AHS Views

Have you ever been concerned that someone you love might be taking drugs but have no way to verify it? Many of the effects of drugs are felt only to the user, but there are signs and symptoms noticeable to an outsider and they may be an indication that your loved one is using drugs and might need drug rehab. Here’s a list of what to look for, and what drug to suspect.

Poor memory: Although all drugs can impair memory, it is most common with marijuana, tranquilizers, designer drugs and ketamine – one of the ‘club drugs’.

Coordination problems: Also common with marijuana, tranquilizers and ketamine.

Changes in appetite: Stimulants and PCP tend to depress the appetite, while marijuana does the opposite.

Difficulty concentrating or confusion: These are also common with marijuana and tranquilizers, but opioids should also be suspected, especially if the person seems sedated and is having digestive troubles. Opioids are among the most addictive and dangerous of drugs. If you suspect opioid use, get the person into drug rehab fast.

Certain drugs manifest in ways that are somewhat unique to that drug: marijuana produces red eyes, for example, and someone using tranquilizers often seems drowsy and has slurred speech. LSD can cause tremors, someone on stimulants tends to speak much faster than normal, and stimulants also cause insomnia and weight loss. PCP can create a noticeable sense of panic, which sometimes turns to aggressive or violent behavior. Ketamine causes stomach problems such as nausea and vomiting.

If you notice any of the above symptoms in someone you care about, don’t ignore them – even if you only notice them occasionally. Occasional use can easily turn into a serious drug abuse problem, dependency, and addiction. The fact is this – if a person is taking drugs, there’s a reason for it. Unless that reason is found and addressed, there’s a good chance that the situation will get worse. Get them into a successful drug rehab program fast and you could avert disaster.

Exercise and good nutrition are vital to an addict’s recovery. All drug users damage their bodies. In fact, one of the first signs of a drug problem is the person’s appearance. How bad the damage will be depends on what drugs they’re using and for how long, but drug users tend to age rapidly, and get that haggard, worn-out look often associated with drug abuse. Successful drug rehab should include a healthy diet and exercise as part of the treatment.

One of the most common reasons addicts start using drugs is low self esteem. The change in their appearance while using drugs doesn’t help a bit, and sometimes those changes can be drastic – extreme weight loss, old beyond their years, mottled or sallow, yellowed skin, muscles wasted. A good drug rehab program that incorporates a nutritious diet and an exercise plan will help the addict in more ways than one - eating well and exercising improves their overall health and stamina, makes them feel good physically, and helps restore their self-esteem by improving their appearance.

Many drug rehabs offer a small exercise room, but if exercise is not actually incorporated into the treatment plan, many addicts won’t bother with it. I always suggest to my clients that ensuring the treatment plan includes exercise and a balanced diet is the best way to go when looking for a successful drug rehab program.

One of the most common questions I’ve heard from the many families I’ve helped find drug rehab programs is whether drug rehab can really help figure out why the addiction started in the first place. The answer is a resounding yes, and it’s vitally important that it does. In fact, a drug rehab that doesn’t address those issues is not likely to be successful.

I can’t stress this aspect of drug rehab enough. Many programs gloss over the past and, instead, focus on more recent events in the user’s life. This is a real disservice: if the reasons a person started using drugs are not fully addressed they will resurface later and cause the same problems all over again.

This is one of the major reasons so many of the shorter term 30-day programs don’t work. During such a short stay in treatment it is impossible to fully address those issues. Not many families can afford to get their loved one through treatment over and over again, but that’s exactly what you’re likely to be up against if you don’t choose a treatment program that gets down to the bottom of things. If someone you love is at the point of needing drug rehab, there is no question that their past has led them to this point. Get them into a successful drug rehab program that addresses these issues the first time, and you’re much less likely to have the problem recur.

Although not true of all drugs, the withdrawal process for some is so severe, and potentially dangerous, that medically-supervised detox is vital as a first step to drug rehab. Heroin, methadone, alcohol and benzodiazepines such as Xanex, are good examples - about one in four people coming off these drugs are at risk of seizure or other medical complications. To avoid life-threatening situations, and help with the extreme pain one can sometimes encounter during withdrawal, I usually recommend medical detox. Some drug rehab programs offer detox as part of the treatment, but others may require patients to attend an outside medical detox facility before admission. It’s important when trying to locate a detox that you give complete information about the drugs being used so they can determine exactly what will be needed. High dosages of methadone are especially difficult to handle. However, once the detox is done, full drug rehab that gets down to the bottom of why the person started drugs in the first place can begin.

If you or someone you know needs treatment and you’re not sure if drug detox will be needed as the first step, call Addiction Help Services at 1-877-554-7308. We’ll help you determine whether detox is needed, and help you find a safe medical detox, and a successful drug rehab program.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I recently worked with a family whose son had been using heroin. He’d tried various detox and in-patient programs with no success. The family and I talked about the possible reasons why his past attempts had failed. They were able to give me a lot of information on the history of his abuse and the treatment programs he’d tried so I could help them find a drug rehab program that would work for him.

One of the most important factors when selecting a program is that the environment of the treatment center is conducive to recovery for that individual. Their son’s chief complaint was that each of the drug rehabs he’d attended had a sterile hospital-like environment. Since it’s very important that the person feel comfortable while in treatment, I took this into consideration when looking for a drug rehab program that was right for him.

We were able to find him a program that could handle his detox and provide the type of care he needed, and it was a safe and warm environment. He spoke with the center on the phone and was actually eager to get started due to the “care-factor” he felt from the staff and the fact that it was not a hospital setting. He enrolled two days later.

His family emailed me recently to thank me for helping them. He’s now been in treatment for two months and described the experience as “the best program he has ever been to.” His parents told me he sounded great and they were getting very positive progress reports from the center. His mother also visited him and said she, too, like the warm environment and kind staff. I was glad to be able to help and will continue to recommend non-hospital based drug rehab programs whenever possible.