Dual Diagnosis

Almost all people that are suffering from an addiction or substance abuse problem will have an underlying mental health problem. This makes the problem more difficult to manage but it is very possible to overcome both. Mental health issues usually include anxiety, panic attacks, bi polar, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or even schizophrenia. 

What you have here is at least two problems that are feeding off of each other but both have different and distinct symptoms. Usually it is the mental disorder that manifests itself first and then when left untreated, usually because it was never diagnosed in the first place, the substance abuse problems shows up to mask the initial problem. Unfortunately, this only magnifies the problem. 

How does Dual Diagnosis develop?

This is why it is so common to find that an individual with an addiction problem has another underlying disorder too. Substance abuse definitely makes any mental disorders much worse. This can happen by the abuse aggravating the mental disturbance and also alcohol and drugs do not mix well with medications that are used to treat various mental disorders. 

In addition, mental disorders develop because of genetic links and environmental factors. So, while a mental imbalance may be lurking the use of drugs and alcohol can and will cause the problem to surface quicker. The use of drugs and alcohol surely magnifies any mental issues that an individual may have. 

The statistics are actually quite worrisome. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, about half of the people that have a mental disorder also have a substance abuse problem. Nearly 40% of those who abuse alcohol and more than 50% of those who abuse drugs have at least one mental problem. 

How is Dual Diagnosis treated?

In order to treat dual diagnosis patients the individual must be free of all substances first. Once the individual is clean then mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder can be diagnosed and treated. But, first the two have to be differentiated. This is never easy because the individual almost always plays the denial card first in regards to their substance abuse problem and their mental health issues. Once the individual admits a problem is present then the walls break down and strides can be made. 

A combined approach is the top treatment for those diagnosed with dual diagnosis. The substance abuse problem and the mental disorder must be treated concurrently. Complete recovery depends on this. The process of treating a dual diagnosis can take some time and requires due diligence to overcome it. Any program that is selected should be fully licensed and accredited as well as specialize in treating dual diagnosis individuals. It is also important to make sure that they have a relapse prevention program in place. 

According to SAMHSA, a treatment program should make the individual feel very comfortable in sharing their issues without feeling judged or threatened. They should also teach the individual how to manage mental illness without abusing any substances. They should help develop a complete set of recovery goals.

When all of these factors are considered, the top choice for treating dual diagnosis individuals is clear. KLEAN Treatment Center is waiting to help dual diagnosis individuals with the help of their competent staff and their affiliated physicians. Call us today so we can help you get your life back.

What are you going to do now? 

If you have a drug or alcohol problem your life is probably difficult enough but if you have recently found out that you are pregnant then your life is really complicated. It is very frightening to find yourself in this scary situation. Now you are not only putting your life in danger but also an innocent baby’s life too. There are a few different ways that this story can pan out but the choice is a critical one and it is all yours to make. 

Choices

If you have chosen to have this baby then you can either quit using drugs or alcohol or you can continue to. If you choose not to then here is what you should expect. Babies that are born to addicted mothers can be born with birth defects, they can experience both developmental and behavioral problems while they grow up, or your baby can be born addicted to whatever substance you are abusing. This is true for a mother who drinks alcohol, smokes marijuana, or uses heroin.

If you are fortunate enough that your baby only has minor health problems or faces an addiction that it is able to overcome you are not out of the woods yet. Most states perform routine drug tests on newborn babies. If your baby tests positive for any drug or alcohol Child Protective Services will be notified. This is considered to be child abuse or neglect and there will be consequences to pay. If your baby is not taken away from you CPS will make you comply with them for drug treatment or classes. They will want some evidence that you are no longer abusing drugs or alcohol. 

There is nothing quite as sad as a new baby that is rushed off quickly to Neo Natal Intensive Care and has to wean off of the toxins that his mother exposed him to. Is this what you want for your baby? You don’t have to keep abusing drugs or alcohol, you really don’t. There is help available for you. You can get help early on in your pregnancy so that nothing is wrong with your baby. And, you will be able to take your baby home with you too. 

Won’t you make this pregnancy a blessing rather than a curse? Let this be the beginning of a whole new life for you and your baby and be a mom that your child can be proud of. All you have to do is reach for the hand that is extended to you to find a fresh beginning. Professional help is available that treats pregnant women, helps through detox, and throughout and after treatment. All you have to do is ask. 

A rising number of people are becoming addicted to heroin because someone told them that this was a cheap supplement for their prescription pain pill problem. Buying Oxycontin and Vicodin on the streets is not cheap. Today’s computer systems keep pretty good tabs on the kinds and amounts of prescriptions that people are filling which is making it more difficult for people to doctor shop for their fix. 

What is basically happening is either some loose handed doctor helped to fuel the initial opiate addiction or some narcotic pills were not disposed of properly and someone who wasn’t supposed to got a hold of them. Both are quite common. Being that all of these drugs are opiates it does not take long to develop a tolerance and before you know it you need more than a few bucks to get what is needed from the pills. This becomes a problem fast. 

Never in a million years would heroin have ever even been considered until that one day. Money was tapped out, feeling bogue, can’t sit still, now what? Didn’t someone say that heroin is real cheap and can fix everything? It will make everything better and for only ten bucks. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just snorted, right? “Never in a million years” has vanished only to be replaced with “never in a million years would shooting heroin be an option”. 

