Treating Prescription Drug Abuse
- 4.16.2010
- -
Illicit or prescribed drug abuse addiction is a brain disease, that like any other disease, can be treated effectively. Years of research has proven this. there is not one single treatment that is appropriate fro all individuals addicted to prescription medications. The type of drug used and the needs of the individual must be taken into account when deciding on a proper treatment. In order for a treatment o be successful, several components, including detoxification, counselling, and in some cases, pharmacological therapies all need to be incorporated. In order for a patient to make a successful recovery, multiple courses of treatments may need to be used.
Read More
Living a Double and Lonely Life
- 1.18.2010
- -
Brandi Gurin shares her personal story of living a double and lonely life on The Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Meth completely took over and destroyed her life and it all started with just one hit. Please read Brandi's story below:
"I am 29 years old, a mother of a 2 ½-year old son and I live with his father. Jeff and I have been together for four years.
I was raised with a very close small family. I have a mother whom I adore, a stepfather who is great, and my father is one of my best friends.
I wasn’t surrounded by drugs, poverty, or abuse. I graduated at Kent State University with a communications degree and I have worked for every penny since I was 16 years old.
When I was 26 years old I tried my first drug ever -- Ecstasy. From that point on, I experimented with different drugs but they never really grabbed me. They were just an escape here and there.
In 2002, I got pregnant. That day I found out I stopped using drugs or alcohol. Problems arose with Jeff and we split up last summer. I moved out with our son, got an apartment, worked 50 hours a week and was depressed out of my mind. During this time, I ran into an old high school friend at the gas station. He gave me his number so we could catch up.
Within one week of meeting up, he introduced me to meth. I did one line in hopes of feeling a tad bit better -- he told me it wasn't addicting and I felt on top of the world.
After a couple of weeks I felt amazing-- never tired, I could go to work, take care of my baby -- take care of EVERYTHING. Within two months, however, nothing seemed to matter but making sure I was high.
I decided to tell my son's father that I thought I had a problem, but I was scared.
My friend Ron (not his real name), had showed me how to shoot it up, wich was a entirely different ball game. He was also a cook, so I was able to get dope whenever I wanted.
I moved out of his apartment, quit my job, and my son and I moved back in with Jeff 120 miles away. We thought, as a family, we could beat this. We told no one what had happened.
Looking back, I had never intended to quit. I would drive and meet Ron to get dope after we moved. Finally, he just picked up and moved into hotels near me. We thought we were in love.
He taught me how to cook. He told me since I was a beautiful woman with no previous police record I would never get in trouble. I spent four months hiding and protecting my addiction. I would fake sleeping next to Jeff every night so he would think I was not using and I would pitch food away so he thought I was eating. We had our son put in daycare, because my family thought I was going to therapy and doctors for my problem. I made them believe my eating disorder was back. That's why I was loosing so much weight. I was living a double and lonely life.
The days weren't long enough. I could no longer live like this. I was shooting 2 grams a day, cooking in hotels, and when Jeff would go out of town for work I would cook at my house.
Finally, in November, Jeff found out everything. He put me in the car and drove me to my parents. They had planned an intervention. My whole family sat waiting for me in my parent’s living room. That night, I had Ron Pick me up at the end of the driveway and I ran.
I left my son to get high, and cook dope.
Meth made me believe I needed nothing else but it. Now, I have lost my car, my son and I told my whole family to f*ck off.
Ron told me he would take care of me. We would get ahead and I would get my son back. For eight weeks I injected about 3-4 grams of meth I made a day. I was never not high. I could not face the reality of what I had done to my family. My arms. legs and neck were bruised from stabbing my self. If I wasn’t cooking I was shopping for ingredients. I was the devil.
Ron would leave me all the time for days with no food, car or phone. It would be just me and the meth lab. I remained scared out of my mind daily. Still, never high enough.
Once, we thought I overdosed because I began bleeding out of my vagina everywhere -- it would not stop. Ron threw me in a car and dropped me off to a hospital. He left me there. He was so paranoid; he thought they would arrest him.
It turns out, the miscarriage I had two months prior was not fully finished which is why I was bleeding.
I got a cab, and went to the hotel, finished a cook and got high. I did not care if I died at this point. Ron came home and made me understand why he did what he did. I fell for it and we got high again.
We cooked just enough to feed our intense addiction and made enough money to throw another batch on. That's how we continued to live. We didn't go out. We ate every few days to keep our buzz on. At this point I was maybe 90 pounds and I couldn’t fit into adult clothes at Wal-Mart.
I missed my baby, but I was no longer worth being a mother, a daughter, a girlfriend, a friend. I was nothing and I wanted to get high until I died.
Ron has left me again -- he wouldn’t answer his phone for five days.
My arm was swollen because I have missed again and my bottom has hit. I took about four grams of dope and every water soluble pill in the house and put it in a needle. I said goodbye to my baby boy, and shot it in my arm. I wanted to die.
I woke up 18 hours later still alone. I surrendered myself to my family. They had a rehab all lined up waiting for me in Florida and I got on the plane two days later."
If you just read this story and can relate to Brandi's life than you know it's time to Get Help. Meth can destroy your life and if you don't stop, it can eventually kill you. We are here to help you! You don't have to hide your double and lonely life anymore.
Read More
"I am 29 years old, a mother of a 2 ½-year old son and I live with his father. Jeff and I have been together for four years.
I was raised with a very close small family. I have a mother whom I adore, a stepfather who is great, and my father is one of my best friends.
I wasn’t surrounded by drugs, poverty, or abuse. I graduated at Kent State University with a communications degree and I have worked for every penny since I was 16 years old.
When I was 26 years old I tried my first drug ever -- Ecstasy. From that point on, I experimented with different drugs but they never really grabbed me. They were just an escape here and there.
In 2002, I got pregnant. That day I found out I stopped using drugs or alcohol. Problems arose with Jeff and we split up last summer. I moved out with our son, got an apartment, worked 50 hours a week and was depressed out of my mind. During this time, I ran into an old high school friend at the gas station. He gave me his number so we could catch up.
Within one week of meeting up, he introduced me to meth. I did one line in hopes of feeling a tad bit better -- he told me it wasn't addicting and I felt on top of the world.
After a couple of weeks I felt amazing-- never tired, I could go to work, take care of my baby -- take care of EVERYTHING. Within two months, however, nothing seemed to matter but making sure I was high.
I decided to tell my son's father that I thought I had a problem, but I was scared.
My friend Ron (not his real name), had showed me how to shoot it up, wich was a entirely different ball game. He was also a cook, so I was able to get dope whenever I wanted.
I moved out of his apartment, quit my job, and my son and I moved back in with Jeff 120 miles away. We thought, as a family, we could beat this. We told no one what had happened.
Looking back, I had never intended to quit. I would drive and meet Ron to get dope after we moved. Finally, he just picked up and moved into hotels near me. We thought we were in love.
He taught me how to cook. He told me since I was a beautiful woman with no previous police record I would never get in trouble. I spent four months hiding and protecting my addiction. I would fake sleeping next to Jeff every night so he would think I was not using and I would pitch food away so he thought I was eating. We had our son put in daycare, because my family thought I was going to therapy and doctors for my problem. I made them believe my eating disorder was back. That's why I was loosing so much weight. I was living a double and lonely life.
The days weren't long enough. I could no longer live like this. I was shooting 2 grams a day, cooking in hotels, and when Jeff would go out of town for work I would cook at my house.
Finally, in November, Jeff found out everything. He put me in the car and drove me to my parents. They had planned an intervention. My whole family sat waiting for me in my parent’s living room. That night, I had Ron Pick me up at the end of the driveway and I ran.
I left my son to get high, and cook dope.
Meth made me believe I needed nothing else but it. Now, I have lost my car, my son and I told my whole family to f*ck off.
Ron told me he would take care of me. We would get ahead and I would get my son back. For eight weeks I injected about 3-4 grams of meth I made a day. I was never not high. I could not face the reality of what I had done to my family. My arms. legs and neck were bruised from stabbing my self. If I wasn’t cooking I was shopping for ingredients. I was the devil.
Ron would leave me all the time for days with no food, car or phone. It would be just me and the meth lab. I remained scared out of my mind daily. Still, never high enough.
Once, we thought I overdosed because I began bleeding out of my vagina everywhere -- it would not stop. Ron threw me in a car and dropped me off to a hospital. He left me there. He was so paranoid; he thought they would arrest him.
It turns out, the miscarriage I had two months prior was not fully finished which is why I was bleeding.
I got a cab, and went to the hotel, finished a cook and got high. I did not care if I died at this point. Ron came home and made me understand why he did what he did. I fell for it and we got high again.
We cooked just enough to feed our intense addiction and made enough money to throw another batch on. That's how we continued to live. We didn't go out. We ate every few days to keep our buzz on. At this point I was maybe 90 pounds and I couldn’t fit into adult clothes at Wal-Mart.
I missed my baby, but I was no longer worth being a mother, a daughter, a girlfriend, a friend. I was nothing and I wanted to get high until I died.
Ron has left me again -- he wouldn’t answer his phone for five days.
My arm was swollen because I have missed again and my bottom has hit. I took about four grams of dope and every water soluble pill in the house and put it in a needle. I said goodbye to my baby boy, and shot it in my arm. I wanted to die.
I woke up 18 hours later still alone. I surrendered myself to my family. They had a rehab all lined up waiting for me in Florida and I got on the plane two days later."
If you just read this story and can relate to Brandi's life than you know it's time to Get Help. Meth can destroy your life and if you don't stop, it can eventually kill you. We are here to help you! You don't have to hide your double and lonely life anymore.
Read More
What are the Risk Factors for Addiction?
