




Facts
Alcohol and Cocaine. When an individual has drunk alcohol in addition to taking cocaine, the depression of the crash phase can be even worse. Alcohol reduces a person's control over his or her impulses, such as the impulse to commit suicide. Therefore, alcohol use combined with the despair of the crash period can put a person at high risk for suicide. In addition, cocaine has important interactions with alcohol in the body. For example, cocaine plus alcohol in the body produces a compound called cocaethylene. This compound produces more intense and longer euphoria (a feeling of intense well-being), but it also increases the risk of death from cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). Recent studies of cocaine withdrawal suggest that not all users go through three separate phases. One four-week study examined twelve inpatients who were dependent on cocaine. During withdrawal, the subjects suffered from depression, craving, and anxiety. These symptoms improved steadily during the four weeks. By the end of the fourth week, the cocaine users had come out of withdrawal. An important difference between this study and earlier studies is that the researchers worked with inpatients. Inpatients live in the protected setting of a hospital or treatment center. They are not constantly reminded of cocaine by certain people or places in their lives, as are cocaine users who go through outpatient treatment while living on their own. As a result, the phases of cocaine withdrawal may be less distinct for inpatients. 33.4% of students report heavy alcohol use. After marijuana and amphetamines, cocaine is considered to be the most widely available drug on high school and college campuses in the United States. Scientists don't yet know the exact neurobiological mechanisms that form learned associations from drug experiences. However, researchers have observed that drugs induce changes in brain cells, or neural adaptations, similar to those underlying normal learning. These adaptations result in a modification of the brain's neural circuitry—the interconnected networks of neurons responsible for behavioral, cognitive, and emotional and motivational processes. |
Drug Addiction
Drug addiction is a pattern of repeated drug taking that usually results in tolerance (the need for greater amounts of the drug to achieve the same effect), withdrawal (physical and cognitive effects when drug use declines or stops), and compulsive drug taking behavior (drug taking that persists despite efforts to reduce intake and despite problems with family, friends, and work). Drug addiction encompasses a diverse range of drugs (such as alcohol, cannabis, amphetamines, and cocaine) and is caused by many different factors.
Drug Side Effects
Drug addiction and abuse comes with a heavy price. There are drastic drug side effects associated with drug misuse and abuse. Drug side effects from legal and illegal drugs can range from mild itching to comas and death. In addition to the physical drug side effects mentioned, there are many psychological drug side effects of drug abuse; the most serious being drug addiction and overdose.
Drug Overdose
A drug overdose occurs when you consume more drugs than your body can tolerate. Drug users are constantly flirting with the risk of a drug overdose. There is a
fine line between the high they're seeking and serious injury or death. While many victims of drug overdose recover without long term effects, there
can be serious consequences. Some drug overdoses cause the failure of major
organs like the kidneys or liver, or failure of whole systems like the
respiratory or circulatory systems. Patients who survive drug overdose may need
kidney dialysis, kidney or liver transplant, or ongoing care as a result of
heart failure, stroke, or coma. Death can occur in almost any drug overdose
situation, particularly if treatment is not started immediately.
Intervention
An intervention is when a group of loved ones and/or a trained intervention counselor meets with the person in need of help for the purpose of breaking down their denial and motivating them to immediately seek drug addiction treatment. Often, individuals in the midst of drug addiction engage in a variety of self destructive behaviors. Although baffling to friends and family members such people generally either aren't aware on a conscious level that they have a drug addiction problem, or even when they know they have a problem they may cling to the false belief that the problem will somehow go away without any outside help. When an intervention is held a moment of clarity is created
for the addict. Most people struggling with the problem of drug or alcohol
addiction will accept help the very day of the intervention.
Abstinence
Abstinence is the act or practice of refraining from indulging a desire. The type of abstinence we are referring to here is abstinence from drugs and alcohol. This term has two connotations when it comes to abstaining from drugs. The first refers to drug or alcohol treatment programs that aim to help an individual stop using drugs or alcohol for the rest of their lives. The time abstinence is also used in drug education and prevention. It refers to trying to stop children from ever using drugs.
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