The complexity of drug addiction treatment

June 17, 2015

The complexity of drug addiction treatment: The prevalence of drug addiction

The complexity of drug addiction treatment can be very costly if preventive measures are not taken timely

The complexity of drug addiction treatment is as complex as the addiction itself. Professionals at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center says that drug addiction is a multifaceted disorder that can encompass virtually every aspect of an individual’s life functioning in the family, at work, school and in the community. When victims of drug addiction are in denial of their situation, it even becomes more difficult and frustrating to have the problem addressed with some degree of seriousness. In her over two decades of experience in this line of addiction, doctor Akoury says that because of addiction’s complexity and inescapable consequences, drug addiction treatment characteristically must involve many components. Some of those components will focus directly on the individual’s drug use while others, like employment training, focus on restoring the addicted individuals to productive membership in their families and society enabling them to experience the rewards associated with abstinence.

The experts in addiction are in agreement that treatment for drug abuse and addiction can be delivered in many different settings using a number of behavioral and pharmacological approaches. In the United States for example, there are more than 14,500 specialized drug treatment facilities providing treatment, counseling, behavioral therapy, medication, case management, and other types of services to people struggling with substance use disorders. These are worthy steps in handling the complexity of drug addiction treatment and more still needs to be done. Like for instance, alongside these patients needs to individually visit their physician’s offices for specialized treatment besides visiting mental health clinic for mental assessment and treatment. Such services are available if only the right personnel can be identified. When seeking for all these, it is important to note that treatment of drug addiction can be administered in various ways including in outpatient, inpatient, and residential settings. And remember that although specific treatment approaches often are associated with particular treatment settings, a variety of therapeutic interventions or services can be included in any given setting.

The complexity of drug addiction treatment: Types of Treatment Programs

It is true that everything we do medically should be backed by some research findings and that is why many studies on addiction treatment have classified programs into several general types or modalities. Nonetheless treatment approaches and individual programs continue to advance and diversify. With these advancements many programs today do not fit precisely into traditional drug addiction treatment classifications says doctor Akoury. Majority of treatment being administered normally start with detoxification and medically managed withdrawal which is considered to be the first stage of treatment. However detoxification being the process, by which the body clears itself of drugs, is intended to control the acute and potentially dangerous physiological effects of stopping drug use. Remember that detoxification alone does not address the psychological, social, and behavioral problems associated with addiction. This means that on it alone, it may not typically produce lasting behavioral changes necessary for recovery. Therefore detoxification should be done but must also be followed by a formal assessment and referral to drug addiction treatment.

Doctor Akoury says that since detoxification is often accompanied by unpleasant and potentially fatal side effects stemming from withdrawal, its management becomes very necessary and this can be done with the medications administered by a physician in an inpatient or outpatient setting which often referred to as “medically managed withdrawal. It is therefore very important to note that medications are only available to assist in the withdrawal from opioids, benzodiazepines, alcohol, nicotine, barbiturates, and other sedatives which can really ruin your life if not addressed in good time. And as a concern individual, if you know of anyone who is straddling with drug addiction whether they are in denial or not, you can be the bridge of help to them by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for commencement of their recovery journey. But in the meantime it is also important to note that AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center being one of the leading pioneers in natural and holistic addiction treatment, is not just working towards helping individual patients but also running programs tailored to meet the needs of professionals handling drug addiction patients.

And for that reason, AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center will be conducting this year the first ever Educational, Functional and Integrative Addiction conference for doctors, counselors, nurses and addiction therapists. This conference is a must attend for you as a professional and it will be held in August 23-25 at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It is important to note that this new frontier in Addiction Medicine will be conducted by the most influential group of leading visionaries specializing in the latest advances in natural and integrative addiction medicine, under the theme “The Future of Integrative Addiction”. A lot is in store for you during the conference and you can get more information on www.integrativeaddiction2015.com or alternatively you can email sharon@integrativeaddiction2015.com.

