Back to School

Back to school—a time filled with both dread and excitement. A time for old friends, new friends, different experiences and situations which may bring new peer pressures that aren’t always positive. While some parents may believe their child is immune to such things, in reality they are mistaken. With fall traditions such as school dances, football games, and back to school parties right around the corner, now is one of the most crucial times to address the many dangers that can come from alcohol and drug abuse. For some under the radar shocking statistics and a heart wrenching story to help guide you and your teen in the right direction for the new school year, click here.


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Life Long Effects of Alcohol Abuse

Impaired judgment, loss of employment, domestic violence are just a few of the many consequences associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Alcohol has been an integral part of society and human civilization for thousands of years. About 2 billion people across the world consume alcoholic drinks; and while it is commonly associated with pleasure and sociability, its use has severe consequences.

According to James R. Milam, Ph.D., and Katherine Ketcham in Under the Influence—A Guide to the Myths and Realities of Alcoholism, Currently, there are over 76 million people who suffer from alcohol abuse disorders. Alcohol abuse can have adverse social and economic effects on the individual drinker, the drinker’s immediate environment and society as a whole. People suffering from alcohol abuse or alcoholism have an increased risk of committing criminal offenses, such as child abuse, domestic violence, rape, burglary, and assault. You may lose your car, your job, your house, your spouse. You may neglect to fulfill all your responsibilities, or even get arrested for driving under the influence. These are just a few of the short term consequences associated with alcohol abuse or alcoholism.

Because these consequences don’t always seem long lasting, it sometimes leads to a sense of denial about the issue. “Oh, I’ll be fine. I’ll find a new job,” or “He only hits me when he’s drunk, everything is great otherwise.” Furthermore, many don’t take into the account the long term effects that have been going on seemingly unnoticed and will affect them for the rest of their lives. Some of the long-term effects of alcohol abuse are:

• Heart Failure: Heart failure is a major cause of death from alcohol abuse and alcoholism with some symptoms of alcoholic cardiomyopathy, or heart disease, being heart palpitations and labored or difficult breathing. High blood pressure is another common condition among untreated alcoholics and a contributor to heart failure.

• Fatty Liver: Whenever alcohol is in the body, the liver uses it for fuel rather than the more difficult and time consuming fat, thus letting the fat build up in the liver. As the fat accumulates, it begins to crowd the highly specialized liver cells, many of which die. This condition, called fatty infiltration of the liver or alcohol liver disease, is where as more and more liver cells are injured, the fatty deposits enlarge, causing the liver to swell.

• Cirrhosis of the liver: As the alcoholic continues to drink, so many liver cells get destroyed to the point where scar tissue begins to form. This condition has a profound effect on the alcoholic’s behavior and emotions. The toxic alcoholic is confused, his thought process jumbled and rambling, and memory and judgment muddled. Even his balance and equilibrium may be affected. If the drinking continues and scar tissue begins to form, the blood vessels will be gradually choked off and the liver cells will sicken and die until the formerly mighty and complex factory of the liver is reduced to a decrepit, fragile structure clogged with poisons, wastes, and dead cells; incapable of sustaining life.

• Gastrointestinal Disorders: Milam and Ketcham in Under the Influence, explain that alcohol sabotages the protective system designed to prevent the stomach from digesting itself by assaulting the fat and protein layer of the membranes and weakening the tight links between the cells that make up this barrier. Digestive juices may now leak through the cells and onto the membranes. This leads to the lining of the stomach becoming seriously inflamed, a condition known as gastritis. Gastritis can be severe enough to cause bleeding, and its symptoms include indigestion, bloating, nausea, headache, and abnormal increase or decrease in appetite.

• Respiratory Tract Disease: In general, alcoholism causes damage to the lungs by interfering with the body’s normal defense mechanisms. This thereby makes the alcoholic susceptible to respiratory infection and injury. The interference with normal functioning can lead to infections, tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and lung abscess. The acute inflammation or infection of the lungs, pneumonia, is a frequent cause of death for late stage alcoholics.

