The Journey of Heroin addiction in Neighborhoods

April 23, 2015

The Journey of Heroin addiction in Neighborhoods: Why heroin is spreading in America’s suburbs

The Journey of Heroin addiction in Neighborhoods begins with a simple urge to experiment

The cry of the society about the impact of drug addiction and in particularly heroin is making strides in to very unusual territories. It is no longer the preserve of the dangerous canners at the back yards in the city centers. It is moving into our homesteads and door steps to the disbelief of the authorities and parents. If you are in doubt then listen to this story of a college student whose name we are going to withheld and call him Felix. The story of Felix is a clear manifestation of the journey of heroin addiction in neighborhoods. To expose the picture clearly, expert at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury who is the MD and founder of the facility states that “the drug has followed prescription painkillers into new neighborhoods, an element that has surprised even the police and parents into confronting the unexpected problem.”

The Journey of Heroin addiction in Neighborhoods: The sequence of Heroin addiction

And now back to the story of Felix, he was a good student in school always scoring above-average grades. He seemed poised and self-possessed, and like many of his friends in his charming coastal town north of their town was an incredible path to the college. Then, during his freshman year in high school, he decided to experiment with drugs and alcohol. And this is how it often begins they call it experiment no wonder Felix is following suit. It was on one night when he got very drunk in company of his friends and guess what? He loved it acknowledging that it made his day and that he felt like he has always wanted to be. Before long he was smoking cigarette and marijuana. Soon after a friend graduated him to some prescription painkiller pills which made him feel even much better than alcohol and other drugs he had been taking. Because of the experience he had, he begun purchasing these painkillers secretly and unlawfully spending all his up keep money on this unworthy habit. When he could not get further funding for the same, he resorted into stealing to support his habit but even with the stolen money it was not adequate. The trend continued and his friends introduced him to heroin which was much cheaper. His response was mutual “isn’t heroin for drug addicts?”

The Journey of Heroin addiction in Neighborhoods: High dependency on Drugs leads to Addiction of the same

Yes his concern was realistic but by that time his dependence on the painkillers had become more than he could resist. And as usual he bought the heroin, snorting the powder for the very first time. Oh mu goodness, six days later he was injecting himself with a needle becoming the archetype of a classic heroin addict. His anguished journey from conscientious student to heroin user is one confronting many young people in suburbs across the country and the world over. It has become a thorn in everyone’s flesh and both parents and police are struggling with the ever rising usage of heroin in suburban neighborhoods than ever before.

According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center the rise is being driven by a large supply of cheap heroin in its purer concentrations that can be inhaled or smoked and which often removes the stigma associated with injecting it with a needle. But much of the increase among suburban teens, as well as a growing number of adults, has also coincided with a sharp rise in the use of prescription painkiller pills, which medical experts say are essentially identical to heroin. These painkillers, or opioids, are prescribed for things such as sports injuries, dental procedures, or chronic back pain. Yet in a disturbing number of cases, experts say, they are leading to overdependence and often to addiction to the pills themselves, which can then lead to heroin use.

The Journey of Heroin addiction in Neighborhoods: The indiscriminate nature of Heroin Addiction

Heroin like any other drug does not discriminate on who will be vulnerable to it. It affects everyone irrespective of their social status. If you were to be taken down the history of heroin addiction in various societies the world over, you will be amazed at the kind of personalities that have fallen for heroin. The latest rise in heroin abuse was made more visible by the recent overdose death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. Even though this is one of the notable cases, drug addiction has been growing steadily across many levels of society for at least the past decade. And unlike the heroin surge in the 1970s, the current use of opiates is far more concentrated among suburban and rural whites than among African-American and Latino communities taking the US as an example.

In Vermont, Gov. Peter Shumlin in January devoted his entire State of the State message to the heroin and opiate addiction crisis engulfing his state. In Massachusetts, law enforcement authorities recently reported that 185 people have died of heroin overdoses in just the past four months which didn’t include numbers from the state’s three largest cities. Nationwide, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), heroin use among persons age 12 and above nearly doubled between 2007 and 2012.

Doctor Akoury states that the perception which used to be in the past that heroin was mostly an urban problem is no longer the case because now there are no borders; there are no demographic or geographic areas which are immune from heroin. The story of Felix will continue in our next article but for now, you and I need to join hand together in the fight of drug abuse. We can allow the journey to heroin addiction in collages, neighborhood or any other place to continue. You can talk to doctor Dalal Akoury for assistance of any kind if you or any of your loved ones is struggling with heroin or and other drug. Your break through with this life threatening condition is going to commence the moment you schedule for that appointment with doctor Akoury today. With her over two decades of delivering professionalism in addiction recovery treatment, you will be well taken care of and your life will never be the same again.

The Journey to Heroin addiction in Colleges: Why heroin is spreading in America’s suburbs

Heroin and Drug Abuse Management Options

April 23, 2015

Heroin and Drug Abuse Management Options: Why do people Abuse Drugs

Heroin and Drug Abuse Management Options goes beyond creating awareness. The rate of addiction and usage is escalating at an alarming rate

While addressing the importance of prevention of heroin overdose in the societies from our previous article which you can make reference to, we indicated that we will discuss with you some points you need to know about the impact of heroin overdose in our societies. This is what we want to focus on in this section primarily looking at the heroin and drug abuse management options available for us in the fight a against drug abuse. Doctor Dalal Akoury is going to educate us on what we need to know about this problem and the following are some of the points we want to discuss:

Majority of new users get to heroin as a result of addiction to prescription drugs.
Quitting heroin is the easy part the hard part is staying off.
The users trying to quit for good run the greatest risk of overdose.
We could stop people from dying of overdose, except we can’t find them.

Heroin and Drug Abuse Management Options: Majority of new users get to heroin as a result of addiction to prescription drugs

Heroin users like any other drug abuser are not really copying this practice from their favorite rock musicians. Currently the available statistics is estimating that about 80% of new heroin users are lured into the drug after becoming addicted to the prescription pain medication. Due to a new medical focus on treating pain alongside false advertising by pharmaceutical companies, opiate painkiller prescriptions exploded from 76 million in 1991 to 219 million in 2011. The translation of this is that almost one for every American adult. This necessitated the authorities to begin responding to the growing addiction and overdose by cracking down on prescription excess and fraudulent pill mills. With the intervention of the authorities, those patients who found themselves addicted when their prescriptions ran out of supply, resorted for the cheap accessible pills on the street. Many switched from $50 Oxycontin pills to $10 doses of heroin. That is why in my introduction I indicated that, it is essential that government agencies and medical professionals keep working together to reduce our reliance on opiate painkillers. Nevertheless since more opiate-addicted patients are cut off from their legal supply, many more will turn to heroin. It is time to address our society’s heroin problem.

Heroin and Drug Abuse Management Options: Quitting heroin is easy the hard part is staying off

A serious heroin user who misses a dose or two suffers the painful withdrawal like that of the story in our last article where the young boy had to be jailed. Worse than the physical symptoms are the debilitating depression and the knowledge that just one dose would make all the pains go away. In a few days, withdrawal ends but the cravings do not. Long-term heroin use causes users to hunger for heroin just in the same way we often hunger for food. Most users today have been through treatment multiple times, and only five to fifteen percent stay off for good. It is not a question of low self-control, cravings never ends, it may not show for a while but when triggered, it may not matter how long you have been off the drugs you are still able to relapse. Realistically people can relapse due to the loss of their jobs, problems with relationships. Besides these your success can also be a trigger for relapse. For instance if you have made great achievement in your business or profession, you may want to reward yourself with a single celebration that can lead to total relapse.

The society is not helping either. We often feel adamant in accepting the rehabilitated addicts or those who have served their jail terms. Take for example many organizations are not willing to absorb former convicts in job positions. Actually very few if will hire someone with a criminal record, especially for heroin. Just when users need help rebuilding a stable life, their criminal records cripple their job applications and bar them from college loans, assistance programs and professional licenses.

Heroin and Drug Abuse Management Options: The users trying to quit for good run the greatest risk of overdose.

Regular heroin users know how much of the drug their bodies can take. They increase their habit slowly, building up a high opiate tolerance. But when they quit, their bodies rapidly lose this tolerance. If they stay clean for a few weeks and then inject their usual dose, the dose may be fatal. If you followed the story of the young boy who only after two weeks of freedom from jail term, borrowing his friend’s car, his tolerance dropped enough that the usual dose killed him.

Others die from taking heroin with cocaine and alcohol, or from bad batches that the dealer mixed poorly or blended with toxic substances. Bad batches are par for the course, since the dealer’s only qualification as a pharmacist is his willingness to risk his life and the lives of others. But the most common reason for overdose is relapse use. In fact, studies show that people who die of heroin overdose actually have on average lower levels of heroin in their bodies than living users. This means that it is the people trying hardest to quit who are at the greatest risk of dying.

Heroin and Drug Abuse Management Options: We could stop people from dying of overdose, except we can’t find them

Many are surprised to learn that heroin overdose deaths are entirely preventable. Naloxone which is administered by injection or nasal spray reverses overdose within seconds by dislodging the drug from the brain’s opiate receptor sites. Naloxone is available in hospitals and carried by paramedics and some police officers. In a small number of cities, community-based overdose programs train users, family and friends to administer naloxone. Now the question that begs for an answer is “if we can stop heroin overdoses, why do they still claim the lives of our people daily?” this is possibly because users inject alone and in hiding. Any heroin user who attempted to ensure his or her safety by injecting in a hospital or near a policeman would be arrested. Even when users overdose around others, fellow users often hesitate to call 911. In 29 states, if a user calls 911 to save a friend from overdose, police can arrest those at the scene for drug possession. Naloxone has great potential to save lives, but the fear of arrest prevents it from realizing this potential.

Heroin and Drug Abuse Management Options: Why do people Abuse Drugs

Prevention of Heroin overdose in the Societies

April 23, 2015

Prevention of Heroin overdose in the Societies: Why Heroin Overdoses Are on the Rise

Prevention of Heroin overdose in the Societies is not just an option but a must do thing if we are to be healthy in the future

We all have a duty to keep our neighborhoods safe from all manner of dangers. There are a lot of dangers ranging from crime, health and social life. All these affect us in their own peculiar way and it is now time for all of us to take responsibilities in dealing with these problems. We cannot weight continue waiting for the authorities to do something. Even though the authorities have a role and a major one for that matter, when these problems strike we the societies are the first recipient of their effects. Let us consider substance abuse for example, while the government will feel the economic pain as a result of this problem, our families, sons and daughters, husbands and wives are the direct victims. It has therefore becomes very necessary that we pool together towards the prevention of heroin overdose in the societies. And when am talking about heroin I am not in any way excluding other drugs, they all impact on our lives negatively and radical solution must be sought for today. To introduce the magnitude of the problem, I am going to share with you a story about one of the drug abuse victim for better understanding why we must take action like yesterday.

A few years ago a young man or do I say boy in his early twenties was working at a sporting goods store in one of the neighborhood suburbs, he was prescribed Vicodin for shoulder pain. Latter on his doctor substituted his medication to morphine and then OxyContin unfortunately by the time this was done; he had developed a severe opiate addiction. He followed his prescription well but when his prescription expired, his cravings continued and he could not hold. As usual he bought for himself more pills from a street dealer for $50 each. He kept on purchasing every time he craves and when he had depleted his savings, the craving did not stop instead in become even worse. He negotiated with is supplier and the supplier offered him a dose of heroin for $10, before he knew he had been completely gotten hooked and addicted to the drugs.

The consequences of this begun to manifest themselves and the first thing was that he lost his job and spent several years in and out of treatment. Years later and desperate for money to support his unhealthy habit, he was arrested trying to steal a boat motor spear parts from his neighbor’s garage. This landed him in jail and the consequences continued he suffered opiate withdrawal for days: curled up in the fetal position due to bone and muscle pain, shaking from fever and chills, wasting his life and wetting and soiling himself with his pee and diarrhea and vomit. His fellow inmates did not take this kindly; they harassed him scathingly for the smell. After serving his jail term and one week into his freedom out of jail, he was not rehabilitated yet. So he borrowed his friend’s car to drive across town and of course his destination was to his old heroin dealer.

As a former client whose money the dealer had missed desperately, he was welcomed back with a dose of heroin at his cost at least to keep him in the list of clients. He injected the usual dose in his bedroom and the worse happen, this time round he came to the end of the road with his addiction and he stopped breathing. The next morning, his father found his lifeless body curled up on the floor. When I began I said that we must not weight for the authorities to come and do something. In this boy story you realize that at the end of it all it is his father who found him. In other words we are the people who are hard hit by this scourge. This story is one among many across the globe. It therefore brings us to the urgent need of ensuring that prevention of heroin overdose in the societies is well entrenched in our lifestyle.

Prevention of Heroin overdose in the Societies: The expert’s opinion

We spoke to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury MD and also the founder of the establishment, and she said that it is regrettable that the death toll of heroin addiction has been rising constantly at 40% per year since 2011, overtaking fatalities from HIV in. This is not something to celebrate about she says. We are going to share in our next article some five points you need to know about the impact of heroin overdose in our societies, but in the meantime, you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury for more professional input even as she brings us up to speed with some of the things we can do to help:

Prevention of Heroin overdose in the Societies: What you can do

If anyone you know has struggled with opiates, even years ago, get trained and equipped to administer naloxone yourself. Find an overdose prevention program near you.
Invite Moms United to End the War on Drugs or Law Enforcement against Prohibition (LEAP) to speak to your civic club, student organization or other group about heroin and safe injection facilities.
Learn more about how syringe exchange programs are reducing blood-borne disease transmission, how Naloxone Access and Good Samaritan Laws are saving the lives of those who overdose, and how the national Ban the Box campaign and Seattle’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program help drug users stay out of jail and move on with their lives.
Tell your friends that heroin overdose deaths can be prevented with safe injection facilities. Start conversations about why it makes sense to provide a safe place to inject heroin.

Finally this is our problem, it affects us and we must individually and collectively take responsibilities for the prevention of heroin overdose in the societies. You can talk to doctor Dalal Akoury for more clarification and treatment recovery programs they offer at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center today and your life and that of your whole society will be transformed thereafter.

Prevention of Heroin overdose in the Societies: Why Heroin Overdoses Are on the Rise

The Efficient way of Overcoming Drug Addiction

April 7, 2015

The Efficient way of Overcoming Drug Addiction: It begins from the mind set up

The Efficient way of Overcoming Drug Addiction include seeking for help, advice and support from the family

In the past few posted articles we have been talking about treatment of drug addiction and particularly heroin. It has become clear that the cost has been steadily on the increase and this to some point has been a hindrance for effective treatment. However in this article, we want to look at the efficient way of overcoming drug addiction not necessarily heroin but in a wider spectrum. The experts have pointed out that when one is struggling with drug addiction, attainment of sobriety may appear to be dwindling to the extent of giving up on hope of ever recovering or meeting your treatment objectives. That is normal and nearly all addicts will have the same feeling but the truth is that addiction recovery is within reach. It may not matter how hopeless your situation may seems to be. Doctor Akoury says that change is possible with the right treatment and support which are tailored to addressing the root cause of your addiction. She says that once you have started, don’t give up even if you’ve tried and failed before. The road to recovery is never a walk on a straight path. There will be good times and bad ones full of bumps, pitfalls, and setbacks. However by examining the problem and thinking about change, you’re already on your way to total recovery if you could adopt the following strategies.

