News

Bipartisan Focus on Opioid Overdose Deaths

Posted on by Christy Weeks

The rise in drug overdose deaths in America has legislators from both sides turning their attention to the insidious problem. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky (R), and Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts (D) have called upon the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to urge the Surgeon General to issue a report on the problem opioid overdose deaths plaguing the country, The Hill reports.

Since 1999, deaths caused by prescription opioids quadrupled, the article reports. In 2013 alone, 44,000 people lost their lives to opioid overdoses – more than firearms or car crash related deaths.

Addiction to opioids and the overdoses related to abuse does not discriminate, people from all walks of life, both red and blue, have lost their lives to prescription drugs and heroin. Senator Markey says the issue “has to be bipartisan,” according to the article.

“Whether it’s Lexington, Massachusetts or Lexington, Kentucky, this epidemic knows no boundaries,” said Markey. “Senator McConnell and I believed that our response should know no political boundaries.”

Recently, McConnell and Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania (D), introduced legislation to the HHS for the development of a plan focusing on neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Pregnant women who use opioids put the baby at risk of developing NAS, which requires weeks of intensive medical attention for several weeks after birth.

“This is a bipartisan issue that members of both parties have come together to fight head on,” McConnell said in a statement to The Hill.

Even democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has set her sights on addressing the problem. In Iowa, Clinton spoke about the issue:

“When I started running, when I started thinking about this campaign, I did not believe I would be standing in your living room talking about the drug abuse problem, the mental health problem, and the suicide problem,” said Clinton. “But I’m now convinced I have to talk about it. I have to do everything I can in this campaign to raise it, to end the stigma against talking about it.”
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Addiction and recovery news provided by Harmony Foundation

Sharp Rise in Tramadol-Related ER Visits

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Two new government reports found that there was a sharp increase in emergency room (ER) visits associated with the use of the drug tramadol, HealthDay reports. Tramadol is an opioid narcotic painkiller used for moderate, severe or chronic pain, and is the active ingredient brand-name pain medications, such as Ultram, Ultracet, Conzip and Ryzolt. Between 2005 and 2011, tramadol-related ER visits increased 145 percent.

The drug’s adverse reactions can include seizures and a reaction known as serotonin syndrome, which is potentially fatal, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Mixing tramadol with other drugs can be dangerous as well, especially when used with anti-anxiety medications, alcohol or other narcotic painkillers.

In 2005, there were almost 11,000 ER visits tied to tramadol. In 2009, almost 26,000 people were seen in the ER for tramadol and by 2011 there more than 27,000, according to SAMHSA. The highest increase in ER visits due to tramadol was among adults 55 and older, the article reports. The reports showed that the increase of tramadol-related ER visits was higher among women than among men.

“Tramadol and other pain relievers can help to alleviate pain, but they must be used carefully and in close consultation with a physician,” said SAMHSA Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, in an agency news release.

“Like all medications, tramadol can cause adverse reactions, which can be even more severe if the drug is misused. We must all work to lower the risks of taking prescription drugs,” McCance-Katz said.

“Simple steps such as following directions for use, letting your doctor know if you are experiencing a problem, locking up medications for safe storage, and proper disposal of unused medications are easy steps people can take to help reduce potential harm to themselves and others,” she said.

Generic Vicodin Prescibed More Than Any Other Drug

Posted on by Christy Weeks

In the United States, pain management is an important need, as well as a major problem. Patients complaining of pain are entitled to appropriate medications for treatment. Unfortunately, far too often medications, such as OxyContin ® (oxycodone) and Vicodin ® (hydrocodone), are misused and abused which ultimately can lead to addiction. Chronic over prescribing of opioid medications and gaps in screening, has led to a prescription drug epidemic in America.

In 2013, more Medicare beneficiaries received a prescription for generic Vicodin ®, known as hydrocodone acetaminophen, than any other prescription drug, The Wall Street Journal reports. In the same year, nearly two million Americans either abused or were dependent on opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s striking that the drug prescribed to the most beneficiaries is a narcotic painkiller that can be addictive,” said Walid Gellad, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The findings come from an analysis of Medicare’s prescription drug program, according to the article. The data indicated that some doctors prescribe the drug much more often than others, and a group of about 200 doctors gave the drug to more than half of the beneficiaries to whom they prescribed. Despite hydrocodone’s high potential for dependence, about 691,000 providers prescribed the drug in 2013.

The data showed that approximately 8.09 million Medicare beneficiaries were prescribed hydrocodone acetaminophen. Interestingly, the drug prescribed the most after generic Vicodin ® was the cholesterol drug simvastatin, with 7.03 million prescriptions.

Pain management is not an easy task, partly due to the fact that pain is subjective. However, it is clear that doctors should turn to prescription opioids as a last resort. Simply handing out Vicodin ® for minor pain complaints only fuels the prescription drug epidemic plaguing America.

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The Long Term Effects of Young Adult Alcohol Abuse

Posted on by Christy Weeks
young adult alcohol rehab colorado

A recent study has shown that adolescents that engage in binge drinking are more likely to develop anxiety disorders and alcohol addictions in adulthood. The study found that engaging in binge drinking while still an adolescent resulted in changes in genes needed for normal brain development. These changes were found to be long lasting in some individuals, and permanent in others. The damage was done after binge drinking while young, even with long periods of abstinence from alcohol.

This study further illustrates the dangers of drinking and addiction in adolescents and young adults. While binge drinking during adolescence, the brain doesn’t develop as it should. The same occurrence is thought to happen when young people abuse drugs. The development of the brain is hindered, and the consequences of that affect the individual the rest of their life.

Navigating through one’s adolescence years is difficult enough as it is. Once addiction comes into play, a young person’s life can quickly unravel. These years are crucial for the development of all aspects of a person, and participating in drinking alcohol or using drugs will hinder growth in all aspects.

It can sometimes be difficult to determine whether or not a young adult is addicted, or simply experimenting. A parent or loved one may be hesitant to address the issue because they associate the young person drinking or using drugs as a normal aspect of growing up. Drinking or using drugs in adolescence is detrimental to development, and if there is any suspicion that the young person may be addicted action should be taken immediately.

Our Young Adult Recovery Track focuses on the specific needs of young people. We offer the highest level of age specific care. A family program is available to assist the family through the most difficult of times, educate them on the disease of addiction, and help the family unit recover. If you would like more information on what Harmony Foundation can offer you, please contact us today.

Grieving for Addiction

Posted on by Christy Weeks
grieving for addiction

Those in early recovery have taken a monumental step towards a better way of life. Leaving a life of addiction behind is one of the best decisions an individual can make, and their lives are certainly better in recovery. However, a strange phenomenon can occur in recovery that causes a person to miss, or grieve over, their prior addictions.

It is understandable that a person very early in recovery might feel this way. They are newly sober, and have yet to truly experience a life of recovery. This line of thinking can also be present to those further along the recovery path. Why would a person that has experienced a better way of life grieve over an inferior way of life?

The primary reason is that recovery is real. The life of addiction is many times romanticized, and the good parts of the old life are highlighted while the bad parts are forgotten. “Freedom” is replaced by responsibility, and old memories are skewed and thought of as better than they really were. Using buddies are remembered as loyal friends, drug seeking as adventures, and day-to-day life as carefree.

Individuals, deep down, are aware these thoughts weren’t the reality in addiction. If they were brutally honest, they’d say the “freedom” was the exact opposite, using buddies took advantage of them, drug seeking stole time from their lives, and life was anything but carefree. Addicts are aware of the realities of their addictions, but chose to entertain a false truth from time to time.

Allowing the thought process to go down this road can be deadly or beneficial, depending on the type of support system the individual has in their lives. If the correct support is there, this line of thinking can be analyzed to discover why it’s entertained in the first place. This can be an extremely beneficial exercise, and reveal much about a person’s makeup. Without the correct support system, the person may never be pulled back to a healthy way of thinking. They may venture so far into the fantasy that they chose to pursue the old way of life and relapse.