The complexity of drug addiction treatment: The Future of Integrative Addiction

Just to give you a brief preview of the event the following are some of the luminaries in the medical world that have confirmed their participation; Dr. Mitch Ghen, DO, Ph.D,., Sean Devlin, DO, HMD., Sahar Swidan, Pharma D. BCPS., Kenneth Proefrock, N.M.D., William Eidelman, M.D., and Gregory G. Smith, MD. Finally Integrative Addiction Conference 2015 mission is to provide prevention education, awareness, options and support to patients and physicians dealing with addiction. Empowering 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. 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. And for more information about Integrative Addiction Treatment contact:

Dalal Akoury M.D

AWAREmed

Tel: 843 213 1480

Email: dollyanis@hotmail.com

www.awaremednetwork.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILBEhjYkwKQ

The complexity of drug addiction treatment: The prevalence of drug addiction

Identifying and helping your addicted loved ones

June 6, 2015

Identifying and helping your addicted loved ones: Indicators of drug addiction

Identifying and helping your addicted loved ones is the best thing you can do to them

A lot of people would want to give a helping hand to their loved ones who are struggling with drug addiction, but they just don’t know how to go about it. Ideally this is a worthy course and should be embraced by all means and that is why we want to use this article to highlight and identify some of the evidence that a loved one is having problems with addiction. Identifying and helping your addicted loved ones begins with knowing of all the signs. This will help you to be very observant to the point of detecting the problem in its initial stages and have it arrested and corrected before it gets out of hand. Doctor Dalal Akoury one of the addiction luminaries is the MD and also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is going to share with us some of the things we need to know to help.

Identifying and helping your addicted loved ones: How can I tell if my friend has a drinking or other drug problem?

This is a very good concern and it is true that sometimes it can be very difficult to tell. Ordinarily most people including teenagers won’t walk up to someone they’re close to and ask for help. On the contrary your friend will probably do everything possible to deny or hide the problem. But, there are signs you can look for. Like for instance people with serious substance abuse problems would say things like, “I can stop drinking or using other drugs any time if I want to” while the truth of the matter is they don’t. Such people may be fun to hang around with for a moment but wait until they get high it is only then that you will see the real struggle they have with the substance they are abusing. When under the influence of the drugs they often act like jerks or get into fights. Your friend will often hide their problem but even with that effort there are sign that will be noticeable when the effect of drugs starts taking control over their lives. Some of these signs are easy to see, others aren’t, but if you see them happening over and over again, then chances are that your friend needs help.

Identifying and helping your addicted loved ones: How serious can my friend’s drinking or other drug problem be and what can it lead to?

Not all people who drink or use other drugs develop the same symptoms or consequences. However if your friend has a drinking or other drug problem and doesn’t get help, things can get much worse. It is common with people who are struggling with serious drinking or other drug problems to be in denial of the fact that they have a problem which needs to be fixed. They won’t just admit it not even to themselves. In fact in the beginning, they often register great feeling when they drink or smoked their pot or doing a few lines of cocaine. At these initial stages this abuse is the best thing that ever happened to them. But then things change for the worse. At this point it is very important that such people needs to get medical attention immediately and if this is delayed, they can develop serious psychological problems such as suicidal depression, and serious physical problems such as liver damage and brain damage; and some will die from an overdose. Besides that it is important to note that getting drunk or high impairs judgment, and may lead to behaviors that people wouldn’t do ordinarily if they weren’t under the influence of these substances such as having unsafe sex which could result in pregnancy, AIDS, or other sexually transmitted diseases. Doctor Akoury says that abusing substance is dangerous because it can ruin your life and even that of your loved ones, cause your friend to drop out of school, lose friends, lose values, and even lose his or her self-respect. Alcohol and other drugs are never discriminative and don’t care who you are, what color you are, if you’re rich or poor, how old you are, your sex, or where you’re from. They don’t care if you’re a jock, a cheerleader, or a genius.

Identifying and helping your addicted loved ones: What would cause my friend to have a serious drinking or other drug problem?

Lots of things lead to these problems. For one thing, these difficulties often run in families, just like heart disease and cancer. If your friend’s parents are alcoholic, or there is a family history of alcoholism or other drug addiction, your friend is more likely to become alcoholic or drug dependent.

People often drink or use other drugs to avoid things that bother them pressure from friends, stress in the family, hassles, the feeling that adults are on their case, the lousy feeling that they’re different from everyone else in the world. They use these substances just to feel better. The problem is, drinking or using other drugs eventually makes things worse because all you care about is getting high, and once you start it’s hard to stop; you need to use more just to feel normal. Alcohol and other substances change the way you think, and you start to believe things are better or worse than they are. Alcohol and other drugs may make you feel good when you’re high, but when they wear off, depression sets in.

