The FDA approved a drug that treats opioid addiction that isn’t addictive itself

This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave final approval for a drug shown to mitigate the symptoms associated with opioid withdrawal. It’s not the first treatment designed to help those with opioid addiction, but it has a distinguishing feature: It’s the first one that isn’t an opioid itself, and has no addictive component.

Medications exist now to assist those trying to break their addiction to pain medications, but all of those are opioids themselves, given in gradually lower doses to mitigate the symptoms associated with addiction and withdrawal. But the problem with this is that some patients remain addicted to and dependant on opioids in the long term, even if the drugs they’re receiving come under a doctor’s guidance and at a much lower dose. The idea behind the newly approved medication Lucemyra is to treat those same symptoms without including an addictive component.

The active ingredients in the pill bind to cell receptors in the body that lower the production of norepinephrine. This hormone works as part of your body’s fight-or-flight response, working in concert with adrenaline to increase your blood pressure, heart rate, and alertness when necessary.

Read more at Popular Science here .. 

Here’s How Prescription Pills Turn Chronic Pain Patients Into Heroin Addicts

Anti-Craving Therapy

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Make The Choice To Help Your Friends Stand Up Against Their Alcohol Addictions

Alcoholism is s familiar word to any of us. A distant relative or even someone very close to us can be a person extremely dependent on alcohol. A great deal of people in the whole country are regular drinkers, but some of them are alcoholics, which is not something they can simply control. This is because when someone is suffering from alcohol addiction, they need professional help. They simply cannot go through the process of getting better alone. For one thing, they could end up hurting themselves or drinking more and only making their condition worse.

Alcoholics, which is a term that specifically refers to people suffering from alcohol addiction, can be a danger to themselves and the people around them. When you are drunk, you have no control over your senses. You find yourself doing crazy things, some of which can even be unsafe. Moreover, it will eventually destroy your health. Too much intake of alcoholic beverages will lead your body to having a tolerance for it, which will result in the need for more alcohol. Because of that, you will become addicted. Anyone in the right mind can conclude that being dependent on alcohol is never a good thing. That is why you must choose to seek help from an alcohol rehabilitation center.

Alcohol Rehabilitation is the course of action you need to take if you are addicted to alcohol. If you know somebody who drinks every day and has become very used to it, you should really think about bringing him or her to an alcohol rehabilitation center. It is important that you remind yourself that you are doing this for their own good. This will incredibly benefit them in the future. Basically, you have to help them make the move to save their own lives because if they let themselves be, they will keep on drinking and in time lose all the good in their lives.

Alcohol rehabilitation centers are primarily needed by those whose addiction’s are out of control. These are the people who no longer have the right mind to function as normal people. Although, if your are on the brink of becoming addicted and you yourself are aware of it, it would be very wise to receive professional medical attention and check in at a rehabilitation center. This will relieve you from all of the terror and stress that you can face from severe addiction.

On top of that, you can be of great aid to others going through the same circumstances. You can inspire other people to receive help from alcohol rehabilitation centers and explain to them all that they need to know regarding treatment centers. Some people drive away from professional help because they are either afraid of what they will go through or they plainly do not accept that they are addicted. You could be the person who can make their lives different. These people need the proper treatment for their addictions but they also need the encouragement and influence to allow themselves to receive it.

In situations where someone is badly experiencing the effects of alcohol addiction, be the one to make the call for help, so that person can be rid of his or her difficulties. People need to accept that they require rehabilitation now more than ever. If they do not make the choice to undergo alcohol rehabilitation, things will only fall apart for them. As a witness to other people’s afflictions, you would not want them to suffer more, which is why you should help your friends. Especially, if they cannot help themselves.

When thinking of medical or treatment centers you can run to for conditions such as alcohol addiction, you can come straight to us. We, at the Turning Point Treatment Center are very dedicated to helping all of our patients and clients. We are given the task to assist you in your rehabilitation and we aim to do that successfully. Your lives are in our hands and you can trust that we will take great care of you or your loved one. Our responsibility is to bring you back your freedom and serenity. These are some of the things alcohol can take away from you. Our treatment establishment will do all that we can to provide you with the best services.

