Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes

May 12, 2015

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes: The Bad Effects to Health

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes are only helpful when the individual patients are not in denial of their conditions

Heroin withdrawal effects and coping modes are some of the elements that most addicts are afraid of and this is really affecting their recovery process. With this attitude treatment becomes very difficult because one has to begin by first convincing the addicts to accept registering for the program. Some of the pertinent questions we should be asking ourselves now that we are aware that heroin withdrawal and coping modes are the problems include the following: what are the actual effects of these heroin withdrawal symptoms – and how do they impact the long-term health and well-being of the individual patients? As an institution (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of Doctor Dalal Akoury’s care) we are on top of things and our objective is to kick out all manner of addictions from our societies. That is why we only post worthy health articles tailored to helping our clients get the much needs health solutions. Therefore in this article, we have particularly designed it to convey health information in the simplest language to help in shedding some light on the impact of heroin withdrawal and also to help those who are going through the process en route to their recovery whether you are directly or indirectly affected.

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes: Withdrawal from Heroin can lead to Discomfort

There are a number of uncomfortable side effects that accompany heroin withdrawal. These symptoms are not all that life threatening as is always the general rule, but all the same they are the leading reason why individuals relapse or add urgency to their search for that “next fix.” Some of the uncomfortable heroin withdrawal symptoms include:

Restlessness
Sleeplessness
Anxiety
Sweating
Chills
Fever
Twitching

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes: The Effects of Heroin Withdrawals can lead to Emotional Issues

Besides the known physical discomfort that goes hand in hand with heroin withdrawal, doctor Akoury says that there are a number of mental health issues that the individual may experience as well, such may include the following:

Depression
Anxiety
Suicidal thoughts
Sudden mood swings
Irritability

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes: Heroin Withdrawal can lead to relapse

Of course, the most serious effect of heroin withdrawal is relapse, since the individual addicts are not able to live with the discomfort of withdrawal. To escape from this discomforting experience in many instances they will turn to the only thing that they know best that can provide relief which is more heroin even though they are struggling to stop their addiction to the drug itself. This is the reason why most if not all heroin rehab programs insist that the individuals must first complete the heroin detox process before they can be allowed to moving on into the main population of the facility. The risk of relapse is simply too great without it.

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes: How long do Heroin Withdrawal Effects last?

It may not be convenient to point out with confidences the time frame that one will last in heroin withdrawal. However the duration and intensity of heroin withdrawal effects will depend greatly on the individual addict and their particular situation. Those individuals who have been using heroin habitually for many years are likely to experience stronger withdrawal symptoms than those who have only been using it for a short period of time. As a general rule however, the individual who is engaged in natural heroin detox can expect their withdrawal symptoms to last anywhere from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks depending on the severity of their heroin addiction.

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes: Helping Cope with the Withdrawal Symptoms of Heroin

Individuals who are coping with heroin withdrawal can benefit greatly from the care of treatment workers and professionals. Whether at a heroin detox center or a drug rehab program, these heroin addiction treatment experts know how to provide comfort and medical care that ensures the individual stays safe while getting rid of this dangerous drug.

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes: Bad Heroin and Its Effects on Your Health

There is no doubt that there is no positive health effects derived from heroin use. In fact, heroin is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance and is not available by prescription or for medical use. Heroin is illegal, which means that heroin production and distribution is completely uncontrolled. Every bag you buy is completely different from the last because it is cut differently and has a different potency. This means that even the most seasoned heroin addicts end up in the hospital or dead due to heroin overdose. Doctor Akoury and her team of experts stands with the principle that heroin is bad from the beginning to end and that should also be your position.

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes: Health Conditions Associated with Heroin

There are a number of bad health effects of heroin. Infectious, blood-borne diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C are especially common among those who are regularly injecting heroin using needles and share those needles with other users. Those who use needles intravenously also will experience collapsed veins and those who use intramuscularly are more likely to develop abscesses. Infections of the heart lining and valves is also a common issue among needle users, and even those who smoke or snort the drug open themselves up to kidney and liver failure and respiratory illnesses. The decreased defenses and overall health of a heroin addict means an increased rate of illnesses like pneumonia and permanent damage to vital organs.

Finally realizing that more deaths are being registered annually due to various kinds of addiction, 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. This is the place to be for the very best in your addiction recovery. Take that bold healthy step and schedule for that lifesaving appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today.

