Asthma and Smoking

July 18, 2014

Asthma and Smoking – Drug Addiction

It is never fan smoking your life into destruction. cigarette smoking has no place in human life

Have you ever heard someone speak about smoking in total praise of good result they get from smoking? When you listen to cigarette being marketed through the media do they scare you with their remarks of dangers of smoking? Do the cigarette packets communicate good nutrition to you? Will you be healthy after smoking? Get the answers to these questions for yourself and follow me on this article and I believe that together we can be of help to many people addicted to cigarette smoking. I want to believe that this is not the first time you are hearing of poor relationship between asthma and cigarette smoking. You may not have appreciated that abstinence or quitting smoking when diagnose with asthma is the most important way you can take to protecting your lungs, facilitating treatment and preventing of asthma symptoms. To be honest with you if you’re suffering from asthma yet you’re still smoking you are doing your health a lot of injustice.

Reasons for Quitting Smoking

I am persuaded that you have heard the effects of smoking to you or to individuals diagnosed with asthma and to the general health of smokers and to those around them. It is a pity that some of our actions make us cause injuries to the innocent people around us. It is because of the great dangers and our desire to help you get the best life can offer that I write passionately about addiction and possible solutions. If you are smoking or you know of a friend or somebody smoking you can be of help to them by sharing this link to them so that they can get the following tips to help them enjoy the benefits of quitting smoking which include the following:

Because of reduced health risks your life will be prolonged.
Attainment of good health; Smoking is associated with several increase of health risk like lung cancer, throat cancer, a lung disease called emphysema (also known as COPD), heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, gum disease quitting reduces these risks significantly.
Feeling healthier; quitting smoking will reduce and eventually eliminates coughing, poor athletic ability, and sore throats.
Good looking appearance; smoking can cause face wrinkles, stained teeth, and dull skin which will go away by quitting smoking?
Improve your sense of taste and smell
You will be saving money by quitting since you will no longer spend on cigarette.

Possibilities of Quitting Smoking

Cigarette smoking is an addiction that is not east to recover from, because of this it becomes a problem since there is not particular formula applicable in quitting smoking particularly to those suffering from asthma however a smoking cessation program may be helpful with the help of your doctor taking you through smoking cessation programs in your community. Before you choose to quit all at once (“cold turkey”) it is important that you set a plan which will help progress. The plan may incorporate the following:

Settle on a date to stop smoking, and work toward achieving it.
Document when and why you smoke this is helpful in identification of some of your triggers.
Have in record what you do when smoking and try doing the opposite like smoking at different times and different places to break the connections between your smoking habit and certain activities.
List down all your reasons for quitting and memorize them before and after you quit.
Engage in positive activities to take the place of smoking.
Always consult your doctor concerning using nicotine replacement products such as gum, lozenges, and patches. Some people find these aids very helpful.

Asthma and Smoking – Quitting Time

On your choice day of quitting, begin that morning without a cigarette. Then follow the following tips:

Never concentrate on what you are longing for instead think about what you are gaining.
Encourage yourself that you are a great person for quitting.
When you are tempted to smoke take a deep breath and hold it for about 10 seconds and then release it slowly.
Disengage from activities that were connected to smoking like taking a walk or read a book instead of taking a cigarette break.
Don’t carry a lighter, matches, or cigarettes.
Go to places that don’t allow smoking, such as museums and libraries.
Eat low-calorie, healthful foods when the urge to smoke strikes. Carrot and celery sticks, fresh fruits, and fat-free snacks are good choices. Avoid sugary or spicy foods that may lead to cigarette craving.
Drink a lot of fluids. Avoid alcoholic drinks. They can make you want to smoke. Select water, herbal teas, caffeine-free soft drinks, and juices.
Exercise. It will help you to relax.
Hang out with non-smokers.
Seek support for quitting. Tell others about your milestones with pride.

Benefits of Quitting Smoking

After twenty minutes stopping smoking: Your blood pressure and pulse rate begin to decrease. Circulation and the temperature of your hands and feet begin to increase.
After twelve hours of not smoking: The carbon monoxide level in your blood returns to normal.
After two weeks to three months of not smoking: Your chance of heart attack decreases and your lungs function better
After one to nine months of not smoking: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease
After one year of not smoking: Your risk of heart disease decreases to half that of a smoker’s risk
After five to fifteen years of not smoking: Your risk of getting mouth, throat, or esophagus cancer drops to half that of a smoker.
After ten years of quitting smoking: Your risk of dying from lung cancer drops to almost half that of a smoker and your risk of other cancers, such as cancer of the bladder, larynx, kidney, and pancreas decreases
After fifteen years of quitting smoking: Your risk of heart disease decreases to that of a nonsmoker.

