Tag Archives: addiction education

Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms

June 25, 2014

Are you having an alcoholism Problem?

addiction withdrawaAlcohol withdrawal refers to an assemblage of symptoms that may occur from suddenly discontinuing with the use of alcohol after chronic or prolonged ingestion. Not everyone who stops drinking experiences withdrawal symptoms, but most people who have been drinking for a long period of time, or drinking frequently, or drink heavily when they do drink, will experience some form of withdrawal symptoms if they stop drinking suddenly.

What Is It?

Alcohol withdrawal is the fluctuations the body goes through when a person suddenly stops consumption after prolonged and heavy alcohol use. Symptoms include trembling (shakes), insomnia, anxiety, and other physical and mental symptoms. Alcohol has a decelerating effect (also called a sedating effect or depressant effect) on the brain. In a heavy, long-term drinker, the brain is almost continually exposed to the depressant effect of alcohol. Over time, the brain adjusts its own chemistry to compensate for the effect of the alcohol. It does this by producing naturally stimulating chemicals (such as serotonin or norepinephrine, which is a relative of adrenaline) in larger quantities than normal. If the alcohol is withdrawn suddenly, the brain is like an accelerated vehicle that has lost its brakes. Not surprisingly, most symptoms of withdrawal are symptoms that occur when the brain is over stimulated. The most hazardous form of alcohol withdrawal occurs in about one out of every twenty people who have withdrawal symptoms. This condition is called delirium tremens (also called DTs). In delirium tremens, the brain is not able to smoothly readjust its chemistry after alcohol is stopped. This creates a state of temporary confusion and leads to dangerous changes in the way your brain regulates your circulation and breathing. The body’s vital signs such as your heart rate or blood pressure can change dramatically or capriciously, generating a risk of heart attack, stroke or death.

  • Pathophysiology

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is mediated by a variety of mechanisms. The brain maintains neurochemical balance through inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters. The main inhibitory neurotransmitter is γ-amino-butyric acid (GABA), which acts through the GABA-alpha (GABA-A) neuroreceptor. One of the major excitatory neurotransmitters is glutamate, which acts through the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) neuroreceptor.

Alcohol enhances the effect of GABA on GABA-A neuroreceptors, resulting in decreased overall brain excitability. Chronic exposure to alcohol results in a compensatory decrease of GABA-A neuroreceptor response to GABA, evidenced by increasing tolerance of the effects of alcohol.

What causes withdrawal?

Alcohol thinning is a physical reaction to cutting down or discontinuing alcohol use. It is most common in people who are heavy drinkers because they have developed a tolerance to alcohol. Alcohol acts in the central nervous system by changing the balance of neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that send messages between nerves. Alcohol reduces the effect of excitatory neurotransmitters, and increases the effect of inhibitory neurotransmitters, altering the natural balance of the nervous system. Over time, the brain tries to fix this unevenness by increasing the activity of the excitatory neurotransmitters and reducing the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitters. When alcohol is suddenly taken away, this compensatory effect keeps going, resulting in over activity of the excitatory neurotransmitters and under activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitters. This causes withdrawal syndromes.

What Are the Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms?

Withdrawal symptoms are hinged on the amount you were drinking and for how long. Some persons will have only mild symptoms while others will have severe, even life-threatening symptoms.

  • Mild to moderate symptoms

These can start from six to forty eight hours after people stop drinking or cut down, and usually last one to five days. They include: Shaking, Sweating, Racing heart, Feeling sick and vomiting, Headaches, Trouble sleeping, Feeling anxious or agitated, and Hallucinations

  • Very severe symptoms

Seizures -Usually occur within the first two days, it occur in about 2-9% of alcohol dependent people. Delirium tremens’ Usually occur 3-4 days after stopping drinking and typically resolves within 3 days, it occurs in about 5% of people admitted to hospital for alcohol problems Includes: Vivid hallucinations, confusion and disorientation ,agitation and hyperactivity, Insomnia, trembling, racing heart, sweating and fever.

