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At the end of 2011 a number of breakthroughs have occurred in the treatment of addiction. 

2011 saw the definition that addiction is a medical disease – a multi-decade effort made irrefutable by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) in conjunction with every other branch of medical science. There has been an emergence of research in 2011 underscoring the profound poisonous effects of ‘bath salts,’ ‘spice’, essentially 2 designer substances now illegal in all countries in Europe as well as the United States.

The most profound re-discovery is that there is no one cure for addiction – it’s clearly a very complex disease affecting the human body and brain in ways yet to be discovered.  The diverse branches of medical science will continue to discover and uncover the many ways that mood altering substances bombard the brain and body with toxicity as well as reveal a multitude of new ways we can heal from addiction.

Research was introduced confirming that children with high IQs are more likely to become addicted to illicit substances. This substantiates the belief among substance abuse specialists that addicts are typically bright, creative and exceptionally talented individuals.

The correlation between underweight and overweight teenagers and illicit drug use is confirmed.  Again, as the result of so much advertising and societal pressure we are given unhealthy messages about our body types, bizarre messages about what constitutes healthy food and very sparse information on preventing food and eating as mood altering behaviors for children, adolescents and adults.  However, there have been efforts by schools to limit – or even better eliminate – high sugar and high fat foods to students. 

Best Practices among addiction treatment programs now cite an increasing array of interventions.  While there is no one best path, there is a growing movement toward providing smaller scale treatment communities and more training and professionalism for practitioners.  2011 saw repeated research that the following therapies help addicts quit and stay quit: cognitive behavior approaches such as ‘Mentalizing’ and ‘DBT;’ holistic practices such as nutrition supplements like amino acid therapy, Yoga as virtually parallel in efficacy as SSRIs in treating depression and experiential therapy such as equine therapy and challenge courses continue to be extraordinarily insightful for people in addiction treatment.

2012 will be another year with more discoveries on treating addiction.  The breakthroughs in the neurochemistry of addiction have been exponential during the past decade and will continue as we learn more about the more subtle complexities of how our brains work.  More negative myths about addiction will be dispelled such as categorizing addiction as a moral or simply genetic dysfunction.  Strategies on healing the families and those affected by the addict will emerge as well as refining techniques already in practice.

In summation, it is clear that addiction treatment has advanced tremendously and will continue to progress through this decade.

Singer Amy Winehouse died at home on July 23, 2011, and for a while, the cause of her death was not clear. Drugs and alcohol were suspected causes at first, and then reports that the singer had attempted to detoxify from alcohol abuse on her own surfaced.

Finally, we know the reason for her death. Winehouse suffered from alcohol poisoning. Her blood alcohol level was five times the legal limit for driving, but there were no illegal drugs in her system. Additionally, the autopsy found that there were not large amounts of prescription drugs in her system that would cause or contribute to her death.

In the days leading up to her death, the singer had resumed drinking again. Winehouse’s doctor, Dr. Christina Romete, was following her progress and head even prescribed her the drug Libirium, which helps lessen the effects of withdrawal during alcohol addiction recovery. According to the coroner, Libirium played no role in her death.

Even though Winehouse was cleared of the suspected self-detoxifying, it is important to note that self-detox is not advised for those suffering from alcohol addiction. Often, it takes a team of doctors and specialists to address the needs that arise from alcohol addiction recovery.

At Vista Taos Renewal Center in New Mexico, teams are available to assist alcoholics in their recovery efforts. Here, the focus of recovery is individualized, and root causes of addictive behavior are identified and treated. Recovery can safely be achieved with assistance; without the help of a recovery center, the struggle to recover from alcohol addiction may be more difficult.

On 7 September 2011 the DEA banned mephedrone, MDPV, and methylone, also known and sold as Bath Salts and plant food. It’s chemical name methylenedioxypyrovalerone, and newer pyrovalerone derivatives, is essentially speed.  Speed, meth, amphetamines, Ecstasy are highly addictive and quite simply very bad for human and animal consumption.  They have no medicinal value.

Methyl derivatives come from theme and variation of the molecular compound of amphetamine, adding hydrogen and carbon molecules on a skeletal structure to create slightly different forms of speed.  The compounds are extremely dangerous to the human brain and the human body.  Unfortunately, the effect on the human brain and body initially inspires euphoria with increased energy and stamina not obtainable by any natural way.  The effect is alluring and embracing, the side effects are profoundly dangerous and permanently damaging.

The variation of methyl compounds exceeds the rate of state or federal regulations to ban or prohibit these different variations until now that the DEA imposed the Schedule 1 prohibition.  The boom of Bath Salts came legally selling a highly toxic mood altering substance – marketing their product as plant food and of course bath salts. 

Effects of these methylamphetamines appear as agitation, psychosis, attempts at suicide, hallucinations, chest pains, bizarre behavior, compulsive behavior, irrational thinking and death.  How much a person consumes, the purity of the methyl structure and the individual’s response is so wildly unpredictable it took but a month before the negative effects of these Bath Salts were flooding emergency departments across the country.  The brain damage – especially cognitive thinking- remains profound for long periods of time after one stops ingesting the substance.

There are always two larger questions:  What drives humans to consistently pursue getting high to the point that they become suicidal?  What does treatment do to help people recover from the devastating effects of designer drugs? 

The first question has no simple or brief response; humans are designed to enjoy feeling good and for 10%  to 25% of the population people are prone to feeling good ALL of the time no matter what.  Treatment helps stabilize people – bringing them back to reality and giving them ways to cope with the normal, and not so normal, ups and downs that life gives us.  Treatment gives people 12 step recovery, guides to trusting a recovery and healing process that no drug or chemical can offer.  Treatment offers people the chance to sincerely bond with others to find a depth of happiness and closeness not otherwise obtainable.

Sam Darcy
Executive Director
Vista Taos Renewal Center

References:
Laural J Martin, MD (Editor webMD.com)
Petros Levounis, MD (Addiction Inst of N.Y.)
Zane Horowitz, MD (Oregon Poison Control)

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise in seniors and disabled beneficiaries who use the Medicare program. It was recently reported that this abuse cost the program nearly $150 million in 2008. In the report, it shows that some patients went to at least five doctors in order to receive multiple prescriptions for drugs that are often misused or abused. These are drugs on the FDA “Controlled Substances” list. They are prescription drugs like: Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet, Xanax and Valium.

About 170,000 individuals enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription program were found to be “doctor shopping” for drugs ranging from oxycodone to hydrocodone. That means that approximately 1.8 percent of the total 43 million Medicare patients had these prescriptions. The study was started in 2010, using the data obtained in 2008.

One shocking example shows a patient who received prescriptions from 87 different doctors in a single year. That means some patients have gone to great lengths to have the government feed their drug addiction and need for these medications. Not only are these patients taking advantage of the system, but they are also fueling an addiction to medications that will ultimately land them in trouble.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have also been receiving many complaints lately regarding this type of drug abuse. When CMS receives these complaints, they then notify doctors about patients who could be abusing prescription drugs in order to stop abuse on their end. Prescription drug abuse is very dangerous and many people believe just because a doctor writes a prescription that it makes it okay to for them to ingest. This is far from the case and can lead to deadly consequences.

If you or a loved one needs help with prescription drug abuse, please contact Vista Taos Renewal Center today. They are a holistic drug abuse treatment center located 85 miles north of Santa Fe in New Mexico that can help anyone and everyone get their life back on track. Now is the time to get help and live a better life.

A new bilingual helpline was recently created by drugfree.org to aid parents and families who may not have access to other resources in dealing with family members who might be struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction. Many parents struggle with how to educate their children on the dangers of substance abuse. It is never an easy process and parents need as many resources as they can get in order to know what their kids might be involved in and how they can help them stay drug-free. Remember: start talking about the dangers of drugs and alcohol now. The sooner the better, but it’s never too late!

This new toll-free hotline for parents, 1-855-DRUGFREE – (1-855-378-4373), is staffed by social workers with sensible experience in substance abuse intervention and drug treatment. The social workers will offer advice on how to help parents plan a course of action when dealing with a child who is struggling from an addiction as well as supply them with resources and treatment facilities that are local to where the family is living.

