The Canyon

A new report on drug use in the Commonwealth was recently released; it stated that the number of drug overdose victims in Massachusetts outnumbers the soldiers from the state lost overseas… by a lot. According to Derek Gentile at the Berkshire Eagle: “The number of people who have died of drug overdoses in Massachusetts from 2002 through 2007 is nearly 41 times as many as the number of servicemen and women from the state who died in Afghanistan and Iraq over the same span.”

Drug Overdose in Massachusetts

Those vague percentages break down to some pretty big numbers and people should be in up in arms, according to David Capeless, the Berkshire County district attorney. He says: “If more than 3,200 people from the Commonwealth died overseas [in that time span], there would be outrage. People would be screaming for action.”

As a member of the Massachusetts OxyContin and Heroin Commission that held hearings throughout the state in order to produce the 71-page report released this week, he should know. He points to prescription drug addiction as the primary problem, even more so than heroin addiction. The most-oft offending prescription painkillers? OxyContin, Fentanyl, Percocet and Percodan.

There were more than 18,000 non-fatal drug overdoses reported in Massachusetts, which is about 200 percent higher than the numbers reported 13 years ago.

Drug Overdose: A Personal Story

Says Capeless: “We just had a very tragic example of this issue.”

He’s talking about a recent Massachusetts case in which Dawn Cote of North Adams, Massachusetts, was sentenced to three to six years in a state prison for providing a 32-year-old woman with Fentanyl. Fentanyl is about 100 times stronger than heroin and even though the victim was reportedly taking painkillers for a medical condition, the Fentanyl proved too much for her and she overdosed as a result.

Getting Help for Drug Overdose and Drug Addiction

The Massachusetts report released this week states that, “Because of the stigma surrounding substance abuse, this epidemic is left in the shadows.”

Is it just the stigma of drug addiction that is causing excessive drug overdoses or is something more complicated? Are people not seeking help for issues like prescription drug addiction (one of the largest causes of drug overdose) because they are embarrassed about the stigma or do they just not realize that they are dealing with a deadly problem? Most come to prescription drug addiction through a doctor’s prescription. They don’t assume that something that is generally considered illegal could start with a desire to get better.

However it starts, Massachusetts is working to remedy the problem. They intend to better monitor the prescription of opiate painkillers, identifying drug addiction early among patients, and providing early intervention and treatment.

If you or someone you love is struggling with prescription painkiller addiction, contact an opiate detox center or a drug rehab with an opiate addiction program today.

Prescription pain killer addiction is a growing problem in our world today. These drugs are so easy to get and they are legal. People keep taking their medication too long or to help them “get through the day”, and they may find themselves addicted to a strong narcotic.

Cycle Of Prescription Drug Addiction and Withdrawal Symptoms

Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Percocet are just a few examples of commonly prescribed narcotic pain medication. They are so addictive that a person trying to wean themselves may become trapped in a cycle of taking pills to avoid very uncomfortable symptoms. So then they are faced with two choices – do they try to endure pain and emotional distress from not taking the pills or do they keep taking them and create a monster?

Just admitting you need professional help for an addiction is a huge step. And many people addicted to prescription medication had begun with a fully legitimate reason to take the medication. It can be embarassing and humbling to ask for help, especially for someone who never expected to end up with an addiction.

Prescription drug detox is a necessary part of drug rehab. Thankfully, many rehabs already have a drug detox set-up in their facility. However long it takes for a person to endure the symptoms, the detox staff is there to see it through with the addict.

Prescription Drug Detox Medications Have Controversy

Sometimes, substitution drugs like methadone or Suboxone are used to make withdrawal easier. This can be tricky since a person may be in recovery but still technically not sober from all drugs. The benefit of these medication is there chemical similarity to the addictive drugs and their relative lack of withdrawal side effects. So instead of coming right off Vicodin, a person may be prescribed Suboxone in gradually reduced amounts.

Some controversy has developed over the use of these medications. Despite their usefulness for many people, some recovering addicts have developed addictions to these medications. Buprenorphine is a fairly new drug being developed as an effective but safer alternative to Methadone and Suboxone. Time will tell if science can come up with a completely non-addictive detox medication for prescription pain killers.

Prescription Drug Detox and Drug Rehab Combination

Prescription drug detox is the first step towards addiction recovery. It may be hard for a person to even believe they are truly addicted to painkillers. They may have even thought they could stop taking the drugs on their own with no guidance. The excruciating symptoms make it so difficult for anyone taking a narcotic pain killer to stop on their own. A professional drug detox and drug rehab can get you or someone you love on the road to sobriety.

Heroin addiction is a rampant problem across the United States that doesn’t diminish with time. Determining how best to fight heroin addiction has focused mostly on criminalizing the behavior and providing treatment for those who need it. However, not enough is said about the nascence of heroin. Where does the sticky black tar come from that is so popular in the western United States? How does it get here and why is how the drug produced and distributed as big a problem as the addiction itself?

How Heroin is Produced

Heroin is created in a process by isolating and concentrating the morphine produced by opium poppy plants. By combining this substance in a “cooking” process of sorts, it can be reduced and boiled to create a white or yellow power. Although the process of production is complicated, it can be carried out in a home laboratory, which makes it particularly dangerous. If an untrained person were to add too much of a particular chemical or too little of another, they might produce heroin that has deadly side effects in the form of poisonous chemicals or dangerous purity levels.

The basic recipe follows like so: Opium is placed into a pot of very hot water, out of which are taken bits of flotsam and jetsam like twigs, leaves, etc. Chemicals are then added to the mixture to create an alkaline solution, which is then filtered through cloths and rinsed. After the addition of other chemicals and a heating and cooling process, the heroin is taken out, allowed to dry, and is then ready to ship to distributors.

The Dangers of Heroin Production

Although initial steps of the heroin creation process are easy to perform in a home setting or makeshift laboratory, later steps in the process can be fatally dangerous. This is because caustic chemicals are used in the solution, and all of them require large quantities and are dangerous to handle or even be around. The last step of the process is the most dangerous of all, as it involves flammable gases that are pressurized. If these gases ignite, the result is an explosion of devastating proportions, and certain destruction of the laboratory or residence used to create the drug. It also almost certainly spells the doom for the person who was mixing the chemicals.

Heroin Addiction, Heroin Distribution and War

It’s not just the United States who if waging a war against drugs. All around the world, every day, there are bloody battles over the distribution and production of heroin specifically. Afghanistan produces about 90 percent of the world’s supply of heroin and the countries along its major distribution routes to get to the west suffer the most in terms of heroin addicts per capita. The lives lost in service to trafficking the drugs across well protected borders are countless, nameless people who are desperate to make money for their families or find a better life for themselves.

Though heroin addiction is tragic in action, the tragedy begins long before you call your connection or head out to the corner to score. If you are addicted to heroin, getting help means that you not only save your own life but contribute to saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of others around the world.

Getting someone you love to drug rehab is like a lot of things. You can try doing it on your own, or you can involve a professional. While it may be possible for you and a few others to get a reluctant loved one started with drug rehab, you might feel more comfortable having help from a drug rehab interventionist.

Experienced Drug Rehab Interventionist

First, you want someone with experience. Not just drug and alcohol counseling experience, but drug rehab intervention experience. You want someone who’s been through interventions gone well and gone wrong to
help you understand the paths to success and the pitfalls. You are going to be plenty nervous and uncertain anyway. An experienced leader can bring a calm presence to the process.

Interventionist Tells The Truth About Drug Addiction

Next, you want someone who can be direct and give the stark truth. That’s what you need hear after all, the absolute truth. An intervention is a step up from just sharing your concerns or pleading with someone one-on-one. It could represent the family’s last hope for making drug rehab happen for their loved one. You need someone who won’t be afraid to cut through it all with honesty and a straightforward style.

Interventionist Knows About Drug Rehabs

Also, you want someone familiar with various types of drug rehab centers. An interventionist who is well networked can help you know what kind of drug rehab would be appropriate for your loved one. You want to have a drug rehab set up already before the intervention starts. Sometimes a person’s willingness is fleeting, so it’s important to have that taken care of ahead of time. A knowledgeable professional can help take the guesswork out of choosing the right drug rehab.

Finally, you want an interventionist who is well organized. The better an intervention is planned, the more likely it will be successful. Everyone will know their roles, what they are going to say, what not to do, and why everything is being done. Of course, any intervention could have some surprises and unexpected changes. A good interventionist can prepare the family for handling these things.

Intervention Professional Helps You Get Loved One to Drug Rehab

An interventionist can bring a sense of direction and steadiness to your intervention. You and your family will be emotional enough as it is. The last thing you need is a lot of uncertainty or feeling like you failed because you didn’t know what you were doing. If you are planning an intervention, consider adding a professional intervention counselor to your team.

Health care and drug and alcohol addiction are two of the main issues facing American veterans today. Drug and alcohol addiction after combat is an increasingly common occurrence and when your sole means of health insurance is tied up in the local VA clinic, getting the help you need is not likely. So how do we help our vets get the drug rehab and other medical treatment they need?

Drug Addiction Treatment for Vets: What’s Available

Let’s start with what’s already in place for veterans in terms of medical and drug addiction treatment. Veterans have health care coverage for the rest of their lives in most cases, though what that coverage looks like will vary depending upon the number of years of service and the age of the vet. Unfortunately, in order to cash in on that coverage, vets have to get to the VA. This can pose a problem depending upon the geography. Some live hours from the closest clinic and have no way to get there even if they were well enough to do so.

In some rural areas, the VA clinic travels in the form of a bed and basic diagnostic tools in a van. The issue is that this is not available everywhere and even when it is available and drug addiction is diagnosed, it can’t provide the treatment necessary to get better.

In other areas, drug court for veterans is an option. In some places where drug court is already in place to provide those with severe drug addiction issues the option of treatment over imprisonment, there is a special version for vets. By waiving their right to a trial and accepting the maximum penalty for their drug-related crime, they can opt for drug rehab. If they are successful, their crimes are wiped off the books. If they aren’t, they have to suffer the maximum penalty consequences. These programs have been effective, not only at helping vets get clean and sober but in saving the taxpayers quite a bit of money.

Drug Addiction Treatment for Vets: Why What’s Available Isn’t Enough

Unfortunately, these limited programs aren’t available everywhere. VA clinics are often too far for vets to drive to, and the drug rehab is limited as well. Another issue is the fact that a high percentage of vets dealing with drug and alcohol addiction are also dealing with psychological disorders, which must be treated concurrently for maximum effectiveness. Not all drug rehabs are set up to handle this double-sided issue.

If you are a vet or if someone you love is a vet and dealing with drug and alcohol addiction, help is available. Contact a drug rehab like The Canyon today for more information on how you can get the help you need to break free from drug and alcohol addiction.

A person with dual diagnoses has both a mental illness and a drug addiction. Drug counseling and twelve step approaches are commonly used to address the addiction. But what can be helpful for the mental illness?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Mental Illness

Drug treatment experts recommend that both diagnoses be treated at the same time. Years ago, the person would have to get sober before any mental illness treatment would start. Research outcomes now point to simultaneous treatment for the best results. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of therapy often used with dual diagnoses.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has an acronym that sums up its main therapeutic process – ABC. A stands for “activating event”, also known as the trigger event. B stands for “beliefs and assumptions”. C stands for “consequence” (feelings and dysfunctional behavior). Cognitive behavioral therapy helps a person take a step back and look at their situation more objectively. It helps you understand your options and come up with reasonable solutions.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Helps Find Solutions in Drug Rehab

In its purest form, cognitive behavioral therapy is meant to be a rather short term solution- focused treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be useful when transitioning a person from a state of general crisis to a state of functionality. This works well for dual diagnosis drug rehab centers who may help people about 30-90 days on average. So much of a drug addict’s thinking is skewed by their addiction and mental illness. The techniques and processes in cognitive behavioral therapy help to correct flawed thinking.

Whether a person has schizophrenia or mood disorder, this model of therapy is useful in the short term. The person may eventually have a different type of long-term therapy, but CBT addresses a person’s immediate level of functioning. When the person works with the CBT during drug rehab, they can leave having some handle on managing their mental illness. Upon the conclusion of their rehab stay, the person can get referrals for local mental health providers for long term treatment.

Drug Rehab Treats Mental Illness And Drug Addiction

Though other types of mental health treatment can be used in drug rehab, CBT is a good outcome-based type of therapy. It is fairly straightforward and can help a person see results in a short period of time. No need to lie on a couch for years or drag up endless stories about the past. The therapist and client only work with anything relevant to the current situation. As dual diagnoses drug rehabs become more commonplace, expect more research and headlines about how simultaneous treatment really makes a difference.

NOTE: If you are concerned that you or someone you are with is experiencing an OxyContin overdose, call 911 immediately.

What is an OxyContin Overdose?

OxyContin overdose occurs when you take too much of OxyContin in a short period or combine OxyContin with other drugs of addiction. If you have difficulty breathing, feel a sudden overwhelming and extreme fatigue, and think that you have overdoses on OxyContin, call 911 immediately.

If you are with someone who appears to have passed out and can’t be woken up, they have a slow heartbeat and exhibit shallow breathing as well as a bluish tint to their nails and lips and you know that they took OxyContin recently, they may be experiencing an OxyContin overdose and you should call 911.

What Do I Do in the Event of an OxyContin Overdose?

If someone you are with has been taking OxyContin and shows signs of an overdose, call 911 as soon as possible. When your call is answered, stay calm and be prepared to furnish the following information if you can:

* The name, age and weight of the person
* How the victim appears to you and symptoms they are exhibiting
* The strength and the amount of OxyContin that was taken
* When and how it was ingested
* If the OxyContin was prescribed for the victim

In the event that you suspect an OxyContin overdose but are not convinced it is an emergency, contact the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. You should be ready to supply the operator the same information as you would a 911 agent. Poison Control is available 24 hours a day, 7days a week and is completely confidential.

How is an OxyContin Overdose Treated?

Most deaths occur during an OxyContin overdose because the patient stops breathing. When treating an OxyContin overdose, the main objective will be to open airways to allow the patient to breathe either on their own or with assistance. A medication such as naloxone is commonly administered to prevent respiratory depression. To prevent and manage circulatory shock and pulmonary edema resulting from an OxyContin overdose, it may be necessary to provide oxygen and vasopressors. If cardiac arrest or arrhythmias become apparent, cardiac massage or defibrillation will be required.

How Do I Avoid OxyContin Overdose?

The best way to avoid it is to choose never to take the drug unless prescribed by a doctor and to undergo treatment for OxyContin addiction as soon as you recognize the problem.

Who Needs OxyContin Detox and Treatment?

While anyone can become addicted to OxyContin, some people may be more susceptible to addiction, especially those who have had a drug abuse or addiction problem in the past or those with a genetic predisposition for addiction. Even if you have these issues, you may still be prescribed OxyContin, though your doctor should monitor you closely.

If you find that you are preoccupied with taking the drug, take a higher dose than prescribed, go “doctor shopping” to get multiple prescriptions for OxyContin or other opioid-based prescription drugs or increase your dosing schedule without authorization from your doctor, then the person needing OxyContin detox and treatment is you. Call an OxyContin rehab like The Canyon today to break your addiction and avoid overdose.

Stages Of Change With Drug Addiction

The Stages of Change model is widely used among drug rehab counselors to help people identify where they are in the recovery process. This model was developed in the 1970′s and 1980′s by two researchers, James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente. It was originally created when Prochaska and DiClemente were studying smokers and their ability to give up cigarettes and handle their habits.

A person progresses through the stages and different rates. People can stay at one stage for long periods of time and even go backwards (relapse). Most importantly, transition between stages is completely the decision of the individual. Circumstances may be bad, but that alone will not prompt an addict to progress forward towards recovery. They must make the decision for themselves.

Stages of Change With Drug Addiction

Precontemplation – As the name indicates, a person at this stage has not yet considered that they have a problem requiring change. If you told an addict you thought they had a problem, they would be defensive and deny it completely.

Contemplation – A person at this stage can admit to having a problem but doesn’t want to take any action yet. They can recognize the fallout their addiction has caused, but they would be hesitant to go to drug rehab or attend an AA meeting.

Preparation/Determination – At this stage, the person prepares themselves to make necessary changes in their life. They most likely have a plan to start drug treatment soon, attend a meeting, have a real heart-to-heart with their family about what will be happening.

Action/Willpower – This is the stage of actual change. The addict is taking an active part in making a sober life by attending drug treatment, staying in touch with their sponsor, actively avoiding bars or using friends, and practicing healthy choices.

Maintenance – People at this stage keep up the behaviors that created positive change. They continue to do make the healthy choices they did in the beginning, may possibly be a sponsor, may have finished formal drug treatment a while ago, may have many months or years of sobriety.

Relapse – A person entering relapse has left behind the positive changes they made, returning to previous addiction behaviors. This can happen anywhere along the progression of stages, even maintenance. Changes in a person’s life can suddenly make them vulnerable to relapse. If they go back to their old ways, they will start back at the precontemplation stage.

Drug Rehab and Recovery Very Personal

Drug rehab is a key part of drug addiction recovery. But for it to be effective, you can see that an addict’s readiness for change can really make a difference. Just showing up for drug treatment isn’t enough. But all it takes is a small crack in the facade, just enough willingness to get the process started. Sometimes the addict can move quickly past acceptance into preparation and even the action phase. Others have trouble getting past denial.

Recovery is a very personal process marked by stops, spurts, and personal evolution. Understanding the stages of change will make you a better support person for a loved one needing drug treatment.