recommend this facility to you and you will escape the wrath of addiction and obesity with caring experts.

Sugar the sweet source of Addiction-The sweet store of Calories

Drug Addiction

May 4, 2014

Drug Addiction-Common Signs and Symptoms

It doesn’t matter how it gets into your system but one common denominator is that drugs and drug addiction is harmful to you.

Most drug addictions start with casual or social use of a drug. For some people, using the drug becomes a habit, and its use becomes more and more frequent. As time passes, you may need larger doses of the drug to get high. Soon you may need the drug just to feel good. As your drug use increases, you may find that it becomes increasingly difficult to go without the drug. Stopping may cause intense cravings and make you feel physically ill (withdrawal symptoms).

Drug addiction symptoms or behaviors include:

Feeling that you have to use the drug regularly this can be daily or even several times a day
Failing in your attempts to stop using the drug
Making certain that you maintain a supply of the drug
Spending money on the drug, even though you can’t afford it
Doing things to obtain the drug that you normally wouldn’t do, such as stealing
Feeling that you need the drug to deal with your problems
Driving or doing other risky activities when you’re under the influence of the drug
Focusing more and more time and energy on getting and using the drug

Drug Addiction-Recognizing drug abuse in teenagers

It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish normal teenage moodiness or angst from signs of drug use. Possible indications that your teenager is using drugs include:

Problems at school. Frequently missing classes or missing school, a sudden disinterest in school or school activities, or a drop in grades may be indicators of drug use.
Physical health issues. Lack of energy and motivation may indicate your child is using certain drugs.
Neglected appearance. Teenagers are generally concerned about how they look. A lack of interest in clothing, grooming or looks may be a warning sign of drug use.
Changes in behavior. Teenagers enjoy privacy, but exaggerated efforts to bar family members from entering their rooms or knowing where they go with their friends might indicate drug use. Also, drastic changes in behavior and in relationships with family and friends may be linked to drug use.
Spending money. Sudden requests for money without a reasonable explanation for its use may be a sign of drug use. You may also discover money stolen from previously safe places at home. Items may disappear from your home because they’re being sold to support a drug habit.

Drug Addiction-Recognizing signs of drug use and dependence

The particular signs and symptoms of drug use and dependence vary depending on the type of drug. You might be able to tell that a family member or a friend is using or abusing a drug based on the physical and behavioral signs and symptoms associated with the drug.

Drug Addiction-Marijuana and hashish

It’s possible to develop a psychological addiction to cannabis compounds including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana and hashish. People who have a marijuana addiction generally use the drug on a daily basis. They don’t actually have a chemical dependence on the drug but rather feel the need to regularly use the drug.

Signs of use and dependence can include:

A heightened sense of visual, auditory and taste perception
Poor memory
Increased blood pressure and heart rate
Red eyes
Decreased coordination
Difficulty concentrating
Increased appetite
Slowed reaction time
Paranoid thinking

Drug Addiction-Barbiturates and benzodiazepines

Barbiturates and benzodiazepines are prescription central nervous system depressants. Phenobarbital, amobarbital (Amytal) and secobarbital (Seconal) are examples of barbiturates. Benzodiazepines include tranquilizers, such as diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), clonazepam (Klonopin) and chlordiazepoxide (Librium). If you’re prescribed these drugs, take them exactly as ordered. If you feel your need for these medications is increasing, talk to your doctor.

Signs of use and dependence can include:

Drowsiness
Slurred speech
Lack of coordination
Memory problems
Confusion
Slowed breathing and decreased blood pressure
Dizziness
Depression

Methamphetamine, cocaine and other stimulants

This class of drugs includes amphetamines, methamphetamine, cocaine and methylphenidate (Ritalin).