It’s true that quitting this addictive substances can be very tough for most people and that coming to terms with the realities of the of the seriousness of the problem that are associated with substance abuse can be difficult. That is why experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under that bale leadership are offering you solutions to all your addiction concerns. Remember that Dr. Akoury made a decision to create a medical 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. With is kind of expertise your problems will be handled professionally and confidentially if only you could schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today.

Identifying and helping your addicted loved ones: Indicators of drug addiction

Using Illegal and addictive drugs in pregnancy

June 5, 2015

Using illegal and addictive drugs in pregnancy: The possible dangers posed on both the mother and the baby

Using illegal and addictive drugs in pregnancy is one of the most painful thing you can do to your unborn child

The problem of drug addiction in the current generation is one that is very merciless and cruel even to the unborn children. A lot of our young ladies are very much into drugs and when the time came for them to have the fruit of the womb, their body is full of toxic substances which are very unfriendly to the baby. It is not just the previous use of these substances but even the current usage. Over the years we have attended to pregnant women who are heavily addicted to drugs and the good news is that when there is willingness to recover, a lot of damage can be prevented and those that had already occurred could also be corrected. In view of the prevalence of miss use of drugs, we want to take time in this article to discuss certain points about using illegal and addictive drugs in pregnancy. To do this, we are going to relay on the expertise of professionals from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury the MD and also the founder of the said facility.

In her care (doctor Akoury) many victims of substance abuse have regain their life back and narrowly escaped the hook of death all in the name of abusing drugs. For more than two decades now doctor Akoury and her team of experts have established a very strong network of creating awareness about drug addiction and alcohol abuse to contribute in the fight against the vice. It will interest you to note that doctor Akoury is offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. And the good news is that these services are available for all professionals and in fact any qualified professional can now be a part of this truly successful and fast addiction recovery treatment. At the moment doctor Akoury is organizing for a conference for all medical professionals especially those in the discipline of addiction this coming August to run between 23-25 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and you are invited to be part of this great transformation in the understanding of addiction treatment.

The conference (Integrative Addiction Conference 2015) mission is to provide prevention education, awareness, options and support to patients and physicians dealing with addiction. We intend to use this conference to empower physicians to be involved in determining their personal and “best answer for addiction” by promoting physician and patient awareness of a natural, yet profoundly effective, addiction treatment options that result in you thriving while surviving during treatment and recovery. This 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.

From the briefing you can see that we have a very rich menu to improve your career to greater levels. We can only encourage you not to let this golden opportunity and for more information about the conference you may log in via the event website www.integrativeaddiction2015.com or drop us a email using the following address sharon@integrativeaddiction2015.com. There is some body from the other end who will respond to all your registration queries. And now back to using illegal and addictive drugs in pregnancy, if you are using illegal or street drugs, it can make you feel isolated. If this describes you, it is important to note that you are not alone. Illegal drugs are commonly used than you can imagine. It is estimated that about one in five young adults aged between 16 and 24 has used either of the drugs in the past year.

Therefore we are going to use this article to explain how different drugs can affect your pregnancy and your baby. Doctor Akoury in her spirit of creating awareness explains that the more facts you know the better for you since with such information, you will be in a better position to make well informed and positive choices going forward. And if stopping drugs is a problem for you, getting help is a big step towards giving your baby a healthy future. It will be very important for you if you are struggling with drugs to consult with your doctor or midwife to help you get treatment and other necessary support in good time. Like for instance you may need support from a health professional with extra experience in looking after pregnant women who use drugs. Such women may have certain concerns and difficult health questions that can only be addressed by professionals in that line. Some of the questions may include:

Using Illegal and addictive drugs in pregnancy: Is it safe to take illegal drugs while I’m pregnant?

When one is pregnant and is abusing drugs, such a person is subjecting two people into great danger. Her own and the life of the unborn baby therefore it goes without saying that any illegal substance is not good for your health whether in pregnancy or not. It doesn’t matter the quantity used, no amount of illegal substance can be said to be safe. It therefore means that if a parent has drug problems it affects their child at every stage, from pregnancy onwards. With that piece of information, if you are pregnant and you are also on drugs, this is the time for you to make a conscious decision to change, quit and give your baby a good start in life. This is very important and as a good mother you are you will do the right thing which is scheduling for an appointment with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center for the commencement of treatment immediately.

Using illegal and addictive drugs in pregnancy: The possible dangers posed on both the mother and the baby

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem

June 2, 2015

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem: What you can do to help?

