Addiction Advice» Medicine

Medications That are Associated with Alcohol Abuse

admin — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:50:05 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

Alcohol abuse can be one of the toughest addictions to kick. Just when you believe that you have overcome the addiction, something comes up and you just have to have one more sip of alcohol. One sip leads to two and everything starts to turn into a downward spiral.

When it comes to detoxing and helping overcome the addiction there is a process known as detoxification. Detox can be rough and one of the hardest part of becoming sober. Alcohol detox is an intense process that requires a lot of medical help. In fact, without medical help alcohol detox can sometimes be deadly.

As with all medical processes there are a lot of medications that can go into alcohol detox. Here is a short list of some of those drugs and why they are prescribed.

Antabuse. Should a person go through detox and then have a short period to wait for rehab, antabuse can help keep the person sober. Antabuse is an oral drug that when taken with alcohol causes the person to have adverse reactions such as violent throwing up and sometimes causes you to stop breathing. The reaction is so bad that it causes those who want to drink to stop.

Benzodiazapines. These are prescribed during the detox phase to calm the nervous system. It should relieve the hallucinations and deliriums that occur when a person is withdrawing from alcohol.

Naltrexone. This drug works in similar ways to antabuse but instead of causing a violent reaction it causes the body to make sure that they don’t crave alcohol anymore. This drug is taken orally and when those people who want to enter rehab detox but can’t get into a program right away.

Detox also requires a complex IV solution that provides hydration to those that have been drinking for a while. Without the hydration the body would become dehydrated and there could be issues from that.

Finger Pulse Oximeter and Seniors

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:52:58 +0000

Senior citizens experiencing medical conditions related to high blood pressure can benefit from the modern finger pulse oximeter. Knowing the level of oxygen present in the blood can aid in understanding at what level the patient’s pulmonary system is performing. Doctors, hospitals, and clinics have long known the value of using oximeters, and now their patients can benefit as well. New, easy-to-read oximeters are inexpensive additions to any patient’s medicine cabinet and can significantly increase the patient’s understanding of their body’s recuperative processes and abilities.

Patients suffering from COPD, asthma, mesothelioma, or other lung-related ailments can benefit greatly from using a finger pulse oximeter on a routine basis (in addition to their medication). Oximeters provide instantaneous readouts of blood oxygen levels at critical times. The portability and compact size of the new oximeters make them easy to carry, and 70 years of development make them highly reliable. The sophisticated, state-of–the-art electronic circuitry has been reduced to a package no larger than a pack of cigarettes. The unobtrusive device is clamped to a finger for immediate readings of oxygen levels in the blood as well as blood pulse data.

Seniors with an aversion to painfully intrusive diabetic devices will be grateful for the finger pulse oximeter’s non-intrusive technology. Since no invasive processes are involved, most seniors readily accept the oximeter’s simple yet important use. Large LED displays make it easy to read the results and record them as necessary. Bluetooth technology makes it possible for accurate and timely recording of important data for review and analysis by doctors or technicians later. The freedom of using modern oximeters is enhanced by the long battery life and rugged design of the devices. Seniors desiring to maintain a better awareness of their blood oxygen levels have found a safe, simple, and user-friendly solution.

Adderall: Coming to a Campus Near You

admin — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:54:06 +0000

Adderall: Coming to a Campus Near You

When used correctly Adderall is an excellent treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder and Narcolepsy. However, on college campuses around the country this Schedule II drug is being used for non medical purposes. Non medical use is defined as using a drug without a prescription in your name, or using a drug simply for the feeling it produces. Although drug abuse of any kind is most common during adolescence and young adulthood, the misuse of Adderall on college campuses is becoming an epidemic.

Full-time college students between the ages of 18-22 are twice as likely to abuse Adderall as their non-enrolled, or part-time, counterparts. It is most commonly abused as a study aid or a party drug, and ninety percent of these same students are also binge drinkers, and are more likely to be poly drug users. A college student who abuses Adderall is also eight times more likely to abuse cocaine and tranquilizers. The theory behind this is that Adderall produces physiological effects similar to cocaine, and the tranquilizers help to ease the withdrawal symptoms when coming down from the Adderall.

