Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment of Drug Toxicity

Drug toxicity is the degree of poisonousness or harmfulness of a substance. Pharmacologist state that drug toxicity takes place when there is too much accumulation of a drug in the blood, causing unfavorable effects. It may also result if an individual takes high doses of medicines making the kidney and the liver unable to eliminate excess build up in the bloodstream.

How Does Drug Toxicity Occur?

If a person overdoses prescribed medication either accidentally or intentionally, levels will automatically accumulate in the blood, causing drug toxicity.

Certain medications may also cause drug toxicity due to an adverse drug reaction (ADR). Drugs such as lithium have a very minimal threshold between the relevant dose and the toxic dose. In such circumstances, the treatment dose required for one person might become toxic to someone else. Drugs that contain extended half-life can accumulate in the blood and increase after some time.

Factors that affect how fast the body eliminates a drug from the system include kidney function, age, and hydration. It is the reason why medicines like lithium need repeated blood testing to verify the levels that have built up in the blood.

Signs and Symptoms of Drug Toxicity

Each medication will cause different signs and symptoms of toxicity, which can either be acute or chronic.

Potential mild symptoms of acute toxicity may include:

• diarrhea
• nausea and vomiting
• stomach upsets
• dizziness
• Fatigue or body weakness

More critical symptoms may include

• slurred speech
• hand tremors
• lack of muscle control or movement/ muscle twitches
• involuntary movement of the eyeballs
• seizures
• coma
• heart disorders in rare cases

Diagnosis of Drug Toxicity

Drug toxicity occurs in two phases, which include acute and chronic toxicity. Doctors can diagnose acute toxicity more easily since its symptoms will develop after the administration of medication. One can also use blood test samples to screen the concentrations of a drug in the bloodstream.

Alternatively, chronic toxicity occurs due to long-term exposure to a drug. Therefore, it is challenging to diagnose it since the body has readjusted to the symptoms. Quitting a medication and then reusing it afterward, is one way of checking whether the medicine will make symptoms reappear. This technique can be difficult during diagnosis, especially if the medication is compulsory and does not have any alternative.

Treatment

There are various ways of treating drug toxicity. If the toxicity occurs from an acute overdose, then the user may undergo a medical procedure to pump and eliminate undigested drug contents from the stomach. A patient may also consume activated charcoal to delay or hinder the absorption of a drug into the bloodstream. Eventually, the digestive system will eliminate the drug through stool. During this process, a patient may take some additional medications which act as antidotes.

Final Thoughts From The Recover

Also, to avoid getting severe signs and symptoms of drug toxicity, always ensure to read the medication information. Contacting the nearest medical services immediately will minimize complications or severe side effects. You can also ask your doctor about the common symptoms of any prescribed drugs to monitor for toxicity signs.

 

 

 

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What Makes Addiction Treatment Effective?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), addiction is a complicated disorder that can encompass almost every aspect of a person’s life. Its complex and prevalent nature usually makes drugs and substances addiction treatment to be diverse.

Some aspects required during your treatment process will depend directly on the drugs or alcohol used. These aspects of the treatment process might include employment training and understanding crucial self-care principles, such as how to manage stressful conditions without relapsing to drugs or alcohol.

Below are some basic rules to know for effective addiction treatment while choosing a treatment option for recovery.

Addiction is a Complex but Treatable Disorder

Addiction affects both your brain and your behavior. Consequently, drugs and alcohol will completely change your brain function and structure. Therefore, the changes in your body are usually permanent and long-lasting once you stop abusing a substance. It is the reason why people who struggle with addictions are at high risk for relapsing.

Bear in mind that treatment will differ depending on your conditions and the type of drugs that caused your addictions. Therefore, the treatment you choose must match your circumstances and needs. Eventually, the possibility that you will experience a successful recovery will increase.

An Effective Addiction Treatment Focuses on the Whole Person and not only the Addiction.

