Oxycontin-the Silent Epidemic

September 23rd, 2009
 
On Thursday the  FDA will be publicly reviewing a “new” formulation of OxyContin.  Purdue Pharma is attempting to get an extended patent on the addictive and deadly active ingredient oxycodone.  The formulation has been renamed by Purdue and it is the same formulation that was turned down  by the  FDA in May, 2008. 
 
Purdue is claiming that the product is more “tamper resistant”.  Our information indicates that the new product may be more dangerous than the original product and the FDA may have missed some critical information that Purdue has not revealed.   We hope  that Purdue’s misrepresentation and misinformation will once again be revealed publicly on Thursday.
 
Recently, bracelets for this movement have become available.  Please go to the petitition page http://www.banoxycontin.com  and look at the link  to order the “banoxycontin bracelet”.  It is our hope that individuals now have a chance to express their sentiments about the symbol that has created the silent epidemic of prescription addiction and drug related deaths and can tell their friends by way of the bracelet.  We hope organizations will order the bracelet and make it a part of a fund raising event. 
 
Larry Golbom
The Prescription Addiction Radio Show - Breaking the Silence
http://www.prescriptionaddictionradio.com 

The Dangerous Effects of Alcohol

September 17th, 2009

      Many people think that it is okay to have a drink every once in a while and science would agree with them. What science does not tell you is eventually that one drink will go to two and so on and eventually you will have to have more and more alcohol. This is how an addiction gets started. So what are some of the effects of alcohol addiction ? There are many effects of alcohol, from damage to the liver and brain to birth defects caused  by drinking mothers.  It has also been stated that children who have parents who drink will more likely develop a dependence later on in life, than children who have parents who do not drink.

          So how many deaths occur each year due to alcohol? In the United States alone there is an average of 85,000 alcohol related deaths each year. The alcohol problem is so big in the US that half of the teenagers who drink and drive will be involved in a fatal car accident. So what can be done to stop so many deaths related to alcohol? The best solution is not to drink at all. Parents, if you know your child is drinking–do not ignore it. Talk to them and get them help before it is to late. If you or someone you know is addicted to alcohol please call 1-877-873-8532 or visit www.successfulrehabservices.org for more information and to speak to a trained professional. 

 

2009 Successful Rehab Services

    

 

 

Cocaine: A Threat to our Nation

September 14th, 2009
 

In a recent report from the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States, cocaine has been labeled the greatest drug threat to the United States. In their annual National Drug Threat Assessment, the DEA stated that “national law enforcement and drug use surveys show that the adverse impact to the nation’s communities, families, and individuals caused by the distribution and abuse of powder and crack cocaine exceeds that caused by all other drugs.” While this is an alarming statement with regards to the massive spread of cocaine importation and subsequent abuse throughout the United States, unfortunately it doesn’t come as a surprise to those who work in the field of drug rehabilitation. The observations from counselors working in the drug rehab field seem to fully support the National Drug Intelligence Center’s findings. One professional commented that, “with cocaine, the addiction can become so strong that an individual becomes literally willing to give up everything else in life for his or her addiction. Families, possessions, careers, faith, self-respect, dignity, their freedom and in many cases, their life, it’s no wonder to me that cocaine is the greatest threat to this nation since those who become addicted are very devout customers and they constantly need more and more, regardless of the price to be paid.”

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, the data also shows that state and local law enforcement agencies identify powder cocaine or crack as the drug most contributing to violent crimes and property crimes in their areas; 50 percent of violent crimes and 39 percent of property crimes, higher than any other drug, are attributed to the use and abuse of the various forms of cocaine. The agencies ranked cocaine higher than any other drug in nearly every drug threat category.