Before a dear friend or a family member of yours can become a serious alcoholic, you should convince them to get help. The Turning Point Treatment Center will guide them through their pains and discomfort, and assist them in their recovery. Our services and programs will accommodate all of their needs and give them the chance to change their lives for the better. If you have any questions or concerns, you may call us at 949-870-7730 or 877-281-5204. To add to that, please feel free to check out our website. We are on call 24 hours a day.

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source https://www.turningpointtreatmentcenter.com/make-the-choice-to-help-your-friends-stand-up-against-their-alcohol-addictions-2/

Drug Treatment Staff – new

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Jeff Benon – Executive Director – Need Bio 

Tori DeGroote, Program Director – Mission Viejo, CA / Counselor
Tori DeGroote has over 6 years of experience in the addiction field building alumni and continuing care programs, serving as a marketing and outreach manager, building community connections as well as serving as a lead case manager and AOD counselor. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business as well as a CATC III in addictions counseling. Having over 8 years of personal recovery, Tori understands what it takes to obtain long-term sobriety. Her passion remains in the addiction field assisting patients and family members with long term recovery as well as being an active advocate providing addiction prevention, education and awareness programs throughout the community.

Karen Rippy Ph.D, LMFT VirtualTherapy4Couples – Consulting MFT therapist

Dr. Karen Rippy, been providing sound advice and guidance for 30+ years. I pride myself in having family-friendly rates, flexible scheduling and prompt phone/texting responses. I am especially helpful with high intensity conflicts and offer intensive therapy sessions.

My counseling services include marriage and divorce counseling, co-parenting, child custody conflict, “Affair – Repair”, anger management and forensic psychology.

• Nationally Recognized Marriage-Friendly Therapist
• Expert Children and Teen Counseling
• Parenting Angry, Confused and Defiant Teens
• Discernment Counseling for Couples “On The Brink”
• Stress –Anxiety – Anger Management
• Blended family struggles
• Child Custody Conflict
• Modern Addictions

Robert Karlsson – Nutritionist & Administrative Director

Robert Karlsson is a clinical nutritionist and health care consultant working with local schools, community centers, and substance abuse recovery centers across Southern California. Over last decade, his fascination with nutrient deficiencies led him to focus on depletion’s caused by poor diet and toxic states that prevented the body from healing at its optimal performance. His techniques to healing are easily integrated into modern medical treatment programs of all sorts. Here is a little more background into his training and philosophy.

His main mentor was Dr. Frank Varese, M.D., who was a pioneer in longevity medicine and devoted his practice to finding health and wellness solutions for patients who could not find the answers they needed from their regular doctors. He worked with Dr.Varese for six years.

Furthermore, he has long history in working with large corporations in the arena of business analytics and operations where his skills are now being used in his recently added role of Turning Point’s Administrative Director.

George Filippedes – Marketing Manager – Need Bio 

John Hunter – Operations Manager – Need Bio 

New Staff – Need Stuff

• Dr. Warren R. Taff, MD – Medical Director / Consulting Physician – Need Pic and Bio 
• Dr Mike Kelly – Need Pic and Bio
• Mark Know –  is this Mark Crow ?
• Patricia Osuji – Case Manager – Need Pic and Bio 
• Dr. Warren Taff , Need Position , Pic and Bio 
• Dr. Nafisi , Need Position , Pic and Bio 
• La Joy Brown, LVN – Need Pic and Bio 

Removed

• GREGRI HANSON – CMT Massage Therapist
• DR. EDWARD KAUFMAN – M.D., Consulting Psychiatrist
• Dr. Bruce Seligsohn, MD – Consulting Physician
• Michelle Fishel – Program Director – Temecula, CA
• Mark Crow – Drug and Alcohol Counselor Certified Addictions Treatment Counselor II (CATC-II)
• Cassandra Spicer Registered Alcohol and Drug Technician (RADT-I)

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source https://www.turningpointtreatmentcenter.com/drug-treatment-staff-new/

Co-Occurring Disorders: Addiction & Mental Health

As researchers learn more about addiction and the ways in which it affects the brain, they’re also starting to understand how substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions go hand in hand.

