Treatment Procedures for Drug Addiction

April 6, 2015

Treatment Procedures for Drug Addiction: Heroin and Other Opiates

Treatment Procedures for Drug Addiction will eventually make you have an addiction free life.

The problem of drug addiction has stolen the dignity of our societies and we are all in one way or another affected or infected by this problem. Most societies are ruin by the use of drugs and families have not known peace because a member is an addict of a given drug. Heroin has become one of the most abused drugs thanks to its easy accessibility and affordability. The enormity of this problem is getting out of hand and prisons blocks alone are not enough to offer the much need solution. Even though this problem is of this magnitude, the good news is that it is treatable. There are very good treatment procedures for drug addiction today and that is going to be our point of focus in this discussion. We spoke to doctor Dalal Akoury who is the MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center and she will be helping us understand the treatment procedures available.

Doctor Akoury says that this problem of drug addiction is a treatable disorder. Prevention would have been the best option but because it is already with us we are going to look at the mechanisms of treating this disorder and consider prevention in the next article. Now because of many different conditions in drug addiction, it is important that the specific treatment must be tailored to suits the individual’s needs. This is necessary because many drug addicts have a compound of other problems that hinders proper treatment like mental health, occupational, health, or social problems.

Treatment Procedures for Drug Addiction: Types of Treatments for Patients

The success of this campaign would be realized when treatment procedures for drug addiction is adhered to. And treatments often include behavioral therapy, mediations and sometimes a combination of both. The most important thing is that when patients are duly treated for their addiction, they will be able to have some control over their lives and be productive to the society. That is why all over the world the campaign is to have as many people as possible for treatment. Therefore if you or anyone you know is suffering from any form of addiction, then you can be of help to them by scheduling for an appointment with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury today and you will have your life back in the most professional and dignified way.

One of the biggest hindrances to treatment is that many addicted people often make an assumption that they can quit using drugs all by themselves without treatment. Actually many have tried but they have failed consistently resulting in long term abstinence. And that is why according to the NIDA Research has shown that long-term drug use results in significant changes in brain function that persist long after the individual stops using drugs. These drug-induced changes in brain function may have many behavioral consequences, including the compulsion to use drugs despite adverse consequences which is the defining characteristic of addiction. And that is why achieving abstinence without treatment is so difficult if not impossible.

Treatment Procedures for Drug Addiction: Mechanisms Essential for a Successful Treatment

Recognition – For any meaningful treatment to yield results, the victim must first come to the point of recognizing and accepting that they have a problem which needs to be fixed. Denial is one of the greatest impediments when it comes to drug abuse treatment. Anyone in denial will not seek for help even if that help is presented to them by their concerned relatives. In many cases patients who are in denial will consent to treatment not because they have accepted but out of pressure from their loved ones

Detoxification – Treatment begins with detoxification, which is the gradual withdrawal of an abused substance under a controlled environment. In some cases a drug that is similar to the abused drug (e.g. methadone for heroin) is substituted during withdrawal to lessen the miserable symptoms and health risks associated with the withdrawal process. Depending on the drug that the person is addicted to, the withdrawal process can be handled through either an inpatient or an outpatient basis.

Rehabilitation – This is necessary to prevent the recurrence of drug abuse. Rehabilitation involved behavioral therapies such as counseling, psychotherapy, support groups, or family therapy. Behavior therapy helps people to cope with their drug cravings and it teaches them ways to avoid drugs, prevent relapse, and what to do if a relapse occurs. It has been established that merging a behavior therapy program with treatment medications, such as methadone, helps to suppress the withdrawal syndrome, the drug craving, and in blocking the effects of other drugs (caffeine). Studies have shown that using methadone at adequate dosage levels in treating heroin addiction along with behavioral therapies reduces death rates and many health problems.

Abstinence – Following rehabilitation, the abuser must have a lifelong abstinence from drug abuse. Relapses from this drug abstinence may occur and lead to recurrent dependence.

Treatment Procedures for Drug Addiction: Types of Treatment Methods

The treatment program duration could either be short term or long term depending on the patient’s condition.

Short-term methods – last less than 6 months, include residential therapy, medication therapy, and drug free outpatient therapy
Long-term methods – may include medication therapy such as methadone maintenance outpatient treatment for opiate addicts and residential therapeutic treatment

Outpatient and Inpatient

Outpatient drug free treatment– does not include medication and encompasses a wide variety of programs for patients that visit a clinic at regular intervals. It actually involves individual or group counseling. Normally patients registering for this type of program do not abuse opiates, or are opiate abusers for whom maintenance therapy is needed. Generally these patients have stable lives and only brief histories of drug dependence
Therapeutic Communities – highly structured communities where patients stay for 6-12 months. Patients generally have long histories of drug dependence, involvement in serious criminal activities, and seriously impaired social functioning. This type of program focuses on the re-socialization of the patient to a drug free and crime free lifestyle.
Short-term residential programs – chemical dependency units,” based on the “Minnesota Model” of treatment for alcoholism. Involve 3- to 6-week inpatient treatment phase followed by an extended outpatient therapy in a 12-step self-help group such as Narcotics Anonymous or Cocaine Anonymous.