• Cancer: Also in Under the Influence, while alcohol isn't a widely accepted cancer-causing agent, there are strong indications that large amounts of alcohol taken over a prolonged period of time definitely contribute to or aggravate cancers throughout the body. Alcoholics appear to have an increased risk of head and neck, esophageal, lung and liver cancers.

• Pancreatitis: Large and continuous does of alcohol injure the pancreas, causing it to activate and release certain digestive enzymes which, in turn, aggravate the inflammation of this vital gland located behind the stomach and the liver. Pancreatitis is characterized by severe pain in the upper abdomen, often radiating to the back and lower chest, nausea, vomiting, and constipation.

• Malnutrition: All alcoholics suffer from malnutrition to some degree. Large doses of alcohol interfere with digestion and passage of nutrients from the intestines into the bloodstream. Without adequate nutrients, the cells, already weakened by long exposures to alcohol’s toxic effects, are not able to create bone, tissue, blood, or energy. The sick and injured cells thus don’t have the resources to repair themselves, and damage continues to go unchecked.

These long-term life threatening effects often get overlooked in comparison to short term consequences. Alcoholism is a progressive disease and one of the most difficult obstacles is getting an alcoholic to admit that they have a problem. Alcoholics are able to drink more and more each day which further contributes to these long term effects as well as the short term ones.

See the signs in your loved one before it’s too late and help them get the care and alcohol abuse treatment they need and deserve.


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The Lesson Behind Celebrity Relapse

“Amy Winehouse back in Rehab!” One of many headlines taking over the Internet, heard on the radio, talked about around the “water cooler” at work… Yet another celebrity is going back to rehab! How are we supposed to trust that rehab actually works if we are constantly inundated with headline after headline of celebrities that are going back into drug rehab time and time again?

Assuming you’ve been caught a gossip column or two, it seems as though celebrities are using drug rehab like a revolving door. If these celebrities, some of which are role models for today’s youth, and others respected by the masses, aren’t able to overcome their addiction is there any hope for the average person considering celebrity access to drug rehab facilities that are starting to resemble upscale resorts. With so many posh treatment facilities near Hollywood it is easier than ever for stars to check in and out, as if they were on a mini vacation. Yet as luxurious as some may seem, checking into a drug rehab facility often isn’t the first choice for a celebrity who’s in trouble. As Stacy Kaiser, Los Angeles-based psychotherapist and panelist on the reality TV show “Celebrity Fit Club,” says, "You really have to hit your personal bottom in order to get better. Sometimes these celebs are going into rehab simply to avoid going to jail, so they haven't really hit their bottom," Kaiser says. "Or else, they've been dragged in by the law or suggested by their agents or families and don't want to go on their own accord." For instance, in Amy Winehouse’s case, it was her father who pushed her back into rehab again; furthermore, Winehouse is entering drug rehab in order to be ready for performances in Europe this summer, not for her own well-being.

However, many of the celebrities that end up checking back into rehab time and time again, highlights the fact that in order to be successful one must fully commit to the drug rehab program that they are in for it to be effective treatment. According to research statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, patients in a drug rehab program will reach a milestone in their recovery after 3 months, however, that doesn’t mean that everyone’s recovery is done after only three months or that additional treatment will not be helpful. When people leave treatment early their chances for a full recovery drop significantly. Addiction is a chronic disease, something that since there is no cure for, needs to be constantly managed. While there are plenty of celebrities relapsing and reentering drug rehab programs, there are some that set a good example by fully acknowledging that you need to take control of your addiction in order to manage it. Take Mathew Perry for example, who pressured by a manager or parent, wasn’t forced to do so by the law, isn’t only trying to get ready for some new project, and didn’t even relapse; yet he has reentered a drug rehab facility to work on his ongoing recovery.

Lesson to be learned—Effectively treating alcohol and drug addiction requires hard work and dedication; one cannot simply go through the motions to recovery expecting a miraculous “cure.” Celebrity or not, addiction is a disease which requires constant monitoring, and through a combination of individualized treatment and a dedicated work ethic, long lasting recovery is definitely possible…don’t let the headlines scare you from making the choice to live a healthier life!


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Drunkorexia

Sure, we have all heard of Anorexia and Bulimia, the two most common eating disorders plaguing our society today, but Drunkorexia? What’s that?

