Drug Detox Q & A: Can Opioid Pain Therapy Create Drug Addicts?

Risk of drug addiction is higher with opioid painkillers than with other drugs.

We frequently hear or read about people who have become addicted to painkillers after being prescribed them by their doctor for chronic pain. The problem is that once the pain is gone or manageable, the person can find themselves trapped by the drug and has to keep taking it. Next thing you know, they’re “doctor shopping”, stealing drugs from medicine cabinets, buying them off the Internet, or from drug dealers. Really, their only hope at that point is a opiate drug detox program that will help them get off the drug.

These stories are always sad and somewhat frightening. For me, they also raise a number of questions: How many people actually suffer from the severe chronic pain that requires these prescriptions? And how do they become addicted? Some of the answers I found were shocking.

A study conducted by Stanford University Medical Center found that one in five adult Americans suffer from chronic pain – pain lasting for several months or longer. And, according to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, common and chronic pain costs American workers more than $61 billion a year in lost productivity. These facts alone provide significant incentive to ask for, and write prescriptions for painkillers. People don’t want to be in pain, and they do want to go to work. So, they are likely to be on these drugs for an extended period of time.

But will they become drug addicts? That depends on a number of factors. First, the type of drug they’re taking; If they’re taking opium-based painkillers like OxyContin, Dilaudid, Vicodin, Percocet, oxycodone, or morphine, it is almost certain the person will become physically dependant and, if taken for a long period of time, they’ll probably require drug detox to safely get off the drug with a minimum of debilitating withdrawal symptoms.

However, even though the risk of drug addiction with opioid painkillers is higher than with other drugs, addiction goes beyond mere physical dependency. It is more a mindset – it’s a solution that enables a person to cope with the stresses of living life. And it takes more than drug detox to handle it. Drug detox helps the person handle their physical dependency, but they’ll need drug rehab to conquer the addiction.

Whether or not someone is addicted to a drug is a complex question. But the bottom line is this: given the right set of conditions, there is a great risk of addiction.

The best way to find out if someone is addicted is to get them treatment in a medically-supervised drug detox center that helps them withdraw safely from the drug and then provides counseling to determine if further treatment is needed.

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Rod MacTaggart is a Florida-based freelance writer who contributes articles on health. http://www.novusdetox.com/detox-programs.php
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How long does marijuana stay in your body?

Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other drugs made from the same plant. Other forms of cannabis include sinsemilla, hashish, and hash oil. All forms of cannabis are mind-altering (psychoactive) drugs. The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol).

"How long does marijuana stay in our body?" This question is asked by many different people, and for good reason. Marijuana (pot, herb, weed, grass) is the most commonly used and tested for drug in the United States and several other countries as well. Marijuana’s effects on the user and detection time depend on its strength or potency, which is related to the amount of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) it contains.

When you ask the question "How long does marijuana stay in my body?" you need to take into account the fact that there is no simple answer to this question. THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) can stay in a person's body for as long as 3 to 90 days after smoking or being ingested orally. There are numerous determining factors for how long drug toxins stay in a persons body which vary from person to person, such as the analytical method used, your health, your body weight, metabolism, fluid intake, the type of drug toxin, and the degree of exposure to the drug toxin.

The speed at which marijuana leaves your body depends both on the speed of your metabolism, as well as on the half-life of THC. It’s estimated that THC can have a half-life that ranges anywhere from 1-10 days. It’s almost impossible to find out what that half life is, which means that it is very difficult to use it to calculate how long it will take for all of the THC to leave your body.

The most common period of time is anywhere from 3-30 days, depending on your metabolism and the amount of marijuana that you’ve smoked. This is unfortunate, since it means that while most drug tests can only turn up evidence of other drugs if you’ve been taking the drug within a few days of the drug test, marijuana could still be detected in a urine test up to a month after the last time it is used. If you smoke it occasionally it will remain in your system for up to 10 days. If you smoke marijuana on a regular basis it will stay in your system for as long as 45 days, and if you smoke marijuana at a constant pace, it can stay in the body for 90 days, Marijuana is fat soluble. It stores in the fat cells of the body, the brain, the liver, and the kidneys, in other words the major organs.

Instead of spending your time trying to calculate how long marijuana will stay in your system, simply find out what kind of drug test you will be taking, and then purchase the product which is most effective and appropriate for the particular drug test you will be undergoing. There are many products available on the Internet, and you will be able to find one that fits your needs and budget. Whether you will be taking a urine test or a hair follicle test, remember that it is much safer to invest in an effective and appropriate product instead of attempting to pass your test by estimating how long marijuana will stay in your system.

