Addiction Treatment Strategies – Part 30

LOUISVILLE, KY -A nurse practitioner at a community mental health center here, had tired of the constant stream of patients seeking Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug coveted for its swift calming effect. Her employer, Seven Counties Services, serves some 30,000 patients in Louisville and the surrounding region. Because of the clamor for the drug, and concern over the striking number of overdoses involving Xanax here and across the country, Seven Counties took an unusual step – its doctors stopped writing new prescriptions for Xanax and its generic version, alprazolam, in April and plan to wean patients off it completely by year’s…

Both animal and human research suggest that an early age at first drink (AFD) may lead to greater stress-induced drinking. This study examined possible interactions between AFD and stressful life events, and whether these interactions would have an impact on drinking patterns during young adulthood. The findings suggest than an early AFD may indeed be a risk factor for later heavy drinking when precipitated by a number of stressful life events.
Results will be published in the June 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Researchand are currently available at Early View.
“It has long been known that an early beginning…

Will power isn’t always enough, and hitting rock bottom isn’t always the way.
For people caught in the clutches of active addiction, asinine adages about recovery can cause serious damage, by making treatment sound like a lousy idea to the very people who might benefit from it most. So as a public service, an outfit called The Recovery Place in Ft. Lauderdale recently compiled a helpful list of the most misbegotten misconceptions about alcoholism and addiction, along with some thoughtful responses from a panel of seasoned experts. We picked up four of the more prevalent cliches, while adding a bit of well-earned wisdom of our…

U.S. residents continue to be more likely to report the non-medical use of prescription drugs† than the
use of almost all types of illicit drugs, according to recently released data from the 2010 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Approximately 5% of persons ages 12 or older reported
using prescription pain relievers nonmedically in the past year and 2% reported the nonmedical use of
prescription tranquilizers—more than any type of illicit drug with the exception of marijuana. The
nonmedical use of prescription stimulants was slightly less prevalent at 1.1%. All other substances,
including ecstasy and prescription sedatives…

An analysis of national prescribing patterns shows that more than half of patients who received an opioid prescription in 2009 had filled another opioid prescription within the previous 30 days. This report also suggested potential opportunities for intervention aimed at reducing abuse of prescription opioids.
Researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, will publish results of this analysis in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
“More research is needed to see if current practices are working, with a closer look at why so many…

These days most of us are willing to believe that drug addiction—including alcoholism—is a disease. Still, we harbor a sneaking suspicion that it’s really a disease of the weak-willed, the spiritually unfit, or people who are not quite like us. The comedian Mitch Hedberg understood this when he riffed:
Alcoholism is a disease, but it’s the only one you can get yelled at for having.
 
“Goddamn it, Otto, you’re an alcoholic!”
 
“Goddamn it, Otto, you have lupus!”
 
One of those two doesn’t sound right.
 
Whatever our prejudices, the truth is, given the right circumstances (which can include factors…

Lasting Brain Changes Discovered In Underage Binge Drinkers

Oftentimes when working with someone in co-occurring disorder recovery we get to the point where the addiction itself is no longer front and center.
The fires have died down and the war, while not over, is some distance away now.
This necessarily precipitates a conversation along the lines of “now what”?
Aside from continuing to remain comfortably clean and sober we start to take a look at what meaningful steps lie on the horizon.
The link to the following video created By RSA Animate featuring Dan Pink offers great insight that can parallel an appropriate response to the “what’s next” question.
CLICK HERE
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It’s easy to overdose or to patch over problems that require a doctor’s care.
Research adds the list of risk factors, but it also sees possible new benefits.
 
When something hurts, most Americans open their medicine cabinets and pop a few capsules, tablets or gel-caps.
Acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen: More than 80% of us report using these four main over-the-counter analgesics, according to the market research firm Mintel. Two-thirds of us keep stashes on hand, not just at home but also at work, in our handbags or in the car. And about half of us have multiple bottles available, just in case.
All that pill…

Parental monitoring of opposite-gender child may decrease problem drinking in young adults