It must be noted that this hotline is not a 24-hour crisis line, but it will be staffed and open Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm EST. Through this, the staff is able to work with parents to understand the unique needs of their children so that they can then help them find drug treatment options while promoting support and family involvement through their recovery process. Helping a child dealing with substance abuse is never an easy process and takes a lot of support for the parents and the child. At Vista Taos, the upmost drug treatment care is provided to those struggling with the disease of addiction. Now is the time to seek help in healing our youth and educating them on the positives of leading a drug-free life.  If you are 18 years of age or older and need help with addiction, Vista Taos can help you.

Doctors have possibly been prescribing the wrong medicines for the wrong conditions, including drug and alcohol abuse. Those seeking treatment for drug and alcohol abuse from general psychiatrists rather than specialists in rehabilitation centers like Vista Taos have often been prescribed antipsychotic drugs.

These antipsychotics have been used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with satisfactory results. However, when the drugs containing risperidone (which include the brand names Risperdal, Abilify, Zyprexa and Seroquel) are prescribed for drug and alcohol abuse, they do not effectively treat the patients.

In fact, the side effects of risperidone-based drugs include stroke, tremors, weight gain and fatigue. When the drug is not effectively treating drug and alcohol abuse and is producing unwanted side effects, it is a wonder that psychiatrists would prescribe it to those whom it does not benefit.

Unfortunately, psychiatrists may just be grasping at straws when they prescribe these antipsychotic drugs to addicts. Those unfamiliar with drug and alcohol abuse treatment can sometimes prescribe medications as a trial and error, which can prove to be very difficult for addicts hoping to recover.

Rehabilitation centers like Vista Taos of New Mexico, however, are well-versed in drug and alcohol abuse treatments that work well. At Vista Taos Renewal Clinic, for example, the rehabilitation center focuses on treating the whole person, including any underlying issues. Treatments include individualized counseling, family counseling and after care services. 

When weighing your options in alcohol and drug abuse treatment, you may wish to consider rehabilitation centers over general psychiatric help. Those trained to treat drug and alcohol addictions can often better treat your addictions.

Addiction treatment might be experiencing a change in how to treat it. Dr. Kim Janda, a San Diego-based chemist, has spent the last 25 years working on a vaccine that will help to eliminate addictions such as smoking cigarettes or using cocaine. This would basically mean that when a person consumed his or her drug of choice, that they would feel nothing from the experience, thus eliminating the urge to use again.

Dr. Janda claims the vaccines are not imminent but are well on their way to being developed to help those struggling with addiction. He explained that the vaccine would be administered after someone finds themselves addicted to a substance that they cannot let go of, and that it would be designed to make the immune system create antibodies that would shut down the narcotic before it was able to take control of the body or brain.

Dr. Janda has already run trials with cocaine addicts who have been injected with one of his vaccines and then snorted cocaine. The participants said the coke tasted “dirty” and they did not get the high they would usually get from using this drug. Dr. Janda feels that attitudes have changed toward addiction treatment and that doctors are becoming more willing to promote medical solutions to drug problems in the United States. While the thought of such a vaccine coming onto the market might sound great, it might not be the solution for everyone.

Struggling with an addiction can be life-draining and the help for addicts needs to be provided quickly in order to help save their lives and get them back on the right track to leading a sober life.  If you or a loved one is struggling with an addiction, contact Vista Taos today for answers on how this struggle can become a distant memory. Medical-based treatment is a good option, but it may not be enough. New Mexico’s Vista Taos Clinic focuses on more ways to cope with addiction, not just western medicine. Learn how holistic care can be the solution to tread substance abuse.

Earlier this year, law enforcement officials disclosed the amount of drugs seized in an Austin, Texas raid. The drugs seized were only a small part of the total amount transported in a huge drug-trafficking operation.

The Texas Syndicate gang has run a mega-sized drug trafficking operation, often transporting up to 20 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and a half ton of marijuana each month. The gang focused on transporting the drugs from Mexico to Austin, Texas via Interstate 35. From there, the drugs were distributed to many other locations in America.

