Our Views

It amazes me that when you search ‘drug detox’ online, the majority of listings you see are for people looking for something they can do to pass a test. They’ve been arrested on a DUI or are on probation, are on some kind of mandatory drug or alcohol treatment program – going to weekly or monthly meetings, and so on – and they know they can be tested at any time. But they’re not looking for drug detox to help them get off drugs or alcohol; they’re looking for some way to hide the problem.

Their lives have already been ruined to some extent – they may have been drinking or taking drugs and driving, for example. Their license is suspended, others are driving them to their treatment meetings, they probably already have problems with work or personal relationships – yet they’re not looking for help.

Unfortunately, the type of drug treatment program they’re involved in is not doing anything for them. A young friend of mine once got a DUI – his mandatory ‘treatment’ consisted of regular meetings in which, believe it or not, the counseling consisted largely of an instructor telling the group how to shop for food inexpensively (shop in the middle of the store – the items on the periphery and near the front of the store are more expensive) and how to make nourishing but cheap meals. Tuna casserole, for example.

It is any wonder why so many people fail at this type of drug or alcohol ‘treatment’ program? Obviously, they can see they’re not going to get the help they need so they simply resort to hiding the fact that they’re still taking drugs or drinking.

If you or someone you care about has gotten a DUI or is in some other situation where they’re looking for ‘drug detox’ so they can hide their substance abuse, make sure they get into a real drug detox program, and drug rehab, so they can get to the bottom of their problem.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Many people who are using drugs or alcohol try to stop on their own. Unfortunately, the symptoms of withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes life-threatening. No matter what kind of drug you’re taking, it’s always safer to consult a drug detox specialist to determine whether it’s safe to detox on your own.

What can happen? With most drugs, and with alcohol, you never really know. Different reactions occur with different people – depending on which drugs they’ve been taking, whether they’ve been combining drugs or alcohol with other drugs, how much they’ve taken, how long they’ve been using the drugs or drinking, what other problems they may be having physically, mentally or emotionally, and how their DNA affects their metabolism of the substances.

Symptoms can range from mild irritability and physical discomfort to not knowing where you are, having a very high fever, rapid heart beat or high blood pressure and severe seizures. And, yes, some of these are life-threatening.

An experience drug detox counselor can help you assess your situation and determine whether it’s safe to try to detox on your own. Without their advice, you could be taking your life into your hands. Don’t risk losing your life in the process of getting off drugs or alcohol. Contact a drug detox program counselor to ensure you will be safe.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Last week I posted a blog about the 15,000 people who die in nursing homes every year because they were given Zyprexa by their nursing home caregivers. Now that more at-home caregivers are learning about the dangers of Zyprexa, we hope they’re getting their loved ones into a medical drug detox program to get them off the drug safely before it’s too late.

But, you know, it occurred to me that if we want to kill off Americans, prescription drug addiction and dependency is probably one of the most economical ways to do it. It probably costs a lot less than going to war, for example.

Let’s see … so far, Iraq has cost the American taxpayer nearly $500 billion – that’s about $125 million per death, and in 3 ½ years in Iraq we’ve only managed to kill about one-quarter of the number of people that we kill in nursing homes with Zyprexa every year! Wow, that’s not very efficient.

Oh, wait a minute, we also got rid of one really bad guy with the Iraq money, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, some soldiers who were defending their country and lots of innocent bystanders – so, per death, it probably comes to a lot less that $125 million.

But, still, war costs a lot more than prescription drugs. We spend about $200 million every year just on bullets, and one Abrams tank costs about $4.35 million. We have about 8,000 of them.

That’s got to be a lot more expensive that killing us off with prescription drugs!

Let me see … I don’t know how much Eli Lilly spent on Viva Zyprexa, one of the campaigns that promoted Zyprexa for dementia and other off-label uses, but it apparently resulted in about 49,000 new prescriptions, which would earn Eli Lilly nearly $400 million if every one of those prescriptions went on for a year – they could afford to kill a lot more Americans with that $400 million.

Best of all, the expenses are paid by the drug companies – it doesn’t cost the American taxpayer a cent. Oh, wait, there is the cost of funerals. Oh, yeah, and there’s the cost of drug detox and rehab for those misfires that we don’t manage to kill. Still, it’s probably not as expensive as going to war.

Okay. Enough kidding around. But, you know what, it’s really no joke. Prescription drug addiction and dependency is now as big a problem as illegal drugs. Wise up.

You can start by getting your parent or loved one who’s diagnosed with dementia into a drug detox program to get them safely off the drug. Then get them a real medical physical and find if their dementia symptoms may be caused by real physical problems, as many are. Then start looking at other non-deadly solutions.

