Wednesday, May 6, 2015

What You Need To Know About Opana Drug Abuse


The increased abuse of Opana, a prescription painkiller, has alarmed authorities, and measures are being put in place to curb this vice. Opana drug abuse currently beats that of the most preferred OxyContin. Prescription drugs, mostly painkillers, have been abused for decades, especially by teens. The increase in their (prescription drugs) abuse results from their effects (the surge in the production of the so-called happy hormone, which gives people an intense ‘high’), and the fact they are more available and cheaper than the hard drugs that provide similar side effects.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OPANA ABUSE

Opana drug abuse has peaked in the recent years as the preferred drug of choice, OxyContin, became successfully tamper-proofed. Most prescription drugs, Opana inclusive, are availed in varying forms including oral syrup/ liquid, powder, injectable liquids, dissolvable tablets and oral tablets. Oral tablets and syrup/ liquid must pass through the digestive system before they can be digested and released, gradually, into the blood system. This process takes hours and the experienced effects are delayed and mild. Cavity-dissolvable tablets/ powder, skin patches and injectable liquids, on the other hand, access the blood stream fast, inducing fast and intense side effects, including the sought ‘high’.

Prescription drug abusers often alter the original form of a drug to a form that can be administered into the blood stream fast. The manufacturers of OxyContin moved to reduce the ability of drug abusers to alter the original form of OxyContin, which reduced their ability to ingest the drug faster and experience fast, intense high. Opana drug abuse resulted from the fact that it is just as potent as OxyContin, and drug abusers can crush the tablets into powder that can be snorted or dissolved and injected into the bloodstream, releasing an instant and intense high. Unfortunately, ingesting a drug in any manner (form, frequency and mixture) other than prescribed poses serious health risks, and Opana drug abuse has been on the limelight for numerous overdoses.

Authorities have moved to reduce the form-alteration of Opana to reduce its abuse. However, old stock is still in supply, and Opana drug abusers will continue abusing this drug until it is no longer accessible. Authorities fear that curbing prescription drug abuse will be harder than simply banning the production of alterable forms of drugs, since drug abusers simply move to the next potent drug whose form can be altered for an instant administration and intense high. Follow us for more information and resources on drug abuse and treatment.

Friday, April 10, 2015

The Effects Of Methamphetamine Abuse

Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant that, even in small doses, can increase physical activity and wakefulness, and decrease appetite. It can also cause a wide range of cardiovascular problems, such as irregular heartbeat, rapid heart rate, and increased blood pressure. Convulsions and hypothermia may also occur with methamphetamine abuse, and if not treated immediately, a user can die.

When taken methamphetamine and crystal meth create a false sense of energy and well--being; therefore, users tend to push their bodies further and faster than they are meant to go. Most of the pleasurable effects result from the release of high levels of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter involved in motor function, the experience of pleasure, and motivation.

Meth users can experience a severe mental and physical breakdown when the effects of the drug wear off. Since continued use of the drug decreases appetite, users can go through extreme weight loss. They can also experience hyperactivity, nausea, disturbed sleep patterns, irritability, increased aggressiveness, and delusions of power. Other more serious effects may include paranoia and anxiety, hallucinations, confusion, and insomnia.

In the long term, methamphetamine abuse can cause irreversible harm, such as damaged blood vessels in the brain or an irregular heartbeat that can cause heart attack or death, or lung, kidney, and liver damage. Addicts may also suffer brain damage, including an inability to grasp abstract thoughts and memory loss. Addicts who recover are usually subject to extreme mood swings and memory gaps.

Short--Term Effects of Methamphetamine Abuse
• Dilation of pupils
• Loss of appetite
• Increased body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate
• Nausea
• Irregular sleep patterns
• Panic and psychosis
• Irritability, hyperexcitability, and hallucinations
• Erratic, bizarre, and sometimes violent behavior
• Seizures, convulsions, and death from high doses

Long--Term Effects of Methamphetamine Abuse
• Permanent damage to blood vessels in the brain and heart
• Damage to the brain similar to stroke, epilepsy, or Alzheimer's disease
• Lung, kidney, and liver damage
• High blood pressure, leading to strokes, heart attacks, and death
• Destruction of tissues in the nose if the drug is sniffed
• Weight loss and malnutrition
• Respiratory problems if smoked
• Severe tooth decay
• Infection diseases if injected
• Apathy, disorientation, and confusion
• Psychosis
• Strong psychological dependence
• Depression

When people abuse methamphetamine, it usually takes over their lives in varying degrees. The three categories of meth abuse are: low--intensity methamphetamine abuse, binge methamphetamine abuse, and high--intensity methamphetamine abuse. Sometimes, it is difficult to face one's problems; however, the consequences of meth abuse are always worse than the problem one is trying to run away from. The answer is to get the facts and not turn to meth in the first place. Follow us for more information and resources on drug abuse and treatment.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Breaking An Addiction To Life Threatening Drugs


Trying to live a normal life while addicted to a drug or other substance that can threaten your life is extremely difficult. When addicted to a drug your brain is literally consumed with the thought about how to get the drug at all times. When you are high on drugs then it inhibits your ability to be able to function properly. So as you may have guessed by now, drugs literally hold back your ability to achieve in life, causing you to fail to reach any of your goals, and even putting you at jeopardy of losing your job, friends, and family.

Get help with your addiction so that you can focus on living a more improved life. How long have you been addicted to drugs? It does not matter if this addiction is new, or if you have been addicted for quite some time. It is a good idea to take the time to seek help from professionals who have helped a countless number of people in the past. Cocaine, blow, and other substances of this nature are the worst, since they give you a euphoric feeling that you want to feel at all times.

Instead of allowing your life to be consumed by cocaine, blow, and other substances it is a good idea to take the time to figure out what is important in life. There should be no reason as to why you would want to continue living life as a person who is consumed by a variety of substances. It is going to be tough to break free from being addicted to these serious drugs, but once you are able to find relieve you will see just how great it is to live life again, and how much more free time is on your hands.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Nembutal And Seconal Addictions - Treatment Options For You To Consider

Let's say that you would like to stop using barbiturates, particularly drugs like phenobarbital, nembutal, and seconal. These are often prescribed by people that are not working very well with benzodiazepines like Xanax, and need something a little different. You can become very addicted to these drugs, more so than benzodiazepines, and if you want to stop using them this year, these treatment options will help you with your addiction to barbiturates like amytal using the following suggestions.

What Barbiturates Do To You

These drugs were actually prescribed as a sedative hypnotic to help people that were not able to fall asleep. They are able to sedate your central nervous system, allowing you to deal with problems like anxiety and depression. They can help you sleep, and deal with your anxiety, but they also are very addicting. People may not be able to function without them because they need the sedating effects that only barbiturates can provide.

Stopping Your Addiction to Barbiturates

What you will need to do is find someone in your area that specializes in helping people with barbiturate addictions. It doesn't matter what type of medication that you are on because they all do essentially the same thing. You might want to switch over to something like benzodiazepines instead which are less addicting in general. Your doctor will be able to switch your prescription which will be able to help you, or you can go to a rehabilitation center to get personal one-on-one help so that you can stop using barbiturates right away.

If your goal is to be barbiturate free by the end of the year, you can probably do this on your own. If your doctor can prescribe a different medication that can sedate your central nervous system, or that can help you sleep, you might be able to stop using them without a rehab center, but the choice is always up to you.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Getting Counseling For An Opium Addiction

Anybody who is addicted to drugs like opium needs to get help.  No matter what treatment option a person chooses, counseling will be part of the recovery process.  There are many types of counseling available.  These include in-patient, out-patient, group and individual counseling.

Individual therapy may be received on an out-patient basis or during a stay at a rehab facility.  The latter is called in-patient treatment.  Typically counseling begins during or after detox.

Detox is the process of getting the drugs and/or alcohol out of the patient's system.  Most rehab centers treat the symptoms of opiates withdrawal with prescription medication.  This combined with counseling will reduce the risk of the addict turning to drugs in the future.

Leaving rehab does not mean that the addict is cured.  Staying clean is a lifelong struggle as addicts can relapse at any time.  It is for this reason that addicts sometimes continue counseling long after they have left rehab.

Group therapy is useful as addicts find comfort in knowing that there are others who share the same struggles as themselves.  Having the support of people who do not judge them also helps.  In fact support is what makes programs like Narcotics Anonymous successful.

For most addicts, a big roadblock they will face is getting funds for therapy.  If addicts are worrying about how they will pay for treatment, they should contact their health insurer.  Some insurance policies will cover treatment and/or counseling.

If the addict does not have health insurance, he or she may need to borrow money for treatment.  While this is not ideal, it may be the only road to recovery.  When push comes to shove, the addict's future is more important than a short term loan.  There are also low-cost and free options available to those who are willing to find them.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Cocaine: Psychiatric Disorders And How To Recover


Cocaine is a powerful stimulant that is highly addictive. It is derived from coca leaves. When taken, it causes various effects such as increased alertness, energy, short term euphoria and talkativeness. During a comedown, the drug is known to cause feelings of paranoia, anxiety and restlessness to a user. When the usage of the drug is excessive, the effects include; convulsions, tremors and increased blood pressure and heart rate which might cause cardiac arrest that may lead to death.

Psychiatric Disorders

The fore mentioned effects can result to cocaine- related psychiatric disorders which are 10 in number namely; cocaine intoxication, cocaine-induced sexual dysfunction, cocaine intoxication delirium, cocaine-induced sleep disorder, cocaine-induced psychotic disorder with delusions, cocaine-induced psychotic disorder with hallucinations, cocaine withdrawal, cocaine-induced anxiety disorder, cocaine-induced mood disorder and cocaine-related disorder not otherwise  specified.

All these disorders have unique symptoms and effect on mental health of a person. Therefore the recovery program for each of the disorder is distinctive. Below is a characteristic of each of the disorders;

Intoxication

Cocaine intoxication results when an individual has used the stimulant recently and has clear signs of unusual behavioral changes as mentioned above. When a person experiences extreme thought impairment, then this is cocaine intoxication delirium. As the name suggests, cocaine induced sexual dysfunction results to a person being distressed/disrupted when it comes to sex.

Withdrawal From Cocaine

As for cocaine withdrawal, this occurs after one stops the usage of this drug. The symptoms include; abnormal fatigue, depression, suicidal thoughts, insomnia among other effects.  For the sleep disorder, an individual will have disrupted sleeping patterns. When it comes to the induced psychotic disorder with hallucinations and with delusions, a person experiences that which is not reality.

Anxiety

The anxiety disorder causes one to be extremely anxious and cocaine induced mood condition causes change of mood every now and then. Lastly all cocaine-related psychiatric disorders not elsewhere classified fall under disorders not otherwise specified.

How To Recover

When it comes to recovery, the treatment modes will combine the use of sedative drugs, outpatient and inpatient psychiatric treatment, close observations by a doctor among other measures. There is usually a high chance of relapse with this drug. For this reason there is need for the addict to join a long term 12 step self help group as well as a therapist conducting periodic psychiatric evaluation on the patient.

Click Here to Learn More About Effective Drug Addiction Treatment >>

Thursday, December 18, 2014

OxyContin Addictions - Stop Using These Painkillers This Year

 

If you have ever received a prescription for painkillers, specifically opiates, you're probably aware of how extremely addicting these can be. People that take them for many years, which usually begins after a surgery has occurred, can't seem to get off of them. If you have chronic pain, you have a legitimate reason for having them, but if you simply like the euphoria and the happiness that they allow you to feel, you need to stop taking them as soon as possible. These drugs can become detrimental to your health over time, which is why ending your addiction is so imperative.

Why Oxycodone And Opiates Are Addicting

There is only one reason why opiates are addicting and that is because they affect your opioid receptors in your brain. Directly attached to your central nervous system, by stimulating them, euphoria can occur. You will also be devoid of any pain that you are feeling because of how they affect the way your brain interprets the pain that you feel. By using them on a regular basis, especially over several months, your addiction to them will be complete.

Stop Using Opiates Once And For All

To end your addiction to opiates, all you have to do is stop using them and go through the withdrawals. You will be shaking, sweating, vomiting, and possibly having diarrhea for several weeks until your body has reset and they are completely out of your system. During this time, you might want to find a treatment center that can help you out because it's not very easy to do. However, once you are done, you will be able to be free of opiates controlling your life. If you really want to stop using opiate-based medications, treatment centers and this technique can help you achieve this.