It is important noting that the temptation of smoking again (relapse) will always come. If they do be encouraged that you are not alone many people who have successfully quitted relapsed three times before the success. It is because of these challenges that you will need to be in constant touch with addiction professionals all the way and therefore being at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care you will be professionally assisted overcome all your challenges by focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. This way you will live a health life free from all elements of addiction.

Asthma and Smoking – Drug Addiction

Quitting Smoking

July 17, 2014

Quitting Smoking – Drug Addiction

If there is anything good you can do for yourself, is to quite smoking and kick it out of not just your life but also out of your neighborhood.

Have you ever wondered how and why smokers turn themselves in kitchen chimney that billows smoke from the very vital organs of their bodies! What amazes me is that all smokers are not ignorance of what the dangers they are putting themselves to. Despite of all the warnings visibly indicated on the packaging and all adverts run people still smoke as if smoking gives them certain values in life. This is very disturbing and we have deliberately decided to create an impact into seeing people adopt positive behaviors that do not endanger their own lives and that of others around them. It is my wish that reading this article will help you make the right decision of quitting your habit of smocking and if you are not a smoker then you will be able to help someone who is already smoking. I will then ask you a simple question do you want to quit smoking? If your answer is yes then I hope this article will be helpful to you.

Dear reader I want to bring to your attention a few facts about smoking and quitting. It is all about good news in stopping smoking because just within hours of stopping cigarettes smoking, your body begins to recover almost immediately from the effects of nicotine and all additives. Blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature all of which are raised because of the nicotine in cigarettes normalize to healthier levels. The capacity of your lung also increases and the bronchial tubes feels relaxed making breathing much easier. The toxic carbon monoxide in your blood also decreases permitting the blood to transport more oxygen within the body’s systems. I can tell you for sure that quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your own health.

Challenges in Quitting Smoking

This is not an easy exercise by all means but it is not impossible either, the difficulties will depend on a number of factors like:

The number of cigarettes sticks you smoke on a daily basis.
The kind of association you keep if you relate with smokers and spend time with them a lot then there will be problems.
What motivates you into smoking (weight control, social situations, peer pressure)

These are challenges you are likely to face in your journey to quitting smoking and you must be ready to face them positively.

Smoking is so addictive

One will not be penalized to blame nicotine the main drug element in tobacco, for their smoking addiction. When you smoke the brain quickly becomes friendly to the nicotine and develops tolerance for it increasing the urge to smoke more so as to achieve the same rush you often get from smoking a single stick of cigarette. Smoking cigarette is addictive and for your information nicotine acts on the same pathways as cocaine. However tolerance will occur when your brain attempts to keep itself balanced. Chemicals from the cigarette cause the brain to discharge chemicals called norepinephrine and dopamine. Too much discharge of these two chemicals causes the brain chemistry to get unbalanced and discharges its own anti-nicotine chemicals when one smokes. These “anti-nicotine” chemicals would make you feel down, depressed, and tired if you were not smoking and over time the brain will be able to foresee when you need to smoke and discharges the ant-nicotine chemicals which will make you feel tired, depressed and desires to smoke a cigarette.

Addiction to cigarette smoking is influenced by different trigger. A trigger is anything your brain associates with smoking easily. Smokers do not have the same triggers it could be:

The smell of cigarette smoke
A cigarette smoke ashtray put next to you
Seeing a carton of cigarettes at the store
Having certain food or drinks
The ending a good meal
Talking to someone with whom you normally smoke cigarettes.
Sometimes just the way you feel (sad or happy) is a trigger.

One of the biggest keys to quitting smoking understands the triggers that make you crave for smoking.

Desire to Quit Smoking – There is many ways of quitting smoking and they work differently to people some work better than others. The best approach is to choose a method which will challenge you to quit, but also one that you can achieve.

Behavioral therapy – With behavioral therapy, you visit a therapist who will help you find the most effective way to quit. The therapist will help you to identify your triggers, come up with ways to get through cravings, and provide emotional support when you need it most.

