Can you answer billie s’s question about Addiction?:

I’ve always thought that it was just therapy, counseling, and rehabilitation that’s used to treat addictions. But recently I found out that others are given medication as well. I was just wondering what these drugs are.

Inpatient Substance Abuse Treatment

When it comes to heroin treatment in Delaware, you would want to know what kind of treatment you are going through, and you would have to contact a substance abuse counselor for that. The substance abuse counselor would tell you about all the details of the treatment that would comprise of the treatment for heroin.

Heroin treatment counselors in Delaware are quite versatile and you would have to schedule your meetings with the heroin treatment counselors, because unless you have a distinct knowledge of the program, you would be confused about which one to use. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for you to select someone with a great experience and good qualifications.

Also, there are several aspects that you should remember before you even get into a scheduled meeting with the heroin treatment counselor. All counselors are quite busy and if you do not prepare a list of questions that you would have to ask, you will be at a loss and not the counselor. Therefore, to ensure that the counselor does not have to schedule you another hurried meeting, you should prepare everything before your meetings. These are just some of the questions that you would have to ask:

Kind of Substance Abuse Treatment

The very first question you should ask is about the kind of treatment that you would be getting. There are several options when it comes to treatments and you should keep in mind the requirements of the patient while deciding on the best option for the patient. You should also get a clear idea of the advantages and the disadvantages of the kind of treatment that you would be getting. This goes a long way in ensuring that you have a comfortable and incident free treatment for your heroin addiction.

Kind of Substance Abuse Medication

All kinds of treatments have medications attached to it. There are several kinds of medications available, and some kinds of medications may work on a particular patient or not, also, some kind of medications may be allergic to patients. Therefore, knowing what kind of medications will be used is of the utmost importance. When it comes to medications, you should know precisely what your medicines do to your body before you use them for you.

The two options that are available are buprenorphine and methadone. Methadone is being used since the past thirty years, but buprenorphine is quite new to the market. Methadone is the stronger form of the medicine, while buprenorphine is the milder form. Therefore, methadone is used by the inpatient treatment centers. Buprenorphine is used by people in the outpatient format. Like all medicines, methadone works for some individuals while Buprenorphine works better for some others. Therefore, it is suggested that you take the proper information and the suggestion of a heroin treatment counselor before you sign up for a treatment.

Therefore, there are several differences in the types of medications that are used in the treatment of heroin in Delaware.

Holistic Substance Abuse Treatment

Another important question you should ask is whether you should opt for a holistic program. Holistic programs are quite a rage in Delaware at the moment, because they have milder medicines as compared to the other types of medications.

There are several aspects of holistic medicines that you should consider before you opt for a holistic program. For example, you should know that no holistic treatments are approved for the heroin treatment. Also, there would be very few or none insurance companies that would accept holistic treatment. Holistic treatments do not have a state backing, and therefore you would face various problems, in the unfortunate case of litigation arising from your treatment.

Contrary to popular belief, holistic treatments are quite expensive as compared to the other medical treatments. Therefore, only if you really want a milder treatment and do not have qualms about spending more money than the normal rate, you can opt for holistic treatments. Holistic treatments are available in Delaware in almost all areas.

An experienced substance abuse counselor will be able to help you to find the best heroin treatment center in Delaware. Once they know the right kind of treatment and center that you are looking for, they will be able to point out the best options you have. The counselors will be able to select a legal and qualified program, and you will have a proper idea of the advantages of the treatment process. Therefore, it is only right to take the services of a good substance abuse counselor before you opt for a heroin treatment.



Thanks to Todd Lange for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

Alcohol Addiction Intervention

The entire concept of addiction has suffered greatly from a misconception on the part of most people. The confusion comes about in part because of a distinction between whether specific drugs are “physically” or “psychologically” addicting. Historically the distinction revolved around whether or not physical withdrawal symptoms occur when an individual discontinues using a drug; what we in the field now call “physical dependence”. However, years of research has demonstrated to us that focusing on this physical versus psychological distinction is a distraction from the real issues at hand.

Strictly from a clinical perspective, it actually does not matter very much what physical withdrawal symptoms occur. Physical dependence is not that important, because even the dramatic withdrawal symptoms of heroin and alcohol addiction can now be easily managed with appropriate medications. Even more important, many of the most dangerous and addicting drugs, including methamphetamine and crack cocaine, do not produce very severe physical dependence symptoms upon withdrawal. What really matters most is whether or not a drug causes what we now know to be addiction. More specifically, the compulsive craving and use, despite all of the negative consequences.

This is the crux of how the Institute of Medicine, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Medical Association define addiction and how we all should use the term. It is really only this compulsive quality of addiction that matters in the long run to the addict and to his or her family. Thus, the majority of the biomedical community now considers addiction, in its essence, to be a brain disease - a condition caused by persistent changes in brain structure and function. The changes in brain function results in compulsive craving that overwhelms all other motivations and is the root cause of the massive health and social problems associated with drug addiction. A definition of drug addiction that is commonly referred to is “a brain disease expressed in the form of compulsive behavior”. It is important to correct the common misimpression that drug use, abuse and addiction are points on a single continuum along which one slides back and forth over time, moving from user to addict, then back to occasional user, then back to addict. Extensive research studies support the view that, once addicted, the individual has moved into a different state of being. Very few people appear able to successfully return to occasional use after having been truly addicted.

Unfortunately, we do not yet have a clear biological or behavioral marker of that transition from voluntary drug use to addiction. However, evidence is rapidly developing that point to an array of cellular and molecular changes in specific brain circuits. Moreover, many of these brain changes are common to all chemical addictions and some also are typical of other compulsive behaviors such as compulsive overeating.

The complexity of this brain disease is not atypical, because virtually no brain diseases are simply biological in nature. All, including stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and clinical depression, include some behavioral and social aspects. What may make drug addiction seem unique among brain diseases, is that it does begin with a clearly voluntary behavior - the initial decision to use drugs or drink alcohol. Moreover, not everyone who ever uses drugs goes on to become addicted. Individuals differ substantially in how easily and quickly they become addicted and in their preferences for particular substances. Consistent with the bio-behavioral nature of addiction, these individual differences result from a combination of environmental and biological, particularly genetic, factors. In fact, estimates are that between 50 and 70 percent of the variability to becoming addicted can be accounted for by genetic factors. Although genetic characteristics may predispose individuals to be more or less susceptible to becoming addicted, genes do not doom one to become an addict. Over time the addict loses substantial control over his or her initially voluntary behavior, and it becomes compulsive. For many people these behaviors are truly uncontrollable, just like the behavioral expression of any other brain disease. Schizophrenics cannot control their hallucinations and delusions. Parkinson’s patients cannot control their trembling. Clinically depressed patients cannot voluntarily control their moods. Thus, once one is addicted, the characteristics of the illness - and the addiction treatment approaches - are not that different from most other brain diseases. No matter how one develops an illness, once one has it, one is in the diseased state and needs treatment. In the case of the addict or alcoholic treatment is best defined as admission to a drug rehab, addiction treatment facility or alcoholism treatment facility. Please note that not every person requires an inpatient drug rehab or addiction treatment facility, but research shows that most individuals do require structure of some kind to break the vicious compulsive cycle associated with drug addiction and alcoholism.



Thanks to Gean Biffulco for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

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Can you answer Jonnel E’s question about Addiction?:

I just found out that one of my block mates has been using heroin to keep her up all night just so she can study for our exams. But I don’t think it’s doing her any good. I asked her if she wanted to talk about it, but she refused. I would like to help her get out of heroin addiction while she still can.

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Can you answer debra t’s question about Addiction?:

I live in Alexandria, Louisiana. After months of prodding, I had finally convinced my dad to get himself treated for heroin addiction. I want to make sure that he gets the care and treatment he needs. How will I be able to find drug rehab centers?

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