Popularity: 6% [?]

I read today that 22 million Americans are dependant on or addicted to prescription drugs. That’s the same number of people who are addicted to alcohol and illegal drugs, and brings the total number of people in the U.S. who need drug detox to 44 million. If they’re addicted and not just dependent, they’ll also need drug rehab.

What does this tell you? If nothing else, it should assure you that you’re not alone.

Many people with a prescription drug addiction or dependency problem are upstanding American citizens who became dependant on prescriptions drugs after being given them by their doctor – it never occurred to them, or possibly even the busy doctor, that they would become dependant or addicted.

Unfortunately, they often find it hard to admit they have a problem. After all, they’re just taking the drugs a doctor prescribed. They’re not ‘druggies.”

Nevertheless, 22 million more Americans are hooked.

The good news is: help is available through medical drug detox. Here’s what one attorney had to say about Novus Medical Detox Center:

“I am very happy I came here for my detox. I have been here at Novus for six nights now. I am on the backside of my recovery. I realized I needed more care than just detox to ensure I will not relapse. I legitimately want to stop using prescription drugs now. When I first got here, it was so uncomfortable that in all honesty I probably would have relapsed. Now, I am optimistic that I can do it.”

If you think you or someone you care about might have a prescription drug problem, contact Novus about a medical drug detox program today. They’ll tell you if you do have a problem and, if so, will help you figure out what to do about it.

Popularity: 4% [?]

President Bush announced in his state of the union address that $600 million will be spent on treatment for alcohol and drug abusers over the next three years. He said this will get treatment for 300,000 of the 22 million people who, according to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, currently need it. Not only does this not make a significant dent in the problem, it only allows about $2,000 per person – enough to get them through the least expensive treatment available instead of an effective drug detox and drug rehab program.

Let’s have a look at one alternative.

America invaded Iraq in March of 2003 and, in May of the same year, began post-invasion occupation. The invasion was motivated by Hussein’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction and alleged ties to al-Qaeda. Neither allegation turned out to be true, but American taxpayers have spent nearly $500 billion on Iraq so far – enough money to get every single person in the U.S. who abuses drugs and alcohol though medical drug detox and a long-term residential drug rehab program with a high success rate.

In addition to the huge boost in recovery, the estimated $276 billion per year in lost productivity, health care expenditures, crime, motor vehicle crashes and other conditions caused by drug and alcohol abuse would be returned to America’s coffers and, in about two years we would recover the money spent on treatment.

Can the benefits of overthrowing the Iraqi government possibly be compared to the benefits of getting every alcoholic and drug addict in America through a drug detox program and a successful drug rehab program? I don’t think so.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Jesse Mockler, a teacher in Hernando County, Florida, was recently arrested for DUI, drug trafficking, and possession of a drug without a prescription. As of this moment, he still has his job. You would think he’d at least be ordered to alcohol or drug detox, Florida has plenty of them, but, instead, he’s back in school teaching kids.

What’s in Mockler’s future? It’s hard to say. According to Wayne Alexander, school superintendent, there is no automatic dismissal for a teacher arrested for a first-degree felony – which these charges are. Mockler received a letter from the district’s director of labor relations stating that the district doesn’t intend to take any personnel action at this time, although they reserved the right to do so in the future.

One of the most alarming things about this is Mockler’s attitude. A newspaper article reported him as arguing with the police about them “giving him such a hard time” when “everybody drinks and drives.” He also refused a breathalyzer and told police that it doesn’t matter what he’s charged with because he’s got a good lawyer.

If you’ve got a kid in Powell Middle School, you might want to take some action. Mockler could be your child’s teacher.

This is apparently Mockler’s first teaching job – without a drug detox program and possibly rehab, it could be his last. At a time when drug use is so prevalent in schools that many are implementing random drug testing, we certainly don’t need teachers who create a negative influence.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Thousands of families at the dinner table today will be facing an empty chair – the chair of someone they wish they had been able to help. These are often family members who delayed getting their loved ones into drug detox or rehab. Many of them thought, or hoped, that the situation would somehow take care of itself – perhaps by the grace of God.

George W. Bush said in his official Thanksgiving address, “We give thanks to the Author of Life who granted our forefathers safe passage to this land, who gives every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth the gift of freedom, and who watches over our nation every day.”

The “Author of Life” means different things to different people, but one thing is certain: no matter what your religious views, the Author of Life helps those who help themselves. For a drug addict, that help comes in the form of drug detox and drug rehab.

Family members who took action, who helped themselves, have that loved one at their table today because they took matters into their own hands to ensure the person they love got into drug detox and rehab so they could live a normal, drug-free life.