Having a proper support system is of the utmost importance in all stages of recovery. These fantasy thoughts are typical, and having others around you to talk truth is vital. A residential treatment center is appropriate for those brand new to recovery. These thoughts can occur more frequently in early recovery, and a greater level of support is needed. The appropriate level of support never tapers off, it simply changes. Outpatient or Aftercare services are appropriate after treatment, and a presence in the recovery community will be appropriate the rest of your life. The further you go down the recovery path, the more you are able to provide the support you need for yourself. You will become able to bring yourself back to reality, and know to seek help when you can’t. Eventually the script will be flipped, and you will help teach others of the realities of their addictions.

Harmony Foundation provides the recovery support needed during treatment, and for the rest of your life. The road to recovery begins here.

Young Adults Drink More Around Friends

Posted on by Christy Weeks
Young Adult Alcohol Rehab Colorado

A recent study found that young adults consume more alcohol when they are around a greater number of friends. The study took place in natural settings, not a lab. The subjects recorded when they had a drink, and how many friends were around them at the time they had a drink. Though both sexes showed a significant increase in the amount of drinks they had when a greater number of friends were around, the peak in consumption was especially prevalent in males.

Young adult’s drinking is affected when others are around them. Young adults also have an unrealistic view of others in their social circle. Many times, they see their peers as more daring than they really are. This can lead to attempting to live up to unrealistic expectations they place on themselves. They believe they need to make more daring decisions, and take steps to achieve that. With substance abuse, this can quickly lead to addiction.

Addiction treatment can often be tricky with young adults. Many times, they see treatment as a form of punishment, and therapists as extensions of parental authority. This can cause the young person to not be as open to retaining valuable knowledge gained in rehabilitation as their older counterparts. To truly reach, and treat, young adults a program must be designed specifically for them.

Harmony Foundation offers a young adult recovery track that caters to the unique circumstances of young people. If you would like to learn more about what Harmony’s young adult program offers, please contact us for additional information.

Decrease in Oxycontin Use Leads to Spike in Heroin Use

Posted on by Christy Weeks
Heroin vs Oxycontin Addiction

Around 2010 the Oxycontin epidemic was growing out of control. The strength and availability of the drug led to many people becoming addicted to the famous painkiller. The days of having to visit a dark alley to achieve a strong opiate high were over. Individuals misusing the prescription drug were on the rise.

In 2010 a misuse deterrent was introduced. This changed the formulation of the drug to make it more difficult to crush or dissolve. The idea was to lower the ease with which a person could snort or inject the drug. The plan achieved what it set out to achieve, as the number of individuals checking into addiction treatment centers who had used Oxycontin in the last 30 days dropped from 45 percent before the formula change to 26 percent in 2014. Addicts entering rehab who had used Oxycontin in he last 30 days has nearly halved in 4 years.

However, of the 19 percent of users who stopped taking Oxycontin during this time, it’s estimated that 70 percent of them switched to heroin. The secondary effects of the formula change had devastating results in the addiction world. Making it more difficult to abuse Oxycontin didn’t make addicts stop using drugs, it just made them switch drugs. Concurrently with this trend, heroin overdoses have skyrocketed in the last 4 years.

Changing the drugs formula, in the big picture, didn’t work. They changed some things, and addicts found a way around it. This is true of many scenarios that arise in addiction. Attempting anything, outside of relentlessly pursuing recovery, is typically useless. Many addicts will need professional help to get clean and stay clean.

Harmony Foundation provides the professional care necessary to help you or a loved one achieve a lasting recovery. If you would like to learn more about what our program has to offer, contact us for more information.

Overcoming Addiction

Posted on by Christy Weeks
Recovering Addicts less likely to develop new addictions

A recent study has shown that individuals who are able to overcome a substance abuse addiction are less likely to develop an addiction to another substance. The study found that 27 percent of those that had never developed addictions, or never recovered, and 13 percent of those who had recovered from their addictions had developed an addiction to a different substance after three years. The study shows that those who have recovered from their addictions are less than half as likely to develop a new addiction to a substance other than their original drug of choice.