Discovering a treatment program that deals with an individual’s behavior rather than the addiction itself is crucial. More often, people struggling with addiction also require psychological health services, legal assistance, counseling, career training, and nutritional advice.

Consequently, even if you show signs of recovery from addiction, you must stay in treatment rehab for some time to address other areas of your life apart from addiction. Although there is no set time that you must remain in treatment, most research shows that addiction treatment requires at least three months to control or stop drug abuse effectively.

Behavioral Therapies is the Most Commonly Used Addiction Treatment Option

Behavioral therapies can include individual, group, and family counseling. Generally, the emphasis given to these therapies differs depending on the individual. For instance, drug addicts might need the motivation to transform, and therefore, they would most likely benefit from incentives for abstinence.

Behavioral therapy also helps to build the skills required to avoid temptation and learning how to substitute drugs with other satisfying activities.

Medications are Significant During Treatment

For many drug addicts, the medicines used together with counseling and other behavioral therapies are useful factors required during treatment. For instance, people who are addicted to opioids and heroin may need certain drugs such as methadone and naltrexone to stabilize their lives and change their behavioral patterns.

Final Thoughts from the Recover

No matter the type of addiction treatment you choose, the most significant factor is to commit yourself fully to your program and get better recovery results. A recovery program is only as useful as the hard work and commitment you invest in it.

If you fail to abide by the rules of your treatment program, no matter the treatment options you choose, they will never work. Therefore, aim to select a treatment option that matches your life and addiction issues to recover successfully.

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Helping Someone Grieving The Death Of A Loved One

Death of a loved one due to drug addiction in families or relatives results in lots of pain and grief. However, helping someone who is experiencing the loss of a loved one due to drug-related addiction is very complicated.

Initially, you should consider that there are both delightful and traumatic memories coming from both positive and negative experiences with the death of a loved one.

Adverse experiences include seeing the loved one drunk or violent, financial issues affecting the family, history of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, struggles with other relationships, among others. Death of a loved one from drugs at a young and healthy age is particularly painful.

Regardless of the consequences, the following are some ways you can help someone undergoing the grief of a loved due to drug addiction.

Listen and Be Present To Them

The best way to support a grieving person during the painful periods is by being physically present to ensure they don’t feel lonely. For instance, you can:

• Visit and spend time together with them
• Become available even on phone calls when you are not together
• Respond immediately to texts, emails, and any other form of communication
• Listen and give enough time for the bereaved people to express themselves while offering encouragement and comfort.

Listening also involves paying your full attention when bereaved people speak without interrupting anything they say, then responding compassionately to their concerns.

Be neutral Accept the Person’s Feelings

A person bereaved from the death of a loved one due to drug addiction is likely to have more complicated and contradictory feelings than other people. For instance, they may feel:

• freedom or relief that the addict will not overwhelm their life with abuse and unstable behaviors
• extreme gloom about how life could have been if the deceased had recovered from drug addiction
• guilt about the times they wished it could all be over
• someway responsible for generating the death of their loved one

All these feelings are normal and never wrong, and your approval will help the bereaved person to process them. Never judge or oppose a bereaved person no matter how difficult it is to stay neutral to them.

Encourage and Support Self Care

Depression and grief can, at times, hinder people from taking care of themselves properly. For instance, bereaved people can ignore getting regular sleep, consuming meals, performing an exercise, and other general activities.

They may also forget about their hygiene and keep their home looking clean and orderly. Therefore, it is helpful if you encourage and help them in a kind and considerate manner.

Recognize That Grief is a Process in the Death of a Loved One

Grief is a complicated process that involves various stages contradicting the emotions of the bereaved. People have different perceptions of death, and the period it takes for them to recover from the death of a loved one depends on their positive response to such conditions.

When you practice these support methods and allow the bereaved to undergo the process by themselves while taking good care of them, eventually, they will find peace and full restoration.

Drug addicts will learn from you, and it can also provide an avenue for them to stop drug addiction.

