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The dangers of Ativan and alcohol

Lorazepam (Avitan) is an extremely powerful sedative/hypnotic drug.

It is often prescribed to people who suffer from severe anxiety or panic attacks. It is also used to help patients sleep through surgery.

It works by suppressing your central nervous system enough to make you feel relaxed. In other words, it slows down your body’s functions so that you can sleep better. Side effects include dizziness, drowsiness, disorientation, and feeling sleepy. Alcohol affects the same neurotransmitters as Ativan does, including GABA.

This rapid onset of effect is due to Ativan’s short half-life. It’s metabolized by the body quickly and achieves peak blood level within an hour. Therefore, it is one of the fastest acting oral benzodiazepines around and arguably more addictive than other benzodiazepines.
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Xanax and addiction

Alprazolam (Xanax) is a benzodiazepine tranquilizer drug, which is used to treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic attacks.

This sedative medication helps people suffering from severe anxiety in specific situations, such as public speaking, driving, flying, or any situation where they feel extremely stressed out.

Withdrawal from Xanax can take weeks, months, or longer. Symptoms vary by person and depend on how much was taken, how often, and how long ago. Some people experience no symptoms; others may feel sick, anxious, depressed, irritable, restless, weak, or shaky. Sometimes, people who stop taking Xanax suddenly develop physical reactions such as sweating, shaking, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, muscle aches, cramps, headaches, dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, seizures, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, breathing problems, and fainting spells. These reactions are called acute withdrawal symptoms. Longer-term withdrawal symptoms include depression, anxiety, restlessness, fatigue, weight gain, trouble sleeping, memory loss, decreased appetite, and difficulty concentrating.
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Benzos and being cautious

Benzodiazepines can relieve anxiety and sleep disorders. But they are powerful and must be used carefully to avoid addiction.

They may also increase tolerance to opiates and cause dependence. When mixed with alcohol or illicit substances, these medications can be highly dangerous because they slow breathing and reduce alertness. In overdose situations, people often experience seizures, coma, and death.

Benzodiazepines have a high potential for abuse and dependence. They may produce severe physical and psychological dependence if used regularly. Physical signs include muscle stiffness, slurred speech, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, insomnia, and excessive sweating. Psychological signs include irritability, aggression, agitation, panic attacks, paranoia, depression, suicidal thoughts, and psychosis.
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Vivitrol and addiction recovery

For those suffering from substance abuse, the road to recovery may be full of challenges.

However, one treatment option that works is MAT with Vivitrol. With Vivitrol, you get a monthly injection that helps reduce cravings and prevents relapse. You also get support through counseling and group therapy sessions.

Before beginning addiction treatment with Vivitrol, you should undergo medical detoxification to eliminate any alcohol or opiate substances from your body. Because Vivitrol may trigger severe withdrawal symptoms, it’s essential to be drug-free for at least seven to fourteen days prior to beginning therapy.
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The truth about Suboxone for opiate addiction

Suboxone, an oral drug used to treat opioid dependence, contains both buprenorphine (a partial agonist) and naloxone (an antagonist).

Buprenorphine binds to mu receptors, causing euphoria and sedation; however, it does not bind to kappa receptors, which cause hallucinations. Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids, including those caused by buprenorphine. Thus, if someone takes suboxone and then ingests heroin, the heroin will not produce any effect because naloxone will block it. However, if someone who is already high on heroin consumes suboxone, they may experience withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, muscle aches, fever, chills, sweating, goose bumps, yawning, shivering, malaise, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, lightheadedness, weakness, fatigue, insomnia, restlessness, irritability, anxiety, nervousness, tremor, tachycardia, palpitations, shortness of breath, increased blood pressure, blurred vision, confusion, delirium, seizures, coma, respiratory depression, bradycardia, or even cardiac arrest.
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Why group therapy works

More often than not we are left alone with the problems we face.

We try and tackle these problems all by ourselves. When we find ourselves in trouble, we may turn to our closest friends or family members to help us out. Sometimes this helps, but a lot of times it doesn’t. A lot of people who are close to us may not know how to deal with us or they may not really care about helping us. They may even tell us what we should do instead of just letting us talk. That is why support group meetings were created.
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