Heroin is an opiate but it is also stronger than its partners, the pain pills. Forget about those now, this is much better. Here’s the problem…when that someone mentioned that heroin was a cheap fix they failed to mention that the cheap part is only temporary and because of the tolerance, shooting up is also inevitable eventually. In no time a hundred dollar a day habit is just scraping the barrel. 

Now that heroin is a true reality and has become a real problem there are only a couple of viable options available. Get treatment or die. With heroin there is no in between. At KLEAN Treatment Center no one will be judged and doesn’t help sound good about now? Heroin sucks the life out of people, it takes away parents, it kills people’s kids, and it is a dark and lonely path to take.

During the past three years Spice abuse has become a growing problem for the military. Since March 2011, a joint agency for the military has been conducting urine tests to check for Spice usage. The results showed clearly that the military has been abusing the synthetic designer drug. Of those tested more than half of the soldiers in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines tested positive for Spice.

Easy Access To Spice

Spice is easy to get. It can be purchased from the Internet, in head shops, smoke shops, and even in some gas stations. In military base areas like North Carolina and San Diego the military conducted meetings with store owners and encouraged them to stop selling to soldiers completely. This caused some problems amongst the store owners who count on the military for the bulk of their sales. In fact, soldiers who come into these stores and are in uniform or present their military ID are usually offered attractive discounts. 

Attractiveness

Spice is attractive to military soldiers because it offers the same type of high as marijuana and it is easy to get and affordable. There is health risks involved with smoking Spice which is not surprising since the label clearly reads, “Not safe for human consumption”. Spice is one of the designer drugs that are a blend of herbal materials that is then sprayed with various chemicals.

Health Hazards of Spice

Spice is more potent than marijuana, but because it was legal it was fair game to everyone over the age of 18, including the military. However, Spice is causing users to experience extreme panic, hallucinations, vomiting, raised heart rates, seizures, and agitation. Clearly, these are not symptoms that the US military should be displaying and they should not be consuming anything that consists of experimental research chemicals. 

Emergency rooms across the US are seeing more and more patients for Spice abuse and there are countless phone calls to 911 for the very same thing. People believe that because they bought Spice at a store that it is safe. Once they smoke it they freak out from the side effects and think they are dying. The numerous synthetic compounds like the chemicals HU-210 and JWH-018 make spice even more hazardous. 

Military Penalty

In 2011 the Navy administratively separated 16 sailors for using, buying, or selling Spice. These sailors were discharged to even further enforce the zero tolerance policy and to make examples about the seriousness of this synthetic imposter known as Spice. Naval spokesperson, Mark Ridley, made it clear that the military requires that everyone be of sound mind and there is no room for Spice or any other designer drug. The penalty is court martial charges, confinement, and a Bad Conduct Discharge. The message is that getting caught with Spice is just as bad as getting caught with heroin or cocaine.

Dear Alcohol,

As a child I vowed that I would stay away from you. It was you that ruined my family and took my father away from me. I hate you! I hate everything that you represent. It was your fault that my dad never came home at night and your fault that my dad would drink our mouthwash when he couldn’t get a bottle of booze fast enough. If you think that you are taking me over like you did him you are sadly mistaken. 

I had tried you before with a tiny sip here and there, mostly to be cool when I was about 15 years old. I hated the way that you tasted. I cursed you for trying to keep such a tight hold on my family. Your hold is like vice grips and you are a very predictable adversary. You are a disease, I shouldn’t have expected less. 

Then I got older and the pain of losing my dad was no longer fresh in my soul. You waited until the perfect time to pounce on me. Damn you! You enticed me to just take a little and see what it was that my father loved about you so much. I finally listened to you and you made me feel good. You numbed me, you released my inhibitions, and you made me feel comfortable in my own skin.

I finally knew why my father loved you more than he loved me. Although I know you are lethal I can’t get enough of you. My cravings for you are intense but I still hate you. Quit calling my name! Everything I do is about you now. I fight you but seem to never win and now you have been my passion for almost nine years now. What have I become? 

Alcohol, you have ruined my marriage, taken my kids away from me, left me broken and lonely with you as my only friend. I try to stay away from you alcohol, I really do but I get so damn sick. So I pick you back up only to lose who I am once again. Alcohol, you force me to make promises that I never keep and make me do things I never wanted to do.

Alcohol, you are a very heavy burden to carry and I don’t know why I keep you in my life. Why do you always taunt and tease me? I can always taste you and I can smell you, I know how you feel. But you have lied to me so many times, alcohol. Our relationship is nothing like you said it would be. The harmony that you promised would fill my life is nothing short of shame, despair, and stress. 

I am done with you alcohol, our relationship is over. I am going to find me now. With the help of KLEAN Treatment Center I am going to get through this. I am going to get well and I am going to fight to get my life back. You never knew how to be good to me alcohol so now I need to learn how to be good to myself. Goodbye forever alcohol!

      The alcohol has made me uncomfortably numb.  

Everyone’s life keeps moving but mine is standing still,

     I miss my life; I want it back, if I only had the will. 

All I really want is to say goodbye to you right now, 

     And I truly believe I can build up the courage somehow. 

I am finished with you consuming my life, 

     I want to get back to being a good mother and wife. 

I was so foolish to let you take me over when you never even cared,

     But the thought of parting ways with you has always made me scared. 

So with a little help I know I can make it through, 

     I can have a much better existence if I don’t have you. 

The pain you have left me with is now etched in my soul, 

    You are not keeping me prisoner anymore in your black hole.

I am going to treