Recovering from addiction during a time of uncertainty and social distancing
The COVID-19 crisis has created a time of uncertainty and anxiety for people around the world. Health professionals and other hospital staff are working around the clock to reduce and prevent the harmful consequences of the virus’s spread. Many people are uneasily wondering how they will manage their existing health problems when the support systems they normally rely on have been altered or eliminated. During this time, anxiety can cause an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of the stomach. It also can create a sense of behavioral paralysis and disengagement from daily tasks and obligations. This distance and sense of dre...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 3, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Howard J. Shaffer, PhD, CAS Tags: Addiction Alcohol Behavioral Health Smoking cessation Source Type: blogs
MAT Regulations Relaxed During COVID-19 Pandemic —This Should Catalyze Further Reform
Jeffrey A. SingerIn order to facilitate social distancing among people in treatment for opioid use disorder, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration relaxed some onerous regulations surrounding the use of buprenorphine or methadone in Medication Assisted Treatment.For health care providers to prescribe buprenorphine on an ambulatory setting to patients with addiction, they must apply for an “X waiver” on the narcotics prescribing license they get from the DEA. This is an onerous process that has resulted in a paltry number ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 25, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
Opioid Medication For Addiction Treatment
For many individuals, “cold-turkey” abstinence isn’t realistic when it comes to recovering from addiction. This is especially true when it comes to opioid addiction. Opioids take over the brain’s chemistry so much to the point that it can be difficult to function without it. Therefore, taking opioid medication for addiction treatment in medication-assisted treatment has been found to help individuals recovering from opioid addiction by reducing the withdrawal symptoms and allowing for their body to readjust.
Medication-Assisted Treatment
Medication-assisted treatment is the use of medications in combination with c...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - February 25, 2020 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates Medical medical detox medicated-assisted detox medication opioid opioids prescription medication Source Type: blogs
What is an Opioid?
Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and many others. All individuals who take opioids run the risk of addiction. As such, when asking “what is an opioid?” it is important to know the different types, the signs of addiction, and the signs of an overdose.
Prescription Opioids
Opioids interact with the opioid receptors on nerve cells in the body and brain. This interaction interferes with communication between the body’s nerves and the brain. For ind...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - December 27, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates Heroin Painkiller fentanyl opioid opioid crisis opioids prescription drug addiction Source Type: blogs
Chest pain in high risk patient. Are these Hyperacute T-waves? What is going on here?
A 40-something woman with h/o obesity, hyperlipidemia, smoking, as well as cocaine and alcohol abuse presented with intermittent chest pain for 2-3 weeks that became constant in the last day. There is also some generalized weakness. There is some associated SOB, but no nausea and vomiting.Here is the initial EKG:What do you think?There is sinus rhythm, a bit of ST depression (II, aVF, III, V2-V6) and apparently very wide and large T-waves. However, if one looks closely, one sees a distinct and prominent U-wave in leads II, III, aVF. Whether a T-wave or a U-wave, the interval (QT or QU) is very ...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - December 17, 2019 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Signs of Opioid Use
What are the Signs of Opioid Use?
Opioids are a group of drugs derived naturally from the poppy plant, or are man-made in a laboratory, also known as synthetic opioids. Opioids are generally prescribed to individuals suffering from chronic pain, whether from surgery, a major injury or other health issues. Legally prescribed opioids include morphine, codeine, and oxycodone, while illegal opioids include heroin. It is easy to know if an individual is using opioids if they’ve been prescribed, but it is also important to know the signs of opioid use if it has crossed the line into an addiction.
Signs and Symptoms
There are m...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - December 11, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction to Pharmaceuticals Painkiller opioid opioids prescription drug abuse prescription drug addiction prescription drug detox prescription drugs prescription medication signs of addiction Source Type: blogs
Signs of Opioid Withdrawal
Opioid withdrawal is one of the more uncomfortable parts of treatment, but it is one of the most important. There are many signs of opioid withdrawal, the length and severity of which can vary from person to person. However, each detox experience almost always includes strong cravings. Symptoms can be mild, such as sweating and yawning, while others can become more serious, like severe anxiety and depression.
Opioid withdrawal can look like a scary experience; one that could deter people from getting the help they need. The good news is that it doesn’t need to be fought alone, and there are resources available to make i...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - December 6, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Recovery Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates drug detox medical detox medicated-assisted detox opioid opioids prescription drug detox withdrawal withdrawal symptoms Source Type: blogs
The Human Cost of Overregulating Opioids
Jeffrey Miron andErin PartinMany people blame excessive painkiller prescriptions for the rise in opioid overdose deaths over the past two decades; and the government has responded with strict limits on how physicians prescribe opioids. Many pain patients lost access to medications with little warning and no alternative other than illicit opioids. However, arecent Policy Analysis finds that the opioid epidemic has resulted from too many restrictions on prescribing, not too few.A reader who read the PA reached out to us with his story:Your article is spot on. My adult son was prescribed several opioids at a pain clinic for d...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - November 22, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey Miron, Erin Partin Source Type: blogs
Withdrawal from Vicodin
Your Guide to Vicodin Addiction and Vicodin Withdrawal
Hydrocodone (also known by the brand name Vicodin®) has been the second-most commonly encountered opioid pharmaceutical in drug evidence since 2009, as reported by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Withdrawal from Vicodin can vary in length and symptoms depending on the length and severity of the addiction.
Vicodin is relatively easy to obtain and is perceived as safe when prescribed by a medical professional. If the drug is taken as prescribed for a limited time, Vicodin withdrawal symptoms will be either minimal or nonexistent. However, Vicodin is considere...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 28, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Recovery Drug Treatment Painkiller Substance Abuse painkillers prescription drug abuse prescription drug addiction prescription drug detox prescription drug use prescription drugs prescription medication prescription pills Source Type: blogs
Detox Before the Holiday Season
Why Should I Detox Before the Holiday Season?
While many individuals suffering from addiction wait until after the holidays to get clean, detoxing before the holiday season is an even better idea. Staying sober during the holidays can be difficult, but entering the season without drugs or alcohol in your system will help you resist any temptations this indulgent time of year might present and start 2020 off right! Here’s what to expect if you detox before the holidays.
Reasons to Detox Before the Holiday Season
The general public saves resolutions for New Year’s Eve – but by committing to detox before the holiday sea...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 25, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates Drug Rehab Information alcohol detox drug detox holiday parties holidays medical detox medicated-assisted detox prescription drug detox Source Type: blogs
What Happened When I Continued Methadone Treatment While Pregnant
The last time I stuck a needle in my arm was three whole months before I conceived my son, and I’m grateful that he’s never experienced me in active addiction. I say three whole months as if it were a lifetime, but it really is to anyone in early recovery. I was fortunate, I stopped using heroin before I found out that I was pregnant. I had just turned 29 and was in a stable relationship with my now-husband.
For many women, getting on methadone doesn’t happen until they find out they’re pregnant. Their options are to either keep using or get into treatment. I started taking methadone five months before I stopped u...
Source: World of Psychology - October 12, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Psych Central Guest Author Tags: Addiction Pregnancy Publishers Recovery The Fix Heroin Methadone methadone withdrawal Opioids Pregnant Source Type: blogs
More Research Shows It's Not The Prescriptions, It's The Prohibition
Jeffrey A. SingerThe latest issue ofPublic Health Reports (the official journal of the Office of the Surgeon General and U.S. Public Health Service) presents a study by researchers at Boston University and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health which provides further evidence that the narrative driving present opioid overdose policy —that it results primarily from doctors prescribing opioids to patients in pain—is wrong. It results from non-medical drug users accessing drugs in the black market that results from prohibition. In the early part of this century the “drugs of choice” for non-medical users were d...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 9, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
