Drug Addict 2

Half a decade ago, I started working on a hotline to help
addicts and their families find drug addiction treatment
centers. Thousands of calls later, I still remember the
first time I picked up the line.

I could hardly make out
what the woman on the other end was saying to me. Shelly
(not her real name) was sobbing. She had just arrived at her
father’s apartment and had found him passed out cold on the
couch with a needle still sticking out of his arm. Why she
called our line instead of 9-1-1 was a mystery. I called for
an ambulance and waited on the phone with her until they
arrived. She told me how her father had

been a construction
worker, though his dream was to play guitar in a band.
Shelly said her parents split up when she was thirteen
because of her dad s drinking. He moved away to live in
another state for a couple of years and they began to lose
touch. He would send the occasional card or make a call on
her birthday the first couple of years, but that eventually
ended. After college, Shelly decided to find her dad. It
turned out that he had moved back and was living just a
couple of miles from where she grew up.

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You are in great trouble if you are addicted or live with an addict. Due to addiction, most of the addicts die and also take down their family members with them. But if an addicted person really wants to recover, he must remain honest to himself. Addiction treatment can comprise medications, behavioral therapy (such as cognitive therapy, counseling or psychotherapy) or their combination. Drug Addictions can be broken through several Addiction treatments.

Agonist Maintenance Treatment is a kind of addiction treatment which is mainly provided to the opiate addicts. This addiction treatment helps to reduce the patients craving for the opiate. Due to the

sustained and adequate dosage of methadone, a well tested medication, the patient becomes stabilized and can function normally.

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About one million Americans are dependent on heroin, prescription painkillers and other opioids, and the vast majority does not receive treatment.

Combined with psychological counseling, opiate substitutes that prevent withdrawal are among the most effective treatments for these addictions. Until now, only two drugs–methadone and levo-alpha-acetyl methadol (LAAM ) were available, and only licensed treatment clinics were authorized to dispense them. Many addicts normally avoid opiate treatment programs (OTPs) because of the inconvenience, perceived stigma and because of limited treatment slots.

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Drug rehab programs are geared toward the rehabilitation of persons who are trying to overcome their addiction. There are many types of rehab programs. Some of them are of short duration and some can be residential and others are long term such as marijuana replacement programs.

Rehabilitation depends on participation for a sustained period of time. The rehab programs are designed to address the physical aspects of drug addiction and the psychological aspects of integrating back into society. Some programs are residential especially for persons with serious drug addiction and may be covered by private or public insurance to some extent. There are also chemical dependency units where there is about a 3-6 week period of inpatient care where

withdrawal from drugs is done in a medically safe fashion. It has been shown that plain replacement of opiate craving with methadone, while helpful is not as effective as a more comprehensive program with counseling and medical care.

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I come from a big but close circle of friends. We ve been friends since high school and most of us continue to be. But I tell you, we ve been through some tough times. Some of my closest friends began experimenting with drugs and soon they got hooked. It was ugly, and for two of those it still is Thankfully though, with the help of some of the guys we were able to intern them in drug rehab centers.

They got a second chance

It s been around 5 years since most of them got out, and I still thank the drug rehab centers. They gave my friends a second chance at life. We re still working

on two of our friends. I d like to think they aren t doomed to be drug addicts for the rest of their lives. That s why I keep telling them to go to a rehab center, but each time they seem to be doing a good job, they fall into a relapse. It s difficult to talk about this, and that s why I chose to write about it. I feel like I should warn people that haven t gone through what I ve gone to prepare them.

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