This Austin, Texas news has led to a greater awareness of the problems faced in methamphetamine addiction. Also known by its shorter name Crystal Meth, the drug creates a chemical imbalance in the user. Used properly as part of a medical treatment for ADHD or obesity, this can provide energy, alertness and concentration for those who have a legitimate need for this medicine

However, when the drug is abused, it can lead to methamphetamine addiction, severe psychosis, hallucinations, cardiovascular damage and “meth mouth,” a severe deterioration of the user’s teeth. In addition, the methamphetamine addiction can be very difficult to break; the withdrawal period can last several months to a year, making it harder for the user to resist the drug.

At Vista Taos Renewal Center, the approach for methamphetamine addiction recovery centers around more than just drug treatments. The holistic approach focuses on both the addiction and the underlying reasons that instigated the addiction; healing the whole person, not just the methamphetamine addiction. Vista Taos’ clinic is located in New Mexico; it can cater to persons in the Austin Texas area looking for help with drug or alcohol addiction.

Recently, Bob Forrest, a long-time recovered addict and also one of the creators of the show, Celebrity Rehab, opened up about his thoughts on creating a reality show about celebrities going through addiction rehabilitation. He claims when he first created the show, he wanted people to see how difficult battling an addiction can be and that the rehabilitation process is not a joke, but a serious process. He hoped that by showing the process to America, that it would bring more empathy and a different perspective to those who struggle with addictions.

When someone is suffering from a problem with substance abuse, their lives are usually slowly falling apart before their eyes. So when someone makes the decision to get better and gain their lives back by going to addiction rehabilitation, the last thing they need is to be on display for all to see as they wean themselves off drugs and try to get their lives back.

Forrest is seen on Celebrity Rehab as one of the counselors to the celebrity patients on the show and works with the patients during group therapy. He now states the show has not turned out the way he thought it would and that the editing of the show is skewed. The tragic fact is two celebrities featured on this show have lost their lives through their addiction struggle, while others are still very publicly battling drug addiction. This can only lead to one conclusion, that documenting addiction rehabilitation is not a good idea and is the wrong way to truly try and get better and become drug-free. If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, contact Vista Taos Renewal Center for more information on a healthy way to get sober and live a better life free of drugs. Private, peaceful rehabilitation is what Vista Taos’ New Mexico clinic is offering; it is the best choice for drug treatment because you are allowed to be yourself and heal without the watchful eye of media, strangers or producers.

Going to jail, a treatment center or dying are three of the promises that active addiction gives a person.  In just the past 2 weeks Amy Winehouse, Teen Mom Jenelle Evans, rapper Big Boi are just a few of the bringing focus on the perils of life in drug addiction.  There’s a better life in recovery.

Whether a person is trying to enhance their feeling of euphoria or using to manipulate their mood, those whose use attracts public attention, a notice in the newspaper or the negative attention of family, colleagues and friends has got a problem.  Drug addiction knows no economic boundary, there are no geographical borders and celebrity, fame and fortune can be catastrophic as opposed to bringing on happiness.  Drug celebrities addiction ceases to be ecstatic and for too many – nearly 1 in 4 deaths can be attributed to substance use and drug addiction.  Those of us who work in the addiction treatment field witness the success of thousands as they commit to recovery and sobriety – a life second to none.

Drug addiction comes with built-in denial so the addict is not aware of the depth or seriousness of their addiction.  Riding the high of celebrity is not typically a death wish. But fame is hard to handle and chasing the illusion that all pain and anguish can be erased by money, popularity and taking in mood altering drugs has been the demise of some of our most talented performers, from as long ago as Lenny Bruce, Elvis, Judy Garland, Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin to more recently the overdose of Heath Ledger.

Addiction is deadly, but there’s hope and there’s a way of life in recovery that truly works to restore happiness and sanity.  In more recent years, many public figures have gone public with their sobriety hoping to obliterate the stigma of addiction and help others break down their denial.

Vista Taos Renewal Center provides a place for addicts to conquer their addiction and save their lives. Happiness can be restored without having to kill yourself finding it;  call Vista Taos today and get the help you need.