Oxycontin

OVERTAKEN

2012-04-30T02:34:00.000-07:00

ONE COMMUNITY, 98 + FATAL OVERDOSES, THOUSANDS OF LIVES, OVERTAKEN BY DRUGS

If there is a war on drugs then Jodi Barber and Christine Brant are on the front lines doing battle in their community. These two moms have accomplished their goal of making a short length documentary featuring the struggles of addiction through the lives of young adults. Jodi’s son Jarrod died from an overdose of a prescription drug she had never heard of until the night he died. His peers had heard of it though, and within weeks more young lives were gone and many more kids were left to battle addiction. Realizing that accidental death from overdosing was an epidemic, not just in their suburban community but across the U.S., they decided to make a documentary to show at school assemblies and youth groups. This documentary features the battle of addiction as told by those whose lives were overtaken by drugs. You will understand the struggle these brave young people take on each day to stay alive. The goal of this documentary is to save lives by educating our youth on the truth about addiction and the deadly consequences drugs often have. Approved by school district superintendents across the country and featuring specialists in the fields of medicine and addiction, this film delivers accurate and up to date information on the type of drugs infiltrating our communities and how to help our youth avoid them. For more information or to make a donation please write to : Overtaken, 28641 Via Pasatiempo, Laguna Niguel, California 92677

http://www.professionalcorporatevideoproduction.com/overtaken.html

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NATURAL WAYS TO HELP WITH PAIN

2012-04-30T02:10:00.000-07:00

I recently heard Dr. Russell Greenfield MD speak about natural ways to help pain issues that so many people are facing. I felt this might be helpful to the many people I speak with that are suffering from back pain, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, etc..

Dr. Greenfield has done extensive studies on natural ways to help with these conditions without the use of traditional pain medication which has caused many to become addicted and encounter all the problems associated with the chronic use of pain medication.

Dr. Greenfield suggests trying the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory supplement Zyflamend, 1 capsule 2 times a day. He has seen many get relief from chronic back pain by using this supplement.

He also suggests the use of the supplement Butterbur, 75-100 milligrams, 2 times per day to relieve Migraine headaches. He claims it decreases migraine headaches by half, due to lessening inflammation in the areas that cause Migraines.

If our readers would like to visit Dr. Greenfields website for Integrative Medicine, follow the link below.

http://www.bewelldoc.com/index.php

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Opiate Abuse – Important Things You Need To Know

2012-04-30T01:47:00.001-07:00

Opiate abuse has changed the face of drug addicts. It used to be that drug addicts were on the fringes of society and most people stayed clear of them. Today, your best friend, next door neighbor, babysitter or teacher could be an opiate addict. This is because it often starts with a legitimate prescription for painkillers or medication used for anxiety, depression, and other emotional problems.
Since opiates are so powerful in delivering that sense of euphoric well being, they are highly addictive. The brain starts craving more and more of that happiness and it doesn’t take much for even the most stable, well rounded person to end up addicted.

Common Opiates Abused

Heroin is the street opiate that many end up seeking because of the high cost of the pharmaceutical pain medication and it is one of the deadliest drugs out there today. Doing heroin one time often leaves a person trapped in the downward spiral of serious drug addiction. Unfortunately, heroin is now easier to get a hold of and usually cheaper than prescription medications, so it is where many addicts turn when they are unable to get their prescriptions.

The most commonly abused prescription medications include:

Hydrocodone
Oxycontin
Percocet
Dilaudid

The Cycle of Opiate Addiction

The cycle of addiction often starts with an injury, medical condition, or mental health issue. A doctor issues a prescription for opiate based drugs. The addiction sets in and the addict starts taking more than their prescribed dose. This causes their pills to run out before they can legally get more, so they end up going to different doctors to get multiple prescriptions or going to pain clinics to get extra pills.

Eventually, a doctor may determine the legitimate need for the pills is no longer present and stop prescribing it. This is when addicts either admit they need help or begin using deception and scheming to get pills illegally. This is where many will turn to heroine because it gives the same feelings but can be found easier and bought for less on the streets.

It is extremely difficult for opiate addicts to stop abusing the drugs on their own. Withdrawal is hardcore and can even be life threatening and many will continue abusing just because they are afraid to go through the detox process.

Signs of Opiate Abuse

You may notice that someone is high on opiates if their eyes are small and red or they appear to have trouble opening them all the way. They may also seem unusually happy or spaced out like they aren’t fully present on a mental level.

Long term use will result in chronic constipation, shaking, nausea, and can even result in convulsions or seizures in the case of an overdose.

Many of the signs of opiate abuse are social in nature. The drug interferes with daily life and the addict will choose to stay home and get high rather than doing things they used to enjoy. They may withdraw from friends and loved ones and as the addiction progresses they may push everyone away by stealing from them, lying to them, or just withdrawing from them entirely.

By the time an opiate addict seeks help they often have very little of a functional life left. Losing it all is often the bottom that breaks them down to finally seek help. If someone can intervene earlier on the addiction might not be quite as devastating in the end.

Suboxone Detox Treatment – Is It The Best Option For Opiate Addicts?

Opiate detoxification treatment helps break the cycle of opiate abuse. Suboxone is touted as the miracle drug for opiate drug addicts. This drug is used to treat severe cases of opiate addiction, by keeping withdrawal symptoms and cravings at bay.

Without a doubt, suboxone detox treatment for opiate addiction certainly serves a purpose, especially at a certain level of abuse, but the truth of the matter is that it’s an opiate replacement therapy, and you’re still taking a form of opiates. If you become addicted to suboxone, you will experience suboxone withdrawal if you stop taking it, just like you would with other opiates. Promises of weaning down and getting off of this drug easily doesn’t typically happen without painful and long lasting withdrawal.

Treating Opiate Addiction

Persons with an addition to opiates continue using their drugs due to an irrational fear of withdrawal from the drug. Addicts are full of fear and the short-term emotional needs of the addict vastly outweigh the long-term rational thoughts and benefits of detoxing from opiates. The thought of the withdrawals and being be able to live a sober life without drugs prevents many addicts from breaking through their denial and working towards accepting and taking responsibility for their actions and seeking help.

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Music Therapy

2012-03-27T01:12:00.001-07:00

Music, an abstract stimulus, can arouse feelings of euphoria, similar to tangible rewards that involve the striatal dopaminergic system. Using the neurochemical specificity of positron emission tomography scanning, combined with psychophysiological measures of autonomic nervous system activity, scientists found endogenous dopamine release in the striatum at peak emotional arousal during music listening. To examine the time course of dopamine release, they used functional magnetic resonance imaging with the same stimuli and listeners, and found a functional dissociation: the caudate was more involved during the anticipation and the nucleus accumbens was more involved during the experience of peak emotional responses to music. These results indicate that intense pleasure in response to music can lead to dopamine release in the striatal system. Notably, the anticipation of an abstract reward can result in dopamine release in an anatomical pathway distinct from that associated with the peak pleasure itself. Their results help to explain why music is of such high value across all human societies.

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Statement from Reckitt Benckiser concerning Subutex

2012-03-21T09:40:00.001-07:00

“Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc. is discontinuing distribution and sale of Subutex® tablets as we believe that mono product (product containing buprenorphine alone with no naloxone) creates a greater risk of misuse, abuse and diversion, and while other mono product may be available on the market, we are concentrating our efforts around less abusable products in order to protect patients, communities and access to treatment.”

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Oxycontin Banned in Canada

2012-03-07T12:11:00.001-08:00

Addiction experts are applauding Ontario’s new restrictions on OxyContin and the drug replacing it, but say the country needs a national strategy to tackle widespread abuse of prescription painkillers.
The province’s decision to remove OxyContin and its successor from the list of drugs it routinely funds is a “very positive thing overall,” said Dr. Irfan Dhalla of Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital.
His research found the addition of long-acting oxycodone — the form contained in OxyContin — to Ontario’s drug plan in 2000 coincided with a spike in opioid-related deaths.
Imposing tighter controls on prescriptions “is not going to solve the problem by itself, but it’s a major step forward,” he said.
The maker of OxyContin will stop manufacturing the drug in Canada at the end of the month and replace it with a new formulation called OxyNeo.
Ontario health officials said Friday the new drug will be funded through the province’s Exceptional Access Program, meaning prescriptions will fall under stricter regulations.
As other provinces weigh whether to include OxyNeo in their formulary, experts such as Dhalla are urging Ottawa to take the lead in combating what has become a national health crisis.
Benedikt Fischer, director of the Centre for Applied Research in Addictions and Mental Health at Simon Fraser University, said “concerted measures” could help prevent smuggling of the drug across provincial borders.
“Let’s say in Manitoba or in Quebec, the restrictions aren’t there, there’s a much higher supply and there’s a great black market demand in Ontario, it’s quite possible the stuff will come in from the neighbouring provinces,” he said.
“It’s one reason why approaches to those kinds of measures in Canada should really be harmonized across the board,” he said.
Manitoba and British Columbia are among a handful of provinces that have yet to decide whether to fund OxyNeo once OxyContin is discontinued.
Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have chosen not to pay for the new drug, which is formulated to make abuse more difficult.
Unlike OxyContin the tablet is hard to crush and when added to liquid it forms a thick gel that stops oxycodone from being extracted for injection.
But that won’t help those who have developed addictions to the drug in pill form, Fischer said. “They can still simply swallow it,” he said.

