Tag Archives: Addiction

Buprenorphine

July 30, 2014

Buprenorphine – Addiction treatment

Buprenorphine

Buprenorphine drug may not be the best for addiction treatment and it has to be prescribed by a doctor and not across the counter

The prevalence of drug abuse in our streets is in the rise and unless something is done fast to contain the increase then the dangers are likely to be fatal. Besides rehab centers we can also use certain medications like buprenorphine which is helpful in keeping off drugs like heroin from the streets by reducing the bad withdrawal symptoms when one ceases to use drugs. This medicine closely related to heroin and often administered as treatment replacement. It is the choice drug for many even though some people choose to progressively limit their dose and eventually come off it. Normally this drug last longer in the body system and therefore its prescription is a once daily dose. To regulate its use users may be required to be taking buprenorphine in the presence of a supervisor normally the pharmacist dispensing the drug to the user. This close supervision is to ensure that only the right dose is taken and with time the user can be allowed to be taking it all by themselves after ascertaining regular dose maintenance.

Buprenorphine – Side Effects

Just in like all other medications buprenorphine drug treatment equally has side effects for instance when you start using buprenorphine you may not get it out of your system with ease irrespective of what option you went for be it inpatient or outpatient in a rehab program.

As with all medications, Buprenorphine (Suboxone) drug treatment also has some disadvantages. It is still a medication and if you prefer to break free from any kind of addiction immediately, then Buprenorphine may not be the way to go. Also, you may not be completely Buprenorphine-free by the time you leave drug treatment, even if you opt for an inpatient drug rehab program.

  • Some may consider these disadvantages while others consider them well worth the advantage of avoiding opiate withdrawal symptoms.
  • Initial studies on long-term use of Buprenorphine suggest that there are anti-depressant effects of the drug as well.
  • The dosing schedule is also relatively easy to maintain as most don’t even have to take it every day.
  • Additionally, you can’t abuse Suboxone, get high off of it or overdose on it like you can with some other opiate addiction maintenance or detox drugs, like methadone.

Much as this may offer treatment for addiction, it is in itself addictive and should not be encouraged. Its shortcomings far much out ways the advantages as illustrated in the paragraphs below.

Buprenorphine – Before using buprenorphine

Certain medications are so reactive to people and especially to those with certain health conditions. Buprenorphine is such medicine that needs to be used with extra care being taken therefore before this medication is administered, your doctor must be aware of the following to help them make a decision whether to allow or not.

  • Do you or have you ever had liver or kidney problems.
  • Do you or have you ever had prostate problems or any difficulties passing urine.
  • Do you have any breathing problems like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Have you ever been told that you have low blood pressure
  • Do you have any problems with your thyroid or adrenal glands
  • Are you epileptic?
  • Do you have any problem with your bile duct
  • Are you pregnant or breast-feeding
  • If you have been constipated for more than a week or have an inflammatory bowel problem.
  • Do you have a condition causing muscle weakness, called myasthenia gravis?
  • Have you in the recent past had a severe head injury
  • Have you ever had an allergic reaction to any medicine
  • Are currently taking any street drugs or medicines including any medicines you are taking which are available across the counter without a prescription like herbal and complementary medicines.

