Tag Archives: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Eating Disorders and Poly-Behavioral Addiiction

October 23, 2014

Pathological Eating Disorders and Poly-Behavioral Addiction

eating disordersEvery living thing depends on food for survival. Without eating not only will a person be weak and unable to perform optimally but he will   die because there will be deficiency in the nutrients that the body needs to continue performing optimally. Feeding is a vital part of every living thing since foods also help in protecting the body against disease causing pathogens. Certain foods are very good at immune building and so through feeding the body is nourished and protected.

However there are also eating disorders that may cause you more harm than benefits. To begin with let’s define what pathological eating disorders are and possibly get some examples of the most common pathological eating disorders.

Eating disorders are illnesses that are caused by abnormal eating. In most cases it has to do with the amount of food taken by an individual. When a [person takes to little food that is insufficient to the needs of the body he will suffer consequences that over a time may become a full blown eating disorder. Eating too much food will also result in certain eating disorders. Eating disorders harms not only the physical health but also the mental health and therefore any eating disorder must be attended to curb its severe effects. Examples of eating disorders include:

Bulimia nervosa– it is normal to turn to food when feeling hungry, lonely, bored, or stressed. However with bulimia, overeating is more like a compulsion and a person feels out of control. When a person suffers from this eating disorder he will not eat merely to get satisfied but he will punish himself by purging, fasting, or exercising to get rid of the calories. The danger of purging and binging is that it affects the body and the emotional well-being of an individual. A person suffering from bulimia will need treatment so as to be able to overcome the feelings of shame, guilt and anxiety by developing good relationship with food.

A person struggling with bulimia is constantly in conflict with himself as he homes the battle between the desire to lose weight and the uncontrollable compulsion to binge food. After eating a person will engage in any act that will undo overeating by running or inducing vomiting. This is the major cause anxiety in those struggling with this eating disorder.

 

Anorexia nervosa

It is normal to have a desire to put your weight under control. People especially ladies have the need to have lean bodies. However in some instances the need to control your weight may interfere with your eating habit. You will begin to restrict eating some foods and this may become habitual. You may restrict food to a point of starvation all in the need to lose weight and gain that lean body. This results in an eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa. A person suffering from this eating disorder has his thoughts dominated by the urge to lose weight and this may become an obsession.

This eating disorder is very dangerous as it affects all the facets of your life. You will not even know who you really are and that is a major cause of torment in anybody. A person who suffers from this eating disorder is constantly in fear of gaining weight as they believe it will interfere with their outlook. Mealtimes are always very stressful to those who are suffering from anorexia as what they always think about is what to limit so as to keep them lean.

Today pathological eating disorders and their related diseases have become a major health concern worldwide. Many people are suffering from these pathological eating disorders than malnutrition. In fact some experts have purported that obesity which is a disease related to eating disorders has become the major health problem in the world replacing heart disease and cancer.

This thought is echoed by the World Health Organization which in June, 2005 stated that “obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight – at least 300 million of them clinically obese – and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability. Often coexisting in developing countries with under-nutrition, obesity is a complex condition, with serious social and psychological dimensions, affecting virtually all ages and socioeconomic groups.”

eating disordersAnother body that has shown concern on the contribution of pathological eating disorders in poor health in people is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which in June, 2005 reported that “during the past 20 years, obesity among adults has risen significantly in the United States. This claim was backed up by the latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics which showed that 30 percent of U.S. adults 20 years of age and older – over 60 million people are obese. The pathological eating disorders and their consequential diseases do not affect the adults only but affect people of all ages. Today the percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980.

Poly-behavioral addiction would be described as a state of periodic or chronic physical, mental, emotional, cultural, sexual and/ or spiritual/ religious intoxication. Pathological eating disorders are valid cause of poly-behavioral addiction just like any other substance of abuse. Therefore a person suffering from any form of eating disorders should seek help before it results into a bigger problem like obesity and other related diseases.

Here at AWAREmed we are dedicated to avail help to all those who may be suffering from pathological eating disorders. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert in integrative treatment and will be willing as always to avail help to all those in need.