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Painkiller 10 times stronger than Vicodin being developed – sparking addiction fears

2012-02-25T03:24:00.001-08:00

Drug companies are developing a painkiller ten times stronger than Vicodin which addiction experts fear could spark a wave of abuse. Four companies have begun patient testing on the pills which are the first to contain the addictive ingredient hydrocodone in a pure form. If approved, it would mark the first time patients could legally buy pure hydrocodone as existing products combine the drug with nonaddictive painkillers such as acetaminophen.

The pharmaceutical firms claim the new drug will give doctors another tool to help patients manage pain. The companies also say patients will be more closely supervised. However addiction experts fear abusers will crush the pills into a fine powder and snort it to get high. Such practice is common with the painkiller oxycodone, currently the most-abused medicine in the U.S.

April Rovero, president of the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse told Fox news: ‘I have a big concern that this could be the next OxyContin. ‘We just don’t need this on the market.’

According to the DEA, there were 19,221 emergency room visits as a result of hydrocodone abuse in 2000. The figure was 86,258 in 2009. Between 2003 and 2007 in the state of Florida alone, hydrocodone caused 910 deaths and contributed to 1,803 others.

Andrew Kolodny, president of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing told CBS: ‘You’ve got a person on your product for life, and a doctor’s got a patient who’s never going to miss an appointment, because if they did and they didn’t get their prescription, they would feel very sick. Abuse: Addicts crush pills such as oxycodone into a fine powder which they snort to get high. ‘It’s a terrific business model, and that’s what these companies want to get in on.’

The San Diego company Zogenix plans hopes to begin marketing its product, Zohyadro, in early 2013. Rival companies Perdue Pharma, Cephalon, and Egalet are developing their own versions. Zogenix chief executive Roger Hawley claims Zohydro will be a safer painkiller than Vicodin as Vicodin contains acetaminophen which can be dangerous to the liver.

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Choosing an appropriate opiate detox program

2012-01-28T00:47:00.000-08:00

Its quite a few factors that stay responsible behind choosing an appropriate opiate detox program and most important among them is the type and the amount of the narcotic an addict is using, the length of usage, age and whether the drug is used in combination with other intoxicants. Opiate detox procedures are lengthy affairs and irrespective of whether it is detoxification under sedation; the latter does lower the treatment span but not as drastically as advertised. The confusion arises since rapid opiate detox programs are considered a complete treatment for opiate dependence which it is not and half the treatment is bound to take less time. So you get to wash the body from insides and not the mind; it is the later psychotherapies that actually cut down the cravings. But then again, the intensity of rapid opiate detox depends upon individual addicts health condition, misjudging which, leads to life threatening conditions. Without a proper medical assessment by qualified professionals, you could just be facing something similar to a death sentence with a lethal injection. If not, then you may expect psychosis, delirium, arrhythmia and renal failure to set in before it could be realized that something is seriously wrong.

Truth remains that rapid opiate detox is a process intended for severe addicts who would succumb into the withdrawal pain under traditional detox treatment; the process brings down to intensity to tolerable limits so that treatments could be carried on with medications like methadone, LAAM (levo-alpha-acetylmethadol), Buprenorphine, Clonidine and the likes. That alone proves that rapid opiate detox is not a solution to opiate addiction itself, but just an initial stage to make a severely addicted person get started towards the proper treatment measures.

Of recent, it is the opiate agonist (mimics opiates though to a much lower intensity) drug lofexidine thats gaining prominence and taking out the risk factors off the opiate detox procedures. Others include Clonidine (administered through trans-dermal patches), which releases measured doses of the drug into the bloodstream, just enough to keep the withdrawal pains blunt and hence, tolerable; the downside of an opiate detox with this particular drug is the effects start at least 48 hours later and lowered blood pressure leading to sedation. This makes medical supervision a must for even these types of safe opiate detox methods. However, Clonidine in combination with Naltrexone reduces the risks up to a great extent; the alpha-2 adrenergic (relating to epinephrine; autonomic nerve action stimulant) agonist tackles opiate withdrawal symptoms better than with Clonidine alone.

So, how do you know if the process is following the right course of action? Take note of the following points:

i. Opiate detox is not just pushing medications into the veins; so psychotherapies helping a patient that the dependence is a problem are paramount prior to the initiation of a detox process. It also helps an addict to focus on the goal.

ii. The detox program is a prolonged one and doesnt get over in a week. Thats enough to free the body from remnants of opiates but not the mind; unless the physical detox is matched with post-detox psychotherapies (to develop the necessary mental strength for keeping the drugs away), you are heading the wrong way, most probably in wrong company. Else, expect a relapse within no time to start the opiate detox procedure once again.