Diagnosis

addiction withdrawal symptomsAlcohol withdrawal is easy to identify if you have distinctive symptoms that occur after you stop hefty, habitual drinking. If you have a past experience of withdrawal symptoms, you are likely to have them return if you start and stop heavy drinking again. There are no specific tests that can be used to diagnose alcohol withdrawal. If you have withdrawal symptoms from drinking, then you have consumed enough alcohol to damage other organs. It is a good idea for your doctor to examine you prudently and do blood tests, checking for alcohol-related damage to your liver, heart, nerves in your feet, blood cell counts, and gastrointestinal tract. Your doctor will evaluate your usual diet and check for vitamin deficiencies because poor nutrition is common when someone is dependent on alcohol. It is customarily difficult for people who drink to be entirely honest about how much they’ve been drinking. You should bang your drinking history straightforwardly to your doctor so you can be treated safely for withdrawal symptom.

Obtain Expert Help and Care at the New Frontier Medicine Academy

Our good and hardworking team of experts from New Frontier will toil with you persistently until you lastly heal from alcohol withdrawal symptoms. We treat all consumers in an exceptional manner after listening to their problems and assessing their conditions. Your well-being is our duty consequently we will not only help you from alcohol withdrawing symptoms but also get you back into a faultless shape. Heal your body, mind and spirit so you start a whole new life free of liquor and depression. Visit New Frontier for reliable results.

Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms

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Seek Addiction Knowledge: Read Addiction Books

June 24, 2014

Get Equipped With Addiction Knowledge through Reading Addiction Books

addiction books

Free eBooks are also a better way to learn more about addiction

Our current population is experiencing a lot of health challenges and addiction rates are staggeringly scary. So I thought I could share with you about this thorny topic and inform you of some of the best books that you can get your hands on for in-house help and reading. Substance abuse and addiction have reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Every day, on average, about 8,120 individuals age 12 and over try drugs for the first time and 12,800 try alcohol. About 60 million people binge drink. Mortality rates from abuse of prescription pills are skyrocketing. All-in-all, in addition to destroying families, devastating inner cities, and causing crime and car accidents, substance abuse is responsible for more deaths than any other “non-natural” cause.

In Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy, David Sheff, the author of Beautiful Boy, a moving account of the addiction and treatment of his son, Nic, draws on research in psychology, neuroscience and medicine to present a new approach to dealing with what may well be our greatest social problem. Sheff insists that addiction is an incurable but treatable disease, not a moral failing. Since choice “has nothing to do with the disease,” he emphasizes, it is counter-productive to exhort young people to “Just say no” or dismiss addicts as dissolute or undisciplined. Treatment must be based on evidence, not urban legends, guilt or wishful thinking.

Providing a wealth of information and practical advice, Clean is the best book on drug abuse and addiction to appear in years. Sheff’s claims about choice, however, raise far more questions than they answer.

Clean busts a mountain of myths. People living below the poverty line, he reveals, are 100 percent more likely to abuse or be addicted than more affluent individuals. Sheff cites studies that show that the DARE program, which is used in 75 percent of the nation’s school districts, may actually raise rates of drug use. He demonstrates that addicts will not respond best if they’re allowed “to hit bottom.” He makes a compelling case that “no one really knows how often AA works and for whom,” and that we do know that AA retention is low and attrition is high. Although he cites no studies, Shef claims that “the science based approach rejects cold-turkey detox.”

Sheff also makes specific recommendations about management options and how to make informed selections. He sorts out types of accreditation and licensing for facilities; favors programs where psychologists, clinical social workers and family therapists are “full-time and don’t just stop by weekly” and psychological and physical examinations and medications (if necessary) are managed on site; and he advises nailing down ahead of time the assistance staff will provide with a transition to a new program when the patient is ready or he or she has been expelled.

Grounded in evidence of genetic predispositions and the effect of drugs on the brain, Sheff’s main theme — that addiction is a disease, not a character flaw — does counter a pervasive and pernicious tendency to “blame the victim” (or the parents of the victim). But it leaves us struggling to comprehend the role of “free will” in resisting the disease.

In our judgment, Sheff is neither consistent nor clear in distinguishing between drug abusers and addicts or in finding a way to understand or explain the choices users make. Hard put to explain “why some people do stop using on their own,” he speculates that members of this small group “aren’t as addicted in the first place.” His analogy, that “blaming an addict for relapse is like blaming a cancer patient when radiation and chemotherapy don’t work,” doesn’t seem entirely appropriate.

addicton booksThroughout his book, it is worth noting, Sheff acknowledges that choices are available to abusers and addicts. “Before a person can change his behavior,” he writes, “[he] has to want to change it.” Motivational interviewing “can help addicts understand the conflict between their life goals and their drug use.” Given “cues” during Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sheff asserts, addicts can be trained to select alternative behaviors to defuse triggers — like going for a run — when they reach a “choice point.” When Luke Gsell took Dramamine and drank beer while in rehab to celebrate his 15th birthday, came down from it, recognized he was an addict and vowed “I’m done with this,” Sheff declares that “if he needed confirmation that his decision was a smart one, he received it the next day,” when his roommate OD’d after taking 36 pills. And in the appendix to Clean, Sheff concludes, “If kids are to make informed choices about drugs, they need to have facts about them. They need to know what they’re risking in order to get high.”

Free will is an elusive and enigmatic concept. Though philosophers have gone free will hunting for centuries, they have never really understood why people choose what they choose. Nor is free will yet amenable to measurement by scientists. We believe that choice, as it is commonly understood, and as Sheff himself uses it, is relevant to the scourge of abuse and addiction, and to the tactics, strategies, and policies his extraordinarily valuable book lays out to help us to overcome them. Contact NEW FRONTIER Medicine Academy for addiction help.

Get Equipped With Addiction Knowledge through Reading Addiction Books

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Creating Understanding of Sex Addiction Therapy

June 22, 2014

Understanding Sex Addiction Therapy

sex addictionSex addiction can be a highly dangerous and destructive condition. Like drug or alcohol addiction, sex addiction is a common, but infrequently diagnosed, condition that affects the addict’s mental health, personal relationships, quality of life, and safety.

In general, sex addiction is referred to as an obsessive need to perform sexual acts in order to achieve the kind of “fix” that an alcoholic gets from a drink or an addict from a drug. Usually, a sex addict seeks out manifold partners or may also have relations with children, animals, or inanimate objects. The addiction may obvious as a compulsive need to masturbate, view pornography, or be in erotically stimulating situations. Sex addiction may require the addict to significantly alter his life and activities in order to perform sexual acts multiple times a day. A sex addict cannot stop his or her behavior, despite severe negative penalties.

  • Symptoms and Signs of Sex Addiction

Sex addiction can be problematic to spot from the outside. Most addicts become skilled at hiding their behavior and can even keep the addiction secret from spouses, partners, and family members. However, a discrete might have a sex addiction if he or she exhibits some or all of the following behaviors: Chronic, obsessive sexual thoughts and fantasies, Relations with multiple partners on a frequent basis, especially with strangers, Preoccupation with having sex, even when it interferes with daily life, productivity, work performance, Inability to stop compulsive sexual behaviors or restrain sexual activity, Putting oneself or others in danger due to sexual behavior, Engaging in illegal sexual activity with prostitutes, minors, or children, Need for dominance and control in sexual liaisons, Sensation remorse or guilt after sexual episodes, Negative personal or professional consequences due to sexual behavior.

Since sex addiction can be difficult to diagnose, it’s important to remember that enjoying sexual activity does not make one a sex addict. A sex addict is typically someone who has a compulsive need to achieve sexual acts and appears to have no controller over these instincts.

Unlike other addictions, behavior for compulsive sexual behavior cannot require the addict to give up sex for life. Sex is a normal, healthy, and compulsory human function. However, a sex addict must learn the difference between healthy and non-healthy sexual behavior. This process can often take months or years. Treatment for sex compulsion usually includes one or more of the following devices.

  • Inpatient Treatment Programs

There are many different inpatient conduct centers that offer sex addiction recovery programs. Often times, sex addicts must be removed from their normal daily lives for at least 30 days but often longer to help them regain control of their impulses and start the recovery process. These types of programs typically include comprehensive separate counseling and group therapy sessions.

  • 12-Step Programs

Programs such as Sex Addicts Anonymous follow the same recovery model as Alcoholics Anonymous and can be incredibly helpful for many sex addicts. Associates are not required to give up sex entirely, but are heartened to refrain from compulsive and destructive sexual behavior.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

This type of therapy can help a sex addict recognize triggers for sexual impulses and eventually teach Medication.

Some sex addicts may benefit from a course of drug therapy treatment, as certain antidepressants might help alleviate urges.an addict how to cope with them finished social changes.

Expectations

addictionUnlike with other addictions, a sex addict faces a unique set of challenges. It is not truthful for a sex addict to give up sensual activity entirely, but it may be necessary for him or her to abstain from sex for up to a year. This period of self-denial can often help sex addicts learn to identify the reasons of their needs and to explore deeper emotional issues that might contribute to the appearance of the addiction. Like a compulsive eater, a sex addict must learn the difference between natural, healthy urges and addictive ones. For sex addicts, there is not necessarily a “cure,” but there are ways to achieve the condition and still live a normal, balanced life. Spouses and family members of a sex addict should be ready to deal with the possibility of relapse, as it is often a normal part of the recovery process.

Resources

More information about sex addiction, as well as information for family members or loved ones, can be found by contacting the following governments: Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, The Society for Advancement of Sexual Health, Sexual Recovery Institute.

Promoting Sexual Health

Sexuality should be an essential and balanced part of our life experience. However, when sex becomes all consuming, or when we deprive ourselves of healthy sexual expression, our sexuality acts as a barrier filled with disgrace and self-contempt. It isolates us from attachment with others. Healthy sexual behavior, on the other hand, creates familiarity and closeness. It is characterized by trust, respect, joy and safety.

Learn More at New Frontier Medicine Academy

New frontier provides assessment and evidenced-based treatment in a safe, confidential, and respectful atmosphere. We offer a variety of programs for sexual health and addiction and are committed to providing state-of-the art services that help our clients lead lives filled with more joy and satisfaction.

Creating Understanding of Sex Addiction Therapy

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Addiction Medicine; Natural Treatment

June 20, 2014

Excel In Addiction Medicine Specialty 

 

Addiction medicine is a medical specialty that deals with the treatment of addiction. The specialty often crosses over into other areas, since various aspects of addiction fall within the fields of public health, psychology, social work, mental health counseling, psychiatry, and internal medicine, among others. Amalgamated within the specialty are the processes of detoxification, rehabilitation, harm reduction, abstinence-based treatment, separate and group therapies, oversight of halfway houses, management of withdrawal-related symptoms, acute intervention, and long term therapies designed to reduce likelihood of relapse . Some specialists, primarily those who also have expertise in family medicine or internal medicine, also provide treatment for disease states commonly associated with substance use, such as hepatitis and HIV infection.

addiction medicine

Addiction Medicine

Physicians specializing in the field are in general agreement concerning applicability of treatment to those with addiction to drugs, such as alcohol and heroin, and often also to gambling, which has similar characteristics and has been well described in the scientific literature. There is less contract concerning definition or treatment of other so-called addictive behavior such as sexual addiction and internet addiction, such performances not being marked generally by physiologic tolerance or withdrawal.

Doctors concentrating on addiction medicine are medical authorities who focus on addictive disease and have had special study and training focusing on the prevention and treatment of such diseases. There are two routes to specialization in the addiction field: one via a psychiatric pathway and one via other fields of medicine. The new frontier Society of Addiction Medicine notes that approximately a percentage of its members are psychiatrists while the remainder have received medical training in other fields.

Studies have found that, despite the prevalence of addiction, the enormity of its consequences, the availability of effective clarifications and the evidence that addiction is a disease, both screening and early intervention for risky substance use are rare, and only about 1 in 10 people with addiction involving alcohol or drugs other than nicotine receive any form of treatment.