Pathological Eating Disorders and Poly-Behavioral Addiction

 

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Pain Addiction Continuum

October 2, 2014

Pain Addiction Continuum and How To Deal With It

Pain AddictionPain management is an important part of treatment especially in situations where the patient is to go through intense like during chemotherapy for cancer patients or after going through surgery.  Nobody will like to have intense pain maim him for even the least amount of time. People like to be happy and avoid anything that may bring them pain. However in some instances there has to be pain for a much serious health problem to be solved. To manage pain certain drugs are used that helps you to endure the pain, unfortunately most of these are addictive and so as you are using them to manage pain you are at risk of addiction. Opiates are the mostly used drugs in pain management and they work well in ensuring that your pain is moderated if not done away with completely. However effective they are these drugs are very rewarding and before you know it the body may be adapted to these drugs so much that you will feel like you need to take them every time and increase the dosage over a time. Due to their rewarding nature they can be easily abused and a treatment that once began on the right foot may end up being another nightmare in a person’s life hence there is need for actions to be taken to help patients not to be addicted to this pain drugs.

Now back to the point pain and addiction may occur as a continuum or just two different entities. Here we see how pain addiction continuum occurs and how to deal with it. When the drugs are given for pain management you will be using them for just that for quite a time without feeling the intense craving for them. But as time goes by and you are still using them you will begin to have craving for these drugs not only to use them within the specified dosage but you may begging to desire mega doses which is now addiction so pain addiction continuum is rather the changes that takes place in your body demanding for more of the drug and hence dependence on these drugs. The use of opiates in pain management may work well for some people while for others it may not and their treatment may work better if they stopped using the opiates therefore it is important to work with experts in this field who will know when to use and when to stop using these opiates to avoid the dangers of addiction that may come with them. This means that the treatment must have a clear exit strategy from the opiates to help the patient overcome the cravings for more of the pain drugs.

Pain management demands that the doctor must be able to assess the patient well that is before issuing a prescription and during the course of treatment. The doctor should improve patient care by bio psychosocial model assessment of   the patient’s past and even present aberrant if any of such exist. All this will help the doctor decide on how best to prescribe the drugs in dosages that will reduce risks to addiction. Today the doctors are aware that pain management drugs poise a great threat to addiction in patients unlike in the past when it was thought that if a patient did not have a history of drug abuse disorder. The risk  of getting addicted to the opiates used in pain management is higher and this fallacy and past belief that it had low chances of inducing addiction in patients with no history of substance use disorder has never served this industry. It is quite fortunate that avenues are now opening as the doctors are slowly waking up to the reality of pain addiction continuum and proper exit strategies are being developed to help the cancer patients to evade addiction. The addiction that arises from use of opiates in pain management may be caused by many factors but the biggest culprit is poor management of chronic pain.

Poorly managed chronic pain

Now that we have learnt that there is risk of addition from the use of pain management drugs like the opiates it is better to exercise better management of chronic pain. Today chronic pain is one of the nightmares that many people are fighting every day. These people can use anything given to them to kill that pain without thinking twice and this shows how vulnerable they are. It therefore calls for professionalism in dealing with these people and doctors must find better ways to manage chronic pain in a way that reduces their risk to addiction.

In the past pain had been poorly manage owing to such beliefs that I have discussed above. Patients were put on opiate drugs to kill pain without assessing them and this often led to serious health problems since every patient is unique owing to the fact that they have different history relating to the substance use disorder. There is also need to explore other ways of pain management methods as opposed to singly using the opiates in pain management. Some of the natural pain management methods that work better are discussed here.

Proliferative therapies for pain (Natural)

Prolozone™ Therapy– Dr. Frank Shallenberger pioneered this type of proliferative therapy, Prolozone therapy uses ozone, a naturally occurring form of oxygen with powerful regenerative capacity owing to its extra oxygen atom. It works by increasing oxygen circulation and delivery into the damaged areas. This helps in strengthening ligaments and tendons as well as in rebuilding cartilage in the treated joint.

Prolotherapy– this therapy was pioneered by Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop who had used it successfully to treat his chronic back pain. It is the oldest and most widely used form of proliferative therapy that has been used since the 1930’s.it involves injecting a natural substance such as dextrose to purposefully provoke mild localized inflammation. This increases the blood supply and flow of nutrients to the area, and the body responds by regenerating the damaged structures.

Pain addictionPlatelet Rich Plasma Injection (PRP) Therapy -involves the use of the body’s own platelets for treatment of pain. It involves drawing a small amount of blood that is centrifuged to separate out the plasma this creates blood that is concentrated in platelets. The high concentration of platelets in the plasma is rich in bioactive proteins and growth factors that can accelerate tissue repair and regeneration. Today this therapy is become more popular with athletes.

