Category Archives: Relapse Prevention

Drug Rehab for Teens

Posted on January 16, 2012 | Comments Off on Drug Rehab for Teens

rehab-for-teensTeen drug abuse is a persistent problem in America, and unfortunately, is on the rise again. With recent State and Federal budget cuts, funding across the country for adolescent drug treatment has dwindled. There are far fewer drug rehab facilities today than there were just 5 years ago. Locating inpatient and outpatient teen rehab programs has become a challenge for parents and adults seeking local teen drug treatment resources.

RehabForTeens.org is a new online information center which provides general information on teen substance abuse and contact information for a variety of teen drug rehab programs across the United States. The site was launched in January 2012 and will undergo periodic updates to keep people informed on the availability of teen rehab programs in each U.S. state.

RehabForTeens.org describes the different types of drug treatments available for teenagers and offers a blog from the unique perspective of parents as well as drug treatment professionals. Drug rehabilitation for teens has emerged as a very important social topic with so many young people facing tough choices on a daily basis.

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Posted in Addiction Counseling, Addiction Recovery, Drug Rehab Programs, Drug Treatment, Methadone, Opiate Addiction, Opiate Treatment, Rehab For Teens, Relapse Prevention

Coping With Feelings In The Recovery Process

Posted on April 6, 2011 | Comments Off on Coping With Feelings In The Recovery Process

methadone16It has been said in the treatment and recovery community that addiction is a disease of feelings. What is specifically meant by this is that addicted individuals typically have difficulty coping with emotions and are often triggered by them to use drugs in the traditional chemical coping paradigm.

When individuals enter treatment and begin a personal recovery process, they learn that they have often numbed feelings through long term drug abuse, or escaped emotional discomfort through the ritual of using. Feelings like depression, anger, impatience, loneliness, boredom, guilt, and general stress can act as fuel for drug use.

A strong connection can develop over the years between experiencing emotional triggers and finding relief through opioids or other drugs. This connection occurs so naturally for addicted individuals that they are not aware of this process within themselves. Once they stop numbing feelings and establish drug abstinence, the full force of emotions may begin to come back. This can be a challenging time for people in early recovery as they learn to feel their feelings and to deal with them in healthy, constructive ways.

The answer is not hidden in a quick fix, but in learning new skills & approaches for “dealing with life on life’s terms” (a phrase often used in recovery circles and 12 Step meetings). Opioid replacement therapy alone can provide a certain comfort, hope, and stress reduction for individuals since their physical sickness from opioid withdrawal is eventually eliminated.

However, there is more learning & change that is necessary in order to become mentally healthier, and to develop a true personal recovery which will sustain an individual for the rest of his or her life. This learning involves gaining an understanding of one’s addiction, how to prevent relapse, improving one’s general coping skills, building a support network, and restructuring one’s life such that high risk drug associations are ended (or effectively managed).

Coping with feelings is an essential relapse prevention goal in every recovery program. The counseling component of treatment is an important tool that helps a person learn to experience life … without using illicit substances. Good methadone treatment clinics always provide their clients with counseling. Structured counseling is the single greatest resource available for teaching needed coping skills. Most importantly, choosing recovery is a wonderful decision and the beginning of a new life. Everyday, people decide they are finally ready for a change. Recovery is a positive process. Get started today!

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Posted in Addiction Counseling, Addiction Recovery, Drug Treatment, Methadone, Methadone Maintenance, Methadone Treatment, Opiate Treatment, Recovery, Relapse Prevention

Why Self Administered Home Detox Rarely Works

Posted on March 27, 2011 | Comments Off on Why Self Administered Home Detox Rarely Works

methadone-patientMany opioid addicted people have discovered that trying to detox off of opioids “at home” does not work and leaves them feeling miserable. There are some individuals that have “kicked the habit” without medication-assistance or a medically supervised detoxification. However, these success stories are somewhat rare, and usually pertain to people with a comparatively milder opioid addiction or an addiction of relatively shorter duration.

Somewhat compounding the challenge of addiction recovery are outspoken critics who wrongly assume that every drug addiction is the same, and that an addict should just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and tough it out. Individuals who hold such views are typically uneducated on the physiological characteristics of opioid addiction and the underlying brain neurochemistry that has been radically altered once opioid addiction sets in.

I have spoken to many suffering opioid addicts who have attempted home-based detoxes. The story is almost always the same: “It didn’t work. I just couldn’t make it. It was a horrible experience.” And they return to active drug use in order to cope with a myriad of sudden & protracted withdrawal symptoms, and to regain some momentary ability to function again.

Unfortunately, even some addiction professionals are poorly schooled on opioid addiction, and consequently may hold a bias against opioid replacement therapy (methadone, buprenorphine) until someone comes along to properly educate them.

Acute withdrawal from opioids results in a plethora of extremely uncomfortable physical symptoms and psychological stress that builds for days. With a home based detox, users try to self-administer decreasing amounts of opioids only to find the process overwhelming. Even a seven day detox in a medically-supervised setting using suboxone (and other medications) often leaves users with discomfort and protracted symptoms that are difficult to deal with.

In either scenario (home or hospital detox), individuals typically must deal with PAW (Post Acute Withdrawal). PAW for opioid addiction can last for months and results in lingering feelings of depression, tiredness, physical ache/pain, powerful cravings, inability to concentrate, insomnia, etc. Scientists have suggested that chronic opioid use/abuse affects the body’s metabolism and may temporarily (possibly even permanently) shut down the body’s ability to manufacture natural endorphins. This leaves the person feeling not normal. Obviously, the possibility of opioid relapse is greatly increased as a result of this post acute withdrawal process.

