Our Views

Dealers of illegal drugs are definitely a danger to American society, but are they public enemy number one? No, the most dangerous drug pushers are the drug companies. And, fortunately, more and more people are beginning to realize it as their friends and family member admit themselves to drug detox centers or, worse, ruin their lives or end up in the morgue.

About 10,000 people in the U.S. die from illegal drugs every year, but according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 106,000 hospital patients die every year from drugs that were properly prescribed and administered.

An article in Newsweek said death from prescription drugs - taken exactly as they were prescribed by the doctor - is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. Only heart disease, cancer and stroke kill more people.

According to another recent article, the American Medical Association said that drug- related problems kill as many as 198,815 people every year, put 8.8 million in hospitals, and account for up to 28% of hospital admissions. That’s scary.

Another article in the Archives of Internal Medicine said that the number of “serious events” involving prescription drugs increased at four times the rate of the prescriptions being written.

Many prescription drugs – painkillers and tranquilizers are the big ones – have also found their way onto the street and are not only sending more and more people to drug detox and drug rehab, they’re killing more people than illegal drugs.

How can you avoid being one of the people in these statistics? Consult with a medical professional who would rather see you off drugs than on them - a good medical drug detox program counselor can probably help you find one – and see if you can safely get off the drugs you’re taking and find a safer solution to your problems.

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Officials in Casper, Wyoming have been waging a war on methamphetamine for some time now and they’ve run a very successful campaign: Local citizens now see meth as “an evil.” However, methamphetamine has now been replaced by prescription drugs – which are even more dangerous and more difficult to control than meth. Drug education and prevention are being boosted to help the situation, but more drug detox facilities are also needed to handle the problem.

Why are prescription drugs more dangerous than methamphetamine? From the viewpoint of the Wyoming officials it’s because they’re easier to get and harder to detect: While meth leaves a trail of raw materials, labs, equipment and dealers, prescription drugs are found in seemingly innocent medicine cabinets. And if you can’t find them there, it’s easy enough to get them from a doctor - all you really have to do is complain about pain, anxiety or any one of a number of other symptoms.

Another major reason why prescription drugs are dangerous is that people think they’re safe in taking them. How dangerous can a drug be when you get it from your doctor? The truth be told, prescription drug addiction, dependency and abuse are on a par with street drugs, and many people got hooked on them when their doctor gave them a prescription. Now their lives are being ruined.
 
Since law enforcement is going to have a hard time fixing this problem, it’s going to be up to every citizen to do something about it. Start by locking your own medicine cabinet or, if you’re one of the people with a problem with prescription drug addiction or dependency, call a medical drug detox program to help you get off them and live drug free.

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I’ve heard that in parts of China, doctors are only paid when their patients are healthy: the rationale being that their job is to keep us healthy and, if we’re not, they don’t deserve to get paid. I honestly don’t know if this is true or not, but the concept is appealing. Unfortunately, those demands made on U.S. medical professionals would send many of them straight to bankruptcy court. Our system seems to rely primarily on giving people drugs to relieve their symptoms – drugs which often cause other health problems and sometimes lead to addiction and dependency which, in turn, leads to the need for drug detox and maybe rehab.

Not too good.

What’s the basic difference between our U.S. health care system and those in many other parts of the world? We are primarily oriented towards treating illness, not preventing it. In that regard, we can do some pretty miraculous things. But, unfortunately, most of those miracles don’t happen until we’re closer to our death bed than we want to be.

How do you achieve ‘wellness’ rather than merely being free of an identifiable disease? One pivotal step may be getting off prescription drugs. Unless those drugs truly are life-sustaining, it’s always a good idea to find out if there is a drug-free alternative to what ails you. It may not be as easy as taking a pill – it might require exercise, healthy eating, and so on – but it will be safer. And you’ll have a much better chance of never really contracting a disease.

Personally, I’d like to be one of those 75 year olds out there running marathons. If you want to achieve that, don’t go the prescription drug route unless it’s vital. If you’re already taking them, contact a medical drug detox program to determine whether you need drug detox to get off them. If you’re not taking drugs and your doctor recommends one, ask him if there are any other solutions. And before you take no for an answer, get a second opinion.

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Drugs Kill. You’ve probably seen that on bumper stickers and T-shirts. And you’ve probably thought the same thing many other people think about guns – guns don’t kill people, people kill people. While it’s true that we have the option to take drugs or not – especially when we’re talking about street drugs – just as we have the option to pick up a gun, or not, the fact is that people prescribed drugs by their doctor are sometimes completely unaware that those drugs can kill them – or, more and more, that the drugs might motivate them to kill themselves. Which is just one more reason why you need to get people into drug detox so they can stop taking drugs that are unnecessary.