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Why Giving Up Drug Addiction Can Be Challenging

When you realize that you have issues with your addictive behavior that is affecting your life, the first solution you might be thinking is how giving up drug addiction is possible. The odds are that you did not expect to develop into that habit in the first place. Probably, you thought you were enjoying yourself and having fun with friends, and you could stop drinking whenever you like.

You are not alone. Indeed, many people who develop into addictions are surprised at how challenging it is when they attempt to quit and wonder why they can’t stop.

Fortunately, you can give up drug addiction though it is a complicated procedure due to several mental, physical, and emotional factors. It is why so many people seek treatment rehabs to direct them through the complicated process of giving up. However, some people usually succeed through the process on their own.

Giving up drug addiction can be so challenging, and many people who are overcoming it undergo a similar process in some way. When you realize you are feeling, thinking, or acting in a certain way that goes against your decision to give up an addiction, you can become considerate with yourself and keep trying.

The main factors that contribute to drug addiction difficulties are tolerance and withdrawal.

Tolerance

Tolerance and withdrawal are strongly interrelated and also critical factors that lead to drug addiction. If drug addicts never experience tolerance and withdrawal, it could probably be quite easy to quit.

Tolerance is both a psychological and a physical process. When you encounter an addictive drug or behavior initially, it may be unpleasant, overwhelming or pleasurable, and mild. If the outcome feels convincing, you may feel not at risk of danger when you continue indulging in it. If it is mild, it may appear safe or harmless.

When you repeat a habit regularly, you become less sensitive to it and desire more of it to obtain the required effect. Substances, such as opiates and alcohol, stimulate some specific parts of the brain, which create physical tolerance. As tolerance builds up, you desire to consume more of such substances to get the intended results.

Withdrawal Symptoms while Giving up Drug addiction

As addiction advances, you may experience withdrawal symptoms if you stop or slightly discontinue using the drugs. Physical withdrawal symptoms include trembling, feeling sick, nausea, and vomiting.  Psychological withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, mood swings, and depression, among others.

Physical withdrawal symptoms from drugs and alcohol usually resolve after a few days, although they are variable. However, the process tends to be quite unpleasant, and it can be risky. Therefore, the best way of giving up drug addiction safely and avoid withdrawal symptoms is under professional medical supervision.

How Can You Give up Drug Addiction Safely?

Rehab therapy is the best way to help you manage uncomfortable feelings. Counseling sessions available in rehabs can help you deal with the irrational thoughts that tempt you into addiction. Giving up drug addiction is not a straightforward process, but an excellent treatment program will help you accomplish it when you are ready.

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Four Phases of Drugs and Alcohol Rehab Recovery

Drugs and alcohol addiction is a complicated issue categorized both as a chronic disease and a mental disorder. Some people develop into drug addiction so fast, while for others, it takes time to get into that habit.

If you notice you have drugs or alcohol addiction, you will have to face the long journey of rehab recovery. Deciding to choose a drug or alcohol rehab recovery treatment is not easy. However, it is the best action to free yourself from addiction.

The first journey involved in the four distinct phases of recovery is visiting a professional drug and alcohol rehab program. You will learn to develop a drug-free and sober lifestyle.

The four phases involved in drugs and alcohol rehab recovery developed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse are as follows:

1. Treatment Initiation

The first phase starts when you seek help from professional drugs and alcohol rehab program known as treatment initiation.

Whether you have addiction difficulties or searching for assistance have compelled you to visit rehab, the recovery journey will begin with you as you start professional treatment.

During this phase, you might have second thoughts about quitting on drugs and alcohol, which is just normal feelings. You may even think you can manage your addiction without the assistance of an addiction rehab center. However, it would help if you always recalled the reasons why you needed a treatment program since denial is the worst enemy during the first recovery days.

2. Early Abstinence

Early abstinence is the second phase once you have dedicated yourself to proceed with your addiction treatment. Usually, it is the hardest phase to contend with due to a few factors which you will experience. These include psychological dependence, withdrawal symptoms, various relapsing triggers, and physical cravings.

