Help available to addicts seeking recovery, though space sometimes limited in …
Detoxification facilities where patients have brief stays while going through drug withdrawal are available at Providence Behavioral Health and the Carlson Recovery Center in Springfield, Roose said. They have 30 beds each. Roose said the Holyoke … Read more on GazetteNET

Doctor struck off over care given to patient who overdosed in rehab
A doctor has been struck off for failing to provide good clinical care to a patient who died of a drug overdose. Dr Lal Sharma was contracted to work part-time at Castle Craig Hospital, a drug and alcohol dependence clinic near Peebles in the Borders … Read more on stv.tv

Parents' distraught after delayed custody hearings keep daughter in hospital …
'Hopefully Justina will now get the treatment she needs. Her health is very fragile and it is feared it will take years for her to recover from this ordeal, mentally as well as physically.' Ex Boston Children's Hospital nurse Kathy Higgins wrote a … Read more on Daily Mail

Question by Taylor: Alcohol problem…medical forms?
I’m 30 and after alcohol causing problems in dental school and with my husband, my mother crying over the phone pleading with me to stop as well as potentially contributing to my chronic hypertension, I decided to try to stop drinking. I have been a daily drinker for 5 years, and over the past 2 years, there has been a fairly drastic increase. I have been drinking 5-8 drinks per night on average for the past year.

Because of bad reactions with the meds I’m taking (for insomnia and high BP), with alcohol it was recommended that I stop the alcohol. The cravings were terrible over the next month and I was NOT fun to live with… irritable, unable to sleep and generally angry… not attractive… Many times I couldn’t think of anything else but drinking. I went back to drinking once after 33 days for 2 days and then my MD prescribed me Naltrexone. It is helping a little. I still crave, but it is very blunted and manageable.

In a few months, I will have to fill out a form for a residency program in dentistry. One of the questions asks if I have ever been treated for substance abuse or chemical dependence. I have never been to rehab or counseling, but I have medication for alcohol dependence.

Does this count as “treatment?” If so, would you disclose it to a place that is about to employ you for a year? Thank you.

Best answer:

Answer by Tsunami
you have to if you don’t and they find out you will be fired. you just stop it and dont’ drink you need AAA and you need to get a grip on this mess. its sounding really bad and you need to stop and get on with your life. its sad but what you are having a withdrawals and that is what happends when you drink every day and don’t stop.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Woman who drove two miles through a LA suburb with a dying man on her …
… pronounced dead at the hospital. Wilkins, a former addict who became a drug and alcohol counselor, wept and said she'd been drinking that night but wasn't drunk. … On trial: Sherri Wilkins, a substance abuse counselor, appears in Los Angeles … Read more on Daily Mail

NRL player refused bail pending appeal
Mr Thomas said Packer had a long history of alcohol abuse for which he needed to receive immediate treatment at a residential rehabilitation program. Packer told the court he had been in segregation during his first two weeks in jail and had not … Read more on Yahoo!7 News

Bad boy? 'Belieb' it or not
The early headlines could hardly have been more alarming: Bieber was alleged to have been racing a Lamborghini against a souped-up Ferrari driven by a friend, down a quiet residential street. Both cars had been rented while Bieber, who lives in … Read more on The Australian

Missouri addiction treatment employees charged after refusing police admission …
have been charged in St. Charles County Court with “interference with legal process” for actions they took in November when, under provisions of 42 CFR Part 2 – the law that protects the confidentiality of patients involved in designated substance … Read more on www.behavioral.net

Question by Restart: element of successful programs for women?
“Needs of women offenders are different because of their
disproportionate victimization from sexual or physical abuse” as well as their responsibilities
for their children. Which of the following is not a key element of successful programs for
these women?
a. Program staff should include women who are former addicts to serve as role models.
b. Programs should address self-esteem, domestic violence and empowerment.
c. Inmates must not help run the programs.
d. Participants need to acquire job skills, parenting skills and anger management
techniques.

Best answer:

Answer by Lynn
a : Are U crazy ? They’re going to traffic drugs into the institution.

b : Yes

c : Absolutely RIGHT

d : Yes

Give your answer to this question below!