The latest drug to cause suicidal thoughts and tendencies is Zyprexa. Although it is supposed to be used to help those with the alleged mental conditions known as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, off-label prescriptions are not unusual. In fact, 15,000 elderly people in nursing homes die every year from Zyprexa and similar antipsychotic drugs. And they’re usually only being given the drug to calm them down so the nursing staff doesn’t have to bother with them.

But those deaths are in addition to those who commit suicide.

Increased risk of suicide has long been acknowledged as a side effect of SSRI antidepressants - Lexapro, Zoloft, Prozac and Paxil, for example - in people aged 18 – 24. But there seems to be no age limit on Xyprexa. And the lawsuits are starting to pile up.

One of these days, I hope we will have a sane, non-drug-dependent society. But, for now, help yourself and those you care about – get them into a medical drug detox program to get them off prescription drugs. Including Zyprexa.

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Are you confused about prescription drugs? If so, it’s not surprising. The word is getting out that they are dangerous. There’s even a commercial on television about it – a man sitting on a bench says that he doesn’t like living in pain, but he’s afraid he’ll get addicted to painkillers. A kindly man then replies that the drug he’s pushing isn’t addictive, so it’s not a problem. How can you tell if a drug is dangerous or not? How can you tell if you’re likely to need drug detox or rehab to get off them? One thing for sure, you can’t listen to the drug companies.

Actually, that’s not entirely fair, you can listen to some of what the drug companies tell you - there is some truth in their information about side effects.

However, until recently, even the side effects were downplayed: Drug companies used to choose which clinical trials they would disclose to the public, and even to the FDA when they requested approval. Obviously, they chose trials that presented the drug in the most favorable light. Fortunately, a new law now requires the side effects be disclosed. And those side effects should be enough to make deciding whether or not to take the drug a no-brainer.

The list of OxyContin side effects, for example, is very long – there’s at least 80 of them – and they cover such diverse reactions as anorexia, nervousness, abnormal dreams, thought abnormalities chest pain, amnesia, depression, migraines, . anaphylactic or anaphylactoid reactions – which basically amount to, among other things, a sudden drop in blood pressure accompanied by difficulty breathing and, if not treated, death – and withdrawal symptoms ‘with or without seizures’. That’s where the medical drug detox comes in.

If the side effects are that bad even after the drug company has done everything possible to make the drug look good, you can imagine how bad it really is.

The long and short of it – don’t take prescription drugs unless you have a life-threatening situation. And if you’re already taking them, get into a medical drug detox program that will help you get off the drugs before the drugs themselves threaten your life.

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Are you in your ‘60s or ‘70s and having a problem with prescription drug addiction or abuse? A recent pilot project conducted in Sarasota, Pinellas, Broward and Orange counties, Florida, found that 23% of the 3,497 people screened needed some form of treatment for prescription drugs. Although some of the people referred only required a little education on things like combining prescription drugs with alcohol, I’m sure some of those people actually need drug detox to get them safely off the drugs they’re taking. And they might even need drug rehab to help them overcome addiction.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), about 17 percent of adults over the age of 60 (that’s about 2.5 million people) have substance abuse problems. Some have problems with alcohol, some with prescription painkillers, but since seniors often drink or take drugs alone – it’s not a social event as it is for some young people - no one even knows they have a problem. Consequently, they don’t get into drug detox or rehab so the problem can be addressed.

Fortunately, the Florida pilot project is going to be extended to 18 Florida counties overall so seniors in other parts of the state will have more help available to them. Lee County’s treatment program, for example, will receive a grant to help find seniors who are abusing alcohol or drugs and get them the help they need.

If you or someone you know needs help with alcohol or drug abuse, contact Novus Medical Detox to find out about drug detox in Florida. Although many people use drugs and alcohol to help them cope with life’s problems, they really just make the situation worse. Get help now through a medical drug detox program.

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If you are one of the millions of people in the U.S. who have considered putting your children on antidepressants, there’s something you have to see before you make a decision: youtube’s compilation of video clips on the relationship between suicides, homicides, and antidepressants. If you know of anyone taking these drugs, I would get them into a medical drug detox center as soon as possible so they can get off them safely.

While the warnings put out by drug companies say that suicide and homicide are risks largely for children and adolescents, at least one website, ironically called healthyplace.com, points out that “individuals mature at different rates. Young adults are more likely to commit suicide than older adults, so a young adult should be particularly closely monitored if he or she takes an SSRI antidepressant.”

Closely monitored? I’ll say. Unless they’re watched 24 hours a day you could be in the next youtube video talking about your son saying “I don’t like the way this drug makes me feel” four days before he kills himself. What happens if your kid is off to college or no longer living at home when he feels that way? Are you even going to hear him say that? Not likely.

And what is the significance of people maturing at different rates? How mature do you have to be to take these drugs? Mature enough to resist the urge to kill yourself? Lots of adults have killed themselves. Weren’t they ‘mature’?