Here at AWAREmed we are dedicated to finding the best solutions to chronic illnesses and that is why Dr.Dalal Akoury (MD) is always in the forefront advocating for integrative medicine since it is only through integrative medicine that a person can be healed wholly. Do not hesitate to call on her for help in managing any sort of chronic pain as well as other diseases.

Pain Addiction Continuum and How To Deal With It

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Proper use Opioids to Curb Addiction and Dependence

October 1, 2014

 

Better Use of Opioids to Curb Addiction and Dependence

opioidsThe opioid drugs have brought relief to many people that were suffering severe pain enough to even disable them. The use of these drugs however should be done with extreme caution as this is like a double aged knife. We talk of collateral damage here with this I mean that these drugs should be used in a manner that they are safe enough not to cause myriad problem such as addiction and dependence on these records.  Today there are millions of Americans who depend on these opioid drugs to overcome what might otherwise be agonizing, crippling pain. However, each year, the numbers of people who have become addicted to these drugs rise. The very same drugs that help them to overcome the pain are poising a great danger in their lives needless to mention the use of these drugs has led to death of many Americans. The main cause of these deaths is overdose. Prescription opioid overdoses caused more than 16,000 deaths in the United States in the year 2010 alone. This is for times the number of deaths that were recorded in 1999 to have been caused by prescription opioid overdose. In the past it was not  easy for both private and public health facilities to act on these unpleasant statistics but slowly they seem to lay strategies to curb the use of these opioid drugs and so far these strategies have shown positive results as very many lives have been saved not only in America but also in other continents.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has cited Florida as one of the cities where the deaths have dropped owing to these strategies that have been employed by the health sector. The deaths dropped from 3201 as was in 2010 to 2666 in 2012. The report clarifies that most of these deaths were reduced due to reduction in prescription of these drugs to pain patients. There were fewer prescriptions to these opioid drugs as a result of in the policy that regulated the flow of these drugs. These policy changes led to a close of 250 of the state’s pill mills that were considered high volume pain medication dispensaries.

The United States remains far and away the world’s largest user of prescription opioids, with 259 million prescriptions written in 2012, according to the CDC — twice as many, per capita, as the next-largest consumer, Canada. A separate CDC report issued the same day as the Florida update showed that prescription rates vary widely among states. Now, when we take America out of the picture and we begin to find reasons why there are problems with the opioid medications we learn that one of the causes of these problems is;

Irresponsible prescription

Every patient entrusts his with the doctor, however in some situations this dependence may be abused either intentionally or unintentionally. Some doctors are opiophobiac and hence reluctant to give right doses to the patients while in some scenarios a patient may be handled by a doctor who is not experienced in pain treatment hence may either overdose or under dose the patient. Cases of overdose are a major cause of deaths from use of these pain drugs.

Another source of complication is, the patient may be afraid of these drugs as they are often portrayed negatively by the media. The fear of addiction and dependence may make a patient not to use the drugs as prescribed.

Due to the problems that were faced by both doctors and patients in dealing with the opioid medications, the universal precautions were developed to offer a structured rational approach to pain patients and serve “as a guide to start a discussion within the pain management and addictions communities. They are not promoted as complete precautionary measures but as a guide to opioid medications.

The difference between physical dependence, addiction and PSEUDO-ADDICTION

These three have different meanings. However they have always been confused causing fear among patients using these drugs. Physical dependence is the case that arises when a person has been using these drugs for some time. The body physically becomes dependent on these drugs so much that when you stop using them you will show signs of withdrawal. This is normal and happens with other medications not only with opiates.

Addiction on the other hand is a case when a person losses control of the drugs. He no longer can maintain the doses as prescribed but begins to take much more than the prescribed doses. In most cases those addicted to a drug will not accept that they are but will go through all hustles to satisfy their craving for the drug.

 What is pseudo-addiction?

opioidsWhen a pain patient on opioids begins behaving in a manner that most addicts do but in real sense he is not addicted, this is called pseudo-addiction. The patient will demand for more drugs because the doses he got have not settled the pain. They will even use more than the prescribed doses in a bid to cool the pain and are often early to request for more drugs since they overused the ones they were given to cool the pain . The difference between pseudo-addiction and addiction is the reason behind the need for more drugs; an addict needs more drugs to satisfy his craving while in pseudo-addiction a patient needs more drugs because of the pain.