Signs of use and dependence can include:

Euphoria
Decreased appetite
Rapid speech
Irritability
Restlessness
Depression as the drug wears off
Nasal congestion and damage to the mucous membrane of the nose in users who snort drugs
Insomnia
Weight loss
Increased heart rate, blood pressure and temperature
Paranoia

Methamphetamine, also known as “meth,” is a particularly dangerous drug. It’s highly addictive and causes a number of short-term and long-term health consequences. Methamphetamine is relatively inexpensive and widely available.

Drug Addiction-Hallucinogens

Use of hallucinogens produces different signs and symptoms depending on the drug. The most common hallucinogens are LSD and phencyclidine (PCP).

Signs of LSD use include:

Hallucinations
Greatly reduced perception of reality, for example, interpreting input from one of your senses as another, such as hearing colors
Permanent mental changes in perception
Rapid heart rate
High blood pressure
Tremors
Flashbacks, a re-experience of the hallucinations — even years later

Signs of PCP use include:

Hallucinations
Euphoria
Delusions
Panic
Loss of appetite
Depression
Aggressive, possibly violent behavior

Drug Addiction-Inhalants

The signs and symptoms of inhalant use vary depending on what substance is inhaled. Some commonly inhaled substances include glue, paint thinners, correction fluid, felt tip marker fluid, gasoline, cleaning fluids and household aerosol products.

When inhaled, these products can cause brief intoxication and a decreased feeling of inhibition. Long-term use may cause seizures and damage to the brain, liver and kidneys. Inhalant use can also cause death.

Drug Addiction-Narcotic painkillers

Opioids are narcotic, painkilling drugs produced naturally from opium or made synthetically. This class of drugs includes heroin, morphine, codeine, methadone and oxycodone (OxyContin). If you’re prescribed these medications by a doctor, take them exactly as directed. Don’t increase your dose without first talking to your doctor.

Signs of narcotic use and dependence can include:

Reduced sense of pain
Sedation
Depression
Confusion
Constipation
Slowed breathing
Needle marks (if injecting drugs)

Drug Addiction-When to see a doctor

If you think your drug use is out of control or is causing problems, get help. The sooner you seek help, the greater your chances are for a long-term recovery. Your family doctor may be a good place to start and also seek help from line professionals, for instance Dr. Dalal Akoury, Founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, is an expert offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Your condition will be safe in her care and you will in very short time limit get well and live your life to the fullest.

Drug Addiction-Common Signs and Symptoms

Treatment Models for mental health and addiction

May 2, 2014

Treatment Models for mental health and addiction-Current Models discussed

when both treatment for addiction and mental health problems are administered well you will surely get your life back.

Every day mental health and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) abuse treatment fields have become increasingly aware of the existence of patients with dual disorders, attempts are being made to adapt treatment to the special needs of these patients. The attempts have reflected philosophical differences about the nature of dual disorders, as well as differing opinions regarding the best way to treat them. These attempts also reflect the limitations of available resources, as well as differences in treatment responses for different types and severities of dual disorders. Three approaches have been taken to treatment.

Treatment Models for mental health and addiction-Sequential Treatment

The first and historically most common model of dual disorder treatment is sequential treatment. In this model of treatment, the patient is treated by one system (addiction or mental health) and then by the other. Indeed, some clinicians believe that addiction treatment must always be initiated first, and that the individual must be in a stage of abstinent recovery from addiction before treatment for the psychiatric disorder can begin. On the other hand, other clinicians believe that treatment for the psychiatric disorder should begin prior to the initiation of abstinence and addiction treatment. Still other clinicians believe that symptom severity at the time of entry to treatment should dictate whether the individual is treated in a mental health setting or an addiction treatment setting or that the disorder that emerged first should be treated first.

The term sequential treatment describes the serial or non-simultaneous participation in both mental health and addiction treatment settings. For example, a person with dual disorders may receive treatment at a community mental health center program during occasional periods of depression and attend a local AOD treatment program following infrequent alcoholic binges. Systems that have developed serial treatment approaches generally incorporate one of the above orientations toward the treatment of patients with dual disorders.

