opiate withdrawal

I guess i just won't ever get an answer to that,eh? "How can ya tell i'm Canadian,eh?" I hope Maya Dawn, and others are doing well.
I have been working again for the first time in quite awhile lately, and this seems to be the best therapy i could ever ask for. I curse myself every morning, but by the end of the day i feel fine.
Curious--- are any of the sweeteners, other than aspartame alright?
 
Xylitol and stevia are good and widely available. Xylitol tastes just as sugar.
 
Re: Opiate withdrawal . . .

Hello:
Below is some information on brain damage caused by alcohol and opiate usage and an amino acid therapy that is apparently used with some real success.
I found this while researching the "wet brain" problem some chronic drinkers experience and which has to do with a thiamine (B1) deficiency brought on by the malnourished state in which most alcoholics find themselves. Google for the string 'alcohol wet brain' for much info on this.

Here is a Google search on the topics of alcohol and opiate addiction treatment by IV amino acid therapy that lists a facility in Durango, CO as the 1st hit, read that site end to end . . .

http://www.google.ca/search?q=durango+amino+addiction&hl=en&newwindow=1&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=&safe=off

And here is someone in Vancouver who has been doing the work for some time:

http://www.straight.com/article-118344/amino-acid-therapy-claims-massive-success-in-treating-drug-addiction

You mention being here in Canada so perhaps the Vancouver, B.C. treatment facility is close to you.

Although I haven't done so, a Google for ' "Primal Therapy" addiction first line pain ' will probably pull some useful hits. Also, dig for Arthur Janov Primal Therapy. He has a blog you can subscribe to if you dig just a bit.

100mg of 5-htp 3 times a day might well get your serotonin levels somewhat normalized. See www.5htp.com for more info and be -sure- to slowly ramp up the dosage just mentioned. Note that there are blends of 5-htp and St. John's Wort that are apparently efficacious . . .

DITCH sugar and all other 'simple sugars', high fructose corn syrup --in particular-- as these will keep you on an emotional roller coaster that's almost impossible to get off. William Dufty's "Sugar Blues" is a great book I cannot recommend too highly . . .

If "they" have you on psychoactive drugs go to www.breggin.com to find out just how dangerous that can be and how to safely get out of that nightmare-ish hall of mirrors. Dr. Peter Breggin is a saint incarnate.
Oh yes, on the lower right hand side of his homepage there is a link to a movie he gave in the late '90s on "psychiatry" in late-30s Germany, very, very interesting, not to mention disturbing.

Finally, dig up the Radiant Recovery site for miles of info on serotonin/dopamine stabilizing diet and alcohol withdrawal, noting that she too has a newsletter.

I sincerely hope this helps

Best,
BillyRae
 
Hello again:
Sorry, my mistake, that should have been www.5htp.com not 5thp.
While I'm at it, here's the link to Breggin's speech on, "Totalitarian Psychiatry and the Nazi Holocaust."

http://www.breggin.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=288

Note that is in two, I believe, 30 minute segments and that you need to hit "Replay" to start the 2nd segment.

Best,
BillyRae
 
Hi BillyRae,

I corrected the link in your first post. :)

Welcome to the forum. :) We recommend all new members to post an introduction in the Newbies section telling us a bit about themselves, and how they found their way here. Have a read through that section to get an idea of how others have done it. Thanks.
 
Hi Billy Rae, welcome to the forum and thank-you for the informative posts. I have worked for the last year in a public methadone clinic and medicated withdrawal unit as a registered nurse. From what I can gather, the regulation of brain chemistry in treatment of addiction and withdrawal is certainly an area being looked at by the mainstream. Although probably with the use of mainstream medications rather than with specific nutrients and botanicals etc.

Firstly let me say that I realize I work in an imperfect system. My caution with many alternate treatment sites is there is a lot of focus on physically withdrawing someone but little on the need for psychological/emotional support during and after physically withdrawing. The justification for this seems to be once people get there neurotransmitters balanced they are "fixed". In my experience in a public clinic a common denominator is trauma of all types. Take the drugs away and these confronting emotional issues really come to the fore. This is a dangerous situation unsupported. I do not know if balanced neurotransmitters will ameliorate this situation.

People get to addiction for widely different reasons and one size certainly does not fit all. I definitely think there is merit in these alternate approaches though. "Success" is very rare in the mainstream system.

Regards Aaron.
 
Thank you, and no psycoactive drugs for me.never!! It has always appalled me at the way DR'S prescribe them to people that don't know any better for things as simple as insomnia. Thanks for the links, Billyrae.
Aarron,the only thing i disagree with is that the methadone clinic with AADAC that i go to will even resort to scaring the crap out of me to keep me from getting off the stuff. I think that is one of the reasons i have been on it so many years now. It is largley psycosomatic for me.
 
The reason clinic staff and myself for that matter would attempt to discourage a person from discontinuing treatment is due to the bitter experience of watching people fail in their attempt.

What does fail in their attempt mean? It means, for the majority of people who present at the clinic, back on the street using. Now, if the person survives that they usually come back to the clinic via jail, hospital or stumbling in the front door. There is only a limited amount of times a person can do that before there is no return...

There is no easy way. It is the hard way or the harder way and doesn't that seem to sum up life. Aaron



Mod's note: edit =underline tag
 
aaron r said:
The reason clinic staff and myself for that matter would attempt to discourage a person from discontinuing treatment is due to the bitter experience of watching people fail in their attempt.
Click to expand...

What does your clinic and yourself consider to be success in your relationship with an opiate addict?

Do you consider maintaining an opiate addiction with methadone to be treatment?
 
Hi Go2, this is a contentious issue which is why I put success in brackets. I won't talk for the clinic as it is a government facility but I hope my opinion will suffice for our discussion.

Just for clarity let me state my employment position. I resigned from my position a couple of weeks ago. I am sick and tired of dealing with recalcitrant, rude, self-absorbed, obnoxious and aggressive liars who have no interest in their own wellbeing. Unfortunate as it spoils it for people who are. I am glad of my time at the clinic but my energies can be better spent elsewhere.

Now back to your first question go2. I will assume by opiate addict you mean IV drug user. I will also assume poly-drug use and dual diagnosis as these are the majority of clients. Let me also assume a couple of kids taken away by child services and at least one stint in jail for either drug dealing or stolen goods. Let's also throw in Hep C(I will try not to complicate things too much by saying HIV as well). This person is say 20 years old at most. So what is successful relationship with this person? Probably that I don't get shouted at too much when I withold the dose because they have come in so stoned, intoxicated, sedated or on the nod that giving yet another downer will possibly kill them.

As to your second question I will refer back to previous posts of mine where I have said I know I work in an imperfect system. As well I have tried to gently inform people of the consequences of street drugs. The lesser evil in my opinion is treatment with methadone. I know people who have been on the program over ten years. You could not pick them. They work and lead a very normal existence raising their families. Is it treatment? Of course it is; in the context of what is available to them.

Someone being on the program that long kind of throws up a few questions. Why haven't they reduced off? What is stopping them etc. I can only speculate because they are in control of their treatment. If they want to reduce off we are more than happy to help with our bitter experience.

Right and wrong are relative to the situation is it not?
 
Great perspective and eloquently worded, aaron r.

As usual, the devil is in the details and success is a poor term when used as a generalization.

We often find ourselves working with and through broken systems, but they are what we have. They are the ones that are publicly funded and, therefore, most accessible.

I really appreciated your perspective.

Gonzo
 
Thank-you Gonzo. Opiate use and addiction is so loaded with stigma and ethical/moral/legal/religious/medical/social/financial considerations that it is an argument just waiting to happen. Aaron
 
Aaron, I appreciate your honesty and agree your energy can be put to more positive use.

aaron r said:
I will assume by opiate addict you mean IV drug user.
Click to expand...

Why would you assume the qualifier? An opiate addict is someone addicted to opiates.

aaron r said:
I am sick and tired of dealing with recalcitrant, rude, self-absorbed, obnoxious and aggressive liars who have no interest in their own wellbeing.
Click to expand...

Why would you expect clients interested in their well being at an institution which enables and maintains their addiction to opiates?

The local administrator of the Methadone Maintenance Treatment facility defined successful treatment as, “The addict doesn’t steal your TV.”
Well, how is that treatment? It is a form of chemical incarceration to prevent crime.
 
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