While women are more commonly associated with eating disorders, more than a million males also battle the illness every day, especially in regards to college. Between fraternity binge drinking and the social norms of alcohol on campus, guys are also trying to find ways to control their weight while having a good time as well. That’s where the term Drunkorexia comes into play.

While Drunkorexia isn’t yet considered a medical term, it has become the new slang term used to describe the behavior of someone who skips meals in order to save calories for alcoholic beverages, as well as someone who abuses the overconsumption of alcohol to purge food. Among those that fall into the Drunkorexia category are college-age binge drinkers, starving themselves all day in order to offset the calories they consume that night in alcohol.

While one might think that anorexics would avoid alcohol because of its high calorie count, alcohol abuse by anorexics has become an increasingly common trend. Some drink to calm down or ease the anxiety of having indulged in a meal. Others consume alcohol as their only sustenance; while on the other hand, others still use drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine to suppress their appetites.

According to Douglas Bunnell, the director of outpatient clinical services for the Renfew Center, “There are women who are afraid to put a grape in their mouth but have no problem drinking a beer.” Our society has an obsession with being skinny and combined with the social acceptance of drinking and using drugs, problems can occur. As Bunnell states, “Both disorders are behaviors that are glorified and reinforced, binge drinking is almost cool and hip, and losing weight and being thin is a cultural imperative for young women in America. Mixing both is not surprising, and it has reached a tipping point in terms of public awareness.”

Psychologists stress that the main cause of Drunkorexia is addiction itself. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “alcoholism and eating disorders frequently co-occur and often co-occur in the presence of other psychiatric and personality disorders.” While, as stated earlier, Drunkorexia isn’t considered a medical term yet, a growing number of researchers have begun to examine the psychological and neurological links between eating disorders and substance abuse.


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Relieving Stress with Alcohol May Increase Stress Later

“I don’t drink every night; I’m just having fun with my friends!” or “We’re celebrating tonight, so let’s go big!” or “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!”

Have you ever said or thought any of those statements?

When you can’t immediately see the negative consequences that go along with your actions, it is very easy to make the leap to “if nothing bad is happening now while I’m young, then my actions won’t cause any negative consequences in the future as well…right?”

Wrong. In regards to alcohol abuse and binge drinking during adolescence, the exact opposite has proven to be true.

Binge drinking is defined as consuming more than four or five drinks in a single session. According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 36 percent of youths between the ages of 18 to 20 reported at least one binge-drinking episode during the past 30 days. The majority of college students are between the ages of 18 and 20, and with finals right around the corner, many will turn to binge drinking as a way to let loose and try to take away from all the stress final papers and tests bring. However, many don’t realize that while they may feel as if they are relieving stress now, in reality they may be shaping themselves up for even more stress among other negative consequences in adulthood, as a result of binge drinking.

The findings from a study done by researchers from the Loyola School of Medicine, suggest that alcohol exposure during puberty permanently alters the system by which the brain triggers the body to produce stress hormones. In essence, exposing young people to alcohol could permanently disrupt connections in the brain that are normally formed during puberty and are necessary to ensure healthy adult brain function.

In addition, teenage binge drinking has also been linked to damage to one’s prospective memory. Prospective memory is the cognitive ability to remember to carry out an activity at some future point in time. For example, you use your prospective memory when you remember to pay your rent on the first of the month. Imagine forgetting to pay your rent on time and getting evicted from your house or apartment. How horrible would that be?

And it doesn’t stop there; these examples are only two on a long list of ways in which binge drinking as an adolescent can affect you well into adulthood. Other negative consequences that may occur in adulthood as a result of binge drinking include:

An increased risk of anxiety
An increased risk of depression
An increased risk of stroke or heart-related death in men with high blood pressure
An increased risk in developing alcoholism
Face social exclusion as adults
Find themselves with a string of criminal convictions in adulthood
An increase in the risk for hemorrhagic stroke

When you reach for the bottle the night you finish your finals take a minute to think about your future.


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Getting Dressed Up For An Alcohol Related Accident

With prom and graduation right around the corner, these next few months should be some of the happiest moments of one’s teenage years, not a time clouded by tragedy. Sadly the two seem to go hand in hand more often than they should.

