Archive for the ‘Drug Rehab Hawaii’ Category

As of 2003, 77 alcohol treatment and drug rehabilitation centers in Hawaii served more than 3,000 patients.

Sea Shells - Big Island Recovery

State-funded institutions and private centers administer various drug rehab programs such as behavioral and cognitive therapies, long-term and short-term treatments, the 12-step program, and confinement to residential facilities.  However, majority of patients with drug dependence and alcoholism problems still prefer programs for an outpatient course of treatment.

The initial phase of most treatments is known as the detox program.  Through alcohol or drug detox, the patient is relieved from accumulated toxins.  The process usually results in physical discomfort but in due time, may help the body adjust from the withdrawal symptoms.   Interventions and counseling are also recommended.  The patients are normally advised to join support groups to sustain the progress.  Meanwhile, after-care treatments are also available to avoid relapse.

The success of any rehabilitation program lies on active participation of the patient and his family.  Although full-recovery is not an absolute guarantee, professional treatments help patients be more prepared to lead a normal life.  Call Hawaii Island Recovery
(866-906-6911) today for the help you deserve from people that are dedicated to your health and recovery.

Heroin is a semi-synthetic opioid heroin. It is highly addicted drug derived from morphine.

Common Room - Big Island Recovery

It was first processed in 1874 by C.R. Alder Wright, an English chemist can be used both for pain-killer and as recreational drug. Heroin frequently leaves its effects on addicts and and may quickly lead to other addictive behaviors. It is white to dark brown powder. It can be harmful to lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain.

There are many ways to take Heroin, it can be injected into vein, injected into a muscle, smoked in a water pipe or standard pipe, mixed in a marijuana joint or regular cigarette, inhaled as smoke through a straw, known as “chasing the dragon,” or snorted as powder via the nose.

These are the symptoms of heroin:

1. rush
2. pleasure
3. euphoria
4. nausea
5. comfort
6. lack of pain
7. happiness
8. drowsiness
9. warmth
10. heaviness
11. constipation
12. floating
13. blurriness
14. contentment
15. warm flushing of the skin
16. dry mouth
17. heavy extremities

It is considered illegal to manufacture or sell heroin in the United States.    Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of Read the rest of this entry »

Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug abuse.

Sunset - Big Island Recovery

They mistakenly view Drug Abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak.   One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior.   What people often underestimate is the complexity of drug addiction that it is a disease that impacts the brain and because of that, stopping drug abuse  is not simply a matter of willpower.

Through scientific advances we now know much more about how exactly drugs work in the brain, and we also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs and resume their productive lives. That is what we do here at Hawaii Island Recovery.  Helping people resume productive lives is our hope and desire. Call Hawaii Island Recovery’s office at 866-906-6911 now and start your journey to health and happiness.

You may be hooked emotionally and psychologically. You may have a physical dependence, too. If you have a drug addiction, you have intense cravings for the drug. You want to use it again and again. When you stop taking it, you may have unpleasant physical reactions.
While not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted, many people do. Drug addiction involves compulsively seeking to use a substance, regardless of the potentially negative social, psychological and physical consequences. Certain drugs are more likely to cause physical dependence than are others.
Breaking a drug addiction is difficult, but not impossible. Support from your doctor, family, friends and others who have a drug addiction, as well as inpatient or outpatient drug addiction treatment, may help you beat your drug dependence.
We art Hawaiiislandrecovery are here to help guide you to a safe and sane recovery. Call Michael Larroque at Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-906-6911 for the help you need.

Stimulants

As the name suggests, stimulants increase alertness, attention, and energy, as well as elevate blood pressure and increase heart rate and respiration. Stimulants historically were used to treat asthma and other respiratory problems, obesity, neurological disorders, and a variety of other ailments. But as their potential for abuse and addiction became apparent, the medical use of stimulants began to wane. Now, stimulants are prescribed for the treatment of only a few health conditions, including narcolepsy, ADHD, and depression that has not responded to other treatments.

Stimulants, such as dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine and Adderall) and methylphenidate (Ritalin and Concerta), have chemical structures similar to a family of key brain neurotransmitters called monoamines, which include norepinephrine and dopamine. Stimulants enhance the effects of these chemicals in the brain. Stimulants also increase blood pressure and heart rate, constrict blood vessels, increase blood glucose, and open up the pathways of the respiratory system. The increase in dopamine is associated with a sense of euphoria that can accompany the use of these drugs.

As with other drugs of abuse, it is possible for individuals to become dependent upon or addicted to many stimulants. Withdrawal symptoms associated with discontinuing stimulant use include fatigue, depression, and disturbance of sleep patterns. Repeated use of some stimulants over a short period can lead to feelings of hostility or paranoia. Further, taking high doses of a stimulant may result in dangerously high body temperature and an irregular heartbeat. There is also the potential for cardiovascular failure or lethal seizures.

Treatment of addiction to prescription stimulants is based on behavioral therapies that have proven effective in treating cocaine and methamphetamine addiction. At this time, there are no proven medications for the treatment of stimulant addiction. However, NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) is supporting a number of studies on potential medications for treating stimulant addiction.

Depending on the patient’s situation, the first steps in treating prescription stimulant addiction may be tapering the drug dosage and attempting to ease withdrawal symptoms. The detoxification process could then be followed by one of many behavioral therapies. Cognitive-behavioral therapy also is an effective treatment for addressing stimulant addiction. Finally, recovery support groups are helpful in conjunction with behavioral therapy.  Contact Michael Larroque at Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-515-5032 for additional information or help with prescription drug abuse.

If you are suffering from addiction please call Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-906-6911.

Substance-induced disorders are distinct from independent co-occurring mental disorders in that all or most of the psychiatric symptoms are the direct result of substance use. This is not to state that substance-induced disorders preclude co-occurring mental disorders, only that the specific symptom cluster at a specific point in time is more likely the result of substance use, abuse, intoxication, or withdrawal than of underlying mental illness. A client might even have both independent and substance-induced mental disorders. For example, a client may present with well-established independent and controlled bipolar disorder and alcohol dependence in remission, but the same client could be experiencing amphetamine-induced auditory hallucinations and paranoia from an amphetamine abuse relapse over the last 3 weeks.
Symptoms of substance-induced disorders run the gamut from mild anxiety and depression (these are the most common across all substances) to full-blown manic and other psychotic reactions (much less common). The “teeter-totter principle” i.e.,”what goes up must come down”is useful to predict what kind of syndrome or symptoms might be caused by what substances. For example, acute withdrawal symptoms from physiological depressants such as alcohol and benzodiazepines are hyperactivity, elevated blood pressure, agitation, and anxiety (i.e., the shakes). On the other hand, those who “crash” from stimulants are tired, withdrawn, and depressed. Virtually any substance taken in very large quantities over a long enough period can lead to a psychotic state.
Because clients vary greatly in how they respond to both intoxication and withdrawal given the same exposure to the same substance, and also because different substances may be taken at the same time, prediction of any particular substance-related syndrome has its limits. What is most important is to continue to evaluate psychiatric symptoms and their relationship to abstinence or ongoing substance abuse over time. Most substance-induced symptoms begin to improve within hours or days after substance use has stopped. Notable exceptions to this are psychotic symptoms caused by heavy and long-term amphetamine abuse and the dementia (problems with memory, concentration, and problem solving) caused by using substances directly toxic to the brain, which most commonly include alcohol, inhalants like gasoline, and again amphetamines.

Diagnoses of substance-induced mental disorders will typically be provisional and will require reevaluation sometimes repeatedly. Many apparent acute mental disorders may really be substance-induced disorders, such as in those clients who use substances and who are acutely suicidal.
Some people who have what appear to be substance-induced disorders may turn out to have both a substance-induced disorder and an independent mental disorder. For most people who are addicted to substances, drugs eventually become more important than jobs, friends, family, and even children. These changes in priorities often look, sound, and feel like a personality disorder, but diagnostic clarity regarding personality disorders in general is difficult, and in clients with substance-related disorders the true diagnostic picture might not emerge or reveal itself for weeks or months. Moreover, it is not unusual for the symptoms of a personality disorder to clear with abstinence sometimes even fairly early in recovery. Preexisting mood state, personal expectations, drug dosage, and environmental surroundings all warrant consideration in developing an understanding of how a particular client might experience a substance-induced disorder. Treatment of the substance use disorder and an abstinent period of weeks or months may be required for a definitive diagnosis of an independent, co-occurring mental disorder. Our substance abuse treatment program and clinical staff can concentrate on screening for mental disorders and determining the severity and acuity of symptoms, along with an understanding of the client’s support network and overall life situation.

