Detox

Caffeine In Early Recovery

March 9, 2013 by Sunrise Detox Leave a Comment

coffeeOccasionally someone asks if they should give up coffee when they get clean and sober, since caffeine is “just another drug.”

Although some treatment centers recommend going caffeine-free, and some replace “regular” with decaffeinated, it’s beginning to seem more and more like that isn’t necessarily a good idea. If something isn’t making our lives unmanageable, it can usually wait until we’ve been in recovery for awhile.

In any case, there is a broad range of beneficial effects from consumption of caffeine, including increases in the levels of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine and glutamate. Many of the symptoms of withdrawal and post-acute withdrawal are associated with low levels of these chemicals, so there is good reason to think that the benefits of drinking coffee in early recovery may offset the disadvantages, which include shakiness and insomnia, among others.

Recent research has also shown that the antioxidants in coffee, along with the antioxidant effects of caffeine itself, benefit long-term coffee-drinkers by destroying free radicals in the body that are associated with heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

Please keep in mind that we are referring to reasonable levels of consumption. More than 300 mg. of caffeine (one Starbucks Pike Place brewed) within three or four hours can cause anxiety, and even one cup of brewed coffee can cause elevated blood pressure in those who aren’t used to drinking caffeinated beverages. As is true of most things not used in moderation, it is pretty obvious that sucking down too much joe won’t do us a lot of good, but a couple of cups of fresh-brewed coffee won’t be likely to do most of us any damage, either.

Filed Under: Addict, Addiction, Detox, PAWS - Post-acute withdrawal, Recovery Tagged With: , , ,

Clients’ Questions About Recovery

February 21, 2013 by Sunrise Detox Leave a Comment

From time to time we post a few of our clients’ more interesting questions about recovery.

Why do I have to continue this detox?  I am ready to go home.

We are glad that you are feeling better, but that is because you are on powerful medication.  You need further monitoring, until you are off the meds and able to manage without them.

As far as going home is concerned, it is our hope that you will decide to go to treatment instead.  It has been our experience that clients who go back to the old people, places and things don’t do well unless they have a firm foundation of knowledge, some recovery, and are able to take full advantage of available supports. Familiar situations and faces can set off powerful cravings in people who are unprepared.

How do I deal with my baby and wife leaving me because of my addiction?

As we gain sobriety and work on a program of recovery, we learn to deal with problems like this one, and many others as well.

There are only two possible ways of handling this matter.  Either you go back out and use again, continuing the old ways of solving problems that didn’t work so well, or you get clean and sober.

Option number one will certainly be easier, but will accomplish nothing except your eventual death.  It certainly will not help you regain your family and self respect, and will simply add more pain to everyone’s lives.

On the other hand, if you get humble, follow suggestions, and do the things that you need to do for yourself, you have a chance at sobriety.  If you are able to remain sober, you will at some point at least be able to have a relationship with your child, and might actually be able to get the family back together.  Seems to us that the choice is pretty clear.

I would like to know how I get a sponsor.

We find sponsors by going to a lot of meetings, listening carefully to a lot of people, and finding out who is happy, productive, and working a good program of recovery.  Some folks choose “cool” sponsors.  The smart ones look beyond the surface and try to figure out if that person has what it takes to weather the long haul, and whether they can pass it on to others.

Our blogger Bill W. has two full posts devoted to choosing a sponsor, here and here.

How long should you be clean before you can actually go around social events with alcohol?

It seems to us that the issue isn’t so much how long as it is how well prepared we are.  We need to have enough sobriety that thoughts of drinking have pretty much disappeared, along with the nostalgia when we see a beer commercial or drive past a bar.  Beyond that, we need to consider the situation: will it be a gathering when we would have participated heartily and gotten blasted — perhaps a family party or shooting pool with our old buddies — or will it be a situation with less powerful triggers.

Finally, we need to be prepared, and we need to take someone sober with us.  Again, Bill W. has a post here that covers the matter.  Check out his archives for more answers to questions about recovery.

Have a great weekend!

Filed Under: Addiction, Alcoholism, Detox, Recovery, Staying Sober Tagged With: , , ,

Things Clients Say In Detox — Denial On The Hoof

February 17, 2013 by Sunrise Detox Leave a Comment

We thought we would list some of the things that we hear clients say.  You can substitute any drug for any other drug in any statement or comment.  Denial ain’t just a river in Africa, remember?

I don’t even know why I’m here.  I’m not an addict.

You’re here for some reason.  You didn’t just walk in to see what it was like.  Some major problem in your life got you through the doors.  You may as well hang out for a while and see if we can help you with the problem — whatever it is.

Marijuana isn’t addictive, because there’s no withdrawal.

It is true that years ago there was no noticeable withdrawal from marijuana use, but in those days cannabis had only about 1/10th the active ingredients that today’s hybridized varieties have.  Even then, chronic users often had trouble quitting.

Today, there is acute withdrawal that involves irritability, sleeping difficulties, mood swings, loss of appetite and other issues.  We also know that there is a post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) that  includes depression and cognitive disorders, and that can last for many months.