The Efficient way of Overcoming Drug Addiction: Decide to make a change

Just like we had indicated in our previous article that for many people struggling with addiction the biggest and toughest step towards addiction recovery is the very first step of making a decision to change. It’s normal to feel conflicted about giving up your drug of choice, even when you realize it’s causing problems in your life. Change is never easy and committing to sobriety involves changing many things including:

The way you deal with stress
Who you allow in your life
What you do in your free time
How you think about yourself

Certainly all these will trouble your mind, and among the things that will be disturbing would be whether you’re really ready for all that change or if you have what it takes to quit. Take courage if this concerns you because you are not alone everyone goes through the same process. Remember that recovering from addiction is a long process, one that requires time, commitment, motivation, and support. But in all these your willingness to get help is the most important first step. Now having made that step the following tips can motivate your decision into progressing with the recovery program.

The Efficient way of Overcoming Drug Addiction: Thinking about change

It is important for you to keep track of your drug use, including when and how much you use. This will give you a better sense of the role the addiction is playing in your life.
List the merits and the demerits of quitting and not forgetting the costs element and benefits of continuing your drug abuse.
Outline all the things that are important to you, such as your partner, your kids, your career, or your health. With that outline, evaluate how drugs affect them?
Don’t keep it all to yourself, share it over with someone you trust. Enquire from them how they feel about your drug use.
Ask yourself if there’s anything preventing you from changing. What are some of the things that could help you make the change?

The Efficient way of Overcoming Drug Addiction: Explore your treatment options

Once you’ve made the decision to challenge your drug addiction, it’s time to explore your treatment choices. As you consider the treatment options, have the following at the back of your mind:

There’s no magic bullet or single treatment that works for everyone – When considering a program, remember that everyone’s needs are different and unique. Drug addiction treatment should be customized to your unique problems and situation. It therefore implies that you must only go for that program which will serve your recovery needs.

Treatment should address more than just your drug abuse – The effect of addiction is not limited to your health alone. It cuts across your whole life, including relationships, career, health, and psychological well-being. The success of treatment will depend on changing your general lifestyle and facing head on all the reasons which lead you into drugs in the first place. Like for instance it be due to your inability to manage stress, in which case you’ll need to find healthy ways to handle stressful situations.

Commitment and sticking to the objective – Drug addiction treatment is not a quick and easy process. In general, the longer and more intense the drug use, the longer and more intense the treatment you’ll need. But regardless of the treatment program’s length in weeks or months, long-term follow-up care is crucial to recovery.

There are many places to turn for help – Not everybody requires medically supervised detox or an extended stint in rehab. The level of care you need depends on your age, drug use history, and other medical or psychiatric conditions. In addition to doctors and psychologists, many clergy members, social workers, and counselors can also offer addiction treatment services. Even as you seek help for drug addiction, it’s also important to get treatment for any other medical or psychological issues you’re experiencing. Your best chance of recovery is through integrated treatment for both the substance abuse problem and the mental health problem. This means getting combined mental health and addiction treatment from the same treatment provider or team.

Finally the efficient way of overcoming drug addiction is not all about what we have highlighted in this article. There are so many other directions you can take guided by the healthcare provider. At AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury the MD and also the founder of the facility, all that you may need pertaining treatment of heroin abuse or any other drug addiction are readily a available. Up on scheduling for an appointment with doctor Akoury, you will be evaluated individually and professionally taken through personalized treatment procedure that will deal with the root cause of the problem, thereby addressing the problem as it is, leaving you enjoying your lost times and focusing on a more meaningful life ahead.

The Efficient way of Overcoming Drug Addiction: It begins from the mind set up

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery

April 6, 2015

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery: What can be done within reach?

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery forms one of the fundamentals of treatment of addiction

If only we could prevent all the harms that affect our wellbeing life could be very enjoyable. The society we live in is saturated with toxic pollution that even if you are not using any drug, your safety can not be guaranteed. If this is the position, then you can imagine the kind of life people who are addicted with drugs are living. It is one that you would not want to associate with if given a chance. But because we are not living in isolation we have a duty to care for our friends who are struggling with various kinds of addictions. Treatment then becomes a must for those affected and proper follow up thereafter. The process or practice of follow up is very important because besides being part of the treatment process, it is also a way of prevention of relapse after heroin addiction recovery or treatment. This article is going to dwell much on the prevention of relapse as a way of keeping healthy. Therefore we can say that relapse is generally the deterioration in someone’s state of health after a temporary improvement. Nevertheless in the context of addictive behaviors, a relapse would occur when the addict resumes his or her addictive behavior after a period of abstinence.

Experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury who is also the founder of the facility states that, for people who are trying to control their behavior rather than trying to quit entirely, a relapse is a period of uncontrolled behavior. Like for instance, for one trying to control his/her drinking, the occurrence of relapse could result in a session of binge drinking. In the same way when it comes to shopaholics who are trying to follow a spending plan, a relapse could be going on a shopping spree. In whichever way you look at it, relapse is not healthy. It takes you back several steps from the steps you have made in recovering from the bigger problem. Doctor Akoury explains that the way to prevent a relapse is to primarily recognize and deal with some of the elements that are likely to get in the way of recovery. Effective learning on how to overcome these challenges will go a long way in helping you to keep up the changes you’ve made during treatment. There are several things that a person can do to prevent relapse. And the following are some of the strategies that you may find helpful:

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery: Identify a support system and stick to it

It is all about pooling together, what you know is not known by another and vice versa. It is therefore very important to surround yourself with people who are positive, those who loves, support and encourage you. Such people could come from your family, your friends, or your care providers. They will be there to help you when you are struggling with a difficult situation and experiences. I appreciate that opening up may not be very easy, however it is still very crucial that you should feel comfortable seeking for help whenever you need it. Some people find it useful to make a list of names and phone numbers to call if they start to slip back into old thought patterns or unhealthy eating behaviors.

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery: Eliminate all negative influences

Try to get rid of any negative influences in your life. That includes people who make you feel bad about yourself or who constantly obsess about their own weight and appearance. Remember that your own thoughts can also be a bad influence. It is therefore very important that you learn on how to question any destructive thoughts you have about yourself. You could start by making a list of all of your good qualities and use it when you feel critical or pessimistic.

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery: Get to know your Triggers

This is very important since you will be guided when there are indications of relapsing. Knowing your triggers is very helpful in defeating relapse since these are the biggest enemies of sustainability. A trigger is anything that can cause you to return to disordered eating or thoughts about disordered eating. Each person has their own triggers. They can include feeling stressed, anxious, depressed or lonely. Sometimes a traumatic experience, such as the death of a loved one can be a trigger. Some people are more likely to relapse at certain times of the year, such as during holidays or exams. To identify your triggers, think of times when you were tempted to relapse. Try to figure out what made you feel that way.

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery: Prepare your coping plan

Make a list of different triggers that could cause you to relapse. Then, come up with a plan for dealing with each of these triggers in a healthier, more constructive way. Your coping plan might include calling a friend, taking a walk, or writing in a journal something that will destruct you from thinking of going back to your old habits.

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery: Eat your meals regularly

A meal and snack schedule can prevent you from going back to disordered eating or even thinking of your drugs. Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time, and remember not to skip any. Take seriously taking the three meals a day plus snacks, at regular times (about every 3 hours). A consistent schedule will be good for both your emotional and physical health. Your family may be able to help by making sure that you don’t skip any of the three meals and also incorporating snacks in between.

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery: Keep busy and stay involved

Creativity can be of help to you in keeping you busy. Your mind needs to be engaged in productive things. This will help you escape the temptation of getting back to the old habits. Activities which could help you engaged may include anything from arts & crafts, to volunteering, to nature walks, to joining a club. If you make time to do the things you enjoy, or to do nice things for others, your focus will shift away from your addictions and eating disorder. It can also help to keep you motivated to recover and to stay connected to your surroundings and the people in your community. Finally always seek for assistance from the experts from time to time. Doctor Akoury and her team of expert at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center will be there for you should you need any help.

Prevention of Relapse after Heroin addiction Recovery: What can be done within reach?

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