You need more information to stay away from dependence on alcohol and drugs as these have crippled societies and that is why here at AWAREmed we are dedicated to finding the best solutions to addiction and dependence on substances. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is always in the mood of helping any patient to be addiction free. Do not hesitate to call on her for help in managing any sort of chronic pain or any type of addiction as well as other diseases.

Better Use of Opioids to Curb Addiction and Dependence

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The US Drugs Control Strategy

August 16, 2014

The Us Drugs Control Strategy May Favor Physicians

The 2014 US drugs control policy came as an advancement of the 2013 National Drug Control Strategy, which emphasized for an approach based on scientific research on addiction, evidence-based prevention programs, increased access to treatment, a historic emphasis on recovery, and criminal justice reform. This policy seeks to reduce the increasing rates drug addictions triggered deaths which have been on a rise.

This policy is actually an incentive and a sure new income stream for Physician who are professionals in drug addiction recovery. Physicians need to take advantage of this law to learn about the natural treatment of addiction and implement it in their offices for realization of great psychological and financial rewards.

The US National Drug Control Strategy 2014 is a continuation of the approach of the Obama administration’s earlier strategies with an emphasis on early intervention, treatment, recovery support, criminal justice reform, effective law enforcement, and international cooperation. While the overall framework, goals, and the agency responsibilities set out in Obama’s first Strategy remain in effect, the 2014 Strategy seeks to address issues such as declining perceptions of harm and increases of use of cannabis among young people, problem opioid use disorders and new synthetic drugs. The strategy has goals to be attained by 2015 including a decrease in the 30-day prevalence of drug use among 12- to 17-year-olds by 15 percent and a reduction of drug-induced deaths by 15 percent.

Why should physicians take advantage of this policy?

The physicians should actually take advantage of this policy to research on the natural treatments for addiction. The process of researching on new ways through which a given disease can be treated is obviously an expensive adventure. Many physicians may not afford to conduct sufficient research due to the limitations in resources required in the process of conducting the research.

The intervention of the US government has not only given the physicians a go ahead to conduct these researches but also allocated resources to sponsor any physician who seeks to contribute to the achievements of the drugs control strategy‘s objectives. Some of the treatments when discovered need to be piloted on. The right to administer a medication on a human being to determine its effectiveness requires authorization. With the US government’s drugs control strategy, it is very unlikely that such rights will not be granted, and thus the physicians’ experimentation process receives a boost.

What does the drug control strategy entail?

The drugs policy strategy has its key issues outlined. These are the key issues that must be addressed for the realization of the strategy’s objectives. The following are these key issues outlined by the strategy:-

  • Strengthening the Efforts to Prevent Drug Use in the Communities

The strategy here, looks at addiction as controllable if prevented in the first place. It focuses on the community and the role which each of the persons in the community can play in controlling the drug substance use and hence controlling addiction. It seeks to strengthen the community’s norms against drugs abuse. It also views the personal educational achievements as one of the causations of drugs abuse. It therefore emphasizes on the need to ensure self-sufficiency in the community.

  • Seek Early Intervention Opportunities in Health Care

The strategy emphasizes on the needs to diagnose the disorder drug usage and control it before it causes disorders to the patient. This makes the health care costs lower than treating the disorders when left to occur. This can be helpful to the physicians if they device a natural treatment which can diagnose and control the early symptoms of the drugs’ disorders.

  • Integration of substance use disorder treatment into health care

The US government also strategized to Integrate Treatment for Substance Use Disorders into Health Care and to Expand Support for Recovery. Since the process of recovery from drug addiction is a long process, this strategy seeks to make it possible for the patients to be able to get support from health care professional. It also discourages the use of opioids in the treatment of pain, since it is known to be addictive. If the physicians can exploit this opportunity by researching on the natural effective natural treatment, they can get the backup of the government as offering the appropriate medication and hence realization of great financial rewards.

 

  • Break the Cycle of Drug Use, Crime, Delinquency, and Incarceration

Drug addiction may lead to the abuser being charged before a court of law especially if the addiction is from an illegal drug. Even after the sentence, the person is likely to repeat the punishable behaviors and form a crime cycle. To end this cycle, breaking of the drug cycle is importanr. This strategy proposes that during the sentence, the addict should be put under recovery scheme which should continue even after the sentence.

If you need help with addiction or know of a friend suffering from this addiction, call in live or email us and we will help you get trusted treatment and advice. We are true professionals with proven track records and are very reliable in treatment.