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Opiates and opiate detox myths

2012-01-28T00:32:00.000-08:00

An opiate is not a specific drug; its a class of drugs defined as narcotic comprising opium or an opium derivative. Invented as prescription drugs, opiates, nevertheless found way into recreational usage and currently are a massive problem the medical world is dealing with; more so, for opiate tolerance develops faster than one feeling symptoms surfacing. That applies to all from OxyContin and Oxycodone to Vicodin and Hydrocodone and the rest; however, the commercial presence of patches (e.g. Fentanyl) have eased up rigorous withdrawals to tolerable passing phases if used wisely in conjunction with the sedated opiate detox procedure. However, unlike traditional or long-term opiate detox therapies, rapid detox carries too many risks for people with severely deteriorated health conditions and might even lead to death by cardiac arrests.

That was clearing the myth on the rapid opiate detox process; now, the myths and facts on the most widely used opiates.

i. Heroin: People usually think it is less habit forming if smoked or snorted; however, it is equally deadly and addictive no matter how it is ingested. Its true that such modes eliminate the chances for HIV infection by avoiding the needle, but the same may occur while enjoying the high with unprotected sex. This proves that only detox measures are not sufficient to treat an addict; the diagnosis must be proper, also for any additional intoxicant the person may remain hooked to.

ii. Methadone: This is one reason why the rapid opiate detox method is gaining more popularity. Methadone (a synthetic narcotic resembling morphine and used for opiate detoxification and to maintain heroin addiction) is considered more harmful than any other opiate (even heroin); whereas fact remains that methadone is much safer if administered under medical supervision in controlled environments.

iii. Abstinence treats an opiate addiction effectively: Rapid opiate detox just flatters this wrong idea, often letting go off the post detox measures to bring things back to the square one. This is just one means by which detox centers with questionable reputation earn their bread; a complete cure would stop the inflow. A vicious circle follows.

iv. A rapid opiate detox session is the complete cure: Its a wrong notion; rapid opiate detox just clears the physical cravings and not the psychological one.

v. Withdrawal symptoms are completely eliminated with rapid detoxification: Wrong again! You dont feel the withdrawals as long as the anesthesia is in action, but theres no guarantee that youll come out of it before the detox is over, unless under the supervision of trained and qualified professionals. A quack may push you enough to keep you unconscious for just a day or forever; so stick to the rules and agree to what rapid detox was created for To minimize the intensity of withdrawals till a tolerable level could be achieved.

So, is ultra/rapid opiate detox safe? Yes and no; despite the process bringing in higher health risks, it can be called safe in the hands of trained professionals, who administer just enough to make a patient pass precisely through the withdrawal. Trying to use rapid opiate detox procedures as a complete cure is as good as being on the wrong end of the gun.

Use of Naltrexone in opiate detox

2012-01-28T00:17:00.000-08:00

A largely used medication for rapid opiate detox, Naltrexone is favored since it blocks the opiate receptors while a patient stays unconsciousness under the influence of general anesthetics. The medication is administered orally and its use may extend to several months depending upon the severity of the dependence. Naltrexone implants are widely used for long-term administering; though its effects are dubious, but it provides for better medication compliance. Still, the efficacy of rapid opiate detox with Naltrexone stays questionable on treating long-term opiate dependence.

Naltrexone is N-cyclopropylmethyl derivative, best described as substituted oxymorphone with the tertiary amine methyl-substituent replaced with methyl-cyclopropane. Upon sustained release, naltrexone has shown results which could be termed as promising, but within a small segment of opiate addicts. However, the medication just treats physical dependence; for a complete effect, further psycho-social interventions are important.

Not only opiates, naltrexone finds its usage in treating alcohol dependence as well. However, Naltrexone is not Methylnaltrexone Bromide used for treating opiate-induced constipation; neither is it similar to naloxone used for emergencies such as an overdose. Naltrexone has a longer effect than naloxone, which makes Naltrexone a better choice for long-term opiate detox. However, Naltrexone treats ethanol dependence more effectively than opiate dependence, though the mechanism of action of the medicine is yet to be fully understood. It could be due to the modulation of the dopaminergic-mesolimbic pathway which is activated by ethanol.

Naltrexones most common side effects include nausea (noticed in around 10% of people), headache and fatigue (around 7%), dizziness (4% or less), insomnia (3% at most), anxiety and drowsiness (near about 2%). They are; however, mild and of short duration, though 5% to 10% of the patients have shown severe nausea and resulted in stopping the treatment. However, Naltrexone, if administered in amounts more than whats required may initiate liver toxicity; hence, liver function tests are important prior to the treatment begins.

