Drug abuse and treatment for skin picking disorders

June 11, 2015

Drug abuse and treatment for skin picking disorders: How Drug Abuse Affects the Skin

The rough Road of Quitting Heroin Addiction

Drug abuse and treatment for skin picking disorders. the two conditions can destroy ones life if not addressed from the beginning

With the increasing demand for beauty globally a lot is being done to improve the quality of our skin to keep looking as youthful as possible. The worry is, even as positive efforts are being done, a lot more bad things are also being done to destroy the youthfulness and beauty of your skin. Upon discovering that there is great need to tame the problem of substance abuse which has been seen to be the primary obstacle in sustaining the beauty of your skin, doctor Akoury made a decision to create a medical center (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. Dr. Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms. In this facility a lot is being done to restore the lost dignities, self-confidence of many people who are struggling with drug addiction. In our previous article, we noticed that skin picking disorders are some of the consequences that come with drug addiction and especially heroin addiction. Therefore in this article, we want to look at drug addiction and treatment for skin picking disorders as a way of finding lasting solutions.

Drug abuse and treatment for skin picking disorders: The skin picking disorder

The problem of skin picking disorders are becoming very common in today’s generation due to the continuous abuse of heroin. When one is suffering from this disorder, the beauty of such a person is seriously affected owing to the effects of the heroin addiction. To deal with this condition, doctor Akoury recommends that treatment must be done to the victim for both condition (heroin addiction and the infections on the skin as a result of the same). She further says that even though treatment of addiction is very difficult and full of obstacle, the good news is that with determination, this can be done conclusively. It is therefore advisable that if you are struggling with any form of addiction you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury who will professionally carry out an extensive assessment on you to evaluate your psychological soundness before taking any treatment action on you. And like I had indicated before it must be noted that this substance is very addictive and a comprehensive psychiatric assessment will always be very vital. Doctor Akoury says that under normal circumstances an initial, personalized assessment should cover the following areas:

Identification of what triggers the behavior?
Getting to know the benefits individual is getting from the behavior
Finding out if the individual have co-occurring mental health problems, like anxiety or depression
Does the individual have an alcohol or drug problem?
Does the person have a family history of mental illness?
Has the person tried any medications or therapies in the past?

Even though a lot more still needs to be done when it comes to the treatment for this condition due to the fact that at the moment the, U.S. Food and Drug Administration have not yet approved any medications specifically for the treatment of BFRBs, there are clear evidence that several drugs have been used in the past successfully to control the impulse to pick or scratch the skin and the following are some of the medications which can be essentially helpful:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as fluoxetine (Prozac) and escitalopram (Lexapro), have been approved for the treatment of depression and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder
Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline (Elavil) and imipramine (Elavil)
Opioid antagonists, such as naltrexone (ReVia), are used to reduce the pleasurable effects of alcohol and certain narcotics
Neuroleptic medications, such as olanzapine (Zyprexa) and risperidone (Risperdal), are used to treat repetitive, compulsive behaviors

Doctor Akoury reiterates that along with medication, behavioral modification therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) can help reduce the urge to self-mutilate. These therapies have also proven to be valuable in the treatment of drug addiction.

Drug abuse and treatment for skin picking disorders: Hope for Compulsive Behaviors

Skin picking and hair pulling, like drug or alcohol abuses are not conditions to be taken lightly because the consequences of not taking immediate action can be very destructive. Because we are dealing a very delicate organ, when strong substances like heroin are a bused, the effect on the skin can be very wanting. I encourage you to take the beauty restoration of your skin seriously by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for an elaborate treatment procedure. Dr. Akoury will be waiting for your call to help you regain the life of your skin. Remember that the main objective of doctor Akoury and her team of experts is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. It is very interesting to note that Dr. Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes to ensure that your health is completely restored back to normalcy so that you can live life to the fullest.

Finally dear reader when fighting addiction, it is never a one man’s job, all of us needs to pool together to defeat this problem. On her part besides offering lasting solutions to patients, doctor Akoury is also reaching out for the professionals in this discipline of addiction through offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. In fact this year AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is organizing the first ever Integrative Addiction Conference 2015. The conference will be held in August 23-25 at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and the mission of this conference is to provide prevention education, awareness, options and support to patients and physicians dealing with addiction.

It is also tailored to empower physicians to be involved in determining their personal “best answer for addiction” and promoting physician/patient awareness of a natural, yet profoundly effective, addiction treatment options that result in you “thriving while surviving” during treatment and recovery. Nonetheless the Integrative Addiction Conference 2015 will cover topics such as addiction as a holistic body ecosystem derangement, the interaction between stress, survivorship, pain and addiction, the role of hormonal imbalance in the disease of addiction, the genetic and epigenetic influences on the disease of addiction, psycho neuroendocrine immune restoration essential to reverse addiction as well as new and future therapies in the horizon for addiction treatment including stem therapy for psycho neuroendocrine immune restoration. This is a must attend conference for all professionals and you can get more information by login to www.integrativeaddiction2015.com or email sharon@integrativeaddiction2015.com.

Drug abuse and treatment for skin picking disorders: How Drug Abuse Affects the Skin

Chronic Fatigue and NAD Treatment

February 7, 2015

Chronic Fatigue and NAD Treatment

Chronic fatigue is very common among modern population. Studies have shown that over 9 million Americans today suffer from chronic fatigue. It affects people differently in that some may have a mild form of chronic fatigue while in others it may be severe. The severe form of chronic fatigue leads to a condition called chronic fatigue syndrome.

So what is chronic fatigue syndrome?

It is a debilitating disorder that affects a number of organs and is characterized by intense fatigue. This kind of fatigue worsens with mental or physical activity and does not go away easily even with bed rest. The symptoms of chronic fatigue include general body weakness, impaired memory, muscle pains, depression, anxiety and insomnia. Because chronic fatigue affects more than one body system, it ends up affecting the quality of your life.

People who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome end up spending most of their time in bed due to the pains that accompany the condition. The condition is not easily diagnosed and some patient who exhibit similar symptoms end up being diagnosed with other conditions. Fibromyalgia (FMG) is one condition that tends to be every similar with chronic fatigues syndrome.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by symptoms such as prolonged muscle pains and tenderness. Fatigue, sleep disorders and impaired memory are also conditions that accompany FMG. The two conditions are however treated along the same line. The only difference is that in case of FMG, muscle pains prevail over other symptoms.

Chronic Fatigue

Causes of Chronic Fatigue

The official cause of the condition is still unknown. However, several studies point to certain factors that may indeed cause the symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Hormonal Imbalances: most patients with chronic fatigue syndrome in one way or another suffer from hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue. The thyroid and adrenal hormone are responsible metabolism regulation. In this case, low levels of these hormones in the body cause energy levels to decline thus causing fatigue.

Toxics: compounds such as pesticides, herbicides contain toxics that poison the mitochondria and thereby affecting the production of energy that leads to symptoms of fatigue.

Mitochondrial dysfunction: the mitochondria are very vital in the body for the production of energy. When the mitochondria are not functioning as they should, energy production for the cells is affected. The body thereby ends up exhibiting symptoms of fatigue.

Food allergies: food allergens cause several symptoms one of them including fatigue. Some allergies manifest physically e.g. through swelling while others do no show. Most patients with chronic fatigue may not realize that it is being caused by the foods they eat because the allergies are not physically manifested.

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD) Treatment

The fatigue experienced in chronic fatigue syndrome is as a result of declined energy levels in the body. NAD treatment is one the several ways of treating chronic fatigue as it is shown to boost energy levels in an individual. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is usually a molecule whose work is to react with the mitochondrial oxygen in order to produce energy required for body functions such as breathing, digestion and blood circulation among others. When the body lacks this essential energy, it means that energy production is affected leading to fatigue, anxiety, depression, muscle pains, memory impairment, insomnia, decreased concentration levels as well as other chronic conditions.

NAD is usually an active form of the B3 vitamin. When combined with hydrogen it becomes a coenzyme called NADH. The body uses hydrogen in combination with oxygen to generate energy. The carbohydrates, fats and proteins we take in our diets, have chemicals that are necessary for energy production. The NAD is then loaded with hydrogen and when it enters the mitochondria, it reacts with the oxygen present producing energy. Conditions such as stress and toxins end up inhibiting this process and energy is not produced resulting in fatigue.

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome undergo NAD therapy in order for the body to actively generate energy. Research studies show that NAD is present in almost every type of food we consume. However, most of it is lost during preparation and cooking of food. The little that is left is broken down in the digestive system by acids present. The body therefore ends up not having enough of the molecule which is why a large number of the population suffers from chronic fatigue.

