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New Prescription Drug Detox Option in Georgia

By ExecuCare Team on October 21, 2012 / Prescription Drugs / 2 Comments

Unfortunately, the need for prescription drug detox here in Georgia is on the rise. There has been an increase in abuse of prescription drugs such as hydrocodone and Oxycodone products such as Vicodin and OxyContin. These drugs are often initially prescribed by a doctor for pain, but can cause dependency and addiction. To obtain additional pills, hooked patients will go from doctor to doctor trying to get more than one prescription.

But it’s not just patients who are experiencing prescription drug abuse. Because of easy access to prescription drugs, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are becoming addicted to prescription drugs at alarming rates. Some health care professionals have even gotten involved in the illegal sale and distribution of these drugs.

Drug replacement therapy is also causing a problem. A drug like Methadone, which is used to help addicts come off of strong opioids like heroin, is being prescribed now for pain because it is cheaper than Oxycodone. However, Methadone is highly addictive with a detox that is said to be harder than heroin. To then get off of Methadone, doctors are prescribing yet another drug: Suboxone, which is also a drug with an extremely difficult withdrawal. The addiction cycle just keeps continuing with one drug replacing another.

We believe that the best approach is not to replace drugs with drugs. To be rid of a pill addiction, an individual must get off of all pills. This is why ExecuCare implements a nutritionally assisted detox for neurotransmitter restoration. This process brings the brain back into balance and allows it to function as it did prior to the physical dependency to prescription drugs. This is done without the use of prescription drugs. Our ExecuCare detox is very effective. Along with our stellar ongoing executive coaching program, it can pave the way to a solid recovery.

Detox from Methadone with Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR) treatment

By ExecuCare Team on October 14, 2012 / Drugs / Comments Off

Detox from Methadone is one of the thorniest issues we deal with at ExecuCareARC. Narcotic replacement therapy is one of the most widely used treatments for addiction to narcotics. Yes, Methadone can effective in reducing heroin dependency or other opiate drugs. But Methadone itself, although legal, is a narcotic in which the body can develop a dependency.

Addiction to Methadone

Although staff members at Methadone clinics are required to tell their clients that Methadone should only be used as one of the many tools in a patient’s recovery process, this is far from the reality of the situation. What often happens is that Methadone becomes the primary mode of treatment with many addicts just trading one addiction for another. Illegal narcotics are replaced with legal narcotics, Methadone, both of which require detox. One of the main problems with using Methadone to detox from opiates is that it is a temporary bandage instead of a solution. It’s true that Methadone can be successful at stopping the withdrawal symptoms of detox from opiates. However, Methadone has three times the half-life of most opiates including heroin, thus making it much harder to get off of it once you become addicted. And it doesn’t take long to develop an addiction to this powerful drug. Like heroin or other opiates, the addiction to Methadone must be fed daily or the addict will face ugly withdrawal symptoms, some say even worse than heroin. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Detox from Methadone

At ExecuCareARC, we believe that the goal of treatment is for the patient to live a happy and drug-free lifestyle. This is accomplished through appropriate detoxification and recovery counseling to aid in maintaining sobriety. Fear of withdrawal is a common deterrent to the addict seeking detox from the addiction to Methadone. Studies have reported that 97% of people addicted to Methadone would detox from Methadone if they felt like they could do so without a bad detox. Our proprietary outpatient neurotransmitter restoration detox has been shown to increase the client’s health and well-being during the detox for all drugs while minimizing withdrawal symptoms and significantly reducing cravings. It makes ongoing recovery more likely to succeed by completely ridding a person’s system of narcotics and restoring healthy brain chemistry.

It is important to acknowledge that in addition to issues of chemical dependency, many patients have other psychosocial, emotional, occupational, and educational needs that must be addressed in order for treatment to be effective. To obtain the best result, the recovering addict benefits most by having a stable safety net of friends and family who can support them through the detox and aftercare period. This helps to oversee that they maintain a stabilization period until their life skills and positive life changes supporting a drug-free existence can occur. It is true that we can’t force a loved one to change, but with the appropriate treatment and support many addicts do decide to make the transition to a life without drugs.

The Dangers of Treating Addiction with Methadone and Suboxone

By ExecuCare Team on September 27, 2012 / Prescription Drugs / Comments Off

Dangers of Treatment with Methadone and Suboxone Right now, the dangers of treating addiction with Methadone or Suboxone are not yet widely accepted. Doctors continue to prescribe methadone to get off of heroin and other narcotics. They then prescribe Suboxone to get off of Methadone! It’s a vicious cycle that often results in painful withdrawal and/or the inability to become drug-free.