- 12.14.2009
- -
Did you know more than 100,000 Americans die every year from alcoholism and drug addiction? The statistic is sad but true. Quitting an addiction isn’t as easy as some may think. People who are addicted to drugs and alcohol “have a real disease that’s caused by a combination of factors, including genetics, environmental influences, and behavior.” If you understand what causes alcoholism and drug addiction than you know what you need to do to reduce your chances of developing one of these severe disorders.
There are many risk factors to watch out for with alcoholism and drug addiction. Research has shown if someone in your family suffers from an addiction, you will be more likely to become an addict. The earlier a person starts using alcohol and drugs the more likely they will have a problem with addiction when they are older. The amount of drugs and alcohol your friends consume can be a strong influence on how much you consume. Many people use drugs and alcohol when they are overwhelmed and stressed out with life. People with depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder are more likely to use alcohol and drugs to self medicate. “Drugs that are smoked or injected into a vein are more likely to cause addiction because they produce a quick, powerful effect — they reach the brain sooner than drugs that are taken by mouth. This rapid "high" also fades faster, causing the person to need more and more of the substance to regain the pleasurable feeling.”
“People who have a parent or sibling with an addiction are two to four times more likely to become substance-dependent compared to somebody who does not have a relative with an addiction problem, says Marc Galanter, MD, director of the division of alcoholism and drug abuse at New York University Langone Medical Center and professor of psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine, both in New York City.”
Just because your parents have an addiction does not mean that you will have an addiction. Some people are more vulnerable to an addiction than others and the more risk factors that you have the more likely you will struggle with having an addiction too.
If addiction runs in your family, than the best thing to do is to avoid drugs and alcohol completely. Millions of people are addicted to drugs and alcohol. If you are worried that you may have a problem with alcohol and drugs, there are places to go for help. Contact us now. We specialize in treating people with addiction and we would love to help you.
Read More
There are many risk factors to watch out for with alcoholism and drug addiction. Research has shown if someone in your family suffers from an addiction, you will be more likely to become an addict. The earlier a person starts using alcohol and drugs the more likely they will have a problem with addiction when they are older. The amount of drugs and alcohol your friends consume can be a strong influence on how much you consume. Many people use drugs and alcohol when they are overwhelmed and stressed out with life. People with depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder are more likely to use alcohol and drugs to self medicate. “Drugs that are smoked or injected into a vein are more likely to cause addiction because they produce a quick, powerful effect — they reach the brain sooner than drugs that are taken by mouth. This rapid "high" also fades faster, causing the person to need more and more of the substance to regain the pleasurable feeling.”
“People who have a parent or sibling with an addiction are two to four times more likely to become substance-dependent compared to somebody who does not have a relative with an addiction problem, says Marc Galanter, MD, director of the division of alcoholism and drug abuse at New York University Langone Medical Center and professor of psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine, both in New York City.”
Just because your parents have an addiction does not mean that you will have an addiction. Some people are more vulnerable to an addiction than others and the more risk factors that you have the more likely you will struggle with having an addiction too.
If addiction runs in your family, than the best thing to do is to avoid drugs and alcohol completely. Millions of people are addicted to drugs and alcohol. If you are worried that you may have a problem with alcohol and drugs, there are places to go for help. Contact us now. We specialize in treating people with addiction and we would love to help you.
Read More
The Cause Behind Morphine Addiction
- 12.11.2009
- -
A recent study found new information that scientists believe might be the cause behind morphine addiction. “Scientists are adding additional brush strokes to the revolutionary new image now emerging for star-shaped cells called astrocytes in the brain and spinal cord. Their report, which suggests a key role for astrocytes in morphine's ability to relieve pain and cause addiction, appears online in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication.”
Scientists added morphine to a group of astrocytes, where the cells were grown under controlled conditions for several days. The study found the cells exposed to morphine increased nine proteins that have shown to play a strong role in supporting normal function of nerve cells.
After studying the function of the proteins in more detail they found a potential link of drug addiction. Do you have an addiction to morphine and need help to quit. Contact us now. You don’t have to do this alone. We are here to help you find a healthy, drug-free life.
Read More
Scientists added morphine to a group of astrocytes, where the cells were grown under controlled conditions for several days. The study found the cells exposed to morphine increased nine proteins that have shown to play a strong role in supporting normal function of nerve cells.
After studying the function of the proteins in more detail they found a potential link of drug addiction. Do you have an addiction to morphine and need help to quit. Contact us now. You don’t have to do this alone. We are here to help you find a healthy, drug-free life.
Read More
Addiction: Do I have a problem?
- 11.18.2009
- -
Have you ever tried something, want it all of the time, and can’t seem to quit? You might suffer from a serious addiction. What is an addiction anyway? “Addiction is a chronic, but treatable, brain disorder. People who are addicted cannot control their need for alcohol or other drugs, even in the face of negative health, social or legal consequences. This lack of control is the result of alcohol- or drug-induced changes in the brain. Those changes, in turn, cause behavior changes.” (HBO | Addiction)
Read More
1
Download our eBook