Post-detox Naltrexone administering requires test doses of 25 mg for an hour; it gauges for any further opiate withdrawal symptoms. Without any problems appearing, another 25 mg are administered. The subsequent doses are as follows:

i. 50 mg daily for 5 consecutive days of a week and 100 mg on the 6^th day.

ii. 100 mg every alternate day.

iii. 150 mg every three days.

iv. 100 mg on the starting and the middle of the week, followed by 150 mg a day later.

v. 150 mg on the start of the week and 200 mg after two days.

However, this is on an average, since opiate detox and dependence treatment varies with the need of every patient. Besides, it is required keeping in mind that naltrexone may prove toxic, inflicting considerable liver damage, which makes periodic liver function tests an important part of an opiate detox program with naltrexone.

As the last notes, naltrexone alone doesnt immune the body against opiates; it just suppresses the analgesia and an opiates euphoric effects. Therefore, disulfiram is most commonly used as a combination drug, though it increases the chances for an increased liver toxicity, making a professional medical consultation paramount for outweighing the risks.

Explaining opiate detox in a nutshell

2012-01-28T00:02:00.000-08:00

Before moving on to opiate detox, it is important knowing what opiates are. Medical explanation reveals opiates as narcotic alkaloids occurring naturally in the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) latex sap (a SW Asian herb with grayish leaves and white/reddish flowers) though modern medical science and chemistry have been able to create its semi-/biosynthetic versions (benzylisoquinoline alkaloids); these are the chemical derivatives of the narcotic alkaloids.

The naturally occurring and biologically active opiates are morphine, thebaine, codeine and papaverine from which, synthetic opiates like heroin, hydrocodone and oxycodone are derived along with morphine, thebaine and codeine. However, noscapine and the rest (more or less 25 in the naturally occurring group) have nominal or no effects on the human CNS; hence, these will be kept out of the discussion.

Opiates, over time, make the body develop a tolerance, which shoots up the quantity of intake, requiring collective interventions to control the drugs intoxicating effects and their withdrawals. It requires purging the addictive substances from the body and freeing an individual under its influence. However, it is a process that despite lessening the drugs physical effects brings forth intense physical pain and psychological disturbances, making a relapse obvious most of the times. This is why a complete detoxification from opiates (or be it any other drug) requires post- opiate detox psychological measures and gradual tapering (with medications simulating the effects of the opiates) to numb the reward centers of the brain from the effects of the alkaloids.

One thing that must be kept in mind is an opiate detoxification program is nothing without the post-detox care dealing with an addictions psychological aspects; the care restores the normal psychosocial factors by curing the intermingled and complex, addiction-specific behavioral issues.

Detoxification from opiates can be done through several procedures; however, unless the following steps are covered, it shall be wise to search for a better alternative.

i. Evaluation: This initiates the opiate detox process and finds out the opiates that a person is currently addicted to. A blood test is, therefore; paramount, which also reveals related physical and psychological behaviors and helps physicians to design a detox procedure thats most suitable.

ii. Stabilization: This is a stage where the actual detoxification starts. This is either done through medications and anesthetics after explaining to a patient what he/she may expect while undergoing treatment and the recovery stage. The involvement of close friends and family members is considered important in this phase; they provide the required emotional support.

iii. Treatment: This brings a patient to the last step of a detox process and is also vital to alter his psychology and is different from stabilization, which deals with treating physical dependency.

Even for (ultra) rapid opiate detox (which is for patients so severely addicted that natural withdrawals may lead to coma or death), the above three steps are indispensable; however, one cant expect them in the run-of-the-mill detox centers. For such specialized approaches, its paramount that trained, qualified, specialized and certified medical practitioners stay present; else, its the cure that might turn partial wreckage to a complete ruin.

Dangers of rapid opiate detox

2012-01-27T23:47:00.000-08:00

Lets be clear on this point first: Rapid opiate detox is very unsafe if not executed under the supervision of trained, qualified and certified medical professionals. With that much of info, it shall become easier for you to discriminate between quacks and those who are not.

The reason behind this form of detoxification is gaining popularity is understood; while conventional detoxification procedures for opiates is a grueling and brings on excruciating physical pain, with rapid detox, a person literally sleeps through the experience. The result is waking up fresh and free of opiate remnants, but there is a flip side to it. Being free from opiates or any other drugs is getting it out from the body and also from ones psyche; else the craving shall take a person back to where he belonged.

The new method is definitely making addicts willing to come out from opiates interested (and the number includes even those who didnt develop the addiction out of pain management programs), but theres a flip side to it (other than the risks imposed by untrained service providers), despite the complete recovery it promises. However, that is if the follow-up treatments (psychotherapies) are not integrated with the detox program; so weekend trippers and recreational users, how much ever you think it is an easy way out to spend the coming week as a normal person, youll be worsening the situation by developing a tolerance to the medication itself. That shall leave you with no option other than undergoing the traditional treatments, with a lot of extra pain to endure.

Now, a little bit on how the rapid opiate detox process works.

Rapid detox puts a complete end to withdrawal pains in a day or two (max three) for mild and moderate users) and a week to ten days for those who are severely addicted. It starts with an evaluation process, which reveals the type of opiate a person is addicted to and thus, figuring out the most suitable treatment pattern. The actual detox process starts after this, where the anesthesia is injected in required doses as well as the medications that intensify as well as accelerate the detoxification process. The sedation helps patients not to feel the otherwise unbearable pain sensations, removing the hesitation that keeps opiate dependents away from seeking medical aid. The last part is the follow-up medications (to check tolerance) and psychotherapies, which end the craving a person faces for the opiates and immunes his system from the drugs effects.

But it is also a fact that the increasing numbers of opiate abusers are taking advantage of the procedure and aiding the mushrooming of run-of-the-mill rapid detox setups; these are doing more harm than good under the disguise of providing an easy escape. Besides, there stay health risks associated; theres no doubt rapid detox brings immense benefits to people who are seriously addicted but it also inflicts massive shocks on the system. The intensified, accelerated opiate detox literally forces things out of the system, bringing it to a state which it has not experienced over a long period; in the absence of the stuff that made it keep going, the internal organs start behaving erratically, managing which, is not possible without knowing the subject completely. Hope that clears the importance of a rapid opiate detox under the supervision of qualified medical professionals, specially trained for this job only.

Turning disappointment into joy: From Service Dog to SURFice Dog

2012-01-27T23:32:00.000-08:00

I want to share this with our readers. I know this video doesn’t have anything to do with drug addiction, but it is inspiring, very heartwarming and can remind all of us that we are special in some way. That all of us can overcome obstacles by having faith and moving forward while believing in ourselves.

Highest Rate Of Abuse Reported In Oklahoma

2012-01-27T23:17:00.000-08:00

A new government report shows the number of overdose deaths from powerful painkillers have more than tripled over a decade.

Prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and methadone contributed to the deaths of nearly 15,000 people in 2008. That’s more than three times the 4,000 deaths in 1999.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 5 percent of Americans ages 12 and older say they’ve abused prescription painkillers. The highest rate of abuse was reported in Oklahoma while the lowest was in Nebraska and Iowa.

Fatal overdoses were more likely in men and middle-aged adults.

The report was released Tuesday by the CDC.

For the complete CDC report visit: : http://cdc.gov/mmwr/

The Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has approved the drug Vivitrol for the treatment of opioid dependence according to a news release by them on 10-12-2010.

2012-01-27T23:02:00.000-08:00

CDC Report on Prescription Painkiller Overdose is a Call To Action

2012-01-27T22:47:00.000-08:00

By Grant Baldwin, PhD, MPH November 4, 2011

The CDC (Center for Disease Control), deals with the numbers and statistics affecting the public’s health every day. Rarely do these numbers reveal the full and tragic story they actually represent. The CDC’s report this week on prescription painkiller overdoses is one of these rare instances, confirming a story many of us have heard in communities across America.
Prescription painkillers (drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone) killed nearly 15,000 people in 2008—one person every forty minutes. These were husbands and sons, mothers and daughters, often struggling with addiction for months or years before losing their lives. And the problem has never been worse. For every person who died of a prescription painkiller overdose in 1999, nearly four died in 2008. We are in the midst of an epidemic.
But the number of deaths isn’t the whole story. This sharp rise in prescription painkiller overdoses parallels a similarly large increase in painkiller sales. Four times as many prescription painkillers were sold in the U.S. last year than in 1999.
Astonishingly, in 2010 enough painkillers were prescribed to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for a month.
States can support prescription drug monitoring programs—electronic databases that track controlled substance prescriptions, which are promising tools for helping medical professionals identify patients who may be abusing these drugs. Health care providers can follow guidelines for safe painkiller prescribing and screen patients for warning signs of abuse. This is so important because we can reduce the number of people who are abusing and overdosing, while also ensuring that patients with pain are treated safely and effectively.
Individuals can also make an impact. More than half of all people who misuse prescription painkillers report getting their drugs from a family member or friend. Individuals must make sure to use prescription painkillers only as directed and to never share them with others. People should also take care to store their prescriptions safely, dispose of them properly and get help if they have substance abuse problems.
Preventing prescription painkiller overdoses is a CDC priority. The lives impacted by painkiller abuse and overdose can be found everywhere—a father who becomes addicted to painkillers after a work injury and overdoses, a teenager who takes an old bottle of painkillers from a relative’s medicine cabinet or a mother who loses a son to painkillers only to find her other child is also addicted. This week’s CDC report on prescription painkiller overdose is a call to action. This epidemic is affecting our own neighbors and communities. Working together, we can turn the tide and have the numbers tell a different story.