The Us Drugs Control Strategy May Favor Physicians

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Causes of Cancer

July 26, 2014

Causes of Cancer And Behaviors That May Increase  Cancer Risk

causeCancer is a disease that is caused by very many causes. The disease has robbed us of our relatives and it is better that we learn how it is caused so that at least we may be able to avoid it given that most of the causes of cancer can be avoided if we adopt a healthy lifestyle. The journey towards being cancer free begins by knowing cancer; its cause, how to avoid it and finally how to treat it. It is therefore important to know the causes of cancer just as much as it is to know its best treatment options available that can work better and safely. There are also some behaviors that will escalate your risk of getting cancer. If these behaviors are made known then those concerned will refrain from indulging in them so as to reduce their chances of getting cancer.

Genetics and cancer

Cancer often begins from a single cell and this happens when the genetic composition of the cell is altered. A condition referred to as gene mutation. Gene mutations will eventually stop a cell from performing its functions normally. The cells that have problem with gene composition become cancerous and begin multiplying uncontrollably a key feature in cancerous cells. Gene mutations may happen to an individual from his interactions with the environment or a person may inherit cancer gene from the parents. Most cancers are caused by gene faults that happen in our lifetime. Most cancers are as a result of destroyed DNA, which may be done by carcinogens that a person is exposed to. These carcinogens destroy the DNA increasing the risk of cancer.

Examples of carcinogens that may result in the destruction of the cell DNA is eating genetically modified organisms (GMOs) such as commercial poultry and commercial dairy. The genetically engineered foods contain harmful compounds that destroy DNA and increasing the cancer risk. Industrial chemicals such as benzene also have a negative effect on an individual and may affect the genetic composition of the cells making them more vulnerable to cancer.

There is a fault repair gene but if it doesn’t work as it should and fails to repair the other genetic mistakes that we all gather as we go through life your chances of getting cancer increases.

People who are born to a parent with a mutated gene have high chances of getting cancer. This however does not mean that they must develop cancer but it actually escalates their risk of getting cancer. We share genes from both parents and therefore if one parent has a faulty gene, we have a 50% chance of inheriting it when we are born.

Environmental causes of cancer

The environmental we inhabit has a great influence on whether we stay cancer free or not. The air we breathe as well as the foods we eat are polluted and so we are highly exposed to cancer. The heavy metals that are dangerous to life have been found in insecticides and herbicides among other chemicals that we use. The traces of heavy metals remain in the foods that the insecticides are used on. These heavy metals cause myriad of problems in our bodies that increases our risk of cancer infection as they may interfere with the normal cell functioning  including cell DNA composition that when affected causes cancer. Exposure to such harmful substances like benzene, chlorinated water and pesticides increases a person’s cancer risks. It is quite a pity that those who are exposed to these harmful substances in most cases do not even know that they increase their risk to cancer.

Researchers have been able to prove that even the antibacterial detergents we use can cause cancer as they contain harmful compounds like Triclosan which is very dangerous to health as it disrupts the endocrine functions interfering with the normal metabolism and concentration of hormones in the body. This compound is available in most household items like soaps and toothpastes among other household items. According to the latest research findings, triclosan can improve the growth of cancer cells especially in the breast tissues.

Smoking and cancer

Smoking tobacco increases the smokers risk to cancer greatly. This is because the tobacco smoke has about 60 chemicals that affect the body functions and cause cancer. The tobacco smoke increases your risk to cancer by damaging a gene called p53. This gene is found in all the cells in the nucleus and it helps by prevent the cancer cell growth. Smoking is the leading cause of the gene p53 mutations in cancer patients. Smoking is the major cause of lung cancer but is also known to cause cancer of the mouth, throat, nasal, bowel, cervix and bone cancer. Lung cancer is the type of cancer with the least survival rates and causes most deaths.

Multiple sexual partners

Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV. HPV is a viral infection and by putting yourself at risk of HPV increases your chances of getting cervical cancer. Getting yourself into sexual activities with many people increases your chances of getting HPV.

causeThe risk of getting the HPV increases with the number of sexual partners you have. When the number is growing, your chances are also increasing. If you reduce the number of sexual partners you have, the fewer the chances of getting cervical cancer. Having sexual partners not only increases your chances of getting cervical cancer but also other diseases like HIV.

Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) has a website that avails cancer information to those seeking information. You can check on her website to learn more on how you can stay cancer free.

Causes of Cancer and Behaviors That May Increase  Cancer Risk

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