Heroin Withdrawal Effects and Coping modes: The Bad Effects to Health

The Addictiveness of Cocaine Family of Drugs

May 11, 2015

The Addictiveness of Cocaine Family of Drugs: Cola Plant Being the Source

The Addictiveness of Cocaine Family of Drugs offers the greatest threat of life

If you have been with us on this link for sometimes now, you must be aware that, the families of cocaine drugs are some of the most addictive substance in the world. These drugs are very dangerous both to the patients and even to their loved ones. That danger is not doing the economies of the world any justice and that is why we want to enter into this discussion of the addictiveness of cocaine family of drugs in our families, neighborhoods and the general societies at large. In our previous articles doctor Dalal Akoury took us through the origin of cocaine, and just a brief recoup, she mentioned that cocaine is a white powder refined from the coca plant which grows mainly in South America and the Asian continent.

Experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury indicates that users of this drug have a common characteristic on how they administer cocaine into their systems. Under normal circumstances, it is usually spread on a smooth surface such as glass and cut up with a razor blade to form a thin lines or trails which can then be sniffed up through a makeshift straw such as a banknote. Snorting is actually one of the most common forms of consumption although there are some other ways too like injection and smoking. It is easily absorbed through the lining of the nose. However if this method is used repeated (snorting), a lot of damages can be caused on the membranes of the nose which may also perforate the nasal septum which is the barrier separating one side of the nose and the other. These damages can be avoided only if you chose to do the right thing. Like for instance scheduling for an appointment with doctor Akoury will be a step in the right direction for your full recovery.

Cocaine and crack speed up the body in a similar way to amphetamines, but the effect is shorter and more intense – less than an hour for cocaine and as short as several minutes for crack. As with amphetamines, cocaine releases an intense rush of energy, makes a person feel good, mentally sharp, talkative and confident. When blood levels begin to dive, the craving is often overwhelming to take more. And just like with all drugs and life experiences, the greater the high, the worse the fall.

The early euphoric experience disappears in heavy users, who can feel very restless, with nausea, excitability, extreme agitation, anxiety, and paranoia and possible hallucinations. It is important to note that very high doses can rarely cause heart failure, convulsions and death. Regular cocaine users often have interrupted sleep patterns. They feel unable to cope until they’ve had some Charlie, stressed-out and irritable. Life for weekend users can become a process of trying to get through the week until Friday. Regular users may feel that they cannot have a “good time” without the drug. Stopping the drug produces terrible headaches, tiredness, nausea, sleepiness and depression.

The Addictiveness of Cocaine Family of Drugs: Crack

Free basing (smoking) is done by mixing cocaine with other substances and sodium hydroxide. The salt base then dissolves leaving granules of pure cocaine which can be smoked in a pipe. The vapors in the lung hit the brain in eight seconds, producing a massive high which only lasts for ten minutes, after which the desire to have more is experienced and that is why people become very much addicted to these substances. Besides that cocaine and crack can also be used during sex to prolong sex in a man by acting as a local anesthetic on the genitalia.

The other problem with these drugs is that which directly affects the unborn babies commonly known as crack babies. This has been a great concern in most nations like in the US for example; a study conducted by NIDA established that up to 200,000 of substance abuse in pregnancy is crack or cocaine. Doctor Akoury reiterates that the effect on babies can be very fatal. Some of the known risk may include: premature labour, stillbirth, low birth weight, ectopic pregnancy, sudden infant death and small size at birth. Now the fatality of these drugs can affect the babies for life, like for instance such children may have permanent mental damage from the effects of what happened to them while in the womb. It must also be known that cocaine and alcohol can be a very hazardous combination since the human liver combines coca and alcohol metabolites to form new cocktails which are toxic.

The Addictiveness of Cocaine Family of Drugs: Crack related violence

In terms of reputation crack has nothing to be admired since it has all along been associated with extreme violence due to the obvious reasons like for instance, cocaine is highly addictive and the habit is expensive so large amounts of money are needed to keep a user happy and stakes are high for people seeking to control a distribution network area. The drug itself can cause anxiety, fear and paranoia, and when knives or guns are around, murder can easily be the result.

The Addictiveness of Cocaine Family of Drugs: Crack rehabilitation

This is one thing that has been very difficult and challenging. Crack addiction can be very hard in the sense that even attracting users into treatment programs can be a real challenge. Cocaine users are often very different culturally from heroin users and often prefer to keep well apart. Crack clients can be far more aggressive and instantly demanding than heroin users, and many drugs services find it hard to respond. Crack users are not offered substitute medication the equivalent to methadone for heroin users. Many crack users are black and feel uncomfortable in a white dominated support center. Finally, paranoia itself can fuel natural suspicions of authority.

So then, crack and cocaine are real threats even if their use is more limited than some feared it would be. Fashions in drug culture come and go. Expect further surges in crack consumption in particular groups over the next couple of decades with decline in others. Each wave of experimentation leaves a hard core of chronic addicts. They are a small minority of those who have ever used the drug but are a large part of the market.

The Addictiveness of Cocaine Family of Drugs: Cola Plant Being the Source

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking

May 7, 2015

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking: Why you must consider quitting

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking and this is not working for the beauty of your skin at all.

For quite sometimes now we have been addressing the issues surrounding substance abuse. We have dealt with various effects of drugs and so far we are not seeing anything good about drugs. And what is worrying is that even though this piece of information is now consumable by many people, drug related conditions are still on the rise. One of the most disturbing conditions is the way cocaine is rearranging peoples’ faces and transforming their lives negatively. Even though this is very evident and the victims themselves can see for themselves the damage caused by cocaine addiction on the mirror, they are still very much hooked into their addiction. This is what we have been addressing and for the purpose of this article, we are going to focus on beauty and how cocaine and stimulant induced skin picking. Before we settle into the discussion, I want to share with you an experience one of the patients went through and this is also a representation of what many addicts are also going through.

For the purposes of confidentiality I will refer to the patient as GK. After abusing cocaine for some time, one day he stood before his mirror and he dint like what he saw. What was before him was an increasingly common and distressing indicator of excessive cocaine and stimulant use. Skin picking was the problem. He spent several hours before the mirror squeezing and tweezing as the smallest of spots becomes a painful wound. Hair pulled out, bugs under the skin, insects or mites in his clothes and house. We are going to rely on GK experience to shed some light on this extremely upsetting, hidden behavior, examining the chemistry behind it, why it happens and the role cocaine and other stimulants have to play. This is a discussion you don’t want to miss but in the meantime you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury the MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. She will be of greater help to you in all matters relating to addiction and beauty. And now back to the discussion of Cocaine and stimulant induced skin picking…

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking: Skin Picking
Skin picking due to excessive crack cocaine use has become more common as more people use crack disorderly and because of this there is sudden increase in negative health issues linked to this habit. Professionally in the medical understanding skin picking is seen as a compulsive foraging response (CICF – ‘cocaine induced compulsive foraging’) but the compulsion to skin pick has also been called psychogenic excoriation, delusional parasitosis, self-inflicted dermatoses, dermatillomania, formication, or hypoesthesia; which is quite surprising considering that there has been so little research on the subject.

The features of skin picking may include excessive scratching, picking, gouging, lancing, digging and squeezing of normal or slightly marred skin. Even though the whole body can be involved, commonly the most picked areas include; fingernails, face, lips, scalp, arms and legs. This is made possible because drugs like cocaine, methylephenidate, phenelzine amphetamine and anticholinergic drugs often produce increased nerve activity tactile sensations like burning, tingling and crawling (worms under the skin) that can lead to skin picking. So while it is clearly a chemical reaction to the drugs you’re taking, it can be closely linked with psychological issues such as extreme anxiety or childhood trauma. So why do some people skin pick excessively, where others don’t?
Studies suggest that it’s a coping mechanism for dealing with emotional pain. Physical pain distracts the individual and can help to alleviate feelings of guilt through self-punishment. Many S-P’s (skin pickers) report increased levels of tension prior to skin picking and a sense of relief or satisfaction following the picking. Some experience an altered state of consciousness whilst picking resembling a dissocialized state. However, lack of pain during picking episodes may also be related to opioid dysregulation. We can see elevated levels of B-endorphin in S-Ps, because pain, in this case through self-injurious behavior, leads to the release of B-endorphins, which in turn leads to the release of tension.

Victims of childhood abuse often have elevated levels of B-endorphins too, in their CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) in the brain, because of repeated exposure to pain, or from being prohibited to reacting to the infliction of pain. Women with a history of childhood abuse also exhibit increased pituitary adrenaline and automatic heart rate responses to stress. So in many cases, skin picking is a chemical reaction that has been built up from past trauma, where a person’s elevated b-endorphins or ACTH response is reacting with the drug they’re taking: crack cocaine.

Cocaine increases the activity of dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the automatic nervous system associated with pleasure which is important for reinforcement of behaviour.However, for reasons we don’t have the space to go into, too much use of cocaine can lead to a lack of dopamine in your system, which in turn leads to mood and anxiety disorders.

S-Ps often suffers from one or more of the following conditions:

Major depression
Bipolar disorder (manic depression)
Dysthymia (depression tendencies)
Panic attacks
Agoraphobia
Post-traumatic stress
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Eating disorders
Trichotillomania (hair /eyelash/body hair pulling)
Kleptomania (compulsive stealing of objects) and
Body dysmorphic disorder (hated self-image).

Beside the mention conditions, some studies have also established that more than half of the individuals with serious skin picking conditions also reported a history of body rocking, thumb sucking, knuckle cracking, cheek chewing and head banging. Along-side with all these, skin picking also causes a lot of anguish. Like for instance, the victim can feel embarrassed and this may lead to shame and even impaired social functioning and in some cases people withdraw altogether from social activities and confine themselves to their home. Some people also experience medical complications as a result of skin picking, like ulcers, infections, permanent discoloration and scarring. Remember that too much scratching leads to open wounds and sores and when this is combined with injecting, infection can travel from the skin to the blood, causing serious illnesses such as septicemia or endocarditis.

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking: Cocaine Induced Psychosis & ‘Foraging’

Chronic cocaine or crack use can result in cocaine induced paranoia (CIP) and coke-induced compulsive foraging (CICF) type behaviors. ‘Compulsive foraging’ covers a cluster of cocaine induced behaviors of which skin picking is just one. Another ‘foraging disorder’ is when coke users hunt for hours for specs of cocaine around a place where it was once used (also called ‘surfing’). Food deprivation or hunger increases the probability of foraging responses and because it’s an appetite suppressant, coke can make users vulnerable to malnutrition thus continuing foraging behavior. Skin picking is a foraging response.

Cocaine and Stimulant Induced Skin Picking: Why you must consider quitting

How cocaine can destroy your body parts

May 6, 2015

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: What you need to know about Cocaine

How cocaine can destroy your body parts. this crystal dust is no respecter of anyone. Seek for help immediately and be safe

Of all substance of abuse cocaine abuse is the fastest growing drug problem among the middle classes communities. According to a report released by a Police Foundation recently it was stated that there are 120,000 regular users and 360,000 occasional users of cocaine, with 180,000 taking crack cocaine the report concludes. This drug is no respecter of any one and social status is not a factor when it comes to drug addiction. Everyone is vulnerable and we must face the problem boldly without fear. Doctor Akoury is taking the initiative to help you get the best of your life in this article by focusing on the discussion topic which is “how cocaine can destroy your body parts. The chilling revelations doctor Akoury is about to share with us are just but a very small portion of what this drug is capable of doing in your life. It would be appropriate that even as you go through this article, you may want to schedule for an appointment with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, a health facility founded by doctor Akoury to give her contribution towards eliminating cocaine addiction and other addictive elements. Let us now get to the business of understanding the impact of cocaine in human health.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Mental problems

Although cocaine is used because it causes excitement, those addicts who use this drug regularly in high doses can develop short-term sessions of uncontrolled behavior, impaired judgment, impulsive behavior and hyper-sexuality. Besides that, other users are also likely to develop persecutory delusions and hallucinations which often cause them problems with the authorities. When addicts use this drug, it causes them to lose sense of control and occasionally become violent. Yet alongside that muscle twitching and convulsions (fits) are also a risk with heavy use, more so in adolescents who smoke crack, a pure and highly addictive form of the drug. Coma, breakdown of muscles and kidney failure can also occur.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Liver

Users of cocaine often combine it with alcohol to deliver more excitement. To them this combination gives them the feeling of the ‘high’ to satisfaction as opposed to when cocaine is used on its own. With this combination, the effect of cocaine is given a boost and the reason behind it is that a new chemical is formed in the liver which has similar effects to cocaine but which last longer in the body. Doctor Akoury sounds a warning that this practice is chillingly dangerous. It is highly associated with liver damages and risk of premature death is 18 times greater with this combination.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Chest pain

One of the most common reasons for requiring emergency treatment is the enormous tightening of blood vessels, in the coronary arteries and the rest of the body. Cocaine deprives the heart of its normal blood supply, increasing the risk of a heart attack or a heart rhythm disturbance which might cause the user to drop dead suddenly. The shape of the pattern on the electrocardiogram (heart trace) can look worrying to the doctor, especially as it can change from minute to minute. But in most cases it settles down and no major harm results.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Blood pressure

Cocaine releases massive amounts of noradrenaline from the nerve endings, which causes blood vessels right through the body to narrow. This leads to a major surge in blood pressure. To the onlooker, the user looks pale and staring, but there may be no other outward signs of the enormous rise in blood pressure. However the rise in blood pressure is not permanent, but may still cause a heart attack or stroke and repeated use causes long-term damage to the blood vessels.

Blood vessels

One of the most vulnerable organs from the abuse of cocaine is the heart aorta which is the main blood vessel in the body. A surge in blood pressure following cocaine use forces the blood between the inner and outer casings of the aorta and each time the heart pumps this false passage becomes longer and more liable to block off a branch vessel or to burst, with possibility of fatal results.

Brain

Regular cocaine use can lead to a bulging weakness in the wall of a branch point of the arteries in the brain. This is often called a berry aneurysm. Eventually this aneurysm bursts, and blood pouring out of the leak is known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage. If not corrected, it can cause major damage to the brain. This damage can be permanent leading to difficulties in thought, speech, sight and movement.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: Nose

Cocaine powder is ‘snorted’ into the nostrils, and although it is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, the drug also causes the blood vessels in the lining of the nose passages to shrink. Shortly after use, the blood vessels widen again, and the red, runny stuffed-up nose of the recent user can be a telltale sign. Repeated cocaine use leads to loss of blood supply to the septum that is the thin bony element dividing wall between the nostrils. This will cause damage to the nose leaving a hole in between the two nose passages. The consequence of this may be the collapse of the nose.

Heart

Consistent use of cocaine causes massive stresses and strains on the blood vessels in the coronary arteries and the rest of the body. This leads to a build- up of cholesterol in the walls of arteries, especially the coronary arteries. A regular cocaine user aged 30 might have blood vessels as old as one at 60-year-old. This may lead to a sudden and unexpected heart attack in a long-term user.

Skin

During treatment and the recovery process, some people may experience some unfriendly crawling feelings beneath the skin as they are withdrawing from cocaine. They may describe cocaine bugs as biting, creeping, burning or itching, and may scratch their skin until it bleeds. Although this sensation can be treated to some extent by tranquillizer type drugs, in most cases the user has to wait until it settles down and goes away of its own accord. Finally cocaine is not any drug you would want to flow in your system. It is highly addictive and life threatening. If you are struggling with this drug, you may have noticed that from this article, very vital organs of the body are all affected by this drug. Your health cannot be compared with anything. You must make a U turn to redeem your life back. Doctor Dalal Akoury will help in every step of the way. All you need to do is to schedule for an appointment with her today.

How cocaine can destroy your body parts: What you need to know about Cocaine

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers

May 5, 2015

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers: Taking Cocaine head on

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers may include group therapy and counseling

Of the societal challenges we are faced with drug addiction is becoming one of the most disturbing one. When one member of the family is struggling with substance abuse, the whole family is concern and a lot of emotional and even physical frustrations are felt. What is worrying is the rate at which the population abusing drugs is increasing. There are several factors that can explain this but the sing denominator is that the increase is getting out of hand if something is not done to correct this. Looking at the impact of substance abuse in our neighborhoods doctor Dalal Akoury made a decision to form a health center whose objective would be to offer solutions to people abusing drugs. At this facility (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) doctor Akoury together with her team of experts are offering the best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers among other drug related cases. Therefore if you are struggling with drugs of whichever kind, then you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury today for treatment. In the meantime, let us consider some of the treatment options we have.