I’ll stop drinking, but I’m still going to smoke a blunt now and then.

Recovery requires abstaining from all mood-altering drugs.  We cannot pick and choose.  All drugs work on our reward system.  Addiction occurs when the reward system loses the ability to make us feel good without the extra stimulation of drugs.  If we continue to stimulate the reward system so that it cannot return to normal, then we will continue to have cravings.

I only drink wine or beer.

All ethyl alcohol (ethanol) affects the human body the same way, and one six-ounce glass of wine, one 12 ounce beer, and one shot of 80 proof liquor all contain roughly the same amount of alcohol.

I only drink on weekends.

It is not important when we drink.  What matters is how much, and why.  If we are waking up with a hangover, which is really alcohol withdrawal, we are drinking enough to cause changes in our brains, even if we only do it two or three days out of the week.  And are we really remaining totally abstinent the rest of the week, or are we having a couple to “relax” each evening?  If that is the case, why do we need alcohol to relax?

I only use (pick a drug) occasionally, so I won’t become addicted.

There are millions of addicts who have found out the hard way that, despite their denial, the occasions tend to get closer and closer together until they have merged, so that we need the drug to be comfortable.  When we are more comfortable under the influence of drugs than we are without them, we are well on the way to addiction.

Alcohol doesn’t bother me; I can drink all my buddies under the table.

Increasing tolerance for alcohol or any other drug is the first sign of addiction.  If we can drink, snort, swallow or shoot more than we used to be able to handle, we’re in trouble.

“I can take it or leave it.”  (I just choose to take it.)

Put it down and don’t touch it for two weeks.  Let us know how that works for you.  Try it again.  Learn anything about denial?

I only have a couple of drinks at home, just to relax.

There is nothing wrong with that, unless we cannot relax without the drinks.  In that case we need to do some hard thinking.  We also we need to look at what we consider a “couple of drinks.”  A standard drink is one shot of 80-proof liquor, one six-ounce glass of wine, or one 12-ounce beer.  “Topping off” is cheating.  So is filling an iced-tea glass with ice and booze and calling it “a drink.”

My whole family drinks like me.

Alcoholism has a strong hereditary component, as do some other addictions.  Need we go on?

The bottom line is this: If drugs, including alcohol, are causing problems in our lives, whether they be hangovers, missing work, “discussions” with our spouses or partners, DUI’s, or any other issues, then they are a problem.  There are no two ways about it.  Either they cause problems or they don’t.  Then the big question becomes why we are continuing to do something that continues to cause us problems.

Now that is a good question — a very good question.

Filed Under: Addiction, Alcoholism, denial, Detox, Treatment Tagged With: , , , ,

Could The Sandy Hook Tragedy Have Been Avoided?

December 17, 2012 by Sunrise Detox Leave a Comment

We at Sunrise wish to express our heartfelt sorrow and sympathy to the families and friends of the victims, and to the community of Newtown. Tragedies like this defy expression, and only time can lessen the pain. Along with the rest of the world, we try our best to convey our shock, sadness, prayers and good wishes to all.

There are lessons to be learned from tragedy.  We do not know if Adam Lanza’s path could have been changed at some point by the observation of an alert practitioner, or if the freedoms inherent in our way of life would have permitted any sort of intervention, but it is possible.  We do not know if he was a substance abuser or addict.  Nonetheless, these events should stand as a reminder to all addiction professionals that we need to remain alert for the co-occurring conditions that so frequently accompany our specialty.

Filed Under: Addict, Alcoholic, Detox, Medical Issues, Treatment Tagged With: , ,

Detox Doesn’t Have To Be Miserable

November 27, 2012 by Sunrise Detox Leave a Comment

Many people are afraid to try detox because they have attempted it “cold turkey” in the past, and do not want to repeat the experience. We don’t blame them!  Unassisted detox, especially from opioid drugs, is not something that anyone would want to try again if they had a choice.

Fortunately, there is a choice. Sunrise uses Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone) with a rapid taper to avoid the misery of detox from Oxycontin, hydrocodone, heroin and other opioid drugs. Suboxone treatment replaces the other drug and prevents acute withdrawal. After a few days, the Suboxone is withdrawn, with minimal effects that are easily managed by supportive treatment. This permits a far more comfortable detox than other methods. Patients remain ambulatory, and are able to participate in educational and therapeutic sessions to help prepare them for long-term recovery.

Give us a call at 1-888-443-3869. You are only a few days away from a new freedom that will allow you to pursue further recovery with maximum comfort. Thousands have already done it. So can you!

Filed Under: Addict, Addiction, Detox, Recovery Tagged With: , , ,

Change Is The Key To Recovery

November 14, 2012 by Recovery Blogger 4 Comments

Yesterday I was at the new Sunrise facility in Ft. Lauderdale, helping prepare for an accreditation inspection. I was working with client records, and noted once again how many addicts relapse and return to detox. This isn’t surprising; one of the symptoms of addiction is relapse, and virtually all addicts do it at least once. Noticing it just brought the fact back to mind. It’s a good thing for us addicts to keep in mind, whether we are in recovery or just think we are. Alcoholics and other addicts relapse. All the time. So can we all, even us old-timers. I’ve seen it way too many times.