Buprenorphine – Achieving the best from your treatment

  • Occasionally when using buprenorphine you may experience some discomfort during the first 3 days, this is a normal reaction and you must not attempt taking heroin on top, and again do not take more than what the doctor instructed.
  • Periodically keep regular consultations with your doctor or clinic for proper review of how you’re progressing. During these meetings you are likely to be requested to give specimen of urine from time to time for the evaluation exercise.
  • You cannot get Buprenorphine without a doctor’s prescription and you will not be able to ask for any changes to be made to your supply because your pharmacist can only dispense the prescription exactly as per the instructions of your doctor.
  • There are several different brands and strengths of buprenorphine tablets, so each time you collect a supply, check to make sure it contains what you are expecting.
  • You are more likely to succeed in staying off heroin if you have support and counseling in addition to taking buprenorphine. Local drug community teams, self-help groups and other agencies may be of help.
  • You must refrain from any street drugs or drinking too much alcohol while using buprenorphine because other street drugs such as benzodiazepines (benzos) and alcohol can affect buprenorphine and increase the chance of unwanted effects.
  • You should tell the DVLA that you are taking buprenorphine if you are a driver. You are likely to be banned from driving at first, although you may be allowed to drive again later, subject to an annual medical review. Your doctor will tell you when you can resume driving.
  • When there is need to stopping using buprenorphine discuss this with your doctor before stopping. It is important that buprenorphine should be taken regularly to reduce the risk of withdrawal symptoms occurring. When you are ready to consider becoming drug-free, your doctor will be able to help you decide on the best way to do this in order to keep withdrawal effects to minimum and manageable levels.
  • If you are planning any visit abroad, you should carry a letter with you from your doctor to explain that you have been prescribed buprenorphine. This is because buprenorphine is classed as a ‘controlled drug’ and is subject to certain restrictions.
  • If you buy any medicines, check with a pharmacist that they are suitable for you to take with buprenorphine. Many other medicines have similar side-effects to buprenorphine and taking them together will increase the risk of unwanted effects.
  • If you are having an operation or dental treatment, tell the person carrying out the treatment that you are taking buprenorphine.

Finally you have had all the attached effects and conditions while using this drug, you may wonder why use such medicine with so much conditions and believe me you are right therefore for good healthy and user friendly alternatives talk to Dr. Dalal Akoury, Founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. She is a medical doctor with over two decades of addiction treatment and together with her team of experts she is offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to all patients across the globe as well to other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Your condition will be safe at this facility and you will be among many individuals and qualified professional joining this truly successful and fast addiction recovery treatment.

Buprenorphine – Addiction treatment

 

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Addictiveness of Sugar

July 28, 2014

Addictiveness of Sugar – The White Addictive Poison

Sugar

Addictiveness of Sugar. It is not funny sugar is a legally accepted poison to your health. You can get help from the experts

A part from those committing suicide no one would want to poison themselves for fear of the consequences and love of life. But did you know that on a daily basis you are willingly adding poison in your body system? This sounds strange to your ears but it is the truth. I am talking about the sweet things and food staff you love and a day cannot go without having a bit. It may sound unbelievable to you that the normal sugar you add to your coffee, tea or milk is more addictive than cocaine, in fact it is not just addictive but it is eight time more addictive. How would you feel if you are told that researchers and medical professionals the world over are now saying that if they knew the effects and destruction that this substance has on people they would have banned it and placed it on the same list as cocaine. This substance is the cause of a pandemic of health issues, diabetes, obesity, disease and death. And what if you are told that you and your children are probably already addicts?

It is not my intention to scare you this drug is consumable and in fact, it’s not only legal to push, pedal, distribute and sell, it is also commercially promoted and advertised openly as one of the world’s most traded commodities. It is one of America’s top exported products of mass destruction alongside with weapons of war, alcohol, tobacco and entertainment. It is omnipresent in almost every food type and major American food brand. This addictive drug is one of the world’s most valuable agricultural commodities and is traded in the world market in the tune of billions of dollars by more than 123 countries. The secret of its deadliness is out in most developed countries and its use however has increased in spite of this knowledge and has more than doubled in developing countries. So what is this addictive, omnipresent, legal drug of choice? You have probably guessed it by now its C12H22O11 and I am almost sure that you are a user on some level of sugar.

Addictiveness of Sugar – Sugar

Research has established that almost everything, delicious and very addictive stuff, called sugar or sucrose or fructose or many other names it now goes by to hide its presence. Ever since laws have been implemented to specifically state the amount of sugar in their products, manufacturers have been using various other names to hide the actual amount of sugar contained in them. For instance look out for these sly labels – barley malt, beet sugar, brown sugar, buttered syrup, caramel, corn syrup, confectioners’ sugar, carob syrup, caster name them, whatever their new nouns may be the all have a common denominator and that is sugar.

Addictiveness of Sugar – Yes we need Sugar

Yes we do need sugar (glucose) and our bodies cannot function without it. We can however get our required amount from healthy fruits and foods and we need not add the extra 4kg of refined sugar every month, over and above what we require. It is important to note that sugar is found in most of our food but the adding of extra sugar and the creation of sugary products has grown exponentially. Researchers tell us that the most efficient way to deliver a sugar fix is via the soft drink industry. Apart from the effects on your health, a sugar researcher tells us that drinking one sugary soft drink a day will increase your weight by 6kg per year. A bottle of Coke a day will increase your weight by 11kg per year. And don’t get me started on sugar substitutes and “diet” cold drinks. According to medical professionals they are nothing more than poisons. Medically most, if not all sugar substitutes are referred to as neurotoxins.

Addictiveness of Sugar – Behavior Change

So it will be important that you make a decision to limit your consumption of sugar and realize the benefits. For instance listen to this confession my mother became a diabetic (no surprise) she then stopped eating sugar and lost about 20kg in 6 months with no much physical activities and no change at all in her diet. After several hardest days (40) of my life I lost 5kg and now on day 71, am down 8kg. I have to add that I have been weight training and not eating bread.

I never started my sugar stoppage for weight loss. I really did it because I got to a stage when my health started to suffer and I was out of control.  I needed an intervention and the opportunity to kick my own ass. My waist had gotten so big I was asked to participate in a commercial audition for an organization and believe it I was literally struggling to tie my shoelaces in the morning without a respirator. I was on thyroid medication and Nexium for gastro oesophageal reflux, I fought hard to sleep, I had no energy and by 3 o’clock in the afternoon wanted to take a nap, I always got colds and flu, I got muscle cramps and injuries and I felt all round crappy.

Today because a decision to change my behaviors I feel 100% healthier, I have stopped all of my medications, I sleep well, have more energy than ever before and I have lost 8 kg in fat. Not bad for just stopping and looking out for sugar. The most important and significant change is the fact that I have taken back control of my life from my drug of choice, beautiful, deadly, Florida icing – sugar.

Relapse

Unfortunately I have found that one of the only ways to beat an addiction is to be placed in situations of temptation again and again and having to say no. Every time you are tempted and you say no, you take back the power. You take the power away from the addiction one temptation at a time. You will find, like I did, that the universe will, with love and kindness, put you into situations of mass temptation the exact day and week you decide to take back your power. It is perfectly designed because you cannot take back your power unless you are tempted. Taking yourself out of a situation does not allow you to exercise personal control. It’s the hardest most satisfying ride you will ever take. I challenge you to be and obtain your superpower of self-control and you will have the best of your like I did.

What is your feeling of that confession? As you reflect about it, you will not find it to be smooth all the way and so you will need to seek for help from the experts like talking to Dr. Akoury of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center will help you achieve optimal weight loss if sugar brings obesity to your life. At this facility we focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. Doctor Akoury is also an addiction professional of over two decades and you will be able to get all inclusive professional attention on both addiction and Obesity.

Addictiveness of Sugar  – The White Addictive Poison

 

 

 

 

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The Neurobiology Of Abuse, Addiction And Chemical Dependency

July 27, 2014

What is neurobiology?

Neurobiology is the study of nervous system cells and their organization into the functional circuits that process information and mediate behavior. Neurobiology is different from neuroscience, since neuroscience is much broader and looks at the study of the nervous system generally. Neurobiology focuses on the study of neurons, which are cells that are specialized to receive, propagate and transmit electrochemical impulses. Scientist have identified that in the human brain alone, there are over hundred billion neurons.

Is there any relationship between Abuse, Addiction and Dependency?

There can actually be argued that all these are related in one way or the other. In this case, the main condition which can be triggered by all the others is addiction. For instance, when a person develops a chemical dependency, it becomes impossible for the person to survive without taking the drug. This makes the person to make the drug part of his/her life. The prolonged usage of this drug will eventually result into addiction of the person by the drug.

On the other hand, looking at what abuse is, it is the usage of drug for a purpose other than the intended use of the substance. It can also be defined as the improper usage of a drug, whereby if it was a prescription drug, the patient uses it the wrong way and not the way the doctor recommended. This may result to drug resistance and thus the person will be required to use higher amount of the same drug if in future it is to produce the equivalent effects as before. This with time results to addiction to the drug and consequently the person will not be able to live without the drug.

How do drugs work in the human brain?

Most addictive drugs work by altering the way the brain works. The effect of the drugs that addicts look for (especially stimulants) occurs by alterations in the brain to trigger pleasure. One drugs get into the brain, they tap into the brain’s communication system. Once they are inside the brain’s communication system, they disrupt the way nerve cells normally send, receive and process information. The following are the ways through which the drugs work in the brain;

  • Imitation of the natural transmitters – natural transmitters are the chemical messengers in the brain. Due to the similarity in the chemical structure between drugs and these neurotransmitters, the drugs are able to false fully activate the nerve systems and hence make them send abnormal messages through their network.
  • Overstimulation of the reward system – this occurs by flooding the circuit with dopamine., which is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, motivation and general feelings of pleasure in the body. Almost all the drugs abused are able to activate this system, especially the stimulants. This is why the users of such drugs frequently want to use them due to the pleasure they get from the drugs’ use.

How does the process of addiction entail?

Drug addiction is not something that happens overnight. It is a process that relatively takes a long period before a person becomes an addict. This period will though vary from person to the other. The common changes that will occur in the human brain before addiction occurs are discussed below.

  • Brain adaptation – with time, the brain adjusts to the surges in dopamine by decreasing the number of dopamine receptors available. This will reduce the functioning of the reward system circuit. This results to the drug user having now to take higher amounts of the drug substance in order to attain the effect they could easily attain before after just taking a little of the drug substance. This effect is the one termed a tolerance, and the drug user at this stage is said to be tolerant to the drug.
  • Other than the dopamine, there will be other changes in the brain – the prolonged abuse of drug substances lead to damage in the brain chemical system, including glutamate and the neurotransmitter that influences the reward system circuits and also the ability to learn. Impairment in the brain can occur sometimes, especially when the optimal concentration of glutamate is altered by the drug abuse.
  • Trigger of conscious memory systems- the abuse of drugs can trigger the conscious memory systems. From psychology, conditioning is a way of learning. In this case, the environmental cues such as certain people and places may become associated with the drug and hence trigger uncontrollable cravings if the individual is exposed to these cues, even when the drug itself is not available.
  • Addiction – this is actually the step in which almost all the other alterations in the brain leads to. The brain imaging studies of drug addicted persons have indicated that changes in the areas of brain that are critical to judgment, decision making , learning and memory and also behavior control. This seeks to explain why addiction occurs, since these changes are likely what drive the drug abusers to seek out and take drugs compulsively, even when they have negative effects on their bodies.

Finally, I wish to remind you that addiction is curable and you just need to seek the qualified professional to help you out in the recovery process.

Is there any relationship between Abuse, Addiction and Dependency?

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Reality of Drug Abuse

July 26, 2014

Reality of Drug Abuse – When Drug Abuse is ruining your life

The reality of drug abuse. Are you not aware of the dangers of drug abuse? Drug abuse has no respect to anyone.

Drugs are poisonous to the body and are not good for human life in any way. All that drugs can do to one’s life is to ruin it and destroy. If drugs are this destructive what are you doing about it? Don’t you think the time to face the reality has come? Take a moment and reason within yourself how it’s practically impossible for you to own up to what you’re doing to yourself, particularly when it gets to drug abuse. It’s seemingly too easy to engage in justification, finger-pointing, playing the blame game or just ignoring the truth.