Of those who do receive treatment, few receive anything that approximates evidence-based care. This compares with seventy% to eighty% of people with such diseases as high blood pressure and diabetes who do receive treatment. This report exposes the fact that most medical professionals who should be providing addiction action are not sufficiently trained to diagnose or treat the disease, and most of those providing addiction care are not medical professionals and are not equipped with the knowledge, skills or credentials necessary to provide the full range of effective treatments

The time has come for addiction medicine to be fully integrated into health care systems and medical practice. Health care providers, especially physicians, are our front line in disease prevention and treatment. They must understand the risk factors for addiction, screen for risky substance use and intervene when needed, and diagnose, treat and manage addiction just as they do all other diseases.

The Treatment Options for Addiction.

addiction medicine

Addiction Medicine

The first step for the addicted individual is to acknowledge that there is a substance dependency problem addiction problem. The next step is to get help. In most of the world there are several support groups and expert services available. Treatment options for habit depend on several factors, including what type of substance it is and how it affects the patients. Typically, treatment includes a combination of inpatient and outpatient programs, counseling, psychotherapy, self-help groups, pairing with individual sponsors, and medication.

  • Treatment programs – these typically focus on getting sober and preventing relapses. Individual, group and/or family sessions may form part of the program. Depending on the level of addiction, patient behaviors, and type of material this may be in outpatient or residential settings.
  • Analysis – there may be one-to-one (one-on-one) or family sessions with a specialist.

Help with coping with cravings, avoiding the substance, and dealing with possible relapses are key to effective addiction programs. If the patient’s family can become complicated there is a better probability of positive outcomes.

  • Support groups – these may help the patient meet other people with the same problem, which often boosts motivation. Self-help groups can be a useful source of education and information too. Examples comprise Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. For those dependent on nicotine, ask your doctor or nurse for information on local self-help groups.
  • Help by withdrawal symptoms – the main aim is usually to get the addictive substance out of the patient’s body as quickly as possible. Sometimes the addict is given gradually reduced dosages (tapering). In some cases a substitute matter is given. Depending on what the person is addicted to, as well as some other factors, the doctor may recommend treatment either as an outpatient or inpatient.

The doctor or addiction expert may recommend either an outpatient or inpatient residential treatment center. Withdrawal treatment options vary and depend mainly on what substance the individual is addicted to:

  • Addiction to depressants – these may include dependence on barbiturates or benzodiazepines. During withdrawal the patient may experience anxiety insomnia, sweating and restlessness. In rare cases there may be whole-body tremors, seizures, hallucinations, hypertension (high blood pressure), accelerated heart rate and fever. In severe cases there may be delirium, which according to the Mayo Clinic, USA, could be life-threatening.
  • Addiction to stimulants – these may include cocaine and other amphetamines. During withdrawal the patient may experience tiredness, depression, anxiety, moodiness, low enthusiasm, sleep disturbances, and low concentration. Treatment focuses on providing support, unless the depression is severe, in which case a medication may be prescribed.
  • Addiction to opioids – Opioids are a class of drugs that are commonly prescribed for their analgesics or pain killing, properties. They include substances such as morphine, codeine, oxycodone, and methadone.

The addiction medicine physician is a key member of the health care team at New Frontiers in Medicine Academy are trained to coordinate and provide consultation services for other physicians and to use community resources when appropriate. Some addiction medicine physicians limit their practice to patients with addiction or other patterns of unhealthy substance use for the wellbeing of human affected.

Excel In Addiction Medicine Specialty

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The Addiction Rehabilitation Process

June 20, 2014

Ladders of the Addiction Rehabilitation Process

Addiction RehabilitationThe journey to a vigorous, sober life is not a quick and easy one. It is a lifelong commitment of perseverance and hard work that is well worth the effort. Like any journey, the road to sobriety begins with simple steps frontward. The specific steps of one’s addiction rehabilitation process will vary conferring to the addiction, the treatment plan used, and the individual; however, all recovery processes share certain comparisons.