To learn more about chronic fatigue and its treatment, just visit www.awaremednetwork.com. Dr. Dalal Akoury will also provide you with more health and awareness tips. She has treated many patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome by use of NAD Therapy. You too can be part of this healing at AwareMed.

Chronic Fatigue and NAD Treatment

Poor Sleep Insomnia Treatment

December 24, 2014

Poor Sleep Insomnia Treatment

Just like meals, sleep play a pivotal role in good health and wellbeing of a person. It is the only avenue through which the body rests. Everyone’s individual sleep needs vary. In general, most healthy adults are built for 16 hours of wakefulness and need an average of eight hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept ten hours. And, contrary to common myth, the need for sleep doesn’t decline with age but the ability to sleep for six to eight hours at one time may be reduced. In spite of these differences the need for sleep can never be underestimated, everyone needs a good sleep to be able to perform normally.

According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), sleep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing. But still there are millions of people who do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of sleep. NSF conducted survey between 1999-2004 that revealed that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Most of those with these problems go undiagnosed and untreated. In addition, more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month – with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more. Furthermore, 69 percent of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

Complications_of_insomnia

What is insomnia?

According to National Sleep Foundation, insomnia is difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, even when a person has the chance to do so. People with insomnia can feel dissatisfied with their sleep and usually experience the symptoms of poor sleep that may deter them from enjoying healthy lifestyles. This disease can affect people of all ages but adults are the major victims.

Symptoms of Insomnia

Irritability, depression or anxiety
Difficulty paying attention, focusing on tasks or remembering
Increased errors or accidents
Tension headaches
Distress in the stomach and intestines (gastrointestinal tract)
Ongoing worries about sleep
Difficulty falling asleep at night
Awakening during the night
Awakening too early
Not feeling well rested after a night’s sleep
Daytime tiredness or sleepiness

Types of Insomnia

Acute insomnia

This refers to a brief period of lack of sleep. This type of insomnia is mostly caused by life events and circumstances for example when you go to bed after receiving a stressful news or an unexcpected news that is too overwhelming. Acute insomnia will affect you for the least time and resolves without any medical intervention.

Chronic insomnia

Chronic insomnia is a situation when a person suffers difficulty in sleep for a longer period of time.

Insomnia is usually considered chronic if a person has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at least three nights per week for three months or longer. Unlike acute insomnia chronic insomnia needs medical intervention to be resolved.

Comorbid insomnia

Comorbid Insomnia occurs with another condition such as anxiety and depression. Some conditions are known to induce insomnia for example depression. There are also other diseases and medications that may affect sleeping pattern and cause insomnia. This kind of insomnia that is induced by other conditions is what is called comorbid insomnia.

Onset insomnia

This refers to difficulty falling asleep when a person begin sleeping especially at the beginning of the night.

Maintenance insomnia

Maintenance Insomnia refers the inability to stay asleep. People with maintenance insomnia wake up during the night and have difficulty returning to sleep.

Causes of Insomnia

There are very many causes of insomnia. Here are some of the causes of insomnia.

Stress– when a person is stressed maybe about work or family issues his mind will be pondering on the subject of concern. An active mind makes it difficult for one to sleep. Some common stressors that may lead to insomnia include illness, job issues or even death of a loved one.

Anxiety– Anxiety is a common everyday problem. However there are more serious anxiety disorders like PTSD which will never give your brain a rest. Anxiety beckons insomnia and so should be avoided to help you sleep soundly and reap huge health benefits from it.

Depression- You might either sleep too much or have trouble sleeping if you’re depressed. Insomnia often occurs with other mental health disorders as well.

Medical conditions-there are conditions that will never let you sleep. These conditions may include; chronic pain, chest problems and even frequent urination. These conditions may cause difficulty in sleep. Diseases like cancer, arthritis, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and even Parkinson’s disease have been linked to insomnia.

Insomnia Treatment

There are adjustments that one can make personally to reduce instances of insomnia. These may include avoiding stress, eating early and avoiding thoughts that may invoke emotions just before going to bed. However there are also medical approaches to treating insomnia. These may include; cognitive behavioral therapy. We at AWAREmed health and wellness center are dedicated to finding the best natural solutions to health problems. You can visit us at Myrtle Beach South Carolina where you will be attended to by Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) who has vast experience in integrative medicine for lifestyle diseases.