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem is a journey and not really a destination

In this time of age, it is becoming very difficult to find societies that are free from alcohol abuse or drug addiction. The easy accessibility and affordability of these drugs have made it very difficult in dealing with problems of addiction. Nonetheless with or without the prevailing challenges, we still have a duty to perform in containing the problem. You may overlook at certain things you do as very insignificant but when it is offering any help however negligible it may be, you must not be discouraged. You must soldier on for that little will be very important for the life of your loved one in the long run. We all have a role to play in helping loved ones with drug or alcohol problems and with the help of professionals like doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, we will succeed. And now that we have a professional to consult, let me make enquiry to keep us moving, do you have any member of your family or friend who is struggling with drug addiction or alcohol problem? If you have then you’re probably wondering how you can help. If this describes you, then you are in the right place and with the help of doctor Dalal Akoury we are going to help you get the clarity of some of your concerns as follows:

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem: How Can I Tell If I’m Overreacting to a Substance Abuse Problem?

This is a worthy concern because we must always be careful not to raise false alarm particularly with substance abuse. Therefore when you are trying to help it must not be construed to be overreacting. In many situations people will often notice problems or indicators in friends or family member’s work, health, family, finances, relationships, social functioning, legal issues, self-esteem or self-respect these are some of the areas that will give indications that a problem is in the making. You must therefore not be afraid of facing the problem for fear of being accused of being overreacting. Remember that continuing to use substances in spite of the fact that such behavior is causing problems is a big problem in itself. It gives a clear reflection that substance use has become more important than the problems it causes. It therefore goes without mentioned that anyone who is not willing to discuss the issue or consider whether there might be a problem under such conditions clearly demonstrate that an addiction problem do exists. With these indications, the question that follows would be, what are the action points one can take to be safe? The following guidelines will be very helpful:

Knowledge of all the signs and symptoms of substance use is very important as this will help you make informed decisions on the direction and treatment options to take.
Before you can make decisions, keenly make observation about the person’s behavior closely over a period of time may be a few days or weeks to have a clear understanding of what is making you to think that there is a problem. Having such information will be very helpful especially when it becomes necessary latter for your to share the same with other members of the family. It is also very important that as you chose to share this with other family members, seeking for pieces of advice from professionals would be very necessary before any decision can be made about the next cause of action.
With that said and done you can now share your observations with other family members and friends seeking their opinion about the same. The purpose of this is to determine how other people other than you also see the situation. In the event that they are in agreement with your observation, then there is a problem which needs to be fixed and this introduces the next step which is figuring out who will initiate the talk to the person about getting help.
Up to this point your role would be to ensure that professionalism is observed all through by first contacting experienced substance abuse professional, mental health professional, physician, employee assistance professional, guidance counselor, clergy or other helping professional to help you help your loved one. When sharing with the professionals about your observations, it is important that you describe your family member’s substance use pattern to see whether the professional would deem it a problem. Don’t be mean with information and ensure that you provide details such as the type of alcohol or other drugs, how much the person is using, how often, how long the pattern has continued, negative consequences and the person’s response to discussions or confrontations about substance use.
Ensure that you and other family members are safe from potential physical or emotional harm. If there is a threat or feat of physical violence you should develop a safety plan.

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem: Benefits of Early Identification and Action

Where I hail from there is a wise saying that “the early bird catches the worm” meaning in this context timely identification of drug related problems will give a healthy opportunity for recovery. This is all we need to champion for because we can. It is regrettable that what we watch or read from the media like the movies, books and magazines often portray people who have the “hit bottom” before they can be helped. This is what we have been made to believe and so many people have given up even before making any attempt of seeking for treatment. This is a misleading myth because the truth of the matter is people do not need to bottom out to be helped. It has been established from various studies that early identification of the problem is a much more effective solution for substance use problems.

Experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center a facility which was established by doctor Dalal Akoury primarily to bring a difference in addiction treatment agree that early identification occurs at the first signs of a problem before anyone has suffered a traumatic event, dropped out of school or lost important relationships, jobs, their health or self-respect. It is important to note that identification can be done through various means including a screening by a health care professional, employee assistance professional or even a family member. What happens after the screening depends on the results of the test. Some people can learn to cut back, while some need further assessment and possibly treatment says doctor Akoury.

In general, though, all people are better equipped to work on recovery if their substance use problem is discovered and confronted early. Treatment in the early stages of a substance use disorder is likely to be less intense, less disruptive and cause less anxiety.

When we fail to identify the signs and symptoms in good time, we will be actually waiting for the occurrence of a risky strategy. In other words we all need help in good time and in the absence of that much needed help, family members can only expect crises like arrests for being on the wrong side of the law, medical emergencies due to intoxication, job loss because of bad influence and non-performance, public embarrassment and even death. We will continue with the benefits of early detection in the subsequent articles but in the meantime, you may want to schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury for professional guidance in the journey of addiction recovery.

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem: What you can do to help?

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction

May 13, 2015

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction: Acknowledge When we go wrong

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction will go a long way in creating an addiction free society

Have we been doing the right things when it comes to bringing up our children as we should? Why is it that today most young people are seriously hooked up in drugs? Time has come for us to choose engaging the right gear in controlling drug addiction and also to acknowledge when we go wrong in some of our actions especially as responsible parents. In the past few articles posted, we have been discussing some of the experiences, many people and especially parents have gone through. The seven lessons listed below are some of the insights we have discusses with the exception of the last two which we want to finish with in this last series of articles about the roles of parents in taming drug addiction. The problem of drug addiction is not new to us and certainly it is not going to be ending any time soon. However, we can pool together to help in reducing the impact of drug addiction from our societies and with the help of professionals from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center this will not be a problem. Now back to the topic of discussion, doctor Dalal Akoury the MD and also the founder of this health facility is one professional of great value more so when it come to her area of specialization. If your children or any of your loved ones are struggling with substance abuse, all is not lost, talking to doctor Akoury will be the starting point for your great recovery from this problem.

Parents are enablers
I cannot fix his
My addict is a liar
My addict is a criminal
Others don’t want them around
Life will not be the same
Homelessness may be the path he chooses

And now to conclude on the lessons and experienced gained from the parents who have been there and are now coming to terms with the addiction of their sons and daughters. We are going to discuss the last two as follows:

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction: Life will not be the same

This father of three is explaining to us that “at the age of five years old my son thought he was Michelangelo of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Running around the house with an orange bandanna tied around his head brandishing plastic weapons fighting evil and the bad guys. When we look at our addicts we see that 5 year old and mourn the loss and try anything we can to get them back. My addict is now a 21-year-old man. He is every bit an adult with at times a child’s maturity. But our world recognizes chronological ages, not maturity levels. Parents must do that too. I believe Michelangelo is lost inside of him. Those that are lost sometimes find their way back, but some do not. I can grieve this loss but it will not help him or us to move forward. An addict does not live in the past or the future. An addict lives in the here and now, if you want to help your addict you must live in the same world he does.

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction: Homelessness May Be the Path He Chooses

Mom works in downtown Kansas City. When you drive down there you see homeless people with signs and some of them living under the bridges. They are dirty and hungry. They very likely are addicts, alcoholics or suffer from a mental illness. The one common denominator for all of these men and women living alone and homeless is that at some point in their life they had people that loved them. They are sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends to someone. That doesn’t change their situation. They made choices that got them to this point. They can make other choices, and there are people and organizations to help them change. The key is, they must make the decisions. If our son makes the decision to live this way, it will hurt me terribly but he will do this until it is time for him to change, I cannot change him or those circumstances. It will not help him for me to give him a bed in my home if he continues to live the lifestyle.

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction: Why is this Important?

We struggled mightily against these truths, fought with every ounce of strength. We lost our fight. We have accepted what we wished was not true. My learning is: until you understand the truth you cannot find peace within yourself or really be able to help your addict. Accepting the truth is what allows you to help your addict by helping yourself.

In all these seven points we have now discussed in these three articles, I have learnt my lessons and it must be understood that like a responsible parent, I do not hate my son for using drugs and putting all of us through this pain. For sure I can’t pretend that all is well because under these circumstances, all cannot be well and therefore the truth is that I hate the things he does. I hate the lying, the stealing and all those improper things he does. In spite of all these, I still love my son very much and it is only his ways that I hate. As a good parent if you were in my place, you would do the same and it is perfectly okay to separate the two. Finally the life of addiction is not just dangerous to the individual patients or addicts, but also to their loved ones. This even complicates the whole thing further and the sooner you take action the better. Remember that your health is best thing you can have and scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for a more professional treatment approach that will leave you healthy for a more productive life a head of you.

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction: Acknowledge When we go wrong

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