Treatment Models for mental health and addiction-Parallel Treatment

A related approach involves parallel treatment: the simultaneous involvement of the patient in both mental health and addiction treatment settings. For example, an individual may participate in AOD education and drug refusal classes at an addiction treatment program, participate in a 12-step group such as AA, and attend group therapy and medication education classes at a mental health center. Both parallel and sequential treatments involve the utilization of existing treatment programs and settings. Thus, mental health treatment is provided by mental health clinicians, and addiction treatment is provided by addiction treatment clinicians. Coordination between settings is quite variable.

Treatment Models for mental health and addiction-Integrated Treatment

A third model, called integrated treatment, is an approach that combines elements of both mental health and addiction treatment into a unified and comprehensive treatment program for patients with dual disorders. Ideally, integrated treatment involves clinicians cross-trained in both mental health and addiction, as well as a unified case management approach, making it possible to monitor and treat patients through various psychiatric and AOD crises.

There are advantages and disadvantages in sequential, parallel, and integrated treatment approaches. Differences in dual disorder combinations, symptom severity, and degree of impairment greatly affect the appropriateness of a treatment model for a specific individual. For example, sequential and parallel treatment may be most appropriate for patients who have a very severe problem with one disorder, but a mild problem with the other. However, patients with dual disorders who obtain treatment from two separate systems frequently receive conflicting therapeutic messages; in addition, financial coverage and even confidentiality laws vary between the two systems.

Treatment Models for mental health and addiction-Treatment Models

Sequential: The patient participates in one system, then the other.
Parallel: The patient participates in two systems simultaneously.
Integrated: The patient participates in a single unified and comprehensive treatment program for dual disorders.

In contrast, integrated treatment places the burden of treatment continuity on a case manager who is expert in both psychiatric and AOD use disorders. Further, integrated treatment involves simultaneous treatment of both disorders in a setting designed to accommodate both problems.

Treatment Models for mental health and addiction-Critical Treatment Issues for Dual Disorders

Mental health and addiction treatment programs that are being designed to accommodate patients with dual disorders should be modified to address the specific needs of these patients. Although there are different dual disorder treatment models, all such programs must address several key issues that are critical for successful treatment. These issues include:

Treatment engagement
Treatment continuity and comprehensiveness
Treatment phases
Continual reassessment and re-diagnosis

Treatment Engagement

In general, treatment engagement refers to the process of initiating and sustaining the patient’s participation in the ongoing treatment process. Engagement can involve such enticements as providing help with the procurement of social services, such as food, shelter, and medical services. Engagement can also involve removing barriers to treatment and making treatment more accessible and acceptable, for example, by providing day and evening treatment services. Engagement can be enhanced by providing adjunctive services that may appear to be indirectly related to the disorders, such as child care services, job skills counseling, and recreational activities. It may also be coercive, such as through involuntary commitment or a designated payee.

Engagement begins with efforts that are designed to enlist people into treatment, but it is a long-term process with the goals of keeping patients in treatment and helping them manage ongoing problems and crises. Essential to the engagement process is:

A personalized relationship with the individual
Over an extended period of time
A focus on the stated needs of the individual

For patients with dual disorders, engagement in the treatment process is essential, although the techniques used will depend upon the nature, severity, and disability caused by an individual’s dual disorders. An employed person with panic disorder and episodic alcohol abuse will require a different type of engagement than a homeless person with schizophrenia and poly-substance dependence. With respect to severe conditions such as psychosis and violent behaviors, therapeutic coercive engagement techniques may include involuntary detoxification, involuntary psychiatric treatment, or court-mandated acute treatment.

Treatment Continuity

To treat patients with dual disorders, it is critical to develop continuity between treatment programs and treatment components, as well as treatment continuity over time. In practice, many patients participate in treatment at different sites. Even in integrated treatment programs, many patients require different treatment services during different phases of treatment. For this reason, treatment should include an integrated dual disorder case management program, which can be located within a mental health setting, an addiction treatment setting, or a collaborative program.

Treatment Comprehensiveness

An overall system for treating dual disorders includes mental health and addiction treatment programs, as well as collaborative integrated programs. Programs should be designed to:

Engage clients
Accommodate various levels of severity and disability
Accommodate various levels of motivation and compliance
Accommodate patients in different phases of treatment.

There should be access to abstinence-mandated programs and abstinence-oriented programs, as well as to drug maintenance programs. Different levels of care, ranging from more to less intense treatment, should be available.

Phases of Treatment

In general, the medical term acute describes phenomena that begin quickly and require rapid response. Acute problems are contrasted with chronic problems. Most commonly, acute stabilization of patients with dual disorders refers to the management of physical, psychiatric, or drug toxicity crises. These include injury, illness, AOD-induced toxic or withdrawal states, and behavior which are suicidal, violent, impulsive, or psychotic.

The acute stabilization of AOD use disorders typically begins with detoxification, such as inpatient detoxification for patients with significant withdrawal or outpatient detoxification for mild to moderate withdrawal, as well as nonmedical withdrawal, such as occurs in social-model detoxification programs. Also, initiation of methadone maintenance can provide outpatient acute stabilization for patients addicted to opioids.

Acute stabilization of psychiatric symptoms more frequently occurs within a mental health or emergency medical setting, but involves a range of treatment intensity. Patients with severe symptoms, especially psychotic, violent, or impulsive behaviors, usually require acute psychiatric inpatient treatment and psychiatric medications, while patients with less severe symptoms can be treated in outpatient or day treatment settings. It is important that dual disorder programs that provide stabilization to patients with acute needs should have the capability to:

Identify medical, psychiatric, and AOD use disorders
Treat a range of illness severity
Provide drug detoxification, psychiatric medications, and other bio-psychosocial levels of treatment
Provide a range of intensities of service.

These programs should be capable of promoting the patient’s engagement with the treatment system. They should be able to aggressively provide linkages to other programs that will provide ongoing treatment and engagement.

Sub-acute Stabilization

The medical term sub-acute describes the status of a medical disorder at points between the acute condition and either resolution or chronic state. The sub-acute phase of a medical problem occurs as the acute course of the problem begins to diminish, or when symptoms emerge or reemerge but are not yet severe enough to be described as acute.

As AOD-induced toxic or withdrawal symptoms resolve, constant reassessment and re-diagnosis is required. During this phase, a psycho-educational and behavioral approach should be used to educate patients about their disorders and symptomatology. During this phase, treatment providers should provide assessment and planning for dealing with long-term issues such as housing, long-term treatment, and financial stability.

Treatment Models for mental health and addiction-Current Models discussed

Addiction and Mental health

May 2, 2014

Addiction and Mental health-Treatment

Your mental health can be affected by addiction and substance abuse, but wait a minute, did you know that event like team building could help you overcome some of these problems?

For people with dual disorders also known as “dual diagnosis”, the attempt to obtain professional help can be frustrating and confusing. They may have problems arising within themselves as a result of their psychiatric and alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorders as well as problems of external origin that derive from the conflicts, limitations, and clashing philosophies of the mental health and addiction treatment systems. For example, internal problems such as frustration, denial, or depression may hinder their ability to recognize the need for help and diminish their ability to ask for help. A typical external problem might be the confusion experienced when individuals need services but lack knowledge about the different goals and processes of various types of available services. Other problems of external origin may be very fundamental, such as the inability to pay for child care services or the lack of transportation to the only available outpatient program.

Historically, when patients in alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment exhibited vivid and acute psychiatric symptoms, the symptoms were either unrecognized or observed but miss-described as toxicity or acting-out behavior or accurately identified, prompting the patients to be discharged or referred to a mental health program. Virtually the same process occurred for patients in mental health treatment who exhibited vivid and acute symptoms of AOD use disorders.

Mislabeling, rejecting, failing to recognize, or automatically transferring patients with dual disorders can result in inadequate treatment, with patients falling between the cracks of treatment systems. The symptoms of psychiatric and AOD use disorders often fluctuate in intensity and frequency. Current symptom presentation may reflect a short-term change in the course of long-term dual disorders. Thus, even when patients receive traditional professional help, treatment may address only selected aspects of their overall problem unless treatment is coordinated among services including AOD, mental health, social, and medical programs.

As a result, the treatment system itself may be a stumbling block for some people attempting to receive ongoing, appropriate, and comprehensive treatment for combined psychiatric and AOD use disorders. Thus, treatment services for patients with dual disorders must be sensitive to both the individual’s and the treatment system’s impediments to the initiation and continuation of treatment.

Addiction and Mental health-Treatment Systems

People with dual disorders who want to engage in the treatment process (or who need to do so) frequently encounter several treatment systems, each having its own strengths and weaknesses. These treatment systems have different clinical approaches.

Addiction and Mental health-The Mental Health System

Actually, there is no single mental health system, although most States have a set of public mental health centers. Rather, mental health services are provided by a variety of mental health professionals including psychiatrists; psychologists; clinical social workers; clinical nurse specialists; other therapists and counselors including marriage, family, and child counselors (MFCCs); and paraprofessionals.

These mental health personnel work in a variety of settings, using a variety of theories about the treatment of specific psychiatric disorders. Different types of mental health professionals for example, social workers and MFCCs have differing perspectives; moreover, practitioners within a given group often use different approaches.

A major strength of the mental health system is the comprehensive array of services offered, including counseling, case management, partial hospitalization, inpatient treatment, vocational rehabilitation, and a variety of residential programs. The mental health system has a relatively large variety of treatment settings. These settings are designed to provide treatment services for patients with acute, sub-acute, and long-term symptoms.

Acute services are provided by personnel in emergency rooms and hospital units of several types and by crisis-line personnel, outreach teams, and mental health law commitment specialists.
Sub-acute services are provided by hospitals, day treatment programs, mental health center programs, and several types of individual practitioners.
Long-term settings include mental health centers, residential units, and practitioners’ offices.
Clinicians vary with regard to academic degrees, styles, expertise, and training.
Strength of the mental health system is the growing recognition at all system levels of the role of case management as a means to individualize and coordinate services and secures entitlements.

Medication is more often used in psychiatric treatment than in addiction treatment, especially for severe disorders. Medications used to treat psychiatric symptoms include psychoactive and non-psychoactive medications. Psychoactive medications cause an acute change in mood, thinking, or behavior, such as sedation, stimulation, or euphoria.

Psychoactive medications (such as benzodiazepines) prescribed to the average patient with psychiatric problems are generally taken in an appropriate fashion and pose little or no risk of abuse or addiction. In contrast, the use of psychoactive medications by patients with a personal or family history of an AOD use disorder is associated with a high risk of abuse or addiction.

Some medications used in psychiatry that have mild psychoactive effects (such as some tricyclic antidepressants with mild sedative effects) appear to be misused more by patients with an AOD disorder than by others. Thus, a potential pitfall is prescribing psychoactive medications to a patient with psychiatric problems without first determining whether the individual also has an AOD use disorder.

While most clinicians in the mental health system generally have expertise in a bio-psychosocial approach to the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of psychiatric disorders, some lack similar skills and knowledge about the specific drugs of abuse, the bio-psychosocial processes of abuse and addiction, and AOD treatment, recovery, and relapse. Similarly, AOD treatment professionals may have a thorough understanding of AOD abuse treatment but not psychiatric treatment.

Addiction and Mental health-The Addiction Treatment System

As with mental health treatment, no single addiction treatment system exists. Rather, there is a collection of different types of services such as social and medical model detoxification programs, short- and long-term treatment programs, methadone detoxification and maintenance programs, long-term therapeutic communities, and self-help adjuncts such as the 12-step programs. These programs can vary greatly with respect to treatment goals and philosophies. For example, abstinence is a prerequisite for entry into some programs, while it is a long-term goal in other programs. Some AOD treatment programs are not abstinence oriented. For example, some methadone maintenance programs have the overt goal of eventual abstinence for all patients, while others promote continued methadone use to encourage psychosocial stabilization.

As with mental health treatment, addiction treatment is provided by a diverse group of practitioners, including physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, certified addiction counselors, MFCCs, and other therapists, counselors, and recovering paraprofessionals. There can be a wide difference in experience, expertise, and knowledge among these diverse providers. As with mental health treatment, most States have public and private AOD treatment systems.

The strengths of addiction treatment services include the multidisciplinary team approach with a bio-psychosocial emphasis, and an understanding of the addictive process combined with knowledge of the drugs of abuse and the 12-step programs. In typical addiction treatment, medications are used to treat the complications of addiction, such as overdose and withdrawal. However, few medications that directly treat or interrupt the addictive process, such as disulfiram and naltrexone, have been identified or regularly used. Maintenance medications such as methadone are crucial for certain patients. However, most addiction treatment professionals attempt to eliminate patients’ use of all drugs.

Addiction and Mental health-Similarities Treatment Systems

Variety of treatment settings and program types
Public and private settings
Multiple levels of care
Bio-psychosocial models
Increasing use of case and care management
Value of self-help adjuncts.

Many who work in the addiction treatment field have only a limited understanding of medications used for psychiatric disorders. Historically, some people have mistakenly assumed that all or most psychiatric medications are psychoactive or potentially addictive. Many addiction treatment staff tends to avoid the use of any medication with their patients, probably in reaction to those whose addiction included prescription medications such as diazepam. Many staff lack proper training and experience in the use of such medications. In the treatment of dual disorders, a balance must be made between behavioral interventions and the appropriate use of non-addicting psychiatric medications for those who need them to participate in the recovery process. Withholding medications from such individuals increases their chances of AOD relapse.

Because of these variances in administering addiction medication you need to specifically take the lead role in offering addiction treatment. Dr. Dalal Akoury Founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is the expert you need. She is offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Contacting her would be the beginning of your journey to truly successful and fast addiction recovery treatment.

Addiction and Mental health-Treatment

Drugs that can harm the Immune System

April 30, 2014

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Their negative effects

Help indeed, drugs which affects immune system are toxic and addictive, if affected seek professional help

We have in the past articles discusses the significance of immune system to the human body. As a center for protecting the body against injuries from pathogens and substances, it is very important that we get to know some of the drugs which may injure this center (immune system) and take precautionary actions to ensure that the fabric of immunity is safe. For-instance flu is rarely deadly, but even though this is true, pneumonia which kills comes as result of flu making it a serious point of concern. It is therefore necessary that prescription and over-the-counter drugs be seriously considered on the list of things that could potentially make people more susceptible to having a flu that morphs into a deadly pneumonia. The following are some of the drugs for consideration:

Steroids these are drugs from corticosteroids to anabolic steroids, suppress the immune system that defends against bacterial and viral infections such as pneumonia.

Chronic stress creates greater susceptibility to infection because it raises cortisol levels. Cortisol is a steroid hormone released by the adrenal glands that has many side effects when it’s chronically high. One side effect is that it reduces inflammation. This may appear good but at the same time it suppresses the immune system. Chronically high cortisol also disrupts blood sugar balance, often leading to high insulin, obesity and sometimes, diabetes. With these illnesses weak immune system is disastrous.

The most common route of steroid drug use, particularly in children, is through asthma inhalers.
Most asthma inhalers contain some form of synthetic steroid. These steroids help reduce the airway inflammation associated with asthma, but at the same time can reduce the ability of the lungs to fight bacterial and viral infections.

Steroid drug abuse among high school and college athletes is common. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 1 – 6% of high school athletes use steroid drugs to enhance their performance. This amounts to potentially hundreds of thousands of teens with suppressed immune systems who are more susceptible to viral and bacterial infection.

Steroid drugs such as prednisone are widely prescribed for people with painful inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, and for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and lupus. They are also prescribed for those with organ transplants to suppress a rejection response by the immune system.

Even the regular use of cortisone creams for arthritis can raise cortisol levels enough to suppress the immune system.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-PPI Heartburn Drugs that Suppress Stomach Acid
Proton pump inhibitors or PPIs such as Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec powerfully block the secretion of stomach acid. This has the effect of reducing heartburn and nausea, but it also blocks one of the body’s main defenses against bacteria and viruses. According to a 2004 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 70% of the hospitalized patients in the study received a PPI or other stomach acid-suppressing drug within hours of being admitted. The study showed that patients who were given PPIs had a 30% higher risk of developing pneumonia.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Statin Drugs to Lower Cholesterol
A medical group in Switzerland found that organ transplant patients who were taking statin drugs (e.g. Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol) did better than those who weren’t taking the drugs. Laboratory studies showed that statins did indeed suppress parts of the immune system, and the authors concluded, “This unexpected effect provides a scientific rationale for using statins as immune-suppressors, not only in organ transplantation but in numerous other pathologies as well.”

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-SSRI Antidepressants
The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant drugs (SSRIs) such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil increase serotonin levels and in so doing also give the immune system a boost. This boost can be the good news or the bad news. According to expert researchers this boost can push the immune system into autoimmune disease, where the body starts attacking itself. These types of immune system over-reactions are also implicated in the “cytokine storms” that can create deadly inflammation in the lungs.

Opioid Drugs
Both short term and long term use of the pain killing opioid drugs such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, codeine and morphine block the immune system’s ability to attack viral and bacterial invaders. Some pain killers drugs such as Tramdol combine an opioid with acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol), further compromising the immune system with acetaminophen’s toxic effects on liver function.

Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) is very hard on the liver, the body’s major organ of detoxification. A simple dosage mix-up, such as giving a teaspoon of liquid acetaminophen vs. a dropperful can cause liver damage, particularly in children. When the body is invaded by a virus or bacteria, the debris of the battle is processed through the liver. A compromised liver cannot effectively remove toxins caused by infection.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Fakegrances
Fake fragrances, also known as fakegrances, such as the air fresheners, scented laundry soaps and personal care products, candles, and most perfumes are not drugs, but for many people they are certainly lung irritants and are thought to be a major cause of asthma in children.

Fakegrances often contain dozens if not hundreds of chemicals, many of them extremely toxic. Fakegrances remain unregulated in the U.S., the justification being that the toxic chemicals are present in such small amounts that they are not harmful. However, constant exposure through scented personal care products, wearing fakegranced clothing, sleeping on fakegranced sheets and living with air fresheners in the home and car, certainly has an impact on the lungs. There has been an explosion in the use of hand sanitizer gels, all of them containing fakegrances.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Strive for Immune Balance
The truth is this a journey you do not want to disengage in owing to the vitality of immune system. It will not be wrong to say that immune system is undisputed tool for good health and sine we both love life we have a duty to make sure that it is well maintained. I suggest that if you’re taking drugs of any kind, make a list of their brand names and generic names, and take an audit of each to a certain if they suppress the immune system. This knowledge is very important to you irrespective of whether you need to stay on an immune-suppressing drug or not, you will still need to know how it’s affecting your body.

All of us want a balanced immune system, which is best achieved by an overall healthy lifestyle which includes wholesome foods, moderate exercise, good sleep and stress management. Besides all these you will need to be inconstant touch with an expert to help you keep the promise. This is effectively available at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury. With her you will be cared for professionally while focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. Welcome to AWAREmed and experience the comfort of living life to the fullest.

Drugs that can harm the Immune System-Their negative effects

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