Many kids, with all of the energy that they have, are into sports. Some enter high school and become great athletes. But what if your athlete child gets an injury during a practice or a game and winds up being prescribed painkillers for their injury? What is the likelihood of them become addicted to those painkillers? Unfortunately it’s high and who would have thought that as a parent of an athlete you’d be in a position where you would be looking for a drug rehab program rather than a good college?

Unfortunately, this is quite common in the drug detox and drug rehab world and these types of facilities see this every day. They don’t just get people needing help for drugs like Cocaine, Meth or Heroin, they are helping children who have addiction problems due to sports injuries who become dependent and/or addicted to their pain medication.

As a parent, it’s important to stay on top of helping your teen with prescription painkillers or any medications for that matter. Not only because of the risk for dependency and addiction, but also because of the risk of overdose. With the rising statistics of teenage prescription drug abuse, it’s your duty to play this role in your child’s life.

And, while it can be considered controversial, there’s always drug testing. Whether at home or in school sports programs, however controversial it may be, it could save a child’s life!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Now, more than ever, people who take prescriptions are realizing they can’t get off of them.  It’s a hard fact, but people who take prescription pain medications, anti-anxiety drug and sleeping pills, to name a few, will most likely need to go through a drug detox and, if there’s an addiction, they will need to go through drug rehab program as well.

What you don’t realize when your doctor is prescribing these medications is that even if you have only taken the drugs for a short period of time you are likely to need drug detox because of the withdrawal symptoms, which can be painful and quite uncomfortable.

‘Addict’ seems like such a harsh word and I’m sure that a lot of people out there who started out taking their medications as directed never intended for that to happen. People start out taking them for all sorts of innocent reasons like injuries, pain management for surgeries or for an illness. However, everyone – legally prescribed or illegally acquired on the street – will have to endure the same withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking them.

Are you one of these people? Have you taken these types of drugs for a short period of time, or perhaps even for years, and you can’t seem to stop? When you do try, the sickness and pain that you feel keeps you on the medications and you wind up calling your doctor and asking for more?

You’re not alone! At Drug Rehab Referral, we see this time and time again.

And, it is possible to stop. Going through a drug detox program will help your body safely and comfortably detox from the drugs that are holding you prisoner. If you want to stop, there is a way. Get help!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Say you were put on some type(s) of antidepressants by your doctor and you’re not interested in taking them anymore. Is it possible that you’ll need to detox? Will you need to go to drug rehab? It’s certainly possible – and a drug rehab program would most definitely be necessary if you’re taking the drugs illicitly or because of an addiction.

An unbelievable number of people take antidepressants and other prescription drugs based on the FDA’s recommendation and approval to help or treat depression. And, as it turns out, some drug manufacturers may have omitted or left out (however you choose to view it) information that most likely would have made it extremely hard, if not impossible to get their drugs approved.

Billions and billions of dollars have been made by selling these drugs to unsuspecting citizens and these companies should be held accountable. These unsuspecting citizens aren’t just adults either, they’ve made drugs for teenagers, children and even toddlers to keep them from being too hyperactive. What is this doing to our social environment? I’ll tell you what; it’s putting an expectation on children that they should be quiet and still. And that a pill can “cure” depression.

So, how does one go about getting off of these drugs? The best way to handle the addiction or dependence is by going to a medical drug detox facility to withdraw from the drugs under medical supervision – according to medical professionals.

If you need to safely withdraw from any prescription drugs call Drug Rehab Referral and we will help you find a successful drug detox program.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Have you ever heard or read stories about people going through drug detox and/or drug rehab more than once? In fact, I’m sure you’ve come across some people that have gone over and over again! There are many ways that people go about conquering drug addiction and dependence. The first step that many people take is to go through a drug detox program. This is important to get the residual toxins left by the drugs or alcohol out of the body.

One time, I read a story about a guy who had been through detox for heroin use ten times – one time at a hospital, eight times he did it ‘cold turkey’, and once he went through rapid detox – which he explained was more painful than any of his cold turkey attempts to wean himself, and had side effects that lasted for months afterward. None of these detoxes actually helped the guy battle his heroin addiction that he kept succumbing to and he eventually chose methadone treatment. Now, he’s more than likely, permanently addicted to methadone and he doesn’t seem to be even looking at the possibility of ever coming off it. Can you see what went wrong with this story? I can… he never went to a good drug rehab program!

While it is a very important step in the rehabilitation process, drug detox only assists people to get them through withdrawal from their physical dependence. A common idea that a lot of people have is if they can just get through withdrawal, they can stop taking the drug. But what happens when they go back home and their friend tells them that they’re going out to get high – and perhaps they didn’t have a particularly good day? Who’s to say that the mental addiction won’t just kick right back in? I can tell you this much; if you don’t address the issues behind the addiction – which are not just physical – then the person will go back to drugs. No doubt about it!

Drug detox is important, but it’s only one of the steps needed to get an addict through their addiction and fully recovered. If you know of someone who has gone through drug or alcohol detox, but has relapsed, you now know the facts! Help get them into a successful drug rehab program. It could save their life!

Popularity: 1% [?]

What’s the deal here? Why is it that people who are addicted to morphine, heroin and other opiates are put on methadone (a synthetic narcotic used for more than 30 years to “treat” opiate addiction)? Methadone is a drug that is addictive. Does it actually make sense to trade one drug addiction for another when an addict can be helped immediately through drug detox and a successful drug rehab program?

