Drug Treatment Centers and Dual Diagnosis Treatment

There are thousands of drug treatment centers throughout the United States with different philosophies, treatment modalities and costs of treatment. How does someone go about choosing the best drug treatment center for themselves? To make matters a bit more complicated, let's add the need for dual diagnosis treatment to the equation.

The Best Drug Treatment Centers

There is really no such thing as the best drug treatment center. There is such a thing as a drug treatment center that is capable of meeting your specific needs. A person really has to have a very good idea as to what services a drug treatment center actually provides, compared to the services they say they provide. To ascertain that kind of information a person has to ask some very pointed questions pertaining to staffing patterns, qualifications, hours of treatment provided and more. Secondly, a person needs to be as honest as possible what their "real" needs are. do you require dual diagnosis treatment for a mental health issue, do you have an eating disorder, do you need drug detox?

Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Drug Treatment Centers

Not every drug treatment center is qualified to provide dual diagnosis treatment. A quality dual diagnosis treatment center inside a drug treatment center will employ a full time psychiatrist, staff trained in mental health issues, a separate treatment component and an ability to keep patients for more than three weeks in the drug treatment center.

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Drug Abuse Treatment Programs

There are about 10,000 drug rehabilitation and treatment centers in the country today. And each one may use varying programs to deal with addiction. But generally, drug addiction treatments are grouped into three categories.

Kinds of Treatments

Addicts of certain substances can be treated in outpatient settings. Patients are subjected to methadone, a medication taken orally. Methadone suppresses cravings and prevents withdrawal symptoms from surfacing. With sustained dosage, a person can be stabilized and can function normally.

This is the first step taken to prepare a patient for counseling and further treatments. With the medication, a patient can be more receptive to interventions such as physiotherapies and group counseling.

The second kind of treatment involves a medication called naltrexone. The medication is administered after detoxification of the patient in a residential setting. This is to prevent withdrawal syndrome in the patient. A patient takes this drug orally daily or thrice a week, depending on the prescription of his physician. The drug inhibits cravings for addictive drugs. But in order for this medication to work, sustained counseling is needed.

For people with graver conditions or who have been abusing drugs for a long time, residential treatment is needed. This involves admitting a patient in a facility for 6 to 12 months to address the problem. These facilities provide an atmosphere of a home rather than that of a hospital.

Modern-day residential treatment employs many models of rehabilitation: from the therapeutic community to cognitive-behavioral therapies. These treatments involve medication as well as counseling available 24 hours a day. This arrangement works better for most patients who may need a fresh environment- away from his natural surroundings to work on his rehabilitation. Other patients also form a support group- enhancing counseling sessions.

But whatever forms of treatment a patient chooses to go through, continued counseling and assistance from professionals and family are needed to ensure sustained recovery form drug abuse.

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The Best Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programs

People looking for drug and alcohol treatment are always looking for the best drug and alcohol treatment program they can find. The problem is that there are thousands of drug and alcohol treatment programs located throughout the United States with most of these drug treatment programs having different philosophical approaches to drug and alcohol treatment.

What to Look For in a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program

Of the drug rehabs reviewed that were seen to be providing a high level of care, these drug treatment programs were licensed by the state in which they operated and accredited by the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare providers. In addition to proper licensure, the drug and alcohol treatment programs employed addiction treatment staff that were licensed and credentialed in the drug and alcohol treatment field. It was also noted that all the drug rehabs had their own detox programs within the drug and alcohol programs. This provided for a high level of care when the patient transferred to another component of drug and alcohol treatment.

What Do Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programs Cost?

Each drug and alcohol treatment program decides what they will charge. There are some drug rehabs that are federally funded, some that accept Medicare and other drug rehabs that accept private insurance. It suffices to say, any of these drug and alcohol treatment centers will accept private monies. Before deciding on any of the drug rehabs or alcohol treatment centers near you, speak with their admission staff to determine what your financial responsibility will be. When able, utilize your healthcare benefits or call the national drug treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225 for further information.

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Fighting Alcohol & Drug Addictions: 2 New Treatments for Eliminating Alcohol & Drug Addiction Forever

"I was lonely. I was just going to have one drink. I know that I can never just have one, and I didn't. I barely remember what happened. I'm lucky that I wasn't hurt too badly and that I didn't kill someone else. My new $35,000 Saab is gone and I had to spend the night in jail. I'm so ashamed. This is the last time. I'm done with drinking. You know the worst part? I want a drink right now! I wish I took your advice, and started the Prometa treatments."

This was Susan's story. Susan is a 45-year old scientist whose family is riddled with alcoholism and opiate addiction. She refused to join AA because it was "too public and too religious".

I started seeing her a year ago when her husband brought her into the clinic. She had been drinking up to 2 bottles of wine per day for over a year and it had finally caught up with her. She developed severe abdominal pain, but even that didn't stop her. I put her in the hospital for a couple of days to "dry her out". We suggested the Prometa protocol for alcohol addictions, but Susan was hesitant because it was expensive and new.

Instead she entered into therapy with under my medical supervision. We used antidepressants, along with Campral and Vivitrol, two -FDA approved, efficacious medications for alcoholism. We also entered her into the Intense Outpatient Treatment Program (IOT).

Susan tried very hard. She knew it was important. But she had to deal with severe cravings almost every day. Her drinking drastically decreased. Although she did have an occasional binge. Her work performance improved and her marriage got better.

I was overall pleased with her progress. But I had some underlying anxieties that her physical cravings might take over. And, that is exactly what happened.

Within days of her last incident we started three IV Prometa treatments, along with other medications that comprise the protocol. By the third day Susan's head was clear and she told us that the cravings were gone. It is now about six weeks since the treatment and Susan still has "zero cravings".

I know you're thinking this remarkable change must be a fluke. I'd think that too if I hadn't seen the same reaction in almost all of the patients that I have treated with Prometa. In fact, going over my data for the past 18 months I have close to an 80% success rate for my Prometa and buprenorphine patients.

Addiction is a Brain Disease

The choice to use drugs sets in motion a cascade of events that lead to long lasting and even permanent neural damage. Society used to view drug and alcohol addictions, as a social failing that can only be conquered by strong will and faith. This model was developed in the early 20th century, a time when there was only rudimentary insight into the workings of the brain and also a time when there was no methamphetamine epidemic.

Medicine has come a long way since those days, but the treatment of substance abuse is still based on twelve step programs and other social interventions. This is important, but it's not the only thing that works.

Alcohol and drug addiction is a brain disease. And diseases are treated with medicine. Buprenorphine and Prometa are revolutionizing the treatments of the most important drug addictions: opiates, alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

Buprenorphine for Opiate Addiction

Buprenorphine works by stimulating the opiate Mu receptors in the brain in a similar way to opiates themselves. Stimulation of these receptors produces pain relief and relaxation. With drugs such as hydrocodone (Vicodin and Norco), oxycodone (Oxycontin), morphine, and heroin, these effects rise steadily as the dose increases. Increasing doses lead to desensitization of the brain and the physical changes of drug addiction. Too much drug can result in overdose and death.

Buprenorphine only partially stimulates the Mu receptor, enough to eliminate drug cravings. However, it's not enough to desensitize the brain. And, since it's very long acting, the patient only has to use it once or twice daily.

Buprenorphine also blocks another opiate receptor, the kappa receptor, which is the cause of many withdrawal symptoms. This results in the elimination of cravings and an increased ability to slowly decrease the dose. Now patients can once again begin living normal lives.

Prometa Protocol for Cocaine, Methamphetamine, and Alcohol Addiction

Before Prometa there was no effective treatment for methamphetamine, cocaine, and alcohol cravings. There is simply nothing else that works. Without this treatment, patients feel tired, irritable, and depressed indefinitely. No wonder that almost all addicts eventually relapse.