Poor Sleep Insomnia Treatment

Naltrexone and Alcoholism

September 30, 2014

Naltrexone promising for alcoholism and SUD

Naltrexone People addicted to alcohol and other substances may have certain behavioral changes that are not healthy for them and even for the people they live amongst. This therefore means that specific actions should be taken to offer them assistance as they fight addiction to be able to quite these unhealthy cognitive behaviors. Most people addicted to alcoholism and other substances of abuse will experience dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviors and cognitive processes. All these need to be addressed to help the person to overcome. There are several therapies that can be used either singly or in collaboration with other therapies to help in this process. One of these therapies is the cognitive behavioral therapy often shortened as CBT.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for substance use disorders has demonstrated efficacy when used as a monotherapy as well as when used with other treatment strategies. There are articles that have been written that support the use of cognitive behavioral therapy, clinical elements of its application, novel treatment strategies for improving treatment response, and dissemination efforts. Although CBT for substance abuse is characterized by heterogeneous treatment elements such as operant learning strategies, cognitive and motivational elements, and skills building interventions across protocols several core elements emerge that focus on overcoming the powerfully reinforcing effects of psychoactive substances. Apart from CBT there are also other methods that are used in treating people that are alcohol and other substances dependence. One of these options is the use of Naltrexone.

What is Naltrexone?

Naltrexone is a synthetic drug that is similar to morphine. It is used in treatment of alcohol and heroine addictions. It works by blocking opiate receptors in the nervous system. It helps people to stay away from alcohol as it lowers the cravings for alcohol.

Naltrexone is a medication that is FDA-approved for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Meta-analyses of studies on the impact of Naltrexone medication has demonstrated positive effects on outcomes this treatment was found to work even better in helping the addicts to abstain from taking alcohol. Based on the accumulated evidence of the effectiveness of this medication it received strong recommendations as evidence-based treatments for alcohol dependence in the National Quality Forum’s National Voluntary Consensus Standards for the Treatment of Substance Use Conditions, as well as the VA/Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Substance Use Disorders (SUD). Based on these guideline recommendations, the “VA Uniform Mental Health Services Handbook” states that naltrexone and another drug known as acamprosate should be offered and be made available to all Veterans diagnosed with alcohol dependence, if not medically contraindicated. Also noteworthy is that a recent meta-analysis of seven placebo-controlled randomized trials of a newer medication, topiramate, found it had a more positive overall effect size than that from the first seven trials of naltrexone. This therefore makes it is a very promising medication.

However with all the accumulated evidence, clinical practice guideline recommendations, and VA policy, implementation of these medications within the VA healthcare system has been low overall, and highly variable. Among the more than 200,000 VA patients with a documented alcohol dependence diagnosis, less than 6% have received an approved medication. The majority of VA patients with alcohol dependence diagnoses (65%) are never seen in specialty substance use disorder clinics. However, even among those seen in specialty clinics, prescribing rates remain below 10%, with rates varying from 0% to 21% across facilities. Extremely low prescribing rates and significant variation across facilities suggest that significant gaps exist in access to these medications. Owing to their effectiveness they should be made available to every patient.

In most cases the medications for alcohol and substance abuse dependence are approached as cocktail where various strategies are used in treatment of the patient. It is however recommended that naltrexone should be part of the treatment offered and made available to patients with alcohol dependence. This is because of their effectiveness in fighting alcohol as well as other substances dependence

The role of naloxone rescue in Heroin users

Naloxone is a drug that has found favor with most health experts owing to its effectiveness in fighting heroin overdose. For WHO it is an essential drug. The use of naloxone in health institutions is legal since it is approved by food and drug act (FDA). Not long ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new hand-held auto-injector of naloxone. This device may be of great help to family members of heroin addicts as well as caregivers.

How does it work?

Naltrexone In case of and heroin overdose, the respiratory and central nervous systems are depressed to life-threatening levels and the addict may stop breathing. When this happens is no action is taken the patient may die. So when the person is treated with naloxone the drug will block the heroine receptors hence making it impossible for it to bind on the receptors that are located in the brain and spinal cord.

Finally, dependence to any substance is dangerous and so should be fought seriously. Here at AWAREmed we are dedicated to finding the best solutions to all addicts 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 drug addiction as well as other diseases.