Nicotine replacement therapy – Nicotine gum, patches, inhalers, sprays, and lozenges are nicotine replacement therapies also known as NRT. Replacement therapy works by giving you nicotine without using tobacco. You may be more likely to quit smoking if you use nicotine replacement therapy however for persons age 18, your doctor’s consent to use nicotine replacement therapy will be necessary. This therapy works best when combined with behavioral therapy and lots of support from friends and family.

Medicine – Some drugs, including Zyban and Chantix, are formulated to help people quit smoking. You must never administer these on your own a prescription must come from your doctor.

Combination treatments – Using a combination of treatment methods can increase your chances of quitting e.g. by using both a nicotine patch and gum may be better than a patch alone. Other confirmed combination treatments include:

Behavioral therapy and nicotine replacement therapy
Prescription medication with a nicotine patch
Nicotine patch and nicotine spray.

What If I Start Smoking Again?

To go back to your old habit is known to us relapse which is normal in strong addictions like smoking. If this happens to you, you must not give up because you are not alone in relapsing. Many people will relapse many times before quitting permanently. I want to encourage you not to give up on this journey quitting is a process that might take some time and you will need the advice and guidance from addiction experts. Dr. Dalal Akoury is one of the many you can seek help from. She has been offering addiction treatment in a very unique way to many people globally for over two decades now. In her quest to serve you better she founded AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center a facility offering exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to all people from all works of life including other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Your condition will be best attended to at this facility where only qualified professional serve. Welcome and be part of this truly successful and fast addiction recovery treatment.

Quitting Smoking – Drug Addiction

Heroin Addiction

June 13, 2014

Heroin Addiction-The hard facts about Heroin

Heroin is an addictive drug and has great negative effects on human life

One of the most addictive substances in our streets today is heroin it’s appropriate to make emphasis that is an extremely addictive opioid synthesized from the opium poppy, morphine. It is currently categorized with other narcotics under the Schedules I and IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and internationally UN estimates that there are over 50 million regular heroin users today thereby confirming its extreme addictiveness throughout the globe. Because of this addictive nature heroin addicts normally register an intense rush on the first use of the drug and after the rush the can describe the feelings of euphoria, ambition, drowsiness, relaxation and nervousness.

Nevertheless the short-term effects will come down after the initial use. There are three major ways of intake of heroin, it can be injected, smoked or snorted irrespective of the method used when used in greater units to reach the desired limit/high and users begin to develop tolerance to heroin then addiction takes place. Long-term effects of heroin include:

Substance addiction
Collapsed veins
Heart infection
Pneumonia
Decreased liver function
Systemic abscesses.

These effects can result to an opioid withdrawal syndrome can begin within 6 to 24 hours of discontinued drug use.

Heroin Addiction-Psychological symptoms

Anxiety
Depression
Lack of motivation
Decreased libido

Physical withdrawal symptoms are numerous and can be extremely dangerous.

Heroin Addiction-Physical withdrawal symptoms

Vomiting
Fever
Insomnia
Severe muscle and bone aches
Diarrhea

In order to minimize heroin withdrawal symptoms, some addicts look to methadone treatment. Methadone is a synthetic opioid used for moderate to severe pain management. It is also used to appease physical heroin withdrawal symptoms and its maintenance stops the rapid cycling between intoxication and withdrawal. However methadone itself can be addictive and its use for treatment can only be recommended to people who have tried to detox numerous times from heroin with little success. It is important that during methadone maintenance the patient should be under observation by a medical professional to reduce the risks of further addiction.

After a medically monitored detoxification, people who are addicted to heroin can seek treatment. A heroin addict can check into a residential treatment center specializing in substance addiction. In a rehab facility, the addict works with professional therapists and psychiatrists on the issues surrounding their addiction. Issues can include family problems and childhood difficulties. Often heroin addicts are dual diagnosed by a psychiatrist meaning that along with their substance abuse, they also have an emotional disorder.

Heroin Addiction-Emotional disorders

Depression
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Eating disorders

In addition to individual therapy sessions, patients participate in group therapy. Group therapy can include topics of relapse prevention, codependency, and anger management. In these groups a heroin addict can interact with fellow addicts. They learn to share their stories and experience a common bond beyond chemical dependency.

Although there is no cure for addiction, heroin addicts learn a new freedom to live free of chemical dependency. With the help of therapists, 12-step programs, and sober fellowship, heroin users can recover from their addiction and lead happy, sober lives.

Heroin Addiction-Heroin Overdose

As with all narcotics, when an individual uses heroin, they are running the risk of overdose. A heroin overdose is simply when the user takes too much of any one, or any combination of substances into their body, causing a shutdown of normal body function. Heroin is very dangerous with many fatally overdosing from use. The lethal range of heroin is from 200 to 500 mg, but habitual users can survive doses of over 1800mg.

Yet, a very common misconception is in how easily it is to overdose on heroin. Many believe that it is very easy to overdose on heroin alone. But the fact is that an individual, who is addicted to heroin and uses habitually, is very unlikely to overdose by accident. The user generally knows and manages the amounts that are taken in. The majority of overdoses involving heroin are usually because the opiate had been mixed with either sedatives or alcohol.

When a heroin overdose is sparked by heroin alone, usually it was during a relapse, in which the addict went back to an old dose that they no longer have the tolerance to handle. The reason that a heroin overdose can be so deadly is because the overdose simply provides an over the top effect of the opiate. Heroin is a pain killer derived from morphine. Its most basic effect is that it attacks opioid receptors in the brain resulting in a flood of endorphins. But what causes heroin to be potentially deadly is its effect on the repertory system. Opiates slow breathing, and when an opiate overdose occurs, the lungs slow to an almost nonexistent rate, and sometimes stop completely. So essentially when someone dies of a heroin overdose, they suffocate under the weight of their own chest. And the user is too numb from the pain killer to recognize that they are suffocating. The basic symptoms of a heroin overdose are unconsciousness and skin turning blue from lack of oxygen

Heroin Addiction-How to kick Out Heroin Addiction

As had been mention above heroin is a semi-synthetic substance derived from the opium poppy, is powerful and extremely addictive opiate. It can be taken orally, as a suppository, intravenously, smoked, and snorted. Although different methods create different highs, heroin is invariably addicting and tolerance-building. By the time one is dependent upon or addicted to heroin, they generally have a great struggle attempting to quit by themselves.

Quitting heroin causes withdrawal symptoms, some of which seem unbearable to its user.

A detoxification program is often the best chance an addict has of cleansing their body.
In most cases, heroin withdrawal requires medical attention.
Trained professionals may prescribe medications lessen the pain of detoxification, as well as drugs like Naltrexone, which inhibits the opioid from binding to their receptors, preventing the user from being able to get high from heroin.
After detox and in order to maintain their sober body, a treatment program is recommended.
Residential programs are the safest environments as there are no drugs to tempt the recovering addict.
Professionals are available at every hour to assist patient needs.
There is also outpatient programs, in which people only partake in activities for a portion of the day, and are allowed to leave during the remainder.
Generally, in treatment programs, recovering addicts might attend group therapy sessions, individual counseling sessions, family counseling, and learn how to live life sober.

Transitional living, such as a halfway house or a sober house, is a great way to ease back into real life. Transitional livings allow recovering peers to work together, find camaraderie, and learn how to take on everyday tasks with a new attitude. All this put together with the help of a team of experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of Doctor Akoury’s will go a long way into helping you get better and better. Doctor Akoury will focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE

Heroin Addiction-The hard facts about Heroin

Drug addiction and the brain

April 25, 2014

Drug addiction and the brain-Effects of dopamine on addiction

why dopamine-producing drugs are so addictive is that they have the ability to constantly fill a need for more dopamine.

In the previous article we stated that dopamine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, meaning that when it finds its way to its receptor sites, it blocks the tendency of that neuron to fire. We also noted that it is strongly associated with reward mechanisms in the brain. That aside new research on the brain is showing that addiction is a matter of memories, and recovery is a slow process in which the influence of those memories is diminished.

Further studies have also shown that addictive drugs stimulate a reward circuit in the brain. The circuit provides incentives for action by registering the value of important experiences. Rewarding experiences trigger the release of the brain chemical dopamine, telling the brain “do it again.” What makes permanent recovery difficult is drug-induced change that creates lasting memories linking the drug to a pleasurable reward.

Drug addiction and the brain-Brain circuits

Addiction involves many of the same brain circuits that govern learning and memory. Long-term memories are formed by the activity of brain substances called transcription factors. All perceived rewards, including drugs, increase the concentration of transcription factors. So repeatedly taking drugs can change the brain cells and make the memory of the pleasurable effects very strong. Even after transcription factor levels return to normal, addicts may remain hypersensitive to the drug and the cues that predict its presence. This can heighten the risk of relapse in addicts long after they stop taking the drug.

Knowing more about how addiction works in the brain has not yet given us any effective new treatments, but it has suggested new possibilities while providing a better understanding of how the available treatments work. The hardest job will be finding substances that lower the risk of addiction but do not interfere with responses to natural rewards. So far there is little evidence that any one type of therapy works better for addiction than another.

Drug addiction and the brain-Brain Chemistry

It has been demonstrated times and again that drug addiction is a powerful force that can take control of the lives of users. In the past, addiction was thought to be a weakness of character or just misbehavior, but in recent decades research has increasingly found that addiction to drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine is a matter of brain chemistry.

Experts at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, says that the way a brain becomes addicted to a drug is related to how a drug increases levels of the naturally-occurring neurotransmitter dopamine, which modulates the brain’s ability to perceive reward reinforcement. The pleasure sensation that the brain gets when dopamine levels are elevated creates the motivation for us to proactively perform actions that are indispensable to our survival for example eating or procreation. Dopamine is what conditions us to do the things we need to do.

Drug addiction and the brain-Neurochemical reward

Using addictive drugs floods the limbic brain with dopamine taking it up to as much as five or 10 times the normal level. With these levels elevated, the user’s brain begins to associate the drug with an outsize neurochemical reward. Over time, by artificially raising the amount of dopamine our brains think is normal, the drugs create a need that only they can meet.

For instance, when a drug produce increases in dopamine in these limbic areas of the brain, then your brain is going to understand that signal as something that is very reinforcing, and will learn it very fast so that the next time you get exposed to that stimuli, your brain already has learned that reinforcing instantly. Over time, the consistently high levels of dopamine create plastic changes to the brain, desensitizing neurons so that they are less affected by it, and decreasing the number of receptors. That leads to the process of addiction, wherein a person loses control and is left with an intense drive to compulsively take the drug.

According to experts the reason why dopamine-producing drugs are so addictive is that they have the ability to constantly fill a need for more dopamine. So a person may take a hit of cocaine, snort it, it increases dopamine, takes a second, it increases dopamine, third, fourth, fifth, sixth. So there’s never that decrease that ultimately leads to the satiety. Addiction has to do with the brain’s expectations. An emerging idea is that drugs basically hijack the brain’s normal computational enjoyment and reward mechanisms.

For example let’s say you’re happy about a great chocolate ice cream and over time you learn to expect that the chocolate ice cream is really great and you have no more dopamine released in expectation of that when you receive it. Nevertheless if you take an addictive drug you can never learn to expect it because the drug itself will release an extra kick of dopamine. And when that happens, the value of that drug keeps increasing because now you’re learning that wow my expectations were violated, therefore this must be much more valuable than what I thought before. So what ends up happening is that dopamine system gets hijacked by these drugs.

It must be noted that there are other components to addiction like genetics and age of exposure which is why not everyone who takes drugs becomes an addict. Approximately 50% of the vulnerability of a person to become addicted is genetically determined, and research indicates that if a person is exposed to drugs in early adolescence they are much more likely to become addicted than if they were exposed to the same drugs as an adult.

Drug addiction and the brain-Take away

One of the key functions of the neurotransmitter dopamine is to create feelings of pleasure that our brains associate with necessary physiological actions like eating and procreating. We are driven to perform these vital functions because our brains are conditioned to expect the dopamine rush that accompanies them.

Addictive drugs flood the brain with dopamine and condition us to expect artificially high levels of the neurotransmitter. Over time, the user’s brain requires more dopamine than it can naturally produce, and it becomes dependent on the drug, which never actually satisfies the need it, has created.

AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury is a facility run by experts headed by doctor Akoury, for proper care and healing of whatever kind of addiction and whatever the level of addiction you need caring experts who will focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome. This kind of treatment can only be found at AWAREmed. Reach out for help and get your life back with real professionals.

Drug addiction and the brain-Effects of dopamine on addiction

Tag Archives: Substance dependance