While there are still many questions and research is ongoing, this is what the experts have discovered about co-occurring disorders involving addiction and mental health.

What exactly does “co-occurring disorders” mean?

Also called comorbidity or dual diagnosis, the phrase describes a person who has more than one medical issue – either with two diseases simultaneously, or one disease successively after the other.¹ These conditions may be mental or physical or a combination of the two.

Often, the existence of co-occurring conditions makes each of the diseases worse than if they were experienced individually. Co-occurring conditions that involve addiction and mental health are particularly common because similar areas of the brain are involved with both.

Mental disorders that commonly co-occur with addiction:²

• Anxiety and mood disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar disorder
• Major depressive disorder
• Conduct disorders
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

How many people with addiction have co-occurring mental health disorders?

In 2014, SAMHSA found that approximately 7.9 million people in the United States experienced addiction and a mental health disorder simultaneously.³ That’s nearly 40% of the total population who experienced addiction in that year. NIDA statistics on co-occurring disorders show patients with mood-related mental health disorders or anxiety are twice as likely to also suffer from a drug disorder – and similarly, patients with substance use disorders are roughly twice as likely to be diagnosed with those types of mental health disorders.⁴

Why does it happen?

The “why” of comorbidity is more difficult to establish. With co-occurring disorders, it’s hard to say for certain if the two conditions are related, or if one caused the other, or if the condition that’s diagnosed first isn’t necessarily responsible for additional conditions that arise. Think of it as the age-old conundrum, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” Drug use affects the brain and can aggravate the symptoms of existing mental health conditions. Or, someone with a mental health condition may try to self-medicate, treating symptoms of depression or anxiety by using drugs or alcohol. Research is still trying to prove if there’s a definite causal relationship.

Additionally, research has shown that mental illness and drug use involve similar areas of the brain. The areas of the brain that respond to stress and that process “reward” feelings are both affected by mental health disorders and by the use of drugs. Whether those areas of the brain are being stimulated by drugs or by a mental illness, the brain activity itself can make it more vulnerable to the other condition.

Three major risk factors: adolescence, genetics, and exposure⁵

Adolescence: Both drug use and mental illnesses are developmental disorders, and an adolescent brain that is still developing is at increased risk for both. If someone begins using drugs during childhood or adolescence before their brain has fully formed, that drug use can potentially affect the brain in a way that makes it more likely to develop a mental illness. Again, the reverse is also true: Someone who develops a mental illness at a young age may be more susceptible to developing a substance use disorder as well.

Genetics: Both addiction and mental health disorders are brain diseases, and just as family history puts some people at higher risk for heart disease or cancer, genetics can predispose a person to develop a brain disorder like addiction. Genetics can also put a person at higher risk for developing a co-occurring mental health issue.

Exposure: External factors can trigger mental health disorders or substance abuse disorders. This might include excessive stress, trauma, physical or sexual abuse, living in a war zone or other type of unsafe environment, neglect, poverty, or other negative experiences the brain has difficulty processing.

How can co-occurring disorders be treated?

Creating a comprehensive, individualized plan that treats both disorders has been shown to have the most success.⁶ Clinicians and researchers agree that taking an integrated approach that addresses both conditions at the same time is not only more beneficial to the patient, but can also help to reduce care costs as well. Currently, successful treatments for comorbidity involving addiction and mental health issues include behavioral therapies and medications, used together as part of a personalized plan.

While there’s still much to learn about the co-occurrence of addiction and mental health disorders, understanding that the two are intimately related is an important step in helping to treat people who experience both. Because it’s now recognized that co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders are common, more and more healthcare providers are trying to screen anyone who seeks treatment for either disorder for co-occurring conditions. That way, both diseases can be treated simultaneously.

By increasing awareness and continuing research that improves treatments, there’s hope that every person affected by addiction or a mental health disorder can receive treatment and begin a path to recovery.

Read more at ShutterProof.org ..

If Necessary/Dual Diagnosis Disorders Found In The DSM IV Manual

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source https://www.turningpointtreatmentcenter.com/co-occurring-disorders-addiction-mental-health/