If you or someone  you care about is addicted to drugs, don’t wait for God to do something about it – He may have given us life, but making the most of it is up to us. Help your loved one get the help he needs through a drug detox program so he, too, can live a full and happy life rich with reasons to give thanks.

Popularity: 3% [?]

One of our blog readers commented on one of our posts today – he said he thought drug addicts were scum, until he read something written by his brother, an addict. He included a link so others could read it. It describes the day to day life of an addict. His brother disappeared one day, and I don’t think our reader has seen him since. He talked about methadone treatment, and the promise of life being how it used to be. Well, if you don’t mind methadone addiction.

What people don’t seem to realize is that methadone treatment isn’t treatment – it’s addiction. It’s methadone addiction. Treatment is getting a person off drugs. Methadone treatment is getting the person addicted to methadone.

When you read this description of the hell an addict goes through every day just to get drugs, unable to do anything other than get drugs, you can see why methadone treatment would be appealing.

But the simple fact is this: this guy’s habit cost him $500 a day. If he can get $500 a day for drugs, he can get the money for drug detox and rehab. After he completed the right drug detox and rehab, he would think more clearly, be prouder of himself and be drug free. Instead he longs for a life of methadone addiction – one that seems relatively normal compared to life on street drugs. But don’t be fooled by it – an addict is an addict and no matter how different one drug seems from another, these drugs are dangerous. He could just as easily, if not more easily, die from methadone as he could from heroin or any of the other drugs the methadone is replacing.

If someone you care about is suffering with heroin addiction or addiction to any other drug, don’t let them go the methadone route. Methadone addiction and heroin addiction are one and the same – it’s only the packaging that makes them look different.

Popularity: 21% [?]

I read an article today about a new scheme going on in England that is somehow supposed to end heroin addiction. It’s the U.K.’s equivalent of safe injection sites, heroin addicts come to the sites to shoot up, but the government supplies the drugs. The article describes it as ‘part of a government backed experiment to help them get clean’, but no mention is made of heroin detox, drug rehab, or any other treatment that will end addiction.

The readers’ comments after the article are interesting – most people are all for it.  However, a few take exception to the program stating that cancer (or other illness) sufferers are unable to receive life saving treatment from the government because of an alleged lack of funds, that older people receiving social security are not being adequately taken care of, and that people who’ve been contributing members of society all their lives are being ignored while the government spends money to supply drug addicts with heroin.

Good point.

The most ridiculous thing about it is that it does nothing to end heroin addiction. Why isn’t the money being spent on drug detox centers and drug rehab programs that can get people through a heroin detox and then rehabilitated so they can end their heroin addiction?

One more weird solution to a problem that’s relatively simple to handle. The most difficult thing about getting a heroin addict off drugs is overcoming their unwillingness to do something about their problem. Obviously, the addicts enrolling in this program are ready for a change - why not make it a change that really counts? End their heroin addiction through heroin detox and drug rehab. Give them back their lives.

Popularity: 19% [?]

An estimated 15,000 people die in nursing homes every year as a result of being given antipsychotic medications to treat dementia. Many elderly people are also being given these drugs at home, so we can safely assume that the death toll is climbing in that setting as well. Both nursing home residents and those taking the drugs at home may need medical drug detox to get off the drug safely so medical practitioners and families can find other solutions.

The situation appears to be similar to that of OxyContin - although the FDA approved these drugs for use for some conditions in some patients, dementia in the elderly was not among them. In fact, in 2002, the FDA issued a black box warning regarding this use of the drugs after studies revealed that the death rate was increased by about 100%, according to Dr. David Graham, a prominent FDA drug safety expert.

Nevertheless, sales reps from Eli Lilly, the maker of Zyprexa, one of the drugs on which the black box warning was issued, formed a sales force of 280 reps who implemented confidential plans to promote use of the drug into this market. As a result, 15,000 people are dying in nursing homes alone, and even more probably need drug detox.

Are these drugs really necessary?

One nursing home doctor in Brooklyn didn’t think so. Dr. Louis Mudannayake of the 400-bed Cobble Hill Health Center decided to look for other solutions. He put together a team of pharmacists, social workers and recreational therapists to review every atypical antipsychotic prescription and the reasons behind it.

By implementing simple solutions like changing room assignments when one patient irritated another, or teaching a new aide how a patient likes to be taken care of, he was able to reduce the need for these drugs significantly.

If you have a loved one at home or in a nursing home taking Zyprexa or any similar drug – the same black box warnings were issued on Abilify, Seroquel, Risperdal, Clozaril, Geodon and Symbyax - contact a medical drug detox program that can help them withdraw from the drugs safely. And like Dr. Mudannayake, look for other, safer, solutions.

Popularity: 4% [?]