If you have any questions concerning the rehabilitation process or your individual journey to recovery, contact one of our treatment advisors. We are here to offer addiction help twenty four seven. We will answer your inquiries, confidentially, at any time of day or night, with no obligation.

When it comes to addiction rehabilitation programs, there is no scarcity of options out there but it’s important to find a program that is a good match for you. If you feel comfortable with the facility you’ve chosen, you’re more likely to stick with the sequencer and see it through to its end, increasing your chances of long-term health and sobriety.

Rendering to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there are several things to consider when choosing a drug treatment program. These include:

  • There is no one-size-fits-all solution to treatment. Different treatments work for different people, Patients must commit enough time to treatment in order to effectively overcome their addictions, Everyone should have easy access to treatment when they need it, Addiction affects the way the brain works, Effective treatment should address all areas of the addict’s life, not just the abuse or addiction, Medicinal treatment is often necessary and should be used in conjunction with therapy, Treatment plans should continually be tailored to meet the individual’s needs and circumstances, Mental disorders are often linked to drug addiction and should be addressed in treatment,  An addict does not have to voluntarily go to treatment in order for it to be effective. Many addicts are compelled to go to rehab by the court system, family or friends, and still achieve recovery once they go through the program.
  • Inpatient treatment programs eliminate addicts from their old ways of life and place them into a medically supervised treatment facility. This inpatient care helps to eliminate pressure by removing the individual from enticement and the ability to relapse, both during the detox and rehabilitation processes. In most inpatient rehabilitation programs, twenty four hour medical supervision during detox is provided.

Oftentimes, patients are restricted from contacting family and friends during the first portion of the rehabilitation process. This permits them to focus solely on their recovery without distractions from the outside world. Over time, family members and close friends may be invited to participate in visiting days or family therapy sessions. This helps to build the maintenance system that is so crucial to recovering addicts once they leave the rehab facility.

  • Outpatient programsare very similar to inpatient programs with the exception that the addict is allowed to return home each night. If a patient has familial obligations, such as caring for children or elderly parents, outpatient care allows them to maintain some of those responsibilities. In some cases, if a patient has work responsibilities, they can work part-time while in outpatient care. As a general rule, the less stress, the better during treatment as it’s significant for the patient’s focus to be on the recovery process. Outpatient care is best for those with short-lived addictions. It is not optional for those with serious or long-term addictions or those with dual diagnosis conditions.

Regardless of whether you choose inpatient addiction treatment or outpatient care, the intake procedure will be nearly the same and conducted by a psychotherapist at the facility. This first step uses guided diagnostic tests to determine the severity of the addiction, personal drug use history, family history, and even financial arrangements for management.

Most drug and all alcohol addictions require a detox package before the start of the rehabilitation program. This process of detoxification removes all traces of drugs and alcohol from the body in different cases. In other cases, maintenance medicine may be given to counteract the withdrawal symptoms connected with certain drugs, such as opiateprescription drugs and heroin.

The severity of the detox process varies from person to person, depending on the substance in question, how long they took the drug and at what dosage levels, and if there is any other addictions involved. When an individual takes a drug or consumes alcohol regularly, the body becomes accustomed to having certain levels of the substance in it. Once the substance is removed, the body can go into a type of shock, causing withdrawal symptoms to occur. According to the US National Library of Medicine, some withdrawal symptoms can occur directly, but most usually occur within twenty four hours after the last dose.

addiction rehabiltation

Once an individual gets through the initial detox from drugs or alcohol, they will move on to the rehabilitation portion of the recovery process. This is where the patients get to the core reasons behind their addictions, addressing those issues so they can effectively move on with their lives without going back to drugs, alcohol or their addictive conduct.

Most addiction rehabilitation facilities offer family therapy as part of their program. Addiction is far-reaching, distressing many people rather than just the individual with the addiction. Visit NEW FRONTIER MEDICINE ACADEMY for more information and help from expert.

The Addiction Rehabilitation Process

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