According to the official descriptions from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), methadone withdrawal symptoms are slower and easier to withstand. The theory is that when it’s taken orally once a day, it suppresses narcotic withdrawal for between 24 and 36 hours. When used as a “treatment” it gives time for the addict to eventually be weaned off drugs entirely. Or so goes the theory.

This is from the product information: “It is possible to maintain an addiction to methadone without harsh side effects . .  .” and “. . . many patients require continuous treatment, sometimes over a period of years.”  – Yes, folks… you read correctly. It says YEARS of methadone treatment!

If someone really wants to get help to end their addiction, why on earth would they take an addictive drug instead of using drug detox and drug rehab to handle it in just weeks, or a few months at most?
Here is another crazy fact: Methadone is given away for FREE to people on the street through methadone clinics. In many instances, people turn around and sell their methadone so they can continue to buy heroin or morphine. Methadone has been available as an illicit street drug for decades. The people on the street aren’t taking it to taper their use and eventually wean themselves off heroin or get through some form of drug rehab. They’re taking it to get stoned, and stay stoned. And by handing out free methadone we’re just keeping them addicted to opiates.

Then, there are the dangers involved in methadone use. A few years ago, the FDA issued a methadone public health advisory because it can suppress breathing and cause dangerous, and sometimes fatal, changes in heartbeat. In fact, there has been a huge rise in deaths due to methadone use – even when it’s consumed in low doses. Six percent of people carry a gene that makes methadone a life-threatening killer, according to the ONDCP.

Providing help to free addicts from the violence, crime and dwindling spiral that they will end up going down is a good thing. Handing out methadone and watching them return to continue to struggle is not. Handing out methadone to anyone for any reason is not a good thing! We have got to change our point of view, and demand some system changes that create the means for all addicts to fully recover and reclaim their lives through proper drug detox and drug rehab.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Lee County, home to nearly 60 cities and in Southwest Florida, just opened it’s first new alcohol and drug detox center in 50 years. I would hope there are some good addiction treatment centers available for follow up - detox is not enough for most addicts or alcoholics. That gets them dried up, but being able to stay clean will depend on the addiction treatment they get afterwards. There’s a lot of work to do after the detox period.

What’s amazing about this is that we spend $69 billion a year on the war on drugs but haven’t put a new detox center in this county for 50 years! How can that be? Setting up detox centers and addiction treatment centers should be our first priority if we want to handle the drug problem.

Instead, this County’s detox facilities have actually lost ground over the last 20 years. There were only enough facilities to treat 28 people 20 years ago, and even though the number of people likely to need help has tripled, the number of people there were facilities to treat went down to 25.

The new facility only has 25 beds – there were 46 waiting in line before the doors even opened.

If you’re having trouble getting into detox, or an addiction treatment center for follow up, give us a call. We’ll help you find one in your area.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Merry Christmas!!

We at Drug Rehab Referral have helped a lot of people over the last year. Thanks to their hard work in an addiction treatment center, they’ll be enjoying a sober Christmas – for some, it’s their first in many years. No drugs, no alcohol, and with new family and personal relationships that truly make the holidays the warm, joyous and fun experience they should be!

If you are among the millions of people who still have loved ones with a drinking or drug problem, even a problem with prescription drug addiction, contact us soon. No matter what you’ve been through already, no matter what you’ve tried or how hard you’ve worked at it, it is not a hopeless situation. Contact us, and we will find a way to help you.

Popularity: 22% [?]

The Waissmann method of rapid detox, touted as a quick way to get someone through the withdrawal period of OxyContin addiction or addiction to other opiates, will no longer be offered at Garden Grove Hospital in California. The only other place it’s offered is in Israel. Someone new has taken over the hospital and rapid detox was one of the first things to go. Both the hospital and the doctors involved have been fined several times for negligence and at least a couple of rapid detox patients have died.  Regardless of fines, rapid detox by any method is dangerous and is usually not what it’s advertised to be.

OxyContin addiction is rampant and some people choose rapid detox to get off the drug. Unlike traditional methods of rehab offered in a drug addiction treatment center, rapid detox promises to get it over with quickly. The procedure itself is a matter of hours, but it often takes the patient weeks or month to recover from the procedure itself.

Also, there’s a lot more to addiction than the detox period. To stay off drugs, the addict also needs rehab treatment – which can take months. But it’s the best treatment available and has the highest rate of success.

At Garden Grove Hospital, rapid detox cost $15,000. There are many facilities that offer it for much less. But if it’s dangerous, and isn’t going to get rid of the addiction, and the patient is going to be sick for weeks or months afterwards, what’s the point of spending the money? Especially when they probably used this method primarily because they thought it was a quick fix.

There’s no really fast way to get someone through OxyContin addiction or, really, any other addiction. Long-term residential care in a drug addiction treatment center is really the best available. If you know someone who’s considering rapid detox, speak to a drug addiction specialist about it first. Make sure it’s someone who is knowledgeable about the different treatment models and doesn’t have a vested interest in rapid detox. Drug Rehab Referral has addiction specialists available 24/7 to answer your questions.

Popularity: 19% [?]

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: 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: 22% [?]