How To Get Help Now For Pain Killer Addiction

Many chronic pain patients may be under-treated as a result of doctors who are trying to gain control over pain killer addiction, they report. If you are addicted to pain killers or other drugs or think you may be, you can start working to increase the body’s endorphin production naturally; some ways are laughing, touching, massage, acupuncture, acupressure, walking, anything that makes you feel good that’s natural. Physical dependence on a drug suggests that sudden stopping of the drug may result in negative consequences.

There are a number of effective treatment options to treat pain killer addiction to prescription opioids and to help manage the sometimes severe withdrawal symptoms that can accompany sudden stopping of pain killers or drugs. A person exhibits compulsive behavior to satisfy their craving for a pain killer or pain medication even when there are negative consequences associated with taking the pain killer or drug. Opioids used as the doctor has prescribed are supposedly not dangerous according to some well-established medical groups; but if this is the case, why are so many people addicted to them?

Although detoxification is not a treatment for pain killer addiction, it can help relieve withdrawal symptoms while the patient adjusts to being free of pain killers or other prescription drugs. There are many side effects and adverse reactions that can occur with the use of opioids as pain killers. More than 415,000 people received treatment for pain killer abuse or addiction this past year.

Pain killer addiction includes: opiate dependency, opiate addiction, narcotic dependency, narcotic addiction, and pain killer dependency or painkiller dependency. If you think you are addicted and want to get off pain killers or other drugs, it’s best to get detoxified as fast as you can and then go through some type of rehabilitation; it’s important to have others to lean on and learn from and offer support to you. Once a patient addicted to pain killing drugs has completed detoxification, the treatment provider must then work with the patient to determine which course of treatment would be best for the patient.

Chronic pain affects one out of three or four adults; millions of people suffer from severe disabling pain. 2.2 million people aged 12 and up first abused painkillers within the past year; this is more than the number of people who started using marijuana and has overtaken the use of cocaine. Often people who are addicted to pain killers are plagued with various symptoms to different degrees; many times they don’t associate the symptoms with the drug.

All other demands of children, a job, school, or any other responsibilities may make inpatient treatment seem like an intrusion but it’s not. It’s important to go through rehab following your detox stay: make it a part of your plan of action. Many insurance plans do cover inpatient detox, check yours if you have insurance.

Taking the time to spend in a treatment center, detoxing, is of the utmost priority. You must make a change in your lifestyle in order to prevent you from taking pain killers and or other drugs again. The longer you wait to get treatment the worse it’ll get; take action now.

Avoiding addiction should be a priority for patients or anyone who has to be on pain killers; substitute a non-addictive type if possible or find other ways to minimize the pain. The body’s natural pain killers, endorphins, have been replaced by these pain killing drugs; get them flowing again with lots of laughter. What should people, and patients with chronic pain problems or conditions, do to avoid the possibility of addiction is a burning question.

Some facts about Painkiller Addiction and its Cure

It is really absurd to say, but it must be mentioned that the mode of addiction is getting advanced day be day like the technology. The drugs are getting sophisticated gradually. Previously, people used to take heroine, cocaine or any other drugs for their addiction; whereas, nowadays people rely just on the simple painkillers for getting high. Although, it is very easy to call painkillers simple, but they are not. Taking overdose of painkillers can ruin a man’s life; it can even drag him towards death. Now, people search for painkiller rehab more than that of other drug or alcohol rehabs. Killer drugs like heroine, cocaine or marijuana cost much more than that of painkillers and these drugs are also very hard to find; whereas painkillers are easily available in any store. As a result of which, people tend to get addicted to painkillers more.

Addiction of painkillers often comes from its medicinal application. When people get immune to the initial dose of painkiller, they want more to get relieved from the pain. This gets a person towards painkiller addiction slowly, as they become physically and mentally dependant on the painkillers. Addiction to painkillers is seldom intentional, most of the time people get addicted after its usage as medicine.

You can easily know if a person is addicted to painkillers if you observe him or her carefully. The symptoms of addiction to painkillers can be easily recognized. Painkiller addicts yawn excessively; they also sleep for long periods of time. The most noticeable effect is the mood of an addict. It swings from extreme violence to calmness in moments. Some other side effects of painkillers are lightheadedness, fatigue, nausea, constipation, headache, dry mouth, euphoria, anxiety and abdominal pain. There are various other painkiller addiction symptoms that are noticeable in an addict.

Governments of every country are upset about this painkiller addiction matter. It is ruining the future of the youth generation of today. The govt. has established many free painkiller rehabs all over United States in order to uproot this addiction from the young people. Still, they did not succeed because a free painkiller rehab can never undertake all the measures that are needed for total rehabilitation of a drug addicted person. Proper treatment can only be obtained in the private rehabs. A private painkiller rehab can provide both proper treatment and comfort for the patient during the rehabilitation process.

Alongside proper medicinal treatment, comfort and luxury is a very important factor for curing a drug addicted person. Well known painkiller rehab like that of Cliffside Malibu has got enough monetary power to provide the patients with a luxurious life in a rehab. Comfort is a must during treatment as the withdrawal effects are grueling and hard for a person to tolerate. Sometimes, the patients go wild during the treatment process and only adequate comfort can sooth their mind. The intolerable withdrawal effects can even drive an addicted person towards madness.

However, the private rehabs cost a lot and due to this excessive cost, many people can’t afford it. The govt. should look to it that the facilities of the free rehabs are increased to a high level like the private rehabs or they should pressurize the private rehab to lessen the cost. Otherwise, it will be impossible to uproot the painkiller addiction disease from the society.

Addiction to Prescription Drugs

Drug Addiction: Prescription Drugs

Everybody knows what addiction is. It is a continuing intense need for a certain something: alcohol, food, cigarettes – you name it, you can get addicted to it. It is the unnecessarily strong need to have the item you are craving for. When you talk about drug addiction, the usual idea that pops into our minds are those drugs that can be obtained through drug dealers and are illegally bought and sold. What some people do not know is that drugs or medication that we ingest to help us feel better or to cure certain ailments are emerging as substances that can also be abused. These are often mood-altering drugs like sedatives or pain killers that give people that feeling of being detached from the world or being in a state of euphoria. These drugs are either taken in tablet form, via injections, or as pills. Whatever form they take, prescription drugs are now becoming a rising force to be reckoned with in the fight against drug addiction.

What Prescription Drugs are People Getting Addicted To

There are quite a number of prescription drugs that can be abused by their users and are available with a written prescription. While some may be a refillable prescription, there are prescriptions that can only be used once and require a new prescription for every purchase. These drugs are divided into five categories by the DEA or Drug Enforcement Agency and are called Schedules.

The first group of these drugs includes those that are illegal and have no medical indications whatsoever. This list carries such notorious drugs like ecstasy, heroin, PCP, LSD, and marijuana, among others. These are some of the most dangerous drugs around.

The second group that the DEA compiled includes drugs like codeine, morphine, amphetamine, methadone, methamphetamine, and even cocaine. These drugs have some medical usages and can only be obtained by a written or typed prescription. Prescriptions for these drugs have to be signed by the doctor prescribing it and are non-refillable prescriptions. These drugs exhibit a very high potential for addiction with severe mental and physical dependence as the effect it may have on a user.

The third of drugs listed by the DEA includes medications like Vicodin, Butisol, Plegine, as well as Anabolic Steroids of any kind, codeine, and even testosterone. These drugs can result in a medium to low physical dependence and a rather high mental or psychological dependence for the person. Prescriptions can be either issued orally or written down and is refillable in a six-month time frame for up to five refills.