Annually, parents and communities nationwide are forced to face the sad reality of mourning the death of a young life cut off before its prime. A national study of more than 2,500 eleventh and twelfth graders found that 90 percent of teens believe their peers are more likely to drink and drive on prom night, and that 79 percent believe that the same holds true for graduation night. However, this belief doesn’t necessarily translate to concern over the dangers of drinking and driving on prom and graduation night. According to the study only 29 percent and 25 percent of teens say that driving on prom night and graduation night, respectively, is dangerous.

Every year between the months of April, May, and June, YouTube, Facebook, newspapers, and television alike are laden with tales of tragedy about carless and drunk driving on prom and graduation nights. Unfortunately, an “it won’t happen to me” attitude has become prevalent in teens today diminishing the truth that this is a very real problem- Alcohol abuse. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2007, there were 380 teen alcohol-related fatalities during prom and graduation season. In 2001 alone, there were 1,012 fatalities of children under the age of 21 as a result of alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

It’s no secret that children under the age of 21 are drinking alcohol. To help keep teenagers safe during these monumental occasions, Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) recommend that parents maintain an open line of communication with their children in regards to drinking, and set clear and straight-forward rules for major events such as prom and graduation.

Prom and Graduation should be joyous occasions for everyone, where kids get dressed up for dancing and fancy dinners- Not for funerals.


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BREAST CANCER RISK WITH ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Photo: Susan G. Komen

In it's recent "enews" mailing, the Susan G. Komen foundation brought to the public's attention the increased risk for breast cancer in women who drink alcohol. Many of us at The Recovery Place have personal experiences with breast cancer, and many live with loved ones who are battling the disease. We believe that anyone who has seen the insidious effects of breast cancer would want to insure that their loved ones take every reasonable precaution to prevent the disease or its spread. We are all too familiar with the other harmful and life threatening effects that alcohol addiction can have on someone.  


The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines excessive drinking as more more than one alcoholic drink a day for women, and more than two alcoholic drinks a day for men. Per the CDC,  "over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases, neurological impairments and social problems."   


The CDC lists the risks of excessive alcohol drinking as:  

• Neurological problems, including dementia, stroke and neuropathy.
• Cardiovascular problems, including myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation and hypertension. 
• Psychiatric problems, including depression, anxiety, and suicide. Social problems, including unemployment, lost productivity, and family problems.
• Cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, and breast. In general, the risk of cancer increases with increasing amounts of alcohol.
• Liver diseases, including— Alcoholic hepatitis. Cirrhosis, which is among the 15 leading causes of all deaths in the United States.  

For women, "Having even just a few alcoholic drinks each week appears to modestly increase the risk of breast cancer." The numbers in the research are frightening, as the risk of breast cancer was 20% higher for women who drank two to three alcoholic drinks a day than for women who didn't drink alcohol. that's a fairly high increase in breast cancer risk, and one we believe most women would not want to take. 


While the exact cause and effect between drinking and increased breast cancer in women is not precisely defined, what is known is that alcohol is very high in calories and very low in nutrients. Drinking can lead to weight gain, and excess weight is a cancer risk. In addition "heavier women have higher levels of blood estrogen and higher levels of estrogen are linked to an increase risk of breast cancer."  


We urge our female clients and friends to consider this as one more reason why they should not consume alcohol, in any amount.  


We also are pleased to recommend that you support the work of the Susan G. Komen foundation. You can read more about it and donate throught their website. 

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CAUGHT IN A STORM OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION

Headlines have been flooded with news of young adults, teens and even children experimenting with drugs and alcohol as early as 3 years old. Many of these addictions can be attributed to the greater availability of harmful substances and parents monitoring their children on looser terms.

Studies have shown that drinking earlier in life can lead to heavier drinking. Also drugs, even marijuana, take heavier tolls on young growing bodies. While these studies bring light to the dangers of starting young we have continued to see a growth in experimenting youth.

It seems as though better examples need to be made for our future generations. The accessibility of illegal substances is something an individual may not be able to control, but warning your children of the dangers, practicing a healthy lifestyle, and removing in home accessibility are smaller steps to stopping the trend. 