Patients using Prometa protocol feel much better almost immediately. They almost all say that they think clearer. Even more importantly, their cravings disappear. In fact, one study of 50 methamphetamine addicts showed that almost 90 percent got significant positive effects. In my practice I see the same results. The patient stories are amazing.

And, the beauty of this treatment is that it is completed over one to 3 weeks with lasting results.

Medical Breakthrough Barriers

These treatments are not cure alls. They will only be fully successful when used as part of a comprehensive program.

There are barriers to getting these treatments to the people who need them:

• Physicians must have a special federal waiver to prescribe Buprenorphine.
• Physicians prescribing Buprenorphine can treat no more than 100 patients.
• Prometa is only available at licensed centers and it is very expensive.
• Insurance does not cover Prometa yet, pending completion of university based double blind studies.
• The major obstacle, however, is the attitude of society and unfortunately, many members of the addiction treatment community towards this problem.

One thing is clear. Unless we treat physical cravings, we will never be able to get a handle on drug and alcohol addiction.

Drug Rehab Chronicles - Alcohol Addiction Can Strike Anyone, Even a Genius

For every person who needs a successful alcohol and drug rehab program, there are millions who never get started. Charlie Frazer was one of them.

A popular jazz musician, Charlie, was a friendly and outgoing young man without the huge ego one expects of a truly talented player. Charlie was generous with himself and his talents, sharing musical insights and advice with musicians and fans who frequented the jazz clubs where he played bass with a popular quintet. And as local custom dictates, Charlie's admirers rewarded him with rounds of drinks. And Charlie always accepted, and drank, and drank and drank. No one suspected that Charlie was unusually sensitive to alcohol, and had his own private demons as well - a prime candidate for alcohol addiction and abuse. Nor did they suspect how badly he needed to admit himself into an alcohol and drug rehab program.

His band members were the first to notice it. Slight lapses in memory, sloppy playing, coming late to the job. Charlie assured them it was just a couple of shots to relax, not to worry. But his bass playing got worse, and his relationship with the guys in the band deteriorated. There were arguments, promises and apologies - but nothing got resolved. Charlie drank afternoons, evenings and through to dawn. When his mates suggested an alcohol and drug rehab program to help with his obvious alcohol abuse, Charlie laughed it off, insisting there was no need for anything so serious.

Alcoholics are self-delusional about their alcohol addiction and abuse. In fact, that's one of the major reasons they don't enter alcohol or drug rehab to get help. It can take a lot to break through the veneer of lies and deception and see the real situation. For Charlie, the opportunity for such a moment of truth came on opening night at the city's most prestigious jazz venue, the Jazz Tavern, the band's most important gig to date. Everyone who was anyone in the jazz world was there - famous musicians, critics from the media, a movie star or two and dozens of fans. Predictably, Charlie arrived drunk, and the band warily launched into the first number. During the second chorus, everything unraveled. While patrons watched in horror, Charlie staggered, fell off the stage, and crash-landed in the center of a ringside table, out cold and still holding his bass. The shocked audience didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

No one at the table was injured, and Charlie revived enough to be led outside and sent home in a cab. After the dust settled, a local bass player in the audience stepped up and finished the gig - not a total loss. But for the band, and especially for Charlie, the shine was off the gold.

Over the next few days, band mates, friends and family urged Charlie to get into an alcohol and drug rehab program. But Charlie's moment of truth had come and gone, unrecognized. He brushed it all off as a hugely amusing, if unfortunate, incident, and kept on drinking. Within weeks, the band had broken up. Charlie found it difficult to get work. A few shorts months later, Charlie could be found in the seedier sections of the city panhandling for money, or hanging around jazz clubs hoping to score a few dollars for booze.

Within a year or two, not many jazz fans remembered Charlie Frazer. His fellow musicians talked about him in the past tense, as if he had died. And in fact, as a musician, he had. Working part-time in construction, drinking every night and still denying to himself and anyone who cared to listen that he had a problem, Charlie Frazer had become another tragic statistic, a victim of alcohol abuse. And another person who's future would have been far different had he gone to a successful alcohol and drug rehab program.