During this phase, a qualified addiction counselor will instruct you about the coping skills required for a sober lifestyle. You will learn to use different tools that will help you during your recovery process.

3. Maintaining Abstinence

Maintaining abstinence is the third phase you will advance to after about 90 days of continuous sobriety.

The main focus of this phase is to maintain abstinence by learning triggers and signs that lead to relapse and how to avoid them. During this phase, you will learn:

• To utilize the tools you learned during the early abstinence phase into practice
• Additional coping skills and tools to build healthy relationships
• A lifestyle free from drugs and alcohol
• Acquire skills in managing money and employment
• How to avoid substituting addictions, among others.

4. Advanced Recovery

After staying sober for around five years of abstinence, you will enter the fourth and final phase known as advanced recovery. At this phase, you will utilize all the tools and skills you learned during the rehab counseling sessions to live a satisfying and enjoyable life.

Additionally, you will also maintain sobriety and have all the necessary skills to become a healthy and an overall better person.

Finally, though your recovery journey is never absolutely over, participating successfully in these four phases of drugs and alcohol rehab recovery trains you how to maintain a healthy and sober lifestyle.

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Words To Avoid Telling Someone Struggling With Drug Addictions

If you know anyone struggling with drug addiction, there are hurtful comments you need to avoid since they can trigger continuous drug use. People with substance or alcohol abuse have sensitive feelings, and emotionally hurting them could have a significant influence on their drug habits.

Sometimes, whatever you tell them might not mean something serious, but you might make them feel more distressed than peaceful. Therefore, it is crucial to consider the words which you use to avoid causing more suffering to drug addicts.

The following are unkind words to avoid saying to someone struggling with drug addictions.

1. Once an Addict, Forever an Addict

The declaration that drug addicts are unable to change is entirely wrong. It is a display of ignorance about what you understand about the life progression dealing with drug addictions. Many people underwent a period of drug use when they were young before developing an addiction. Many others gave up using substances or drugs with or without the assistance of professional treatment programs.

Comments such as “Once an addict, forever an addict” only makes a person feel isolated, misjudged, and hopeless about the future. In some circumstances, such comment could even trigger more use of a drug, forming a self-satisfying prophecy. The best statement to replace such words includes, “I’m here to support you if you need to get help.”

2.    Going Cold Turkey Is the Only Way to Quit Drug Addictions

Again, this comment shows how ignorant you are towards a drug addict. There are several ways of quitting and recovering from addiction, and each person has a different experience. Sudden withdrawal of drug use is one of the most challenging and dangerous ways to deal with addiction.

Cold turkey action from addictive drugs such as benzodiazepines, Methamphetamine, and alcohol can induce seizures, delusions, and life-threatening conditions. Therefore, the best means of quitting substance abuse is using a detox program with the help of a medical therapist.

3.    It is Your Parents’ Fault That Caused Drug Addictions

Although parents have a significant influence on whether their teenagers become addicted to drugs such as being abusive, it is not their fault that necessarily led to addiction. Some teenagers with supportive parents still develop drug addictions, and others with less-than-perfect parents never become addicted to drugs.

Whether or not parents caused drug addiction, accusing them is a negative and hurtful comment. Although you might think that blaming the parents will make the addict feel you are not condemning their faults directly, it is better to avoid blaming anyone. Instead, address what the drug addict needs at the moment to manage recovery successfully.

4.    You Need to Pull Yourself Together

If you have never struggled with alcohol or drug addiction or other mental disorders such as depression or anxiety, you don’t know how challenging it is for someone facing such issues.

People who have never had significant issues in their lives usually think it is easy to solve other people’s problems. Besides, drug addicts are already aware of how they can address their addictions. Telling them to pull themselves together is likely a demeaning statement. Such comments can undermine their self-esteem, leading them to seek further comfort in drug use. Instead, be supportive and let them recognize you care about them.

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