One major lesson to bestow is clearing up major misconceptions amongst drugs and alcohol. Teens and young adults often times have impressionable minds and tend to follow the crowd in binge drinking as a social lubricant rather than a spark to full blown alcoholism. “It’s just one night” or “I’m not drinking alone” pose excuses for heavy alcohol consumption rather than warning signs. Or the myriad of arguments that say marijuana isn’t harmful to your body, it’s natural or even used in medicine.

Talk to your kids, loved ones and peers starting young. We cannot blame them for increasing the statistic if they are uneducated on the problem.

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SAY GAME OVER TO ALCOHOL ADDICTION

Alcoholism isn't a spectator sport. Eventually the whole family gets to play
- Joyce Rebeta-Burditt 

But just how do you get out of the game?  Alcoholism treatment comes in such a confusing array of options, what is the best way to choose a rehab option that will work?

Look for these key qualities in an alcohol addiction program 

• Help From First Contact—information on what is available to clients and families, and help navigating the system 
• Detox Services—an essential first step to successful alcohol rehab
• Client Centered—treatment plans need to be unique to each person
• Multiple Treatment Tracks— these may include Christian, dual diagnosis or trauma recovery
• Certified and Licensed—and staffed by professionals who are experienced and compassionate
• Relapse Prevention Focus—alcohol treatment programs need to give each client a solid and practical toolbox of techniques to use when there is a danger of taking another drink
• Aftercare—client and family members need to have services and support available once they leave the actual rehab treatment facility 

So get out of the game. It's time.

The Recovery Place alcohol rehab team is available 24/7 to help you sort out the options and get you and your family the help they need for the treatment of alcoholism.

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POWERLESS TO POWERFUL THROUGH CHRISTIAN ADDICTION REHAB

The Recovery Place March blog series takes a look at the specialized treatment tracks that help addicts, alcoholics and their families find the program that best meets their unique needs

“Powerlessness is the first step to finding any type of spiritual growth,” explains Charlotte Day, Lead Clinician for the Christian Program at TRP.  “A critical step for addicts is realizing that they are powerless to choose to stop using.”   This is where recovery begins. 

Through a dynamic new video series, Charlotte explains the Christian 12-step approach to addiction recovery, and how it supports rehab and recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. 

The Recovery Place helps those who believe a high power and Christian approach is the best way for them to obtain, and sustain, long-term abstinence from drug and alcohol abuse.  It is also available to those who seek a first-time or renewed relationship with God. 

By combining Bible-based therapies with traditional ones, an even more powerful treatment plan is available to those attending TRPs Christian alcohol and drug rehab program. Bible study and church services are frequent and important parts of this track. 

Admitting that you are powerless isn't an admission of defeat, except in the sense that you, or a loved one, are being defeated by the drugs or alcohol. Admitting that you are powerless means that you are ready for God’s help and that of the treatment team in the Christian addiction rehab program here at The Recovery Place

View Original Post, Powerless to Powerful Through Christian Addiction Rehab 


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NAME YOUR POISON

Body cells are very quick to snap up alcohol when someone takes a drink, particularly on an empty stomach.  This ability (disability!) of the cells to do this is what causes the deadly condition of alcohol poisoning. 

Alcohol poisoning occurs when multiple drinks are taken over a short period of time.  The level of alcohol in the blood (BAC) shoots up rapidly, as high as 0.40% or more.  Alcohol intoxication, or being legally drunk, is a BAC above 0.08%, so it is no surprise that 12 times this level can be deadly. 

Since hard liquor has a higher amount of alcohol per drink than beer or wine, someone who is rapidly drinking straight whiskey, vodka or other spirits can reach a dangerous BAC much more rapidly. 

Alcohol poisoning can occur in binge drinkers or long-term alcoholics.  

Symptoms of alcohol poisoning: 

• Confusion
• Vomiting (a person can die if they inhale vomit)
• Breathing less than 8 times a minute 
• Pale, bluish skin (caused by too little oxygen in the body)
• Cold and clammy skin
• Seizures
• Anger that is so uncontrolled it can cause harm 

Alcohol poisoning is a medical emergency. If you think your loved one has these symptoms during a bout of drinking, call 9-1-1! 

Maybe you haven’t seen this extreme drinking in your friend or family member, but something is telling you that there is a problem. How do you tell the difference between social drinking and alcoholism? 

Here are some solid indicators that drinking has become a problem: 

• Responsibilities at work, home and school are no longer fulfilled
• Alcohol is drunk in risky situations, such as when driving or using machinery
• Legal problems come up, such as DUIs, fights or not paying bills
• Letting go of relationships with family and friends 

Here are some symptoms of alcohol addiction: 

• A strong and persistent craving for alcohol 
• Being unable to stop drinking,  even if it means losing a job or family member
• Not being able to limit the number of drinks one has
• Symptoms of withdrawal when unable to find a drink (in as little as 3-8 hours!)

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ALCOHOL CAUSES 4 PERCENT OF ANNUAL DEATHS

Startled by that headline?  It’s a fact.  

Early this month the World Health Organization (WHO) announced statistics on the primary causes of death in the world.  Alcohol-related deaths account for 2.5 million deaths a year.  The same WHO report shows that 15.3 million people of the world’s population have drug-addiction problems. 

In the United States 52% of adults state that they drink on a regular basis, and 14,406 people die from alcoholic liver disease—this isn’t even adding in the deaths caused in some way by injuries and accidents relating to alcohol.

“But I just drink beer.”

It isn’t the kind of alcoholic beverage, but many other factors that account for the effects of alcohol. Here are a few: 

• One 12-ounce beer has the same amount of alcohol as a 5-ounce glass of wine or a 1.5 ounce of hard liquor 
• Alcohol of any kind is rapidly absorbed through the lining of the stomach and goes to every tissue of the body.  Drinking on an empty stomach makes this absorption of alcohol even faster.
• The liver can only metabolize a half an ounce of alcohol per hour, so the faster someone drinks the more quickly, and longer, they experience the effects 

Short term or long term effects of alcohol—both can be deadly 

In this week’s blog well take a look at the short term effects of drinking alcohol.  Next time we’ll focus on the long term effects.

ETOH is the chemical compound for ethanol, which is the alcohol found in varying amounts in beer, wine or hard liquor.   ETOH abuse is the common medical term for alcohol abuse or addiction.

Ethanol has a direct effect on the central nervous system of the body.  It causes euphoria (another word for “high”) initially, but as the level increases in the body it tends to have a depressant effect.  Even when the blood alcohol level is low in the body, impaired judgment, poor physical coordination and a shortened attention span begin to occur. 

Judgment. Coordination. Attention span. Obviously these three things are crucial when driving, so it is easy to see the connection between alcohol and driving accidents.

Loss of inhibitions are also a short term side effect of ETOH, and this loss of inhibition and judgment can lead to behaviors (whether aggressive, promiscuous or risk-taking) that someone normally wouldn’t show when they aren’t drinking alcohol.

Beer and wine have been around for over a thousand years.  There are cheap to make, readily available, and have a long history of causing misuse and addiction.

Consumer watch groups have noted that children and teenagers are exposed to over 1000 beer or wine related commercials a year.  Although television commercials advertising hard liquor haven’t been around for years, there is no actual legal ban, like there is with cigarettes.  Many companies that make and sell liquor are pressing to advertise their products on television again. 

Do you think it is harmful to more freely advertise hard liquor on radio and television? 

Share your views with The Recovery Place blog!

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ANOTHER KIND OF DRUG VICTIM

In The Recovery Place blog addiction education series this week, we are taking a further look at the benzodiazepine class of drugs, or benzos.

If you or a loved one is fighting addiction, then you understand that drugs and alcohol have a wide and destructive reach.  Benzos claim another kind of victim that you may not have thought much about.

Rohypnol is a benzo that isn’t prescribed or even manufactured in the United States.  In the 1990s it began to be smuggled in by drug traffickers, and a new kind of victim was created by this “date rape” drug.

Roofies (a common slang term for Rohypnol) began to be slipped into the drink (often in an alcoholic drink in a bar or party setting) of the victim in order to make them unaware of what is happening or unable to resist a sexual assault.

Rohypnol, like many benzos, is a powerful hypnotic drug, meaning it causes sleep or sedation.