PAW (Post Acute Withdrawal) is greatly magnified as opioid addicts go from using daily fast-acting opiates to nothing at all. Alternatively, tapering down gradually off of methadone or suboxone introduces much less stress and allows a patient’s neurochemistry to adapt slowly to medication reduction. It also allows for much better preparation, planning, stability, and support-building as patients pursue a gradual medication taper. Tapering gradually off of an opioid replacement (methadone, suboxone) is often a much more comfortable experience than a short-term detox at home or in a hospital. Importantly, it must be said that a “social setting” or hospital-based detox is far superior to attempting a detox at home.

My final point is this. Don’t judge individuals struggling with an opioid addiction. And do not condemn them when they fail to successfully detox at home, or even in a hospital setting. Getting well, and succeeding in recovery, is a process that takes time and which may vary in procedure from one individual to the next.

We like to think that “all addicts are the same.” But, they are not. And treating them all the same is antiquated, and a failure in approach. Let’s stop to consider that medicine, science, and recovery are evolving through the years. Medication-assistance is not a cop-out or some negative compromise. It is today’s best practice approach in helping people live much improved lives. Medication-assistance is evidenced-based, and has been proven (not just theorized), but proven … to be effective.

Thanks for visiting Methadone.US, today! For more on opioid dependency, click here.

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Posted in Addiction Recovery, Medication Assisted Treatment, Methadone, Methadone Clinics, Methadone Maintenance, Methadone Programs, Methadone Treatment, Opiate Detox, Opiate Treatment, Relapse Prevention, Suboxone

Methadone Plus Counseling Equals Treatment

Posted on March 16, 2011 | Comments Off on Methadone Plus Counseling Equals Treatment

methadonetruthThe two primary components of opioid addiction treatment are opioid replacement therapy (methadone or suboxone) and behavioral health counseling. Each of these therapeutic interventions address very different aspects of one’s addiction. And one intervention, without the other, is generally not sufficient to promote lasting recovery from opioid addiction. Both must work in unison to produce meaningful, lasting change.

When entering treatment, most clients are initially very focused on their physiological dependency to opioids and the associated withdrawal symptoms that emerge when their drug supply runs out. Recurrent opioid withdrawal takes priority over most all other considerations. Consequently, addicted people place much emphasis on their methadone dose due to its ability to provide relief from painful opioid withdrawal. There is such a clear connection between methadone dosing and symptom relief that clients often assume that dosing alone is the complete answer to their addiction problem.

However, this is a false & inaccurate conclusion. Real recovery involves not just the absence of withdrawal symptoms, but deliberate changes in thinking, attitude, and behavior. Without improvements in these areas, a majority of clients will relapse again and again, and consequently be unable to sustain progress over time.

There is an old saying in the recovery field that goes “You can’t go back to being the same person you were … because that person became addicted.” What is meant by this is that one cannot afford to remain stuck with the same old ways of thinking and living. It was those old ways that led down the addiction path. In order to experience lasting quality recovery, one must adopt new approaches to living and coping with life. It is the development of these new approaches, skills, and tools that will allow a person to deal with life using healthy methods … instead of drugs.

Counseling not only teaches key skills for managing life, but aids clients in developing inner resources that will empower them to achieve new things that were previously not attainable. Many clients dedicated to personal recovery become much more complete people, more capable, and ultimately more satisfied. Addiction sucks the life out of individuals day by day, but recovery brings people back in contact with life & opportunity, and opens doors that were previously shut tight. Counseling is an extremely important piece of the recovery puzzle. Counseling facilitates positive change and positive results.

Use counseling to learn more about yourself. It will allow you to become better educated on managing the disease of addiction, and it will strengthen you in numerous ways, if you let it.

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Posted in Addiction Counseling, Addiction Recovery, Buprenorphine, Drug Treatment, Methadone, Methadone Benefits, Methadone Maintenance, Methadone Programs, Methadone Success, Methadone Treatment, Opiate Treatment, Relapse Prevention, Suboxone

Vivitrol in Opiate Addiction Treatment

Posted on February 11, 2011 | Comments Off on Vivitrol in Opiate Addiction Treatment

viviVivitrol® is a new product of Alkermes (a U.S. based pharmaceutical company who specialize in disease management medications). Vivitrol received FDA approval in October 2010 for use in the prevention of opioid relapse following opioid detoxification. It is an extended release formulation of naltrexone designed to be administered through a once monthly IM (intramuscular) injection.

The medication is a non-addictive, opioid antagonist that blocks the effects of opioids, and thus discourages opioid misuse since no subjective euphoria is experienced. Opioid addicted individuals are often at high risk for relapse following opioid detox, and intensive support is very helpful in assisting these individuals with establishing a comfortable, lasting sobriety following successful opioid detox.

Vivitrol must be administered by a healthcare professional, and recipients should not have active liver disease complications since naltrexone (the active ingredient in Vivitrol) is contraindicated for those with acute hepatitis. Like any medication-assisted intervention, Vivitrol should be used in conjunction with ongoing behavioral health counseling in order to maximize a client's chance of successful long term recovery through skill development and lifestyle change.

The medication is not inexpensive (obviously a patented medication with no available generic equivalent). But considering its potential benefit to those in early recovery, it may be a worthwhile short-term investment in the first 30 to 90 days when recovering persons are at highest risk for opioid relapse. An obvious benefit of Vivitrol is that the patient does not have to take a daily pill, so either accidental or purposeful missed doses are not a concern.

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Posted in Drug Treatment, Methadone, Naltrexone, Opiate Treatment, Relapse Prevention, Vivitrol