Posts Tagged behavior
Medications for Drug Addiction Recovery
Posted on November 30, 2011 | Drug Abuse.
Recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction takes a lifetime of effort. Recovering addicts must consistently attend therapies, practice self-reflection, and develop new coping mechanisms in order to stay sober for the long term. Unfortunately, most addicts experience a relapse at some point in their recovery. Drug cravings and post acute withdrawal symptoms can be too much for even the most dedicated and disciplined addict to handle.
In some cases, healthcare professionals will actually prescribe new drugs for recovering addicts. Though it can be risky to give drugs to someone who has exhibited addictive behavior patterns, certain pharmaceuticals can be invaluable for maintaining sobriety. Most addicts experience a combination of cravings, depression, physical pain, and social problems post-treatment, and these medicines often allow them to manage their symptoms and make good decisions. Here are some of the most common types of drug addiction medications.
Medications for Opiate Addiction
Opiates such as heroin are some of the most addictive – and most physically dangerous – substances currently abused. Even after a successful detoxification, opiate addicts often experience intense cravings. To combat these cravings and their accompanying mental and physical problems, many doctors actually prescribe other opium derivatives. The most common of these pharmaceutical-grade opiates are methadone and Naltrexone.
These medicines work by altering the way in which heroin affects certain receptor sites in addicts’ brains. Since addiction is a neurological disorder, such medication can be necessary for curbing uncontrollable cravings. However, these opium derivatives also carry risks of their own. Though they tend not to be as addictive as their illicitly-used counterparts, methadone and naltrexone can still be habit-forming. Doctors who prescribe these drugs must carefully monitor their patients to ensure consistent dosages.
Medications for Cocaine Addiction
There are currently no drugs designed specifically to treat cocaine addiction. However, there are still several medicines which have proven effective in this regard. One drug called Gabapentin increases levels of calming neurotransmitters in addicts’ brains. Since people addicted to drugs typically crave the euphoria of dopamine releases, this calming effect can act as a substitute and reduce cravings to manageable levels.
Two other medications cocaine addicts sometimes use are n-acetylcysteine and nocaine. N-acteylcysteine can actually repair brain cell damage caused by heavy cocaine use. It is also available over the counter and is less habit-forming than most illicit drugs. Nocaine is a drug scientists are still testing that appears to weakly mimic the effects of cocaine. It doesn’t have the same stimulant effects, so it may prove helpful for weaning some patients off of cocaine without disrupting their lives with intense detox and drug treatment.
Medications for Alcoholism
The first substance the Federal Drug Administration approved for treating alcoholism was disulfiram. This medicine helps some alcoholics fight their cravings by upsetting the gastrointestinal system when combined with alcohol. Addicts who consistently take disulfiram may simply avoid alcohol consumption because of the combination’s resultant nausea and vomiting. People addicted to alcohol may also use acamprosate – a drug which can help reduce depression, aggression, and other psychological post acute withdrawal symptoms.
These medications may be effective in treating addictions, but they cannot replace a holistic treatment program at a rehabilitation clinic. If you or someone you love is currently struggling with drugs or alcohol, use the links below for a free, no-obligation consultation. Take the first step on the road to recovery today.
The Physical and Emotional Depth of Substance Abuse
Posted on October 2, 2011 | Drug Abuse.
Substance abuse is often a critical condition with long-term mental and physical impact to the abuser and the ones surrounding the addict. Occasionally the depth which substances may change a person is downplayed or ignored, particularly in the face of a continuously threatening addiction. Nevertheless, facing the facts about the outcome of substance abuse better lights up the entirety of the ‘addiction’ condition.
Drug abuse often emotionally cripples the abuser. Concealed suffering, trauma, depression, nervousness, fury, and misery will often be stimulating aspects in the addiction of your substance, plus a contributing factor to the cycle of drug addiction. For example, the addict could abuse alcoholic drinks because they really feel disappointed regarding a romantic relationship. This leads to behavior influenced by too much alcohol, that undoubtedly makes the relationship issue more serious. To cope with the discouragement, the abuser consumes even more liquor. Emotional uncertainty has reached the cause of your issue – the addict lacks the proper knowledge to react in a healthy way.
The aforementioned example is just one possible scenario when the emotional depth of drug abuse can show itself. Inner thoughts both stimulate the drug abuse, lengthen the drug abuse, and serve as an ‘answer’ to the drug abuse.
The bodily effects of substance abuse are generally long-lasting and also damaging. As the specifics change by substance, all of them are harmful. Alcoholics deal with liver organ breakdown, cardiovascular disease, and nerves injury to name just a few. Abusers of crystal meth often develop tremors, psychosis, aggressive actions, as well as damaging tooth rot referred to as ‘meth mouth’. The physical scale of drug abuse nourishes the addiction model; your body and brain rely on the introduction of drugs on a regular basis to ‘perform,’ but this particular level of functioning is nowhere fast in close proximity to normal and in reality sets the footwork for the drug-induced illness.
A drug abuser is mentally and physically susceptible to their particular substances of preference, causing their health and wellness to decrease and their feelings to change significantly. To put it simply, one’s body and mind of a substance abuser is shaky, nowhere close to the normal spectrum of wellness.
The physical and emotional depth of drug abuse is definitely an incredibly malignant element of dependency. This damages the abuser and those involved in the abuser’s existence as well, in a manner that can’t be handled by those people trying to alter the addict’s ways on their own. For those who have dealt with someone like this in your lifetime, consider the damage they’re doing themselves every time they get the bottle of syringe; not just that, but also the harm they are imposing you. You have the capability to try to alter the drug abuser – by searching for a professional interventionist with the experience to help with the problem.