HealthFAQ Detox is an online store offering home drug tests and detox products in several formats.

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Drug Half Life and Accurate Drug Testing for Addiction

Every drug has its own unique drug half life which can be used to determine if a person has ingested the substance recently. Whether illicit or legally prescribed, a drugs half life is the amount of time which is required for the trace concentration of a drug within the red blood cells to be reduced by one half. Simply put, a half life is the duration of time it takes for half the amount of a drug to leave the body. Heavy or consistent drug use will increase the half life of the drug while infrequent users will expel the toxins from their body at a faster rate.

Half life of the most commonly abused illicit drugs follows: Regular marijuana users retain a drug half life of 10 days while sporadic users have a THC half life (the active and traceable component in marijuana) of only 2 days. The half life of methamphetamines is 15-20 hours while the drug half life of cocaine is between 1-2 hours.

Half life of the most commonly abused prescription drugs follows: The painkiller opiates, such as Vicodin, hydrocodone, hydrocodeine, oxycontin, Percocet, and oxycodone all have a half life between 4 and 6 hours. Anti-anxiety benzodiazepines such as Xanax and Valium have a half life between 14-18 hours.

Understanding the differences between the half lives of drugs is essential when determining the best method for drug testing. Urinalysis and urine test strips work best for drugs with longer half lives such as marijuana and opiates while hair follicle drug tests will still show traces of drug use amongst quickly expelled drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine. When trying to uncover and stop substance use and abuse, considering the half lives of each drug will enable you to find the most precise drug testing kit for accurate results unique to your situation.


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Make Your Body More Flexible and Curvy With the Help of Meridia

Because of an unorganized life style and unhealthy eating habits many people are loosing control over their weight. Crave for hunger when combined with high calorie food is the path leading to obesity. Obesity has now become the formula for disaster. It leads to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and other serious health problems which can have drastic impacts. Apart from determination something more is required to wrestle this conflict of bulge. Nowadays, the pharmaceutical industry has come into the picture of weight loss. Meridia emerges as an effective weight loss drug in the deserted anti-obesity market.

Meridia is also known by the name of reductil. It is the brand name for sibutramine. It is recommended for the people who are seriously obese and not for those who want to loose just a few pounds. Meridia falls in the same class of various other anti-depressants. It works on the chemicals present in the brain. By increasing the levels of serotonin, nor epinephrine, and dopamine in the brain, it decreases the appetite and helps reduce weight. Cautions should be taken while consuming this medicine as meridia has been shown to considerably increase the blood pressure in some patients.

Meridia is available in 15mg and 30 mg. It is usually taken once in a day with a full glass of water. One should avoid taking the medicine during late hours in the day as it may cause insomnia. In case you miss a dose, do not double it. It can affect your health.

Medical studies have proved that meridia when taken with a low-fat diet and regular exercises, helps reduce weight faster. Losing around four pounds during the first month of taking meridia is a good indication.

Before consuming meridia, one should always consult a doctor. Your doctor will be able to judge better whether meridia is suitable for you or not.

Some of the common side-effects associated with the intake of meridia are:

• Dry mouth


• Headache


• Constipation


• Trouble sleeping


• High blood pressure


• Increased heart rate

Meridia is not advisable for people who have heart disease, gallstones, glaucoma, liver disease or kidney disease.

Avoid taking any other medicine during the time you are consuming meridia. It may react with other medicines and result in a condition called serotonin syndrome. Such a condition would require immediate medical attention. The symptoms of serotonin syndrome are anxiety, restlessness, unconsciousness, fever, poor coordination, sweating, weakness etc. Consult your doctor before taking any other weight loss product, anti-depressants, cough suppressants or migraine medicines.

The field of technology has made it easier for you to purchase meridia sitting in any corner of the world. One can purchase it online without having any personal contact with the seller. Just an online form including your personal details and medical history has to be filled up. The pharmacist will ship the medicine in lesser time.

Loosing weight has been made easier and simpler through meridia. Follow your weight loss plan and feel the change in yourself.


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Clarence Carter received training as a healthcare scientist. She has been working in the same field and writes informative articles, weight loss being her pet subject. To find Weight Loss Drug, Cheap Diet Pills, Meridia visit http://www.weight-loss-drug.co.uk/

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