Painkiller 10 times stronger than Vicodin being developed – sparking addiction fears

2012-01-27T22:32:00.001-08:00

What to Look for in an OxyContin Rehab Program

2011-05-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

OxyContin is a painkilling medication which is prescribed to terminally ill people as well as for those that suffer from different forms of chronic pain. Available in tablet form it is not unusual for a person addicted to the drug to crush up the medication and snort it through a straw or tube. The drug is particularly dangerous to abuse because of the high potential for a fatal overdose. OxyContin was first introduced in 1995 and since that time the drug has been one of the most widely prescribed and commonly abused all over the country it is a problem.

When a person becomes addicted to OxyContin it is a virtual nightmare and living becomes merely existing. Physical addiction to OxyContin is an unavoidable circumstance that happens when a person is exposed to a high enough dosage of the drug over a specific time period. Once addiction sets in a person will need to keep using the drug and at a higher dose in order to mimic the original effects which is what makes OxyContin so extremely dangerous. It is because of intense cravings and withdrawal symptoms that a person will seek to continue using OxyContin.

OxyContin imitates the mechanism of action of the pleasure chemicals in the brain and produces artificial feelings of euphoria. The drug is able to produce pleasure effects by acting upon the serotonin reuptake receptors of the brain. Oxycontin confuses or tricks the person's mind and body and makes it believe that the drug is necessary for normal functioning. When someone becomes addicted to a drug like OxyContin the likelihood of overdose is extremely high. A person should find an OxyContin rehab program to stop using the drug and should never ever try to conquer the situation alone.

Some medical experts compare OxyContin addiction to almost like heroin addiction but some say it can be extremely worse. OxyContin addiction causes a person to experience severe and sometimes life-threatening withdrawal symptoms and medical complications:

Feeling tired all the time

Hot/cold sweats

Depression

Excessive yawning

Heart palpitations

Watery eyes

Insomnia

Diarrhea

Joint/muscle pain

Vomiting

Nausea

Uncontrollable coughing

In order to recover from an OxyContin addiction a person desperately needs the help of a professional rehab program. It is never easy to face any type of drug addiction head on and with honesty but for those that do the process of healing and recovery is facilitated much more easily. There can be an end to the viciousness that is OxyContin addiction but for most it cannot and will not happen without the benefit of a professional drug treatment center.

OxyContin addiction is a very serious situation the medication is made to be released over a period of time and when taken in large doses a person can experience a fatal overdose. An accidental overdose may require a period of hospitalization and should never be taken lightly it is a cry for help that desperately needs to be answered. There are certain signs which can be a signal of an overdose which include:

Impaired mental function

Slowed respiration

Vomiting

Nausea

Dizziness

Seizures

Loss of consciousness

Coma

Reduces vision

Pinpoint pupils

Weakness

Hallucinations

Clammy or cool skin

When a person seeks to overcome an addiction to OxyContin there are things which are important to look for in a potential rehab program. An Oxycontin rehab program must have an aggressive and comprehensive treatment plan which will be tailor made to suit the needs of each individual client. A person should always be treated as a unique individual and never as just another face in the crowd of rehab clients.

Overcoming an OxyContin addiction requires a strong dedication on the part of an addicted person and the assistance of a very innovative and highly skilled drug rehab program. Because OyxContin is such a physically addictive medication it is important that a person undergo detoxification prior to entering a professional drug rehab program. Once a person has been successfully detoxed from OxyContin treatment and healing can then proceed but without detoxification an addict can almost never get past the cravings caused by the drug.

The decision to enter into an OxyContin rehab program is admirable and the best choice any addicted person could ever make. Through various programs and therapeutic services an addicted person is provided with the highest standard of care possible while dealing with a very difficult situation. OxyContin or any other type of drug addiction causes serious problems which need to be handled by the skilled professionals that know how without it many people will die.

A professional OxyContin treatment program will help a recovery client by providing counseling therapy 12-step meetings support groups family counseling and an aftercare program. Once a person has realized the problems and consequences that led to drug addiction the situation can be effectively addressed and dealt with in a healing way. The journey to recovery is a long and arduous process but the only way that a person can heal is to permanently beat addiction and live life as a clean and sober individual.

Break the cycle of OxyContin addiction today and pick up the phone and take back control over your life again. Nobody that has ever enrolled into a professional drug treatment center has ever regretted the decision to become clean and sober. You deserve to have a chance in life to be free from the chains and burdens of drug addiction the only way it can happen is if you want it badly enough and are willing to work hard to accomplish the goal.