The demographics of Adderall are varied. Males and females abuse the drug at equal rates, but those of the Caucasian race are more likely to abuse the drug than African-Americans, Asians, and Hispanics combined. The demographics concerning family income are rather interesting. The rates of abuse are highest among the lowest and highest income brackets. This could be attributed to the fact that students from these families feel more pressure to succeed. The lower income students are generally in college on scholarships and must maintain a certain GPA, and the higher income students tend to have familial expectations they feel they must meet.

How do we reduce this rampant abuse? Should doctors be more prudent about prescribing, or should colleges put less pressure on their students to succeed? Perhaps harsher penalties for those caught abusing would be effective? All that can be said with certainty is that college Adderall abuse is a dangerous problem that needs to be quickly remedied.

Levodopa/Carbidopa on Parkinson’s Disease

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:28:58 +0000

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Parkinson’s disease is among one of the hardest and most debilitating diseases you can be diagnosed with. It cripples the body and puts you in a constant position to feel out of control. If you have been recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease you should know that the road from here on out gets much harder but luckily the miracles of modern medicine can do wonders to help control some off the symptoms.

One of the most popular or common medications given to Parkinson’s sufferers is a med called Sinimet. Now, as most doctors and pharmacies give out the generic version you are likely to see something called Levodopa/Carbidopa. Those of course are the two ingredients that make up Sinimet. Levodopa is the single most popular drug prescribed for those afflicted with the disease as it creates something called dopamine. Dopamine is very important in brain function. What it does is it is used to tell the muscles on the body what to do and enables them to do it smoothly. A patient with Parkinson’s disease is suffering from a nerve cell break down. So dopamine is created by Levodopa.

Now Carbidopa, just like you might think, really works in tandem with the dopamine agent. This agent not only helps to up the effect of the dopamine agent that is Levodopa but it also helps take off the side effects of the dopamine agent.

Some of the side effects that a patient taking Sinimet might experience is nausea and vomiting which is a rather common occurrence in most medication. However there are some more serious side effects that you should be aware of. There is the possibility of restlessness and even some confusion. This isn’t to detract from the attractiveness of the medication as it has long been thought to be one of the best drugs to treat the difficult disease of Parkinson’s, but it is important to know the risks involved. And with all medication it is important to have a lengthy talk with your doctor before deciding on any medication.

Benefits of Antabuse

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:20:01 +0000

Suffering from alcoholism is a terrible and dreaded disease. While you may attend meetings and work tirelessly to defeat the disease there is no doubt that occasionally you need more than just a wish and a prayer. Thanks to the wonderful advancements in the world of modern medicine it can be much easier to deal with the alcohol abuse through a wonderful medication called Antabuse.

Antabuse, also known by its chemical name as disulfiram, is one of the smartest and most advanced drugs on the market. The way alcohol works is when you drink alcohol is broken down by your liver which is converted ultimately into acetic acid. So the way antabuse works with the abuse of alcohol is the amount of acetaldehyde is about 10 times higher in the body than if you had consumed the same amount of alcohol and yet hadn’t been on antabuse.

So what does this increased level of acetaldehyde due to you? Produces a dreaded hangover. So let’s say you are on antabuse and you down a beer to get your night started, within a few minutes you will start to experience some severe hangover symptoms and they will last anywhere from several minutes to several hours.

What symptoms do you experience? Your skin might flush, there will be nausea, vomiting, terrible headache, confusion, shortness of breath, and perhaps even fainting or collapse. In short it is the worst hangover you can imagine for the least amount of alcohol you have ever drank. Here is where antabuse works in the longterm: your body cannot build an immunity to it. Some medicines are taken but then you can grow a tolerance with it. However the longer you take Antabuse the worse the effects get for you if you consume alcohol.

While the hangover itself is a side effect, the true side effect of Antabuse is a shortness of breath and a tingling in the lower legs. But there is no doubt that if Antabuse is committed to by the patient it can help keep you clean and sober for many years to come.