Naltrexone promising for alcoholism and SUD

Preparing the Brain and Mind For Safe Addiction Treatment

September 6, 2014

How To Ease The Brain, Calm The Mind Of An Addict To Initiate And Implement Safe Addiction Treatment

Getting the brain to alpha, gamma or delta wave before initiating addiction treatment to prepare the chaotic brain for safe addiction treatment

Recovery is in different steps, starting from the point where one decides to put down the drink or the drugs.it also involves living an honest, responsible and accountable life that is free of drugs and alcohol. Activities such as sex addictions and gambling can also harm a person. Drugs also alter the structure and functioning of the brain.

Addiction Treatment

Addiction is a complex disorder and each drug has different physical effects although they have one effect in common which is altering the brain’s functions. Taking recreational drugs causes a surge in the levels of dopamine in the brain which trigger feelings of pleasure. The brain remembers the feelings and wants them repeatedly. When one becomes addicted, the substance of addiction takes the same role as other behaviors that enable us to survive such as eating and drinking.

These changes in the brain affect one’s ability to think clearly, make sound judgments, control behavior and also affect the ability of one to feel normal without drugs. So, for one to be treated and hit the road to recovery, he should be put in a good frame of mind for results to be positive. The first step to recovery is acceptance. Recognizing that one has a problem is a key step to recovery.

A well planned intervention is designed to be of benefit to the addict, as well as his family. Interventions by professionals are controlled, organized and very effective. Preparing for a drug intervention involves bringing together close family members and friends that the person’s addiction has had an impact on. The meeting should be beforehand so as to plan on the best approach and to determine what is to be said.to help the addict, family members and friends should be positive in their tone. They should be loving and not attack the addict with words.

Action should then be taken immediately because any kind of delay can give the addict a chance to back out or have a change of mind.

Brain waves of addicts may be abnormal to some extent, and these abnormal brain waves may be the reason they got addicted in the first place. Therapists claim that they can use neurofeedback technique to help normalize brainwaves. Through participation in therapy, the addicts can retrain their brains to behave normally and by doing so reduce their compulsion to drug use.an example is a study which revealed that cocaine addicts were able to change their brain wave activity by using the neurofeedback technique. After the therapy, they showed a lesser craving for the drug, even when they were showed pictures of cocaine. But before the therapy, the pictures could have triggered their cravings.

Neurofeedback is a form of brain training and it takes one a lot of time to get used to.it involves the addict looking at a screen and being instructed by a therapist. When the user pulls his or her brainwaves into a proper alignment, the screen might show colors or music might be played. But as soon as the patient spins out of control, no feedback is given from the screen. After a while, the person can learn how to think in a way that he is more likely to be rewarded.

The good thing about neurofeedback is that it does not use drugs or needles and there are no tests involved in it. However, using neurofeedback takes long for one to see results, meaning that a lot of sessions are involved.

Addiction Treatment

Changes in brain function due to drug use can also have many behavioral effects, like the inability to control the urge to use drugs. This can be corrected by use of motivational enhancement therapy. This is a counselling approach whose aim is to initiate behavioral changes.it employs strategies aimed at evoking rapid and internally motivated change. This therapy starts by the therapist providing feedback to the initial assessment and simulating discussion about personal substance use and eliciting self-motivational statements. Motivational interviewing principles act to strengthen motivation and build a plan for reform. Therapists suggest ways of coping and adapting for risky situations and in the following sessions, the therapist monitors change as well as reviewing cessation strategies that have been put in place and continues to encourage commitment to sustained abstinence from drugs. Addicts sometimes bring their partners to the therapy. Research has shown that the effects of this therapy depends on the type of drug the patients used and the aim of the intervention. Doctors use this therapy successfully with alcoholics to improve their treatment engagement and reductions in problem drinking. Adults who are hooked on bhang make progress in recovery when using motivational enhancement therapies in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy. Patients using other drugs like heroin, cocaine, nicotine and for those who tend to use multiple drugs show mixed outcomes when undergoing motivational enhancement therapies. This therapy is more effective by engaging drug users in treatment than for producing changes in drug use.

Whether you need help on balancing adrenals or you are an addict who is looking for a natural way of gradually recovering from an addiction, Awaremed Resource And Wellness Center is your perfect solution. You are free to call us, for more go to www.awaremednetwork.com

How To Ease The Brain, Calm The Mind Of An Addict To Initiate And Implement Safe Addiction Treatment

Tag Archives: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy