Going into a drug addiction treatment center for a short time is not enough to handle a drug problem according to Dr. Drew. That’s no surprise to professionals who deal with drug addiction every day - and the stats are there to prove it. Long term residential treatment programs have better results than the two-to-four week stays in the luxury drug addiction treatment centers most frequented by celebs.

They are a revolving door, and they give people the idea that drug rehab doesn’t work.

In fact, it does. There are people who have gone to drug rehab over and over again without ever really devoting the time necessary to get through the addiction and get their lives turned around so they can stay drug-free. They get off the drugs and think that’s about all there is to it. Not so - you have to address the reasons behind the drug use. And those reasons are often deep-seated. They’re not going to go away in a week or two.

We’re talking about addiction, not just a physical dependency.

The first step is to realize you have a problem. Handling the problem begins with addressing the physical dependency on drugs but, once that’s handled, you still have to get down to the bottom of why the person’s using drugs in the first place. And that’s what a good, long-term residential drug addiction treatment center does. Make sure that’s the kind you choose if you have a drug problem - whether it’s with street drugs or prescription drug addiction. Drug Rehab Referral can help you find one. Check them out.

Popularity: 18% [?]

The number of deaths in Florida from prescription drugs is on the rise. In fact, an analysis of autopsies performed in 2007 showed that prescription drugs caused three times the number of deaths as illegal drugs. Although the deaths would have occured in a variety of situations, there’s no doubt that many involved prescription drug addiction and those people may still be alive today if they have gotten into a drug rehab in Florida.

One of the things that makes prescription drugs so dangerous is that people think they’re safe. They don’t expect to die from something prescribed by a doctor (even if it wasn’t prescribed for them) and they don’t expect to develop a prescription drug addiction and end up in drug rehab. Florida, fortunately, has more drug addiction treatment centers than any state other than California or New York. So, there’s plenty of help available.

It’s important to understand these drugs and to make sure that others do as well. If you know someone who might have a problem with prescription drug addiction, make sure you get them into one of the many facilities the offer drug rehab in Florida so they can get help. 

Popularity: 18% [?]

True to the U.S. medical model, scientists are throwing yet another drug into the mix to handle a problem that has nothing to do with a physical condition. This time it’s giving gamblers Naltrexone to help them quit gambling. While Naltrexone might not be addictive in itself, it could possible lead to taking other drugs that could cause a prescription drug addiction problem.

How could this happen? Because Naltrexone suppresses opiate receptors. In the words of the researchers considering using Naltrexone for gambling, proper functionality of opiate receptors is “a crucial step in the pathway for processing dopamine, the pleasure neurotransmitter that activates the brain’s sense of reward.” Okay, so how’s that going to make you feel? In a word – miserable.

Naltrexone also has a number of side effects including nausea, headache, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety and sleepiness.

Add these to feeling miserable and you’ve got someone who might just decide they’re going to take some prescription drugs that make them feel better. And, as they’ve already exhibited addictive behavior, chances are they going to wind up with a prescription drug addiction problem instead of a gambling problem.

As with all addictions, it’s better to get down to the bottom of the gambling problem and address it so the person no longer feels that irresistible compulsion. If they can do that, their lives will be improved without doing something that may lead them to prescription drug addiction and the eventual need to go into a drug addiction treatment center to handle yet another addiction.

Popularity: 16% [?]

A National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Colombia University report says  84% of Internet pharmacies don’t require a prescription. Is it likely that the people buying drugs on these sites are looking for something to help their blood pressure? No - for that they would have a prescription. Chances are we’re looking at the specific drugs that are fuelling the prescription drug addiction epidemic.

Interestingly enough, Go Daddy - which focuses primarily on domain name registration plans  and Web site design and hosting packages - is taking an interest in helping to handle this problem. In 2007 their abuse department suspended 1,300 sites that sell prescription drugs without a prescription. They also said that most don’t even require age verification.

Go Daddy has challenged other companies that offer the same or similar products to do the same. Only recently has keeping the Internet safe included preventing prescription drug addiction, dependency and abuse. Kids who used to have their parents’ credit cards to download music are now ordering drugs. And, chances are, they’re also giving them to their friends.

If you find out your kids doing the same, look for a drug addiction treatment center that can help them get through drug detox, drug rehab and any other services they need.

Popularity: 20% [?]

I read an article today that said there are more facilities that offer drug rehab in Florida (as well as drug detox and other types of treatment) than in any state other than California and New York. And it’s a good thing - Florida is nicknamed the ‘pill state’ because of the huge volume of prescription drug addiction, dependency and abuse cases.

As of 2006, there were 668 treatment facilities and in March of that year alone they serviced 52,000 people. That’s 1677 a day - an amazing statistic from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services.
 
Unfortunately, not all facilities that offer drug rehab in Florida are created equal. Some have low success rates - people leave clean after treatment but get back into drugs or alcohol afterwards. I would advise that someone looking for a successful program contact Drug Rehab Referral. These are pros who’ve been in the business a long time. They’re very familiar with the different types of programs available and can advise you of the best for your situation.

Prescription drug addiction isn’t the only drug problem in Florida although it’s probably more insidous than problems with other drugs: Often people don’t realize they have a problem - they think the pills are safe because they are prescribed by doctors. Eventually, when they try to stop taking them they find out it’s not easy to do. This is especially true of prescription painkillers like OxyContin. Taken for anything other than the shortest length of time you’re sure to develop a physical dependency and addiction is often not far behind.

If you or someone you care about is having a problem with prescription drug addiction or dependency - or you even suspect that might be the case - give Drug Rehab Referral a call. They can help you figure out if you have a problem or not, answer all your questions, and, if needed, help you find the right facility for drug detox or drug rehab. In Florida there are hundreds available - make sure you get one that will get the job done.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Parents and kids - especially kids in college - may be wondering if it’s okay to take the so-called ‘cognitive-enhancing’ drugs they’re probably being offered by other students. The answer is a resounding no. A new study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse decided to check out study drugs to see if they really do what people are saying they can and found that taking a sugar pill is twice as effective. So, bear in mind that if you’re tempted to say yes to these drugs, the only thing you may get out of them is prescription drug addiction.

Oh, wait a minute, there are a few other things you might get. That would be the side effects: Abnormal thinking and hallucinations (the doctors call is psychosis), difficulty sleeping, mood swings and changes, nervousness, stomach aches, diarrhea, headaches, increased sex drive, loss of appetite, and dry mouth. You might also get heart palpitations, high blood pressure and pulse changes.

It’s great to see some science to debunk the value of these drugs as study aids. A recent survey of scientists revealed that many of them also take these drugs. One guy said that he’ll do whatever he has to to make sure his brain is at full function - for the common good, of course. He’s a scientist and owes it to society.

I sure hope he reads this study. Maybe he can use some of that enhanced cognitive function he’s apparently enjoying to realize that his real problem isn’t lack of focus, it’s prescription drug addiction. And what he really needs isn’t more drugs, it’s a drug addiction treatment center.

Parents, tell your kids about this. If they’re already taking the drugs, get them into a drug addiction treatment center so they can get the help they need. If they’re not, they’ll be warned so they aren’t fooled by others singing the drugs praises.

Popularity: 19% [?]

“Why wasn’t I warned? Why couldn’t I have been told upfront, before starting the drug, that the possibility of severe withdrawal existed.” The woman asking this question was lucky - she managed to end her prescription drug addiction after only a year. But many don’t. And many go through symptoms far worse than she experienced.

The drug she was trying to quit was the antidepressant Cymbalta. She gradually reduced the dosage. Other antidepressants are just as bad. Painkillers are even worse - OxyContin addiction, for example, is similar to heroin: People taking OxyContin will experience the same withdrawal symptoms as heroin addicts. 95% of the heroin addicts who try to get off the drug on their own can’t take it and wind up getting back on the drug.

Another woman who was taking antidepressants said that when she went on a short trip and forgot her medication the withdrawal symptoms were excrutiating.

Don’t fool yourself - prescription drug addiction is very real. Your best bet is not to take them in the first place if at all possible. But if it’s already too late for that, a good drug detox program can help with withdrawal to make it more comfortable and a drug rehab program can help with the addiction end of things. However, it’s important to make sure that whatever center you choose isn’t just familiar with street drugs, they should have some experience in prescription drug addiction help.

Popularity: 25% [?]

In Naples, Florida, a man saw a little boy, dirty and covered in bug bites, walking in a ditch along the road. He called the police, who followed up on it, and found their mother  and the little boy’s twin brother in their filthy home with no electricity, nothing in the fridge to eat and moldy food in the microwave and on the dishes piled in the sink. The mother was arrested and her children were taken by social services. Her house was full of evidence of her drug addiction. There are plenty of centers that offer drug rehab in Florida, and one of them could have helped her, and the kids. She is 25 years old.

This, of course, sounds like an extreme situation that could probably never happen to you or your 25-year-old daughter. But I would bet money on the fact that her parents thought the same thing.

I’ve seen similar situations. Things are better if only one parent is on drugs and the other is taking responsibility for the household, the kids, etc. But in a one parent household, things really can get that bad. Drug addiction isn’t pretty.

A next door neighbor commented to a reporter that if she’d known the situation was that bad, she would have made sure the woman got help. The neighbor’s 15-year-old son has spent time in the woman’s home but said he’d never seen her with drugs. An unlikely story, frankly, when the police found white powder scattered on the couch, in the kids’ room, in the kitchen etc. There’s no doubt she has a serious drug addiction problem - in her case, it appears it was cocaine addiction.

This woman’s life was obviously ruined by drugs, although no one really knows what drove her to it. She could find out if she went through a drug rehab. In Florida there are several programs available. However, whether she’ll ever get the chance or whether she’ll end up in the never-ending cycle of drug addiction and prison, no one knows at this point. At least her kids are safe.

Popularity: 23% [?]

It used to be that kids who were involved in sports were cleaner,  i.e. not as involved in drugs, than other kids. Being in good form so you could be a good athlete demanded it. But that’s all changed - even for the very young. A football coach in Boston has just received two years probation, a shockingly lenient sentence, after spending seven years introducing OxyContin and other drugs to his players, the oldest of whom is 15. His personal drug problem started with an injury and prescription drug addiction. Instead of going to drug rehab he went on to heroin, and started selling drugs to his students. Many of them will now be facing the same drug addiction problems he had.

Prescription drug addiction in schools has become epidemic. Some students are taking prescription drugs to get high, others are using them to stay awake for study, and athletes are taking them to relieve pain so they can keep on playing despite injury.

Parents, it’s more important than ever that you become well-versed in what’s going on in the schools - whether your kid is 5 years old or in college - and educate your kids on the dangers of prescription drugs. You may think your kid is clean and wholesome and would never try drugs but, unfortunately, prescription drugs don’t carry the same stigma. Wholesome kids who would never consider taking street drugs don’t think prescription drugs are a problem - after all, they are given out by doctors, how dangerous can they be?

In fact, many of them are worse than street drugs. Prescription drug addiction is harder to kick than many of the other drugs they might run into. The solution is education - parents whose kids talk to them about drugs are 50% less likely to get involved in them - and, if they’ve already started taking them, the answer is a drug rehab program. And do it fast. The longer you wait, the more dangerous it is, and the more ugly it could get. 

Popularity: 26% [?]