Rich Jones: Begin the journey to recovery from addiction
The economic costs associated with addiction in America have been estimated at about $ 366 billion (National Institute of Drug Abuse), with $ 181 billion in healthcare costs alone. Since there are 23 million people with a substance use disorder in … Read more on Greenville News

Long Beach Substance Abuse Foundation offers hope to addicts
Sixteen years later, at the age of 55, he is the marketing director of the Substance Abuse Foundation, a place where he met his wife, Kathy Romo, executive director of the 25-year-old nonprofit recovery center located at 3125 E. Seventh St. “If you … Read more on Long Beach Press-Telegram

Drug abuse centres to get £10m boost
Rosanna O'Connor, PHE director of alcohol and drugs said: “Tackling substance misuse is a major priority for Public Health England. Treatment services are for many the first step on the road to recovery from drug or alcohol dependence. “We are … Read more on Nursing in Practice

Arad Ltd. : Interactive 360 Donates Services to Support Local Drug and Alcohol …
Their mission is to provide affordable 30-day residential treatment for alcohol or drug addiction to Amarillo and the surrounding Panhandle area to those who otherwise could not afford these services due to various circumstances. Before ARAD , no such … Read more on 4-traders (press release)

Clinical trial indicates gabapentin is safe and effective for treating alcohol …
The generic drug gabapentin, which is already widely prescribed for epilepsy and some kinds of pain, appears to be safe and effective in the treatment of alcohol dependence. The finding comes from a 150-patient randomized, placebo-controlled, double … Read more on The Almagest

Question by HREPrincess: Does “abuse” by another cause a person to have a psychiatric disorder? What is the diagnosis in this case?
I’m writing about an individual who was oppressed, abused, ridiculed, and neglected during childhood to the point of not talking and hiding (even as a child of 2 or 3 hid in a closet to avoid the mother). This continued to some extent into teenage years. Many mistakes were made and opportunities lost even as an adult. The person is now able to join in conversations without the “tremendous” fear that was present in past years, joins in group activities, etc., but is still somewhat socially withdrawn. This person was “damaged” by another, but is this a psychiatric disorder? The person is very intelligent (IQ 150+) and has no problem conversing about common interests. One otherwise would not be aware of the problem just to observe from a distance. This is definitely not Asperger’s. What is the diagnosis?

Best answer:

Answer by bmac
The person does not have a mental illness based on what you’ve said. Many people have been through that as children and have problems even after becoming adults. It does require counseling/therapy, though. No pill is going to help that.

What do you think? Answer below!

Amphetamine abuse the leading problem for people seeking treatment for drug …
It all began when she started abusing alcohol and drugs when she was 13. "When I was younger it was more of like a social thing; all of my friends were doing it. So I went along with the crowd, I guess. We used to smoke pot at school, and we'd also … Read more on ABC Online

Confirmed: Gabapentin Improves Alcohol Dependence Outcomes
… patients published just last month, in which a 12-week regimen of oral gabapentin 900 mg or 1800 mg per day and concomitant counseling showed efficacy in treating alcohol dependence and relapse-related symptoms of insomnia, dysphoria, and craving, … Read more on Medscape

Question by Angie: Will medicaid pay for alcohol rehab in Utah?
If you had a brother, sister, son, or daughter that needs help. Would you do anything you could to help them? This is a disease!

Best answer:

Answer by raysny
No. Although alcoholism is considered a disease by some, it is treated as a behavior by the government.

http://askjan.org/media/alcohol.html#ADA

Most rehabs are 12step-based, based on AA. Rehabs have a slightly better success rate than Alcoholics Anonymous which is estimated to be about 5%, the same as no treatment at all. People who fail in AA and 12step facilitation tend to fall harder than those who were not exposed to 12step treatment, which teaches people they are powerless to do anything about their addiction, that even God cannot cure alcoholism, only grant a daily reprieve from the desire to drink.

Dr. Brandsma found that A.A. increased the rate of binge drinking, and
Dr. Ditman found that A.A. increased the rate of rearrests for public drunkenness, and
Dr. Walsh found that “free A.A.” made later hospitalization more expensive, and
Doctors Orford and Edwards found that having a doctor talk to the patient for just one hour was just as effective as a whole year of A.A.-based treatment.
Dr. George E. Vaillant, the A.A. Trustee, found that A.A. treatment was completely ineffective, and raised the death rate in alcoholics. No other way of treating alcoholics produced such a high death rate as did Alcoholics Anonymous.
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-letters85.html

What works? A summary of alcohol treatment research:
http://www.behaviortherapy.com/whatworks.htm

“About 75 percent of persons who recover from alcohol dependence do so without seeking any kind of help, including specialty alcohol (rehab) programs and AA. Only 13 percent of people with alcohol dependence ever receive specialty alcohol treatment.”
Alcoholism Isn’t What It Used To Be:
http://www.spectrum.niaaa.nih.gov/features/alcoholism.aspx

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!