Addiction Treatment Library

The authors of the articles found in the Addiction Treatment Library wrote them based on their own past active addictions, their addiction treatment experience and eventually becoming addiction treatment providers themselves. This unique combination of experiences can deliver insight into the world of addiction and treatment that can't be found in many places.

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Managing Heroin Detox Symptoms With Suboxone

Ideal candidates for heroin and other opiate addiction treatment with Suboxone® are individuals who have been objectively diagnosed with an opiate addiction, are willing to follow safety precautions for treatment, can be expected to comply with the treatment, have no contraindications to buprenorphine therapy and who agree to buprenorphine treatment after a review of treatment options. There are four phases of Suboxone® therapy: induction, stabilization, titration and treatment.

Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

Alcohol detox or withdrawal symptoms that are experienced by people who have stopped drinking alcohol abruptly ("cold turkey") can range from mild to life-threatening if not properly treated. The severity of these alcohol withdrawal symptoms is usually dependent upon how "alcohol dependent" the chronic drinker has become. Those who drink heavily on a daily basis of course have developed a high level of dependency on alcohol and will almost certainly experience at least some severe withdrawal symptoms, but even those who drink alcohol daily, but not heavily and those who drink alcohol heavily but not daily, can also be chemically dependent upon alcohol.

Crack Cocaine Addiction Treatment

Symptoms of cocaine addiction and withdrawal usually resolve completely over time with treatment. People experiencing cocaine withdrawal often attempt to self-medicate with alcohol, sedatives, hypnotics or anti-anxiety agents such as diazepam (Valium). Self-medication is not advised, because it simply shifts addiction from one substance to another.

Crystal Meth Addiction Treatment

Other side effects of crystal meth use include twitching, jitteriness, repetitive behavior (known as "tweaking") and jaw clenching or teeth grinding. It has been noted that methamphetamine addicts lose their teeth abnormally fast; this tooth loss may be due to jaw clenching, although heavy meth users also tend to neglect personal hygiene, such as brushing teeth. It is often claimed that smoking crystal meth speeds the tooth decay process by leaving a crystalline residue on the teeth and while this is apparently confirmed by dentists, no clinical studies have been done to investigate. This early tooth decay in the young is often referred to as "Meth Mouth or Meth Teeth".

Intervention Can Lead To Treating Addiction

The turmoil caused by practicing alcoholics and drug addicts can be considerable and it tends to get worse rather than better over any period of time. Addiction causes people who are not naturally that way to become progressively more self-centered, inconsiderate, dishonest, defensive and suspicious as time passes. They may experience unpredictable mood swings, outbursts of emotional and sometimes physical violence and make major decisions without any consideration. They begin to act like the proverbial loose cannon and can cause a great deal of destruction not only in their own lives but in the lives of those close to them. Such people are correctly said to be out of control and those who care about them often do not know what to do but stand helplessly by and watch as they create more chaos for themselves and everyone around them, praying that the outcome will not be legal problems, an institution, injury or death and that sooner rather than later he or she will hit bottom, come to his or her senses and either stop on their own or seek professional help. However, though he's roaring through other people's lives like a tornado, left to his own devices, it usually requires some type of very traumatic experience to get an alcoholic or addict to admit that there is even a chance a problem exists.

This article includes an Alcohol and Drug Addiction Intervention Outline

Types of Rehabs and Addiction Treatments

Examples of different levels of care are day treatment or outpatient care, where the client attends group and other recovery activities 3 or 4 hours per day and usually 3 to 5 days per week, detoxification that is normally inpatient and can be completed in 7 to 10 days for most substances with the exception of some synthetic opiates and short and long-term residential primary treatment. Most residential drug and alcohol rehabs are 21 to 45 days in length, though some long-term programs are a year or more in duration. Weekly out-patient aftercare groups can continue for 6 months to a year and usually focus on relapse prevention and "living life on life's terms".

Accessing Ethical and Reputable Addiction Treatment

Alcohol and drug addiction knows no geographic, age, gender or ethnic boundaries. It can strike anyone and everywhere! So one might argue that an addiction is an addiction and they all need to be treated the same. If it were only that simple! The disease of addiction is the only disease a person can have that tells you that you don't have it. Also, when an addict finally realizes that he does have a serious problem, this disease assures him it's going to be okay, just do some more and everything will be okay. Addiction is a cunning and baffling foe and your chances of beating it without help are slim to none.