Information available indicates that just a few years ago in 2007, cocaine alone accounted for about 13 percent of all admissions to drug abuse treatment programs. The report also revealed that majority of these people sought treatment were mainly cocaine addicts and were also struggling with other drugs other than cocaine meaning that they were poly drug abusers. Doctor explains that the prevalence of cocaine has necessitated renewed efforts to develop treatment programs for cocaine across the globe. And just like with other drugs, cocaine is one of the complex diseases that involve biological changes in the brain as well as myriad social, familial, and other environmental problems. Therefore, a good treatment of cocaine addiction must be comprehensive, and strategies need to assess the neurobiological, social, and medical aspects of the patient’s drug abuse. Moreover, patients who have a variety of addictions often have other co-occurring mental disorders that require additional behavioral or pharmacological interventions.

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers: Cocaine Detoxification

For us to have better modes of treatment of cocaine addiction, we must first appreciate and acknowledge that we have a problem that needs to be fixed. No treatment can be successful if the patient is still in denial. It is a fact that patients addicted to cocaine or even other drugs will have a lot of toxic deposit in their systems. These toxics are the biggest problem that detoxification will be addressing in this article. Therefore medical detoxification is a process that systematically and safely withdraws people from addictive drugs. This is usually done under the care of trained physician. Drinking alcohol or using drugs can cause physical dependence over time and stopping them can result in withdrawal symptoms in people with this dependence. The detoxification process is designed to treat the immediate bodily effects of stopping drug use and to remove toxins left in the body as a result of the chemicals found in drugs or alcohol.

Even though as things stand now there is no proven pharmacologic therapy for cocaine addiction, so many kinds of medications have been used in the past in the detoxification of cocaine. It is however worth noting that withdrawal from chronic cocaine use may also result in anxiety, depression and intense cravings for the drugs you are trying to eliminate from your systems. Several types of medications address these issues in different ways. Like for instance:

Antidepressant drugs such as desipramine or a combination of phentermine and fenfluramine have been used to reduce cocaine withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and depression.
Benzodiazepines, tranquilizers such as Diazepam, have been used to reverse anxiety induced by cocaine withdrawal.
Amantadine, a drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease, may be an effective treatment for cocaine-dependent patients with severe cocaine withdrawal symptoms and may reduce cocaine craving.
Bromocriptine, a drug that works on the brain’s dopamine system, has been used to decrease the craving for cocaine during detoxification and to reduce mood disturbance.
Propanolol, a beta-blocker drug used to treat high blood pressure, may be useful for severe cocaine withdrawal symptoms, as it slows down the effects of adrenaline, thereby calming the body’s “fight or flight” response to stressful situations.
This type of drug has been used to treat general anxiety and anxiety associated with alcohol withdrawal.
Propranolol’s lessening of symptoms such as palpitations and sweating has helped reduce cocaine craving. Its use, however, is not risk free in patients who have taken cocaine and can be associated with decreased blood flow to the heart and other changes that predispose patients to arrhythmia and a severe increase in blood pressure that can lead to a stroke.
Delayed toxic effects are possible. Any use of beta-blockers in this setting requires careful monitoring and caution.

The best treatment solutions for cocaine abusers: Behavioral Interventions

Many behavioral treatments for cocaine addiction have proven to be effective in both residential and outpatient settings. Indeed, behavioral therapies are often the only available and effective treatments for many drug problems, including stimulant addictions. However, the integration of behavioral and pharmacological treatments may ultimately prove to be the most effective approach. Presently, there are no proven medications to treat cocaine addiction. Nonetheless a lot of efforts are being made by NIDA to identify and test new medications.

One form of behavioral therapy that is showing positive results in cocaine-addicted populations is contingency management, or motivational incentives (MI). MI may be particularly useful for helping patients achieve initial abstinence from cocaine and for helping patients stay in treatment. Programs use a voucher or prize-based system that rewards patients who abstain from cocaine and other drug use. On the basis of drug-free urine tests, the patients earn points, or chips, which can be exchanged for items that encourage healthy living, such as a gym membership, movie tickets, or dinner at a local restaurant. This approach has recently been shown to be practical and effective in community treatment programs.

Finally it is important that patients receive only services that match all of their treatment needs. For example, if a patient is unemployed, it may be helpful to provide vocational rehabilitation or career counseling along with addiction treatment. If a patient has marital problems, it may be important to offer couples counseling. These and more are some of the services we offer at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. When you schedule for that appointment with doctor Akoury, up on carrying out an evaluation on you, she will put you on a tailored treatment program that will directly meet your addiction needs.

Tag Archives: Heroine and Cocaine