The moment drug abuse is ruining your life you will not be able to be in the comfort of repudiating the facts: You’ve slid downhill just about as far as you can go. How do you face reality? What are the signs that drug abuse has nearly done you in? Is there anything positive you really can do, now that you feel like you’re a lost cause? The answer is an undisputable yes. The very first thing to do is acceptance that there is a problem which needs fixing. This then gives you the willpower to take further recovery action which may include the following:

Reality of Drug Abuse – Take Stock of Your Life

This will open your dark days in drugs and believe me it is not anyone cup of tea, it will be emotionally and socially painful when the reality descend on you. For instance you may notice that you succeeded in destroy yourself. Despite the painful reality there is hope of turning the tables and begin transforming your life. By now I believe that this moment of reflection has given you enough reasons why this is the best decision you are taking and so let us list just a few in case you need reinforcement for making this drastic change in your life.

Reality of Drug Abuse – Getting your health back

Is there anybody who doesn’t want to be healthy and live a good life? You were then but now your refreshment time has come and you are going to put all the past addictive experiences behind you greeting each day with smiles of abundance of health without the pain brought on you by chronic drug use. You must resolve to do what you can to regain your health. If you’re now in a debilitative state or end-phase disease, you can still take steps to make your quality of life better for your remaining days.

Reality of Drug Abuse – Mend relationships with your family

Your actions during the period you were using drugs may have caused you the joy of being with your family and friends and by now their hearts are broken and some may have even written you off their lives you must make a mend with them because no one wants to live a life empty of the love and support of those closest to us, even if we have our differences. Family should be able to raise above all that. You will appreciate that in this category your drug abuse and addiction has cost you dearly and you may be afraid or even unwilling to go through the difficult challenge of mending relationships. Yet, you still want to, somewhere deep in your psyche. Be encouraged this is only difficult but not impossible it may take longer than you think but peace will prevail once more. The key is to have this as a goal, and then work toward achieving it once you’ve become clean and sober again.

Reality of Drug Abuse – Reclaiming your job

Anyone who’s a drug addict knows full well that working and career don’t mix with the never-ending pursuit of the next fix, the next high. All you think about and all your actions revolve around your drug use – scheming to find, borrow or steal money to obtain your drugs, angling for where to secure them, using, getting high, coming down from the high, and beginning the cycle all over again.

Likely your job was one of the first things to go once your drug use began affecting your performance and attendance, as well as your appearance, interaction with co-workers and boss, and your overall manners. Getting back into gainful employment should be one of your goals after you are clean and free of drugs, since you cannot support yourself or others or make any meaningful headway in recovery if you are poverty-stricken.

Reality of Drug Abuse – Make something of yourself

Somewhere along the line you gave up on your dreams and instead you relegated yourself to something less than, to living in the shadows, to only getting by. Do you have idea why that took place?

  • Did you grow up in a dysfunctional family, constantly browbeaten and ridiculed, humiliated so that you felt like you were worthless and no-good?
  • Were you physically beaten, sexually abused, and neglected to the point of having to fend for yourself?
  • All this can and does put children at serious risk of falling prey to the lures of drug abuse.

Nonetheless because you are picking up the pieces you can come back from all this. You can make something of yourself once again. It will take a great deal of effort and the help of professionals to build your self-esteem don’t lose focus it can be done. You have to choose to try. It is not just a worthwhile goal but it is essential to achieving all your other goals in sobriety.

Reality of Drug Abuse – Financial security

The effects of drug addiction on your finances are one which is very much noticeable due to the sudden change of your lifestyle. It is common with most if not all drug addicts to be reckless with their spending on the supply of their substances until they are completely penniless. When they become penniless they begin to use their properties in exchange for the drugs, then lying and stealing from friends, family members or even strangers. Any available money would be used to finance the drug needs. This is the reality of your life as an addict but now that you are choosing to be sober and have your life back, financial security will be very important. Achieving this may not be possible easily without hard work and immense discipline. You will have to draw a plan of action even as you seek help from someone who can give you the best action plan. With good plan you will get back on your financial feet and live on the positive side of life.

Finally as you consider these options it will be fair for you to be in constant touch with an addiction professional who will be of help to you professionally on this journey of addiction recovery. Doctor Dalal Akoury has been a medical doctor with vast experience of over two decades in the line of addiction and her services will be very helpful to you for real tine addiction treatment in the most natural way.

Reality of Drug Abuse – When Drug Abuse is ruining your life

 

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Understanding Food Addiction

July 25, 2014

Food Addiction: Is it True?

Food AddictionAddiction has been known to emerge as a result of a prolonged habit. This means that addiction doesn’t always have to result from drugs, but it can as well come as a result of behaviors such as shopping, internet, gambling and not forgetting eating. Eating to many of us is an activity that we normally do when it is time for eating or simply when we have to eat. This is sometimes not the case. Especially with fast foods which by nature are palatable and mouth wetting. If a person has access to such foods, he/she may develop a behavior of every time wanting to eat these foods. This is despite the fact that some of these foods may have negative health effects, such as body being overweight. At this point, the person taking the food is considered addicted.

How do you know you are a food addict?

There are common habits which can suggest whether or not you may be suffering from emotional eating and food addiction. You should examine yourself based on these habits and if you identify yourself with one or several of them, you should consider visiting a professional to discuss your eating habit. The following are some of such habits:-

  • The addict may develop fear of food – the person may seem to avoid some foods. These people suffer the views that such foods are harmful and thus avoid them. They will always give excuses for not being able to take the food and sometimes will try to avoid events in which the food is to be eaten.
  • Emotional eating – the people with food addiction will seem to un-necessarily eat a lot of food. This is especially the case when they are stressed, anxious or worried. This habit of overeating leads one to feeling guilty and hence the anxiety about their eating habit makes them to eat even more. This habit of overeating can easily become a viscid downward spiral.
  • Abrupt weight loss or gain – many addicts of food will suffer poor body image and a feeling that they want to lose weight. This weight loss is normally not easy when someone is eating un-healthily. For a food addict to maintain the required diet it is almost impossible and thus an intervention is required for such a person to be helped to recover. This problem can be solved by many of nutritionists and doctors. If you are suffering from food addiction, you should consider visiting a doctor or a nutritionist to get you problem solved.
  • Food addicts may engage in substance abuse – the food addicts frequently engage in abuse of dangerous substances such as laxatives. They also engage in harmful activities such as self-induced vomiting, frequent fasting and excessing exercise.
  • The food addicts may be food possessed – the addicts of food who are food obsessed are normally very easy to be observed. These people will always want to talk about food. They are ever thinking about food, the amount of food they can eat every day, the amount they previously ate and they possess anticipation to eat.

How can food addiction be overcome?

Are you a food addict? Or do you know a person who is a food addict? The knowledge of how addiction can be treated is vital. Unlike the other types of addiction, overcoming the food addiction is not easy. For example when dealing with drug addiction, you will be encouraged to stop taking the drug, but it is impossible to stop taking food. So how can a food addict overcome?

  • You need to reprogram your taste buds – if you are addicted of sugary foods, you need to start reducing the rate at which you take these sugary foods. Try to also avoid adding sugar to the foods that are not supposed to be sweet. Try to slowly reduce taking of sugary foods in the favor of fruits and vegetables. This will restore your sensitivity in the taste buds and reduce craving for the addictive food.

Food Addiction

  • Have a good planning of your meals – avoid just eating what your mind thinks about. It is important to plan your health eating and ensure you eat responsibly, by avoiding overeating. An addict will always rave for a given food, so try to avoid being drawn to taking the unplanned foods.
  • Hunger moderation – another factor that causes people to overeat is hunger. You should learn to moderate your hunger and eat the food amount that is healthy to your body.
  • Understand your weaknesses – as a matter of fact, each person has a given food that he/she cannot turn down. For example, there are some people who cannot go past a place selling ice cream without having to buy. The best way to do away with what you cannot resist is to avoid it. Avoid the places which will tempt you with these foods.
  • Get yourself healthy ways of cope – when you stop taking some foods, there will be left a void, for example the time used to walk looking for cookies. Ensure you do a healthy activity during this time, for instance hiking or going out with friends.
  • If the therapeutic treatment methods do not work to help you out of the food addiction, opt the medical treatment. Visit your doctor and be open to discuss the problem with him/her.

Food Addiction: Is it True?

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