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DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAM RESEARCH
Drug treatment program research is a continuous effort to attempt to learn
more efficient and effective methods of treatment for particular drug
addictions. With a constant stream of new medications and new techniques
for therapeutic results being given clinical trials under rigidly
controlled laboratory conditions, there are increasing numbers of
successful treatment modalities which mean better likelihood of success.
This drug treatment program testing also decreases the possibility that
there will be a relapse. These new treatment methods are constantly
improving, but this does not mean that even more effective treatment and
medications will be found in the future, as more information and
understanding is available for drugs that are targets of substance abuse.
ALCOHOL ADDICTION RESEARCH
Like the drug treatment program research, alcohol addiction research is
proceeding along new paths as more information is discovered about the
nature of addiction where alcohol is involved. Typically, treatment for
alcohol abuse requires both alcohol detoxification and treatment with
medicines during the withdrawal process. Withdrawal symptoms while
detoxification from alcohol abuse is going on can be fairly uncomfortable
and are almost always treated by using methods for detoxification.
Treatments which include medication to prevent alcohol addiction and usage
relapse usually involves medicinal treatments. Different types of
medications perform different functions in the body. Disulfiram for
instance produces a sensation which is quite unpleasant when the
individual consumes alcohol. Alcamprosate and Naltrexone help to manage
the physical cravings which are the result of dependence upon alcohol.
Emotional disorders which may be related to or even underlying causes of
alcohol abuse and addiction are often treated with antidepressants and
like medications. There is a behavioral therapy component to almost every
alcohol addiction and drug treatment program in existence. Addiction is
seen as a way to attempt to escape from the realities of everyday life.
COCAINE ADDICTION TREATMENT
Research into the field of cocaine addiction has resulted in the use of
medications such as Gamma Vinyl Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GVG). This
medication is commonly used in the control of epilepsy. GVG works by
blocking the release of dopamine during cocaine abuse. Dopamine is also
known as the happy hormone. The effects of GVG are undergoing clinical
studies. Vanoxerine also lessens the production of dopamine during cocaine
usage. By reducing the feel-good effects of cocaine, the addict is less
inclined to use it, thus gradually leading to decreased intake. At the
same time, behavioral therapy and medical therapy means that the rate of
successful recovery from cocaine is much higher. Other drug treatment
program techniques which are showing some positive indications are social
therapy organizations such as Cocaine Anonymous, coca herbal tea, and a
cocaine vaccine.
HEROIN ADDICTION TREATMENT
A drug treatment program aimed specifically at the drug addict who uses
heroin typically include similar drugs, although milder types including
methadone and benzodiazepines are used in management of withdrawal
symptoms by replace the heroin with the alternative drug. Then the
methadone or benzodiazepines are gradually tapered off to nothing, since
the withdrawal effects in these two medications are much milder.
Valium and Serax are common benzodiazepines which have been successfully
used in a drug treatment program for heroin addiction since they mitigate
the unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal. Increasingly, buprenorphine is
being used as the medication of choice instead of methadone, since has
milder symptoms of withdrawal, is more difficult to overdose on than
methadone, and is less addictive. A new methodology using the concept of a
reservoir treatment with buprenorphine is helpful in preventing both abuse
and later addiction to the medication used for treatment, while at the
same time continuing to treat the withdrawal effects for a period of up to
six weeks. Two other medications, Naltrexone and Naloxone also are
effective in limiting the receptor sites in the brain for heroin which
renders the drug ineffectual. One other, more controversial treatment,
known as Ibogaine is considered to have some promise of effectiveness in
the treatment of heroin dependence. Ibogaine lasts up to three months and
is based on a medicine from Africa.
NICOTINE ADDICTION TREATMENT
Although most people don't think of nicotine addiction as a drug, there
are actually a number of addictive substances which are found in a
cigarette. There are many treatments which can be used for addiction to
the use of nicotine. Many argue that long-term successful recovery from
nicotine addiction is possible only by the application of willpower by the
addict.
Some of the available methods for treatment of nicotine addiction include
chewing gum and nicotine patches, both of which provide a gradual decrease
in the amount of nicotine which is being taken into the body. Inhalers
deliver the drug of nicotine and rely on replacement of the physical part
of the smoking action. At the same time, the addict gets behavioral
therapy so that the reasons which are believed to psychologically be tied
to smoking are dealt with.
There are other drug treatment program methods which are used in treatment
for nicotine addiction. These include, but are not limited to hypnotherapy
and acupuncture. It is believed that hypnotherapy actually eliminated the
psychological and physical effects of nicotine caused by the drug of
nicotine. Acupuncture operates on the foundation of stimulating particular
points of the body with needles. The attempt is to teach the body so that
cravings and control are necessary. These studies and research allow those
people using the assistance for physical and psychological testing and the
model as well.
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Choosing the right drug treatment program is a matter of personal taste
and lifestyle. The types of programs chose should be the ones that best
display our characteristics and work with the existing level of any
treatment which may already have been determined as appropriate. Certainly
the behavioral therapy portion of the recovery may help to review and
relearn extra methods for a particular situation. This can be something
simple and effective, or may involve continuing practice or implementation
to be sure of effective main center use.
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