The fourth division of the list that the DEA generated includes drugs that cause a somewhat limited psychological or physical dependence, although they are still potentially addictive and dangerous. Some of the drugs in this list include Valium, Ativan, Xanax, Doral, Luminal, and a whole lot more. While these may be categorized as lower drug types in the list of addictive drugs, they can still carry a certain amount of repercussions with the constant intake addiction to them causes.

The final list of drugs in the DEA’s watch-list for addictive medication include Lomotil, Codeine combined with other non-narcotic medicines like Robitussin and Actifed as well as Buprenorphine that are found in Buprenex and Temgesic. These drugs do not require a prescription to obtain them and have a pretty low level of addiction potential.

What are the Signs of Addiction?

One of the signs of having an addiction to a certain prescribed medication is the person’s inability to stop himself from using the medication. Some of the more tell-tale signs of a person being addicted to these drugs include the sudden feeling of confidence, belligerence, extreme changes in activity which could include prolonged hours of sleep after bursts of hyperactivity, and even hallucinations or wild imaginings. Taking a person off such medications and seeing them go through certain withdrawal symptoms like excessive sweating and shaking can also alert you to a person’s being addicted to the drugs they have been taking.

While people might say that addicts are people with a weak will, there are actually people whose brains react differently to drugs than others, making them more prone to addiction than others. Another reason why some people get addicted to their prescribed medication is also due to the re-arranging of the way the brain runs after a prolonged use to the substance. This “re-wiring” of the brain alters the way the mind processes logic and makes it hard for a person to listen to reason.

Who Are Prone to Becoming Addicts?

While we may believe that everybody is susceptible to becoming an addict, there are a few factors that make some people more susceptible than others when it comes to becoming a drug dependent. Some of these factors include fatigue or overwork, alcohol dependency, a condition that requires pain-killing medication and a family background or history of addiction. It has also been noted that younger people, women and the elderly are also very prone to drug dependency and addiction.

How to Treat Drug Addiction?

Drug addiction is a serious problem that requires treatments to not only take the person away from his dependency but to also cleanse him of the drugs still coursing through his body. Such treatments are available for those people who want a change in their lives for the better and for those who want to be able to live their lives without having to look towards these chemical substances to help them cope with the pressures of everyday life.

Some of the available treatments that people can use include medical detoxification or detox and in-patient treatments. Detox usually helps a person overcome their addiction by getting them to give up these substances voluntarily or going cold turkey and coping with it in an institution that monitors their withdrawal symptoms. In-Patient treatment lasts longer and is done in an exclusive treatment facility that not only gets the patient to stop using these drugs but also educates them to the further dangers of continuing usage. There are also other treatments for drug dependents aside from these two more common ones.

These treatments are designed to help individuals cope with their addictions while slowly cleansing their bodies of the remaining toxins the drugs have left behind. Treatments are also dependent on what fits each individual; therefore, choosing a treatment that can maximize the person’s detachment from their dependency is essential to a person’s fast recovery.

Pharmaceutical Drugs – A new killer in the addiction world

Pharmaceutical drug abuse among people is increasing every year at alarming rate. The addicts have found it as a very easy mode of addiction. It has hit the young generation the most. Since it is hard for the young people to get drugs like heroin, cocaine or marijuana because of their cost, they have altered the mode of addiction. The most used pharmaceutical drugs used for addiction are the painkillers. Addiction to painkillers has spread like plague all over the world and the youths of United States are the worst victims. Although, the govt. has put ban on deadly drugs like heroin or cocaine, but it is impossible to ban a medicine. Utilizing this chance, the youth have started taking painkillers for addiction.

Most people have heard about Opium; this was previously used for addiction. Painkillers consist of some derivatives of opium, which affects certain parts of the brain causing heightened effects. This effect causes heavenly pleasure, due to which people wants more and more of it, ultimately getting addicted to it. Addiction to painkillers has increase to such a rate, that it has outraced other drugs of addiction. People nowadays search more for painkiller rehab than alcohol or other drug rehabs.