Because cocaine is very addictive, particularly in crack form, the high levels of cocaine abuse led to nearly 250,000 admissions to publicly funded facilities for treatment of cocaine addiction in 2006, the most recent year for which data is available. More treatment admissions in 2006 were related to cocaine abuse and addiction than for any other illicit drug except marijuana. Clearly we have let cocaine get out of control over the last 100 years and drastic measures need to be taken in the form of education and prevention to start to see a change in the cocaine addiction plague that has overrun the country.

For more information on how to help your loved one with cocaine addiction, call us on our toll-free Helpline at 1-877-873-8532.

It is possible to live a drug-free life…

Help for a Drug Addict

May 16th, 2009
This is a typical story of an average teenager going through life wanting to be a part of something and becoming a drug addict. When I was thirteen years of age I was at a summer party and was confronted for the first time with marijuana. I found myself in the predicament of, “I want to fit in and be a part of this group but I don’t think this is right.” I then found myself thinking, “It’s just a little pot what’s the big deal?” Well needless to say I smoked pot that day, which quickly turned into an every day habit.
As I became older my drug use continued to grow as well. By the time I was fifteen I was doing cocaine, acid, crack, and pain pills. Not only was I using these drugs but I was selling them as well. I had the popularity that I was looking for but at what cost to myself, my body, and my life. The great relations that I had with my family slowly began to fall away as I sought to separate myself from them in hopes that they would not discover my addiction to drugs.
Physically my body began to deteriorate and my performance in school began to decline greatly. I went from being a straight A student to barely passing my classes, when I attended them at all. Eventually my family caught on to my addiction and confronted me on it. This led to family therapy, which did not even come close to handling the true problem at hand (my drug case). I was then kicked out of my home for a period of one week in hopes that I would wise up and seek the help that I so desperately needed. Of course at age fifteen I did not think I had a problem and had the typical teenage attitude of, “I am invincible and immortal nothing can hurt me.
As several more years passed my drug habit increased along with all the negative effects it had on my body and my family. When I was 18 years old I was arrested for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and placed on probation for a year. During this time my drug use increased and I found myself now using heroin. My probation was revoked due to violation of probation conditions and I was sentenced to 100 days in city jail. After I was released from jail, I instantly returned to my old habits of selling and using drugs.
By the time I was 21 years of age I was shooting up 300 to 400 dollars a day worth of heroin along with using cocaine and marijuana on a regular basis. Through my selling of drugs I was able to purchase a house, spa, big screen TV and live a life of wealth and women. Yet, I was still living the nightmare of my drug addiction and eventually lost everything that I had worked so hard for over the years. I finally came to the realization that I had to do something about my addiction but had no idea where to turn for help. I decided to call my mom and let her know, fully, the condition of my drug addiction….”
Chris made it.  So can you.  There is hope.  And we are here to help you make it, too.
Copyright 2009 Successful Rehab Services

How to Kill Someone Using Prescription Drugs

March 19th, 2009

The following is excerpted from an article written by Marsha Herring, a professional active in the field of drug rehabilitation, and active in helping others to once again live a drug-free life.

It is a hard hatting and “no holds barred” look at the darkside of psychiatry, and the ammoral–and criminal– use of their  deadly and dangerous mind-numbing drugs.  Be prepared.  It is not an easy read…

 

How to Kill Someone Using Prescription Drugs

 

Most people know that it is as possible to die from an overdose of prescription drugs as it is to die from an overdose of heroin or other illicit drug. What some people may not realize it that in some cases, it might not even be the fault of the person who died from the drugs. Some people might die from the actions of those who are supposed to be taking care of them. As an example, let us look at the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Anna Nicole’s death was ruled an accidental drug intoxication death contributed to by a viral infection and the presence of abscesses on both buttocks and the back of one thigh.

 

There is no evidence of intent to cause Ms. Smith’s death, however, it may be that without the help of those around her, she could not possibly have died.

 

Her psychiatrist and her companion Howard K. Stern obtained prescriptions under an alias or in Stern’s name as a way of “protecting (Anna Nicole’s) privacy.” Khristine Eroshevich, Smith’s psychiatrist, reported that she began to treat Ms. Smith for depression and chronic pain after the birth of her child and the death of her son Daniel in September 2006.

