Drug rehab is more successful when other drugs aren’t substituted

Drug rehab is more successful when other drugs aren’t substituted

I was recently doing research on alcohol abuse and came across some startling information – the current trend in alcohol and drug rehab programs is to get the person off drugs or alcohol by putting them on another drug. In other words, they simply substitute one drug for another and send the ‘former’ alcoholic or addict on their way – allegedly cured. This is called ‘medication therapy’ and, believe it or not, is actually considered valid ‘treatment’. However, successful drug rehab programs offer a drug-free approach.

Let me clarify the role of drugs in stopping addiction: When an alcoholic or drug addict wants to quit the habit, they first have to go through withdrawal. How painful an experience that will be depends on how much they’ve been drinking for how long, or what drugs they’ve been taking, and how much, for how long. Withdrawal can be severely painful and sometimes dangerous, even life-threatening. In fact, fear of withdrawal symptoms is often enough to deter any efforts to get clean.

To get through withdrawal safely and relatively comfortably, many people choose to do a medically-supervised drug or alcohol detox. This process often involves the use of drugs to lessen the withdrawal symptoms. However, the drugs are given for a very short time – sometimes just a few days – not enough to cause addiction. By the time the person has completed the detox and goes back out into the world, they are no longer taking drugs – not the drug they walked in on, and not the drug that helped them through withdrawal. Having come through withdrawal safely and relatively comfortably, the person can now get into full drug rehab, as needed, to address the reasons they turned to drugs or alcohol in the first place so they can fully handle their addiction. This bears no resemblance to ‘medication therapy’, and you should not confuse the two.

I’ve worked with many families and friends of addicts over the years and most are looking for programs that don’t require a person to be drugged up on pharmaceuticals when they leave treatment. The fact that so many places are now promoting the use of these substitutes for any type of addiction was shocking to me, especially in light of the fact that none of the drug rehabs using this type of treatment have a decent success rate. How could they? They’re not addressing the problem in any way, shape or form.

To the average person looking for help this may seem like the way to go. Personally, I would much rather not have to wake up every morning and take a pill just to get through the day. There are plenty of successful drug rehabs out there that don’t use ‘medication therapy, it’s just a matter of finding one that is the right fit for the user. If you’re looking for help for yourself or someone you love, my advice would be to ask for a drug-free drug rehab program.

Drug Rehab Isn’t Only Accessible to the Rich and Famous

Over the past few years I’ve noticed a trend among many of the families I’ve worked with: many haven’t sought treatment in the past because they thought all drug rehabs were beyond what they could afford. It’s not true. There are thousands of drug rehab programs in the United States and the majority are available to anyone, regardless of ability to pay. Although many highly effective programs are private pay it doesn’t mean it has to cost a year’s salary to get someone enrolled. It’s unfortunate that so many people don’t seek help simply because they think it will be too expensive. I would be glad to help anyone find a program that can be highly effective without breaking the bank. Addiction can be overcome without spending your life savings with the right drug rehab program.

Will Drug Rehab Be Made Available to OxyContin Abusers and Addicts?

Now that OxyContin has formally been acknowledged by its manufacturers Purdue Pharm as having a high risk factor for abuse and addiction, what will be done for those who have suffered damage from the drug and may well need drug rehab?

Many people start taking OxyContin when it’s prescribed by doctor as a pain reliever. However, getting off the drug on your own is almost impossible. Withdrawal symptoms can be severe – the restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes, goose bumps, and involuntary leg movements may cause many to choose to stay on the drug despite the fact that they are no longer suffering from the pain for which it was initially prescribed. This then leads to prolonged use, during which time you build up a tolerance and, consequently, require higher doses to create the desired effect, and to avoid the symptoms of withdrawal. Taken long enough, you can become addicted.

That’s the legitimate route. The illicit route is another story – but the result is the same, if not worse. On the street the tablets are often crushed, then snorted, eaten, or injected to get a bigger rush. Along with the high, abusers can experience side effects like nausea, dizziness, vomiting, headaches, sweating and difficulty breathing. In fact, in the first few years of its release, over 30,000 people went emergency because of the side effects and overdose, and some of them died.

Drug rehab and treatment centers are already seeing an astounding number of admissions for OxyContin abuse and addiction – some as high as 90 percent of those who come to them for help.

Hopefully, part of the nearly $700 million fine levied on Purdue Pharma, or, possibly fines from the many law suits that are sure to come in the near future now that the cat’s out of the bag, will be used to get OxyContin victims into a successful drug rehab program before it’s too late.

Drug Rehab Is a Must for Parents on Drugs or Alcohol

Imagine what it must be like for a kid whose parents are usually stoned or drunk. One person I helped grew up in an environment full of alcoholics. She was the oldest child – about 10 years older than the next oldest – and, even at that age, was the designated babysitter and caregiver. In fact, she raised her siblings. She took them to daycare before she went to school in the morning, picked them up afterwards while other kids her age were staying at school playing team sports and doing other extracurricular activities, she made them dinner while her parents hit the bars after work, and kept her bedroom door closed against the noise of her parents and their friends partying while she tried to do her homework at night. It went on like that for years, until she finally moved out at the ripe old age of fifteen. If someone had taken the time to get her parents into a successful alcohol or drug rehab program, it would have changed her life.

As bad as that sounds, it’s nothing compared to some of the situations I’ve seen. But it was, nevertheless, enough to get her started along the same road – not an unusual situation, many children of drug addicts and alcoholics follow in their parents’ footsteps. Even those who vow that they will never be like their parents.

However, a good alcohol or drug rehab program can turn the parents around, change their lives, save the family, and save the children. If you know a parent who is abusing drugs or alcohol, get them into a successful drug rehab program fast. It will not only help the addict, it will give the children an opportunity for a good future they might otherwise never have.

Will Drug Rehab Be Made Available to OxyContin Abusers and Addicts?

Now that OxyContin has formally been acknowledged by its manufacturers Purdue Pharm as having a high risk factor for abuse and addiction, what will be done for those who have suffered damage from the drug and may well need drug rehab?

Many people start taking OxyContin when it’s prescribed by doctor as a pain reliever. However, getting off the drug on your own is almost impossible. Withdrawal symptoms can be severe – the restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes, goose bumps, and involuntary leg movements may cause many to choose to stay on the drug despite the fact that they are no longer suffering from the pain for which it was initially prescribed. This then leads to prolonged use, during which time you build up a tolerance and, consequently, require higher doses to create the desired effect, and to avoid the symptoms of withdrawal. Taken long enough, you can become addicted.

That’s the legitimate route. The illicit route is another story – but the result is the same, if not worse. On the street the tablets are often crushed, then snorted, eaten, or injected to get a bigger rush. Along with the high, abusers can experience side effects like nausea, dizziness, vomiting, headaches, sweating and difficulty breathing. In fact, in the first few years of its release, over 30,000 people went emergency because of the side effects and overdose, and some of them died.

Drug rehab and treatment centers are already seeing an astounding number of admissions for OxyContin abuse and addiction – some as high as 90 percent of those who come to them for help.

Hopefully, part of the nearly $700 million fine levied on Purdue Pharma, or, possibly fines from the many law suits that are sure to come in the near future now that the cat’s out of the bag, will be used to get OxyContin victims into a successful drug rehab program before it’s too late.