Never remain stuck being a victim of a drug like OxyContin through addiction treatment anyone can get rid of the burdens of drugs. End the slavery of addiction now and live to never regret it for the rest of your life. Give your family back the whole clean and sober person trapped inside seek help from a professional drug rehab center and learn how good life can be when lived as a fully functioning healthy happy individual once again.

Oxycontin Video, Information, and Rehab Tips

2011-05-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic medication synthesized from opium-derived thebaine. It was developed in 1916 in Germany, as one of several new semi-synthetic opioids in an attempt to improve on the existing opioids: morphine, diacetylmorphine (heroin), and codeine.

Oxycodone oral medications are generally prescribed for the relief of moderate to severe pain. Low dosages have also been prescribed for temporary relief of diarrhea. Currently it is formulated as single ingredient products or compounded products. Some common examples of compounding are oxycodone with acetaminophen/paracetamol or NSAIDs such as ibuprofen. The formulations are available as generics but are also made under various brand names.

OxyContin is Purdue Pharma's brand for time-release single-ingredient oxycodone oral medication. The manufacturing rights to time-released generic oxycodone are under dispute.

If you can’t stop using OxyContin, you likely need some professional help. The kind of help you need depends on your situation. Are you just dependent, or dependent and addicted to OxyContin?

Anyone who uses the medication regularly for more than a couple of weeks will develop a physical dependence on the drug — a change in the brain that leads to a need to continue taking the medication. Anyone with a physical dependence will endure withdrawal symptoms when trying to stop taking the medication.

People with just a dependency on the medication may need some assistance from a doctor in tapering down their dosage and dealing with withdrawal symptoms. This is strictly a medical issue. People who are only dependent on OxyContin are not addicted and do not need addiction treatment.

Anyone who abuses the medication regularly — taking the drug for non-medical reasons, taking more of the drug than recommended or taking it more often than recommended — will develop an addiction in addition to a physical dependency.

People with a dependency and an addiction to the medication will need help dealing with withdrawal symptoms, but they will also need help dealing with cravings to use the drug and avoiding relapse. People addicted to OxyContin require addiction treatment.

OxyContin Addiction Treatment Options

If you are addicted to OxyContin, you have a number of addiction treatment options.

You can go cold turkey
You can undergo a rapid medical detox and then participate in addiction treatment on a residential or outpatient basis
You can participate in an ultra rapid detox procedure
You can take methadone
You can take Suboxone

Oxycontin OP

Beginning in 2010, the brand name OxyContin by Purdue was reformulated to prevent the misuse and abuse of the tablets. Additional binders have been added to prevent the grinding of tablets for insufflation or injection, and to maintain OxyContin's extended release characteristics. These new tablets are more often prescribed by physicians than previous generic versions for this exact purpose and bear the stamp 'OP' instead of the previous 'OC.'

Efficiency

Although the medication has been approved by the FDA and many medical professionals still consider Oxycontin OP equivalent to the original formula, some complaints have arisen over the new formulation's efficiency at relieving pain. People have reported that the pills are not absorbed and are simply excreted as a waxy mass, while others complain of increased side effects or severely reduced effectiveness. Many patients are requesting other medications while some may be taking legal action against Purdue Pharma. Others may not notice the change immediately due to use of other narcotic or analgesic medications. There is a strong opposition from both legitimate patients and recreational users against Purdue Pharma, some demanding the recall of 'Oxycontin OP' or threatening to take legal action.

What is OxyContin and Dosage

2011-05-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

OxyContin, a trade name for the narcotic oxycodone hydrochloride, is a painkiller available in the United States only by prescription. OxyContin is legitimately prescribed for relief of moderate to severe pain resulting from injuries, bursitis, neuralgia, arthritis, and cancer. Individuals abuse OxyContin for the euphoric effect it produces--an effect similar to that associated with heroin use.

OxyContin is the brand name of a time-release formula of oxycodone produced by the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995 and first introduced to the U.S. market in 1996. By 2001, OxyContin was the best-selling non-generic narcotic pain reliever in the U.S.; 2008 sales in the U.S. totaled $2.5 billion. An analysis of data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found that retail sales of oxycodone "jumped nearly six-fold between 1997 and 2005." Mundipharma distributes OxyContin in Australia, China, and Europe.

OxyContin is available in 5 mg, 10mg, 15mg, 20mg, 30mg, 40mg, 60mg, 80mg and the no longer available in America, the 160mg pill.

The most common names for OxyContin are OCs, ox, and oxy.

Yes, abusing OxyContin is illegal. OxyContin is a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule II drugs, which include cocaine and methamphetamine, have a high potential for abuse. Abuse of these drugs may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

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