 

The autopsy reports on several abscesses on both buttocks resulting from repeated injections of various medications in the buttocks and the back of the right thigh. Ms. Smith’s liver was also congested and enlarged and her kidneys were congested, very possibly as a result of chronic administration of prescription medications. The drug that may have tipped the scales toward her death was chloral hydrate, a strong sleeping drug usually administered in a liquid.

 

Did Ms. Smith repeatedly inject herself in the buttock and the back of her right thigh or was she assisted by her companion Stern or her psychiatrist, who visited her several times in the Bahamas where Ms. Smith died in February 2007?

 

In September 2006, Dr. Eroshevich attempted to obtain a list of six prescription medications, all of which had the potential to be addictive. One of them, Prexige, was never approved for use in the United States as it was shown to cause an unacceptable level of liver damage (remember Anna Nicole’s enlarged and congested liver?). The doctor she asked to obtain the drugs for her, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, also charged with felonies, refused to fill those prescriptions.

 

The California Attorney General Jerry Brown has stated that “these individuals repeatedly and excessively furnished thousands of prescription pills to Anna Nicole Smith, often for no legitimate medical purpose.” He also stated, “(Smith) took the drugs almost to the point of stupefaction.”

 

Could a “stupefied” person obtain and administer enough drugs to finally accidentally kill herself? Would it not be the responsibility of the medical staff around her and her constant companion to get her treatment for chronic drug use and addiction?

Sobering, isn’t it?  That a talented and beautiful woman could be systematically destroyed under a guise of “treatment” or “help” or “taking meds”.

One last question should be posed here.  What do you think should be done to protect others from a fate such as Anna Nicole Smith’s? 

Sobering, isn’t it…

 

Copyright 2009  Successful Rehab Services

 

 

 

What is Longterm Rehabilitation?

December 3rd, 2008

 

To determine what constitutes longterm rehabilitation, let’s begin by establishing what rehabilitation actually is.  According to Merriam-Webster, it means to restore or bring to a condition of health or useful and constructive activity.  According to the Cambridge International Dictionary of English, it means to return someone or something to a good or healthy condition, state or way of living.

 

When a person comes to a point in life when their spiritual, mental and physical condition has deteriorated to a level where they are now merely a shadow of who they truly are due to abuse of or addiction to street drugs, psychiatric drugs, painkillers, opiates, doctor-prescribed medications or alcohol, there is still a hope and a desire to become again what they once were–to be restored.

 

But it took time for the deterioration to occur.  Sometimes many months.  Sometimes many years.  For some, nearly a lifetime. And it will take time to rehabilitate.  Time to give the body a chance to heal.  Time for the spiritual pain to abate.  Time for the mind to quiet and stabilize.  Time to repair the damage to family and friends. Time to find oneself again.  And time to look to the future and the new life that is yet to come.  All of which are a part of the restoration being sought.

 

A life is not taken back in 28 days.  Or 30 days.  And likely not in 90 days. Each person walks back upon the road which they first walked down to arrive in the current condition and state of affairs which is purely their own.  Therefore, longterm for one person will most likely be different than for another. 

 

But it is the months well-spent in a longterm, drug-free, safe and successful rehabilitation program, coupled with the desire and intention to make it through, that will ultimately result in the the longterm rehabilitation that will ensure a drug-free life.

 

Successful longterm rehabilitation, then, would be the restoration of a person to a former better condition and their true self; to the person they once were before drugs or alcohol changed them into something other than themselves.  And to accomplish it in a drug-free program, without substitute drugs or substitute drug addiction or dependency. And to accomplish all of it without doing spiritual, mental or physical harm, or by taking shortcuts for time or labor saving considerations.  That is the essence of successful longterm rehabilitation.

 

© 2008   Barbara Anne Dunn  All Rights Reserved