Treatment Options for Addiction (U.S. Focus) Quiz

Answer: All of these may be used alone, or in any combination to treat addiction

A licensed counselor may help one work out coping strategies to deal with drug cravings and other withdrawal problems. Counseling may also provide the chance to interact with others in a group. Medication may be useful to both alleviate the pain of withdrawal and to prevent dangerous withdrawal symptoms such as seizures.

A psychiatrist may be able to discover and to treat the underlying problems which led to addiction such as anxiety and depression. Because a psychiatrist is a medical doctor, he or she may prescribe medications needed to treat such disorders.

Answer: Actually, all of these factors should be considered when planning treatment

Every person who seeks help for addiction will need a plan of treatment that recognizes his or her individual characteristics and needs. Age, sexual orientation, and history of abuse are just a few of the many factors which determine these needs. Other factors might include home environment, employment status, and gender. Anything that affects the addict may be relevant to their drug use and needs to be addressed in treatment.

Answer: Helping Hands

Narcotics Anonymous, Save Our Selves, and Smart Recovery are all organizations that attempt to help people obtain sobriety and freedom from addiction. Helping Hands is a group that helps developmentally delayed preschoolers prepare for public education.
www.na.org
www.smartrecovery.org
www.helpinghands.org
sossobriety.org

Answer: Methadone

Methadone is a synthetic opioid and may be useful in treating patients addicted to narcotics such as heroin or prescription opiates. Its use is highly controversial since it causes opiate like effects such as euphoria and may also lead to addiction on its own. Oxycontin is a very addictive pain medication and is never recommended for addiction treatment. Antabuse(disulfiram) is used to prevent alcoholics from drinking.

It causes a severe, unpleasant reaction when one ingests any form of alcohol after taking it. Digoxin is a drug used to treat a number of heart problems.

Answer: Make a list of those they have harmed during their addiction and attempt to make amends

According to N.A., attempting to make amends to people one has harmed while suffering from addiction and substance abuse is necessary if one hopes to achieve lasting sobriety.
www.na.org/pdf/litfiles/us

Answer: Rehabilitation ( Rehab)

Detox is the process of removing drugs or chemical substances from the body. Intervention is where those who are concerned about an addict such as family, friends, or co-workers confront that person and attempt to persuade him or her to seek help of some kind for their addiction or dependency.

Answer: Rapid detox is much safer than traditional treatment

Rapid detox is a form of treatment in which patients are anesthetized and given drugs to induce an accelerated withdrawal process. The most unpleasant side effects take place while the patient is asleep. Although time frames for the procedure vary, many programs take as little as 3 hours.

Although rapid detox has many benefits, it has not been shown to be any safer than traditional treatments. Any time general anesthesia is used there is some risk of fatality. Most insurance companies do not pay for rapid detox.

The following article discusses some of these issues concerning rapid detox. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-05-18-rapid-detox_x.htm

Answer: Patients have access to help 24 hours a day

At inpatient facilities the patients receive care while residing on site where they do have access to help 24 hours per day during their treatment. Some inpatient centers will allow patients to leave for limited periods of time for reasons such as off site doctor visits or conjugal visitation. Outpatient programs do not require one to reside on site.

It is important to note that while outpatient centers do not require patients to reside on site, they often have staff that is available 24 hours per day for patients to contact if needed. Provision of patients' room and board may be one factor that makes inpatient treatment often one of the most expensive forms of therapy.

The U.S. government will not pay for any citizen's treatment simply because they request it in writing and have a doctor's signature.

There may be some circumstances where the government pays for inpatient treatment but in most cases citizens must come up with payment on their own, either out of their own pocket or via their insurance company.

Answer: Post acute withdrawal syndrome

In researching PAWS I found that many definitions exist concerning this condition. Basically, post means after and syndrome means a group of symptoms. Therefore, one could say PAWS is a group of symptoms occurring after acute withdrawal. These symptoms are many and varied and may include such things as anxiety, irritability, sleep disturbances, and fluctuating energy levels. There are many different opinions as to what causes PAWS and how best to treat it. Below are some websites which discuss PAWS.
www.addictionsandrecovery.org/post-acute-withdrawal.htm
http://www.squidoo.com/PostAcuteWithdrawalSyndrome

Answer: Detoxification

It is imperative for the body to undergo a process of detoxification(detox) to remove all drugs from the system before any other treatment begins. This will allow the patient to focus on their recovery treatment plan with a clear head that is not muddled with drugs.

Many treatment plans do advocate "having it out" with family to clear the air but doing this before detox occurs would be disastrous. Of course payment must be made at some point. If one waited for seven nights hard, uninterrupted sleep, they would probably never get any help. I can't remember the last time I had seven straight nights of uninterrupted sleep!