Recently, on a site discussing Methadone and Suboxone detox, a woman posted: “If I had known what I know now about Methadone, I would never have started taking it!” She had used Methadone to get off of Oxycontin, Fentanyl and hydrocodone. She went on to say how her doctor said he would prescribe Suboxone to help her with the transition off of the Methadone, but Read more →

Substance Abuse Relapse: Is it All in Your Head?

By ExecuCare Team on March 17, 2011 / The Brain and Addiction / 1 Comment

An addict’s abnormal brain biology may increase his or her risk of substance abuse relapse. Studies show that MRI-based neuroimaging research holds potential in identifying markers for this increase, as published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research in June 2011.

At least 60 percent of individuals in recovery for alcohol abuse disorders relapse within six months of treatment. Because the reward system of the brain (BRS) has been “implicated in the development and maintenance of all forms of addictive disorders,” researchers of the neuroimaging study compared thickness, surface area and volume of neocortical components of the reward system of the brain. The study participants included three groups: light drinkers, alcohol-dependent individuals still abstinent after treatment, and those who relapsed. (Medical News Today)

The reward system of the brain (BRS) includes regions in the frontal and temporal lobes, limbic system, basal ganglia and other subcortical structures. These form a functional network which involves our experience and response to pleasure and aversion, mood regulation, higher-level cognitive abilities, such as problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, planning and judgment, memory, as well as impulse control. It is believed that abnormal biology of the BRS may play a significant role in the development of drug and alcohol dependencies.

Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the BRS and determine whether there were structural differences in the brain’s cortex for the three groups. The findings support the fact that neurobiological factors influence relapse. Of the two groups who suffered with alcohol dependency (abstainers and relapsers), their brain’s had significantly thinner cortices in the BRS and throughout the brain. Those who had relapsed showed showed the most substantial structural abnormalities in the BRS with lower surface area and volume than the abstainers and the control group. This may mean they have fewer brain cells and neural resources available to assist with recovery. (Medical News Today)

Another significant finding was that of those individuals who relapsed, the ones with the greater volume and surface area in several regions of the BRS had a less severe relapse.

Not only do neuroimaging techniques promote a better understanding of the neurobiological factors associated with relapse, but as this study shows, such methods can be useful in identifying addicts with the greatest degree of neurobiological abnormalities and thus the most at risk for relapse at the beginning of treatment. This can help predict who will benefit most from certain treatments and aftercare plans.

Genes and Addiction: Can One Influence the Other?

By ExecuCare Team on March 9, 2011 / The Brain and Addiction / 2 Comments

There is a definite link between genes and addiction and the level of a specific genotype can influence the severity of addiction. A study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory demonstrated that drug addicted individuals who have a certain genetic makeup have decreased gray matter density – and therefore fewer neurons – in areas of the brain that are essential for decision-making, self-control, and learning and memory. The research is reported in the March 7, 2011 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. Read more →

Number One, International Killer: Alcohol

By ExecuCare Team on February 27, 2011 / Alcoholism / Comments Off

Alcohol contributes to 2.5 million deaths worldwide a year, making it the number one international killer for 2011, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There is also a growing concern over the number of alcohol-related injuries such as car accidents, burns, falls and poisonings, as well as other social and financial tolls such violence, disease, child neglect and job absenteeism.

“Substance abuse disorders profoundly affect our society,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). In economic terms, alcohol abuse disorders costs the U.S. approximately half a trillion dollars a year. But as Dr. Volkow said, “[Alcohol abuse] is much more insidious, eroding the foundation of human relationships and the established social contract.” (Medical News Today)

A new federal study in the U.S. found that parents are giving their children alcoholic beverages at a much higher rate than most people realize. According to a report from SAMHSA, in the past month alone 200,000 kids were given alcohol by a parent or other adult family member. This is especially dangerous with studies confirming that drinking as a teenager is a potential gateway to alcohol problems in adulthood. In fact, studies show that people who begin drinking before the age of fifteen are six times more likely than those who start at twenty-one to develop an alcohol problem. Parents need to be aware that providing alcohol to children can expose them to an increased risk for alcohol abuse.

The key finding in a recent study regarding the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI), which is widely used to assess adolescent drinking-related problems, found that the more drinking-related problems experienced by an adolescent at the age of eighteen, the greater the likelihood of alcoholism being diagnosed at the age of twenty-five.

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Take the First Step: (770) 817-0711

New Prescription Drug Detox Option in Georgia

Detox from Methadone with Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR) treatment

The Dangers of Treating Addiction with Methadone and Suboxone

Substance Abuse Relapse: Is it All in Your Head?

Genes and Addiction: Can One Influence the Other?

Number One, International Killer: Alcohol

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