Finally doctor Akoury recommends that if you are able to avoid using drugs the better. Treatment is more tasking than preventing which is the most ideal for good health. It would be the best thing you can do for yourself and to the whole society. But you are un able to all is not lost you can still get help from the experts up on scheduling for an appointment with doctor Akoury today.

Treatment Procedures for Drug Addiction: Heroin and Other Opiates

Fighting substance abuse at the Rehab centers

March 19, 2015

Fighting substance abuse at the Rehab centers: How Addiction Works

Fighting substance abuse at the Rehab centers is good but the consequences of drug abuse could be fatal and costly

It is amazing how people make effort to defeat addiction. It is also amazing how many people who have done the right thing for a long time to eliminate addiction often find themselves relapsing into their old habits. The many success stories we hear today has very huge challenges met and dealt with on the way towards fighting substance abuse at the rehab centers addiction recovery can be attained. How many times have you seen or heard who is who in the society being admitted into the rehab centers? It’s actually the same old story celebrities check in and after sometimes maybe a month they check out with stories of a miraculous turnaround. And then, sometimes, they check right back in again. One would wonder what may have happen to the successful story that was told when they first checked out. In that state of confusion you would ask is it poor self-control, or poor treatment? We spoke to doctor Dalal Akoury an expert in substance abuse treatment and also the founder of Founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center to help us understand the misery behind drug addiction.

As a professional doctor Akoury reiterates that treatment can be very effective. But to understand how to gauge effectiveness, it is important that you are well informed of about how addiction works. Experts across the globe are currently agreeing that addiction is a brain disease with a genetic component, Doctor Akoury says. But it’s also affected by behavior. The behavioral component makes addiction closely associated with other chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high cholesterol. Medicine has not found a way to “cure” these diseases with a pill or an operation. Instead, they require a lifetime of treatment, coupled with lifetime behavioral changes.

While most addiction treatment programs set abstinence as a goal, a relapse isn’t a reason to give up on a patient as hopeless just as you wouldn’t give up on a diabetes patient who goes on a sugar binge. Addicts have their ups and downs, but you can take that information and work with it to see how to do better.

About 50% of patients on treatment programs remain clean and sober for a year after treatment, doctor Akoury says. But many of those who relapse don’t go into a black hole, she adds. Instead they return to treatment to build on the behavioral skills they learned during the first time. Studies show a connection between treatment success and the length and intensity of treatment. That usually means at least three weeks of treatment lasting several hours a day (whether as an inpatient or outpatient), followed by frequent attendance at AA or other group therapy for about a year.

Fighting substance abuse at the Rehab centers: Who Benefits from Inpatient Care?

A 30-day stay in a clinic used to be the standard treatment for addicts. But with the rise of managed care in the 1980s, insurers balked at the costs. Many clinics shut down, and for years it was very difficult to get an insurer to cover any inpatient treatment. Now some insurance plans will cover inpatient stays at relatively inexpensive facilities.

Experts say inpatient treatment is most needed by addicts coming from a chaotic environment or who suffer from a severe psychiatric illness. For example, if family members are substance abusers, an inpatient program will get them out of that environment so some intensive work can be done, Doctor Akoury says. By contrast, outpatient treatment may be fine for a patient who is married and has a steady job.

A homeless single mom in a drug-infested neighborhood might well qualify for inpatient treatment, experts say; so would a hard-partying celebrity who is constantly traveling between movie sets or concert stages. The difference, of course, is that celebrities can spend a thousand dollars a day or more on treatment, while the homeless mom is at the mercy of the public health system.

Fighting substance abuse at the Rehab centers: High Cost of Treatment

Treatment at most of the rehab centers is really costly. In some centers a patient could spend up to $1,200 daily in treatment. Such centers are completely furnished with all that you will need besides equipment that are directly beneficial to the recovery process. Some of the amenities may include a lavish pool, spa, gym, climbing wall and even equestrian tables. The accommodation facility will be of the standard of super five star hotels. In such facilities patients will be spending most of their working hours in emotionally draining activities even as they receive intensive treatment that delivers real time results. However the cost will vary from different rehab centers for both inpatient and outpatient. The relatively pocket friendly clinics would charge up to $8,500 for one month inpatient stay. This may still be out of rich for many people since many insurers are not very keen in insuring this as a product.

How to find a good clinic is and must be the starting point. If you get the best from the start then you can be safe and sound that the end result will be satisfactory. However you must have made a decision to go ahead with the exercise because your acknowledgement that you have a problem that needs to be fixed is the key to your success otherwise if you are in denial, then you may not make progress. A good clinic would be that which is staffed with addiction-certified counselors and medical staff. And therefore look for a clinic with medical staff that can treat the psychiatric problems that so often accompany substance abuse. That usually means access to psychiatrists as well as counselors. That is why doctor Dalal Akoury founded AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center a facility which is equipped with all that you need to get over your addiction problems. You may want to schedule for an appointment with the experts at this facility to experience wellness. You may choose to go for the inpatient or outpatient and we will be of help to you.

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