The only safe thing to do is get people off these drugs through medical drug detox – no matter how old they are, and no matter where they live. Unfortunately, getting off antidepressants can be just as dangerous as taking them. In fact, some people kill themselves when they try to stop taking them - which is one reason why you need to get off them through medically supervised drug detox.

Do everything you can to stop people from taking these drugs, and get off them yourself, but do it through medical drug detox program so they, or you, are guaranteed safe passage.

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One sure fire way to avoid prescription drug addiction and abuse is to avoid taking the drugs. However, many people who become addicted to or dependent on prescription painkillers started the drugs when they were prescribed them by their doctor after surgery. Obviously, many surgeries are unavoidable but new research shows that some types of knee problems respond as well to exercise as they do to surgery. A little research into your options might reveal a non-surgical solution that may help avoid painkillers, and the potential for addiction or dependency that require drug detox to resolve.

The new study, conducted by the ORTON Research Institute in Helsinki, Finland on 56 patients with knee problems found that patients who received knee surgery and eight weeks of therapeutic exercise were no better off in the end that those who just did the exercise.

They also found that the patients who didn’t receive the knee surgery spent about $1300 less than those who did. The study was conducted in Europe, where health costs are generally less than in the U.S. and as this specific surgical procedure costs about $4500 in the U.S., the cost savings is even more significant.

If you or someone you care about is already taking prescription painkillers, look into a medical drug detox program to help them get off the drugs safely, but those who are looking at knee surgery should explore other options before proceeding.

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When you’re in a lot of pain it’s hard to resist getting a prescription for OxyContin or methadone from your doctor. I believe part of the problem is that too many people are uneducated in the various disciplines and alternative therapies that could help them handle the pain without drugs. Unfortunately, they pay for it in the end because they can end up dependant on the drugs or addicted to them and need to get through a medical drug detox program, and sometimes rehab, to get off them.

What are these alternative therapies? There are hundreds of them. Everything from chiropractic, acupuncture (which can work wonders for pain) and physical therapy to herbal and homeopathic remedies. It’s amazing how well some of these things work.

A friend of mine recently had neck and shoulder pain so severe he could barely move. And even when he wasn’t moving, it was killing him. His doctor gave him a prescription for OxyContin but knowing what he might have to go through to get off them, maybe even drug detox, he took one and threw the rest out.

Then he tried Arnica – a natural remedy made from the Arnica flower that has been used to treat inflammations, promote circulation and soothe sore muscles and joints. It’s usually taken in homeopathic dosages – very small amounts that could not cause toxicity. It took a while but, within a few days, the pain was virtually gone.

Arnica may not work for your situation but there’s a very good chance that something will.

If you’re not taking any prescription drugs, it would be a very good idea to educate yourself in drug-free alternatives so if you ever are in a position where you are tempted to take prescription painkillers, you’re already familiar with other methods that may help you out. If you can avoid drugs, you can also avoid dependency, addiction, and the need for drug detox.

If you’re already taking OxyContin or some other type of painkiller, look into a medical drug detox program that can help you get off the drug safely and start your research into alternatives. Living without drugs is healthy, and could save your life.

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Sometimes I wonder why people seem to take prescription drugs so lightly. Millions of people are getting prescriptions for dangerous drugs from their doctors, millions are becoming dependent or addicted, and millions more are abusing them. And even though more people are showing up in drug detox and drug rehab centers to get off them, for every person who does get treatment, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, who don’t.

Although the drugs themselves cause physical addiction and dependency, there’s another, underlying, reason why people continue to take them. Put simply, they make you feel better.

Years ago I had to take steroids for a while because of a severe allergic reaction. Honestly, the steroids made me feel great. It was completely clear to me why someone would want to take them.

I knew they were dangerous and knew I couldn’t stay on them for long, but I wanted to feel that way forever.

So, I spent the week I was taking them researching how they worked so I could figure out how I could feel that way without drugs. Fortunately, I had a family doctor who didn’t like to prescribe drugs and was also interested in how I could feel good without them.

Together, we discovered that I had a thyroid condition called Wilson’s Syndrome. It was dragging me down until I had absolutely no energy and was also causing both mental and emotional symptoms. My doctor put me through a program and, within less than three months, I felt better than I had in years. And I didn’t have to take any dangerous prescription drugs to do it.

The moral of the story? Find a doctor who is oriented towards ‘wellness’ rather than ‘illness’, who believes you can feel better without drugs, and enlist his help to find the physical causes of the problem you’re trying to solve. You could feel better, naturally, and avoid having to ultimately do drug detox to get off whatever drugs you’re taking. And if you’re already taking drugs that you may not need do a drug detox program to get off them, then search for a real solution to the real problem.

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