Roofies are also used as a “party drug” to enhance the effects of alcohol, or to counteract the side-effects of stimulant drugs.  Many cocaine or methamphetamine addicts use Rohypnol to soften the rebound “crash” of these drugs as they begin to wear off.

Recreational drug users use benzos for the side-effects that they have:  sedation, drowsiness, dizziness and a relaxed feeling.

Ativan (lorazepam is the generic name) is another benzodiazepine important to the treatment of a variety of medical disorders, but also very high up on the list of benzos that are misused and abused. 

Ativan is frequently used for anxiety disorders and specific kinds of seizures.  Physical and psychological dependency to Ativan can occur after only a few weeks of use.

Addiction to prescription drugs is on the rise in the United States, Canada and many other countries.  These addictions may come about from the legitimate treatment of a medical condition, or from the recreational use of a teenager who finds some leftover Ativan or Codeine in a parent’s medicine cabinet.

Benzos like Ativan are among the most highly misused and abused prescription drugs.  And withdrawal from these drugs can be tough, as tough as withdrawing from heroin, and should be done under a physician’s guidance.

Klonopin (clonazepam) is another frequently prescribed benzodiazepine that is very effective in treating anxiety, panic disorders and some types of seizures.  It has legitimate uses that have to be very carefully weighed against the hard fact that prolonged use can cause a physical or psychological dependency.

Known as “K-pin” in street drug terms, Klonopin abuse is on the rise among high school students in the United States.  It is cheap to buy on the street, and sometimes too readily available when friends or siblings have been prescribed Klonopin for anxiety or other problems.  It is often combined with Vicodin or other narcotic medications by teens

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DEPENDENCY AND ADDICTION ON DOWNERS

“Benzos” is an abbreviated name for the benzodiazepine class of drugs.  These are also called tranquilizers, sedatives or depressants.  In street drug terms you may also hear them referred to as “downers”. 

Benzodiazepine drugs have been openly of concern as drugs of misuse and addiction since the 1980s, when they were the most commonly prescribed drug class in America.  Even before the public became aware of the problems, the medical community began to weigh the benefits of the use of benzos against the potential for dependence to these drugs. 

There are more than 15 commonly prescribed benzodiazepine drugs in the United States (and even more internationally!). In this Recovery Place blog we’ll take a closer look at benzos in general, and the commonly misused Valium and Xanax. 

The same theme keeps cropping up in The Recovery Place’s alcohol and drug rehab blog series on addiction education:  good medical ideas gone bad.  Benzos also fall into this category.

First discovered in the 1930s, benzodiazepines weren’t prescribed medically until 1957 when Librium began to be prescribed for anxiety and tension. Initially it was considered somewhat of a wonder drug. 

Librium began to be over-prescribed as a “nerve pill” for many conditions, real and imagined.   Those using these “nerve pills” developed physical and psychological dependence of the drug.  

While benzodiazepines have important medical benefits in treating anxiety, insomnia, seizures and muscle spasms, the problems with tolerance and physical dependence to the drug is an issue even when used for legitimate medical problems.  

Tolerance means that increasing dosages of a drug are needed to get the same effect.  Dependence means that the body demands a certain level of the drug in the body, or withdrawal symptoms may occur.  Emotional dependence may also occur, with a person thinking they can’t relax or can’t sleep, unless they take a benzo such as Valium or Xanax. 

Valium (the generic name is diazepam) is often prescribed for anxiety disorders and short-term episodes of anxiety.  Valiumcame on the market in the 1960s and was originally thought not to be addictive, and therefore a better alternative to Librium. 

Street names for Valium include candy, downers, sleeping pills or tranks. 

Valium, ironically, has great value in treating alcohol and drug withdrawal symptoms, including medical detox of people who are addicted to other kinds of benzos.  This is related to how slowly Valium is metabolized by the body. 

Xanax (the generic name is alprazolam) is another common benzodiazepine.  It is most often used to treat anxiety and panic disorders but working in a particular way on the brain.  

Dependence and tolerance to Xanax is also problematic, and when used medically must be done under close supervision by a physician.  

Street names for Xanax include Z-bars, bars or sticks.

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