I found myself wondering how many of those folks who returned multiple times for detox actually went on to primary treatment or the 12-step groups (hopefully both), versus how many went back out to The World with the same old ideas and habits.

Detox is certainly the first step in the direction of recovery, but it’s not the whole answer.  If it were, our repeat business would be zip.  Recovery is about willingness to change: to change how we think, how we relate to others, how we look at our lives, our approaches to problems, and how we solve them (or don’t).  It’s about deciding how badly we want to have a life free of drugs.

Woodrow Wilson once said, “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” We don’t like change. Hardly anyone does. Humans like predictability. We’re like the musician who said he was going to get his guitar tuned and have it welded. We want to get everything in our lives just the way we want it, and then weld it in place.

Welcome to the real world. The only thing that’s certain is change, and if you don’t want to keep on being miserable — regardless of the cause — you have to do what you can to make the changes reasonably predictable. As addicts, alcoholics, or whatever we call ourselves, if we don’t change all the things I mentioned above, and learn the skills to move forward afterward, then we’re going to see detoxes, jails and other institutions, over and over again. Until we die.

Detox is about getting alcohol and other drugs out of our systems, so that we have a shot at making good decisions about the rest of our lives. The secret’s not in quitting — it’s in  learning to live in a way so that we can stay quit. We don’t learn that overnight. We don’t learn it from gurus, or New Age books (no matter how many we read) or preachers, or well-meaning friends.  We learn from other addicts and drunks, and we practice.

Staying sober is about practicing the skills of recovery until they become second nature, just like being an addict was second nature. Until that happens, we’re at risk. And if we forget how to live sober lives, slipping instead back into our old ways of thinking and behaving, we’re at risk again.

Some kinds of welding are worth the effort.

Filed Under: Addict, Addiction, Alcoholic, Alcoholism, Detox Tagged With: , , ,

A Brief Outline Of The 12 Steps — Step Two

August 1, 2012 by Recovery Blogger Leave a Comment

This is the third in a series of posts, in which we hope to inform our readers about some of the details surrounding the programs that we recommend. There are a variety of other programs, but because we and most other facilities shape our treatment plans around the 12 Step fellowships, those are the ones on which we will concentrate.  Today, we’re considering Step Two of the 12-step programs.

Step Two reads “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity.” The principle behind the second step is Hope — the driving force behind early sobriety.

The second step was an early stumbling block in my recovery. I had no difficulty with the “restore us to sanity” part. What I remembered of the insane ways I tried to live my life when I was using had already taken care of that. If I wasn’t insane, why did I regularly drink until I was comatose? Why did I use drugs? Why did I allow my moral standards to slip? Why did I run roughshod through the lives of others, leaving carnage behind? Why did a guy with my brains and education do all that stuff? A sane person doesn’t reach a point where he needs to be sitting in a room with a bunch of ex-drunks and -druggies, drinking bad coffee, smoking too many cigarettes, and worrying if he can stay sober and get his life straightened out. Did sane behavior get me there? Puh-leeze!

However, I was unwilling to admit that there was a power greater than myself.  When I was in treatment I told my therapist that he said, “OK. I want you to grab that chair over there (a lightweight folding chair) and carry it with you everywhere you go for the rest of the day.”

I lasted for about two hours, then went back to Ron and said, “OK. This thing’s driving me nuts. What’s your point?” He pointed out two things. The first was that I was powerless over the chair. It was clumsy to carry around, hard to get through doors, and a general pain in the butt no matter what I did, until I put it down. (A little first step lesson, there.) Then he made the real point: that I had done as he asked without question, proving that I was quite willing to perceive someone else as more powerful than myself, and to take suggestions.

Ron was a wise man, as well as a wise guy. In the simplest way possible, he made step two a walk in the park for me — without a chair. He made me understand that simply acknowledging that I couldn’t achieve what I needed to do alone, was accepting that I needed help from a higher power, and that my higher power could be the people who had already succeeded in doing what I needed to do.

So recovering people became my higher power. I kicked and yelled and left fingernail marks, but I let them show me how to stay sober. I believed that I couldn’t do it by myself, and that they could help me. I wanted what they had, and I was willing to go to the necessary lengths to get it. And it worked.

Accepting help, and the hope that comes with it, are pretty hard to avoid if we want to recover. If we are comfortable praying to a Higher Power, that’s fine, but the willingness to accept the folks who went before us as His or Her tools is still necessary. By the same token, lack of faith in God is no excuse (or, more accurately, an excuse is all it is). A higher power can be whatever we are willing to accept, as long as we admit that our best efforts got us to where we are, and that we have already proven that we can’t go it alone.

Filed Under: Addiction, Alcoholism, Detox, Recovery, Support Groups, Twelve Steps Tagged With: , ,
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