The HAWAII ISLAND RECOVERY Drug Rehab program is an individualized and personalized treatment experience. Each client’s addiction treatment plan is formulated by all of our clinical staff, including our medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and addiction treatment professionals. We know that generalized programming is not always beneficial to clients and that the individual needs of client may vary. We focus on both addiction treatment and alcohol treatment, or one or the other if needed.

We believe that one-on-one treatment produces the best results. It is the rapport that develops between the client and the clinician that produces the most favorable results. Often clients have experienced trauma in their lives and this may be one of the many factors contributing to their drug and alcohol abuse. We provide a private, exclusive and comfortable environment in paradise (Hawaii) to begin healing from these issues. For more information call Michael Larroque at Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-906-6911.

Neurons are the building blocks of the nervous system. It is estimated that there are 100 billion neurons in the human brain. Neurons are complex and have many components. It is sometimes helpful to get an understanding of the brain and specifically neurons to get a clear picture of what drugs and alcohol do to the brain. Here’s some information on neurons:Glial Cells: Commonly called the “glue” of the neuron is the support structure of neurons. Glial cells provide neurons with nutrition, insulate them, and collect cellular debris when they die. Astrocytes form the physical support structure of the neuron. They also provide nutrients and clean up the debris around the neurons. Oligodentrocytes produce the insulation for the neuron (myelin sheath) in the central nervous system. Finally, Schwann cells produce the insulation for the neuron in the peripheral nervous system. Myelination increases the speed of axon transmission of action potentials and the myelination of various areas of the brain during development roughly parallels their functional development. Myelination of the sensory and motor areas occurs within the first year of life and myelination of the prefrontal cortex continues into adolescence and adulthood. This process can be highly effected by drug and alcohol abuse. Dendrites receive chemical messages from neighboring neurons. The Cell Body contains the nucleus (genes), mitochondria, ribosomes, etc… The Axon Hillock adds up the resulting chemical from neighboring neurons. The Axon transports electrical signals and chemical products of the cell body. The Presynaptic Bulb stores the chemical messengers that can bind to neighboring neurons. The Synapse is the junction between one neuron and a neighboring neuron. The neuron is made up of ions (Cations + and Anions -). With all the complexity of the brain and body, there are only 5 primary ions: Potassium Ions (K+) found in bananas, oranges, etc., Sodium Ions (Na +) found in salt, Chloride Ions (Cl-) found in salt, Calcium Ions (Ca+) found in milk, and protiens (A-) found in meats or produced by mitochondria cells. These Ions can pass through the Neuron Membrane (Differential Permeability) and the relative concentrations of ions on either side of the membrane create a dynamic equilibrium. The balance, or imbalance, of ions creates an electrical charge in the cell of roughly -70 mv. When a neuron is stimulated the electrical balance within the neuron changes and an action potential can be generated. An Action Potential is a sudden change in voltage in the neuron. An action potential is an all-or-none response. This means that the action potential does not vary and is generated when a voltage threshold is passed. It is the action potential that activates synaptic vesicles in the synaptic bulb to release neurotransmitters. Autoreceptors are proteins that regulate internal processes related to the production and release of neurotransmitters. They bind to their neuron’s own neurotransmitter receptor sites and it is these autoreceptors that are affected by external substances such as drugs. When autoreceptors are disrupted by drugs, neurotransmitters are disrupted. There is something called down-regulation and up-regulation of dendrite receptor sites. Down regulation is a process of decreasing the number of receptor sites due to excessive amounts of a neurotransmitter over an extended period of time (Cocaine for example, decreases the number of dopamine recpetors in the brain). Up Regulation is a process of increasing the number of receptor sites to the scarce amounts of a neurotransmitter over an extended period of time (Depression is thought to be an increase in the number of serotonin and norephinerine recpetors). Anti-depressants were developed with the processes of up-regulation and down-regulation in mind, no pun intended. Understanding the processes of the neuron and the neuron’s make up are an integral part of understanding how drugs can modify the brain.

If you are suffering from addiction please call Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-906-6911.