Recovering from an addiction to drugs or alcohol requires drastic changes to one’s life. The addict has to change their life to stay sober long term. To ensure lasting recovery, new groups of friends are acquired and relationships with families are mended. Many times, the individual in recovery is a totally different person than they were in active addiction. They have left more than the addiction behind; they’ve left their old way of thinking and living behind. It makes sense that individuals such as this would be less likely to revisit addiction.

The study highlights the need to get proper, individualized treatment, and recover fully. Those who work to recover at full capacity are less likely to develop another addiction to a different drug. Those who give it half effort end up with the same likelihood of developing another addiction as those who never attempted to recover at all. Getting sober cannot be achieved by exerting anything short of a full effort.

If you or a loved one want to recover from a substance abuse addiction, and are ready to take the steps necessary to achieve it, contact Harmony Foundation to learn more about what our program can offer you.

Addiction and the Downward Spiral

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Actress June Fairchild, know for her roles in “Up in Smoke” and “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot”, died Tuesday in Los Angeles from complications related to liver cancer. Fairchild appeared in several films in the 1970’s, and it appeared she had the ability to become a star before addiction came into her life. Fairchild’s drug and alcohol addiction led to her living in a cardboard box on skid row in Los Angeles.

Stories such as this highlight the destructive nature of substance abuse addiction. Going from appearing in films alongside Clint Eastwood to living in a cardboard box shows addiction affects everyone, and is detrimental to everyone.

Stories like this often don’t get as much notoriety as other celebrity drug stories. A well-known celebrity getting in trouble with the law or overdosing, while in the prime of their career, provides a juicier storyline. However, stories such as this probably show the nature of addiction in its truest form. There is a good chance addiction will lead to overdose or getting arrested, but it is a certainty that addiction will negatively affect the trajectory of your life. For every rock star that dies from a drug overdose, there are probably dozens of individuals who had promising careers that drifted into obscurity before their careers took off due to addiction. Many tragic Hollywood addiction stories happen when the camera is no longer around.

All addicts, regardless of their place in life, suffer from a gravitation pull towards rock bottom. This downward life trajectory may be “televised”, it may not. Many times, only recovery can reverse the downward trend. If you have an addiction, and would like to learn how to our program can help, contact us for more information.

Alcoholism in the Overworked

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Addiction can sneak up on a person in many ways. Rarely, if ever, does an individual develop a substance abuse addiction intentionally. Many addict’s stories involve a set of misfortunes that started initially as a harmless act. Perhaps a person was injured, and was prescribed opiate painkillers at their local doctors office. There are several innocent-seeming acts that can lead someone down the path to addiction.

Being overworked has proven to be a top contributor to increased drinking. Recent studies have found that individuals who work 48 hours or more in a week are more likely to engage in risky alcohol consumption. Risky alcohol consumption is defined as women having 14 or more drinks in a week, and men consuming 21 or more drinks in a week. Working longer hours, or being a “workaholic”, has been loosely attributed to increased drinking for some time. Television and movies typically show an individual who works long hours in a bar after they finally leave the office. Though this has been acknowledged in media, science is beginning to show proof that working longer increases alcohol consumption.

A troubling thought regarding this study is the fact that the individual drinks more, with less time on their hands. If they are spending more time at work, they have less time for leisure activities. What little time they do have at the end of the day is being filled with alcohol consumption. This can lead to an individual associating leisure or free time with drinking, which can be a dangerous association. When alcohol consumption becomes the main recreational activity, addiction can become much more likely. Attributing alcohol to fun can also be unhealthy because the individual fails to live a well-balanced life. Less time, and more drinking, leaves much less time for exercise or other healthy outlets that well-rounded, healthy individuals have in their lives.

If you’re struggling with a problem with alcohol abuse, Harmony Foundation offers programs to help you get your life back on track. If you would like to learn more about out programs, contact us for more information.