The search for painkiller rehab is not worthless, as the proper treatment of addiction can only be done in a rehab. A person can try conducting treatment at home, but the withdrawal effects of painkillers are so severe, that the chance of failure is almost cent percent. Supervision of experts is required at great extent during the rehabilitation process.  Even the detox programs cannot be conducted at home. In the rapid detox process, the drug particles are eliminated from the addict’s body by certain methods. The withdrawal effects show up right after this process. The patients become restless having chronic or acute pain in body parts. Several other symptoms arise, which are simply intolerable for the patient. These unbearable withdrawal effects drive the addicts to madness. The patients need immense care during this period.

However, any ordinary rehab cannot provide all the required treatment methods or proper care that is a must during rehabilitation. World class drug rehabilitation center like the Luxury Drug Rehab has got the ability to provide a patient with all the treatment and comfort. The luxurious lifestyle and mind soothing environment maintained in this rehab is perfect for complete rehabilitation of the patient. Besides the comfort and treatment conducted in this rehab, the other facilities like the individualized treatment programs, fitness trainings, healthy diets is very effective for curing a drug addict.

The most used medicine for curing painkiller addicts nowadays is Buprenorphine. The Buprenorphine treatment has proved to be very successful. Use of this medicine has made the rehabilitation process much easier for the patients as well for the doctors. Prescription drug addiction cannot be stopped; neither can the painkillers be banned. All we can do is inform the young generation about the effects of addiction, so that they stay away from taking painkillers.

Addiction to painkillers has outraced other drugs and alcohol

Addiction is the most common word in today’s world. It can be defined as that condition when a person is unable to stop using something. That something can be movies, music, shopping, cigarettes, alcohol or drugs. The last two are the most common and deadly form of addiction. Thousands of people die every year due to the intake of these two things. Drug addiction is the most common form and it is deadlier than alcohol. Lethal drugs like Cocaine, Heroine, LSD, Marijuana, Hashish etc are found all over the world and they are cause of millions of deaths. Government of every country is trying to uproot these addiction and the drugs. Some of them have already succeeded.

Although drugs have been banned in several countries, the addiction did not leave the youth. Unable to obtain their required drugs, people have changed their mode of addiction. They have now started taking painkillers for getting high. Painkiller addiction is now the most common form of addiction of the world. It is cheap and easily available. Govt. cannot even put a ban on painkillers as it is mainly used as medicine. Although, addiction to painkillers is intentional for some people, some even get addicted after they are being prescribed with painkillers by the doctors or physicists.

Some patients get physically and mentally dependant on painkillers when they are prescribed with painkillers. Even after they get completely cured from the injury or any other pain, they keep on taking painkillers because they feel chronic pains if they do not take these pills. Painkiller addictions have reached a high extent nowadays; millions of people all over the world rely on painkillers. People get too much physically dependant on painkillers, as a result cannot get rid of it. Whenever they try to give up this addiction, certain withdrawal symptoms show up. These withdrawal symptoms are so painful that the addicts get back to the addiction again.

The only way to get rid of painkiller addiction is proper medicinal treatment and care. Proper medicinal treatment cannot be obtained if the person wants to get cured by himself. If a person really wants to get out of this malpractice, then he or she must visit a painkiller rehab. A painkiller rehab is the only place where an addicted person can get proper painkiller addiction treatment. Since the withdrawal symptoms are unbearable, the patients always need special attention, care and mental support. Otherwise, there is no chance of proper rehabilitation.

But, prevention is always better than cure. When you know that you can be a victim of pharmaceutical addiction, you should ask your doctor to adopt some other methods for your cure. Or, you can also have enough control on yourself so that you can stop taking painkillers when you are completely cured. But, very few people can do this. No one knows when the medicine used to cure one self can turn to a lethal poison. Painkiller addiction must be avoided at any cost; it will not only harm yourself but also each and every people around you.

Addiction Brain Science – so We Can All Understand It!

Current base theory for most Treatment

What is the essence of addiction from a scientific standpoint? What facts support the foundation that supposes that an “addict” has no control and that free will has nothing to do with their ability to stop? What indicates that without help, they have little or no hope of recovering, from this “state of addiction” that has occurred in their brain?

The overwhelming, compulsive, uncontrollable use of drugs is a central factor in the life of an addict. Their need to satisfy the cravings becomes dominant in all behavior. It does not matter what drug they choose. Nothing will satisfy the overwhelming craving except their drug-of-choice. Meth users will not settle for heroin. Heroin users will not be satisfied with marijuana. Crack users have no desire for downers (sedatives, painkillers, etc). It is not about coming down, fearing dramatic withdrawal symptoms, or anything like that, that produces continued cravings (though an addict will use these to justify and rationalize illegal, immoral things that they do to obtain the drug). In fact, there are few withdrawal symptoms associated with crack and methamphetamines, two of the most addictive substances known. It is not the physical part that matters. It is truly the psychological aspect of addiction that produces cravings that result in continued use of and progressively, using more and more of the chosen drug. It’s actually more like “the drug chose them”, for the addict. Free will and the ability to turn away from drugs is no longer an option. An addict cannot do this for his job, his health or, sadly, even his mother or his wife; not even for his own children. Physical harm, jails and prisons, and often even the possibility of death are just obstacles to be overcome in the insatiable need for, and quest to obtain, the addicts’ drug-of-choice! Having lost the ability to choose not to use the drug, the addicts’ life progressively centers more and more on the drug. Drugs become the reason to get up and get out of bed. Drugs become the excuse not to do things that discourage their use. They are “thee pleasure” in the addicts’ life. Addicts in later stages of addiction will even choose that, drug-of-choice, over the euphoric pleasure of sex! Use of money is prioritized with, obtaining drugs, as number one. You see, the addict has to have that drug! Unless his craving is appeased nothing can be all right for the addict. When they are compulsively obsessing over the need to satisfy the cravings few barriers exist. Principles, rules and morality become non-existent. This is the truth regarding the disease of addiction that changes a user into the fiend that addicts eventually become.

How can this be?

I can’t imagine anyone being that weak!

Don’t they care about anything?

I just can’t understand what is wrong with him!

Doesn’t she see what is happening to her life?

ADDICTION IS A DISEASE OF THE BRAIN,, RESULTING IN FUNDAMENTAL, LONG LASTING CHANGES!

You are going to need to remind yourself that addiction is a chronic,

progressive, fatal disease… At the same time, seeing it as a disease cannot be an excuse… its being a disease is the “reason” for many things, but not an excuse. Addiction is a “treatable” disease even though it is chronic and subject to relapses. As with most potentially fatal diseases, addiction often requires more than one episode of treatment.

Understand this; you are an addict because drugs have changed your brain. Your state of being has been totally taken over by the drug. Learn to equate this disease with diabetes. It is not cured. It is held back by multiple ongoing episodes of treatment. As with most diseases, often a crisis occurs that requires more than the daily maintenance that suffices most often. This is most often a relapse into using.

Though addiction is a disease of the brain, it is also much more than that. It is far more complicated because of the fact that the human brain is the most complicated organ in any living organism. The brain controls every system in the body. Every characteristic unique to the human being is a result of our uniquely complicated brain. The human brain produces things that are mostly exclusive to humans. Conscience, remorse, morality, philosophy, religious beliefs, science, mechanics, and the list goes on… drugs have fundamentally caused long lasting changes in the addict, in the thing responsible for all of this… the Brain. Is it any wonder that you have trouble understanding the problems that result from addiction?

NEUROTRANSMITTERS: chemicals in the brain that are responsible for communication between the nerve cells of which the brain and all of the nervous system are composed… The cells themselves and a few very unique organs in the body produce these type of chemicals.

Don’t worry, this chemistry lesson is about as complicated as we’ll get!

“DOPAMINE”

The changes in levels and availability of this neurotransmitter or brain chemical, somehow cause changes at a cellular level that translate into compulsive, uncontrollable drug use on the behavioral level! This means that these brain changes, over time, get translated into behavior changes. this is why you are bewildered at what you observe.

ABOUT DOPAMINE:

Initially, people take drugs because they like what they do to their brain. Amid a whole series of brain changes, one is a surge of Dopamine, that occurs when the drugs we commonly classify as addictive, are taken. When a drug produces a really sharp spike in Dopamine it is extremely pleasurable. The odds are very high that one will experience extreme euphoria with this drug, and it will be addictive! It’s no surprise that Dopamine is the brain chemical involved in signaling all of our normal pleasurable experiences, such as… Sex, eating, laughter, love, smoking, and surely, getting high. Here the problem arises! After taking drugs for a lengthy amount of time, this includes all addictive substances we know of, the addict’s Dopamine levels are generally lowered. This in itself will cause a nearly complete personality change. Some people experience chronic dysphoria and/or depression as a result. Major behavioral changes become apparent at this point. This then is no longer the person that you once knew. They now have a basically different brain, as if the mad scientist accidentally transplanted the “wrong” or “bad” brain. This is hard to accept if you don’t know the things that you are now learning. To learn more go to my Web Site, Addiction: Why Me?

MARIJUANA ADDICTION FACTS

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States. It is a dry, shredded green and brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves derived from the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa. The main active chemical in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol; THC for short.

Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (joint) or in a pipe. It is also smoked in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana. Since the blunt retains the tobacco leaf used to wrap the cigar, this mode of delivery combines marijuana’s active ingredients with nicotine and other harmful chemicals. Marijuana can also be mixed in food or brewed as a tea. As a more concentrated, resinous form it is called hashish, and as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor.

Marijuana and Addiction

Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction; that is, compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite its known harmful effects upon social functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities. Long-term marijuana abusers trying to quit report marijuana addiction is the #1 drug problem in the US, its effects are very powerful. Also known as pot and weed it can be very addictiveirritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which make it difficult to quit. These withdrawal symptoms begin within about 1 day following abstinence, peak at 2-3 days, and subside within 1 or 2 weeks following drug cessation.

Is Marijuana Addictive or isn’t It?

Based on all the information available, the answer is yes and no.

For people with dependency tendencies, the answer is YES. There are too many people in the world who smoke marijuana almost every day to say otherwise. Other people argue that they can take or leave it and have quit for long periods of time. And for those people the answer would probably be NO.

The thing about marijuana is it so subtle. There are places in California where it is legal to possess small quantities for private use. So what’s the problem?

The problem with marijuana is, like any other drug, can become the focal point of a person’s life. All of a sudden you want to get high before or during anything and everything. Your life begins to revolve around smoking marijuana. Like alcohol, it can be used responsibly and occasionally, or it can get out of control and cause serious problems.

Some people are “addicted” to marijuana and try to rationalize or justify using it. Like any other drug, marijuana can become the focal point of your life.

Marijuana Use in the U.S.

* In 2007, there were 2.1 million persons who had used marijuana for the first time within the past 12 months; this averages to approximately 6,000 initiates per day. This estimate of past year initiates in 2007 was about the same as the number in 2006 (2.1 million), 2005 (2.1 million), 2004 (2.1 million), 2003 (2.0 million), and 2002 (2.2 million).

More Statisitics About Marijuana Use

Past month marijuana use among male youths aged 12 to 17 declined from 9.1 percent in 2002 to 6.8 percent in 2006. In 2007, the rate was 7.5 percent, which was not significantly different from the rate in 2006, but was lower than the rate in 2002. Among female youths, little change occurred from 2002 to 2004, but the rate in 2007 (5.8 percent) was lower than the rate in 2002 (7.2 percent).

The Effects of Marijuana Use

THC acts upon specific sites in the brain, called cannabis receptors, kicking off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the “high” that users experience when they smoke marijuana. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. The highest density of cannabis receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thoughts, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.

Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time.

Research into Marijuana Use

Research on the long-term effects of marijuana abuse indicates some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term abuse of other major drugs. For example, cannabinoid withdrawal in chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of the stress-response system3 and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine. Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse.

Marijuana Use and Mental Health

A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and schizophrenia. Some of these studies have shown age at first use to be a factor, where early use is a marker of vulnerability to later problems. However, at this time, it not clear whether marijuana use causes mental problems, exacerbates them, or is used in attempt to self-medicate symptoms already in existence. Chronic marijuana use, especially in a very young person, may also be a marker of risk for mental illnesses, including addiction, stemming from genetic or environmental vulnerabilities, such as early exposure to stress or violence. At the present time, the strongest evidence links marijuana use and schizophrenia and/or related disorders. High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction, and research suggests that in vulnerable individuals, marijuana use may be a factor that increases risk for the disease.

Should Marijuana Be Legalized

Much has been written and several states have considerd changing their laws to decrimiize marijuana. California has the most progressive laws. Some counties allow people to possess small amounts.

Pain Killer Addiction Guide

If pain killers are taken exactly as prescribed, they are safe and will rarely cause addiction. And yet addiction to prescription pain killers is growing. The most common medications that can cause this are opiods (sometimes called narcotics) and include morphine, codeine and others in the same group.

Research shows that every year, almost 2 million Americans use prescription opiod painkillers. In some communities, addiction to painkillers has now overtaken the use of cocaine and marijuana. 9% of the population admit to having used pain killers illegally.

Morphine is often used after surgery for the control and alleviation of severe pain. Codeine is more common and can deal with milder pain. Opiods work by attaching to proteins in the brain, spine and digestive tract. These proteins are called opiod receptors. When an opiod attaches to a receptor, they can change the way a person feels pain.

SO HOW DO PEOPLE GET ADDICTED TO THEM?

They can also affect how pleasure is experienced and this is why many opiods give a feeling of euphoria when they are taken.

People who become addicted start out by taking pain killers for longer than they should do, to get this intial euphoria. The problem is that if pain killers are used for a long time, the body can become tolerant to that medication. This means that higher and higher doses must be taken to get the same effect. It also means that the body has adjusted to operating normally with that level of pain killers, and so if the pain killers are stopped, or reduced, withdrawal symptoms can occur.

COLD TURKEY

Symptoms of drug withdrawal ae extremely unpleasant and can involve restlessness, pain in the bones and muscles, insomnia, diarhea, vomiting and involuntary leg movements. Withdrawal is called ‘cold turkey’ because another major symptom is cold flashes with goose bumps on the skin.

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED HELP TO QUIT – CAN’T THEY JUST STOP?

If these drugs are used for a long time, they will eventually change the brain in fundamental ways. They take over the normal pleasure and motivational systems of the brain – pushing the need for drugs up to the highest priority. The need for drugs therefore overrides all of the person’s previous motivations, behaviours and drives. This is the domineering compulsion to find and use drugs, and what is called addiction.

Once addicted to drugs, people feign illness and visit different doctors to obtain prescriptions, buy drugs on the street, steal and lie to obtain their ‘fix’. It is not a personality choice – it’s a medical need or craving, generated by the affect that the chemical has imposed on the brain.

WHAT HAPPENS IN REHAB?

Celebrities seem to go into rehabilitation {rehab) with alarming frequency. Rehab is a place where people are medically supervised to come off their addiction, in an effort to reduce or avoid withdrawal symptoms. The addiction can be to pain killers, recreational drugs or alcohol.

The client is medically detoxified – which means that medications may be given to help them through the withdrawal phase. Detoxification is not a treatment for addiction – it simply removes the addictive substance from the person’s system so that they can start thinking clearly again. Detox is usually followed by counselling and behavioural therapy to try and help the client to avoid returning to the addiction.

Celebrities and their alleged pain killer addictions:

* Kathleen Turner – pain killers and alcohol.

* Daniel Baldwin – pain killers originally for a back problem.

* Anna Nicole Smith – vicodin.

* Matthew Perry – vicodin.

* Jerry Lewis – allegedly went into rehab for prednisone addiction at the age of 77!

Is it possible to have some withdrawal symptoms from any addiction, like marijuana and gambling?

I heard that any addiction can cause the brain to release chemicals like dopamine and endorphins, so can going cold turkey cause mild withdrawals like strange dreams, insomnia, restlessness.. etc

 

Marijuana Withdrawal, Marijuana withdrawal treatment, Marijuana Withdrawal help

Drug Addiction and Risks:

Here is another great article on drug addiction and associated risks.  Here at Marijuana withdrawal we hope to provide you with up to date informatio on marijuana addiction and its associated problems

 

Drug addiction is compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences which can be severe; drug abuse is simply excessive use of a drug or use of a drug for purposes for which it was not medically intended. Dependence on a substance is not necessary or sufficient to define addiction, there are some substances that don’t cause addiction but do cause dependence (for example, some blood pressure medications) and substances that cause addiction but not dependence (they are mainly characterized by depression).

 

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

 

Drug abuse can lead to drug dependence or addiction. Drug addiction may also follow the use of drugs for physical pain relief, though this is rare in people without a previous history of addiction. The exact reason of drug abuse and dependence is not yet known. The genetic make-up of the individuals, peer pressure, emotional distress, anxiety, depression, and environmental stress are all factors which seem to be involved. Children who grow up in an environment of illicit drug use may first see their elders using drugs. This may put them at a higher risk for developing an addiction later in life for both environmental and genetic reasons.

 

Commonly abused substances include:

 

· Opiates and narcotics are powerful painkillers with sedative and euphoric qualities. These include heroin, opium, codeine, Oxycontin and others.

 

· Central nervous system stimulants have a stimulating effect and can produce tolerance. These include amphetamines, cocaine, commonly used stimulants are caffeine and nicotine.

 

· Central nervous system depressants produce a soothing sedative and anxiety-reducing effect and which leads to dependence. These include barbiturates (amobarbital, pentobarbital, secobarbital). Commonly used depressants, by far, is alcohol.

 

· Hallucinogens produce psychological dependence. These include LSD, mescaline, psilocybin (”mushrooms”).

 

· Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the active ingredient found in cannabis, marijuana, and hashish. Although used for their relaxing properties, THC-derived drugs can also lead to paranoia and anxiety.

 

Drug intoxication and drug overdose may be accidental or intentional. Drug withdrawal symptoms can occur when use of a substance is stopped. Withdrawal symptoms vary, depending on the particular substance. The withdrawal symptom depends on the length of time the drug was being used. Drug intoxication, overdose, and withdrawal can be life-threatening in some situations.

 

Treatment for the person with drug addiction begins with the recognition of the problem. Though earlier “denial” was considered as a symptom of addiction, recent studies has shown that this symptom can be dramatically controlled if addicts are treated with love and care, rather than being told what to do or “confronted.” Treatment of drug addiction involves detoxification, support and abstinence. Emergency treatment may be indicated for acute cases. Often, there may be a loss of consciousness and the person may need special medical attention temporarily. The specific treatment depends on the drug. Detoxification is the gradual withdrawal of an abused substance in a controlled way. Sometimes a drug with a similar action is substituted during the withdrawal process to reduce the unpleasant symptoms and risks associated with withdrawal. If depression or other mood disorder exists, it should be treated appropriately. The need for treatment is underscored by the severity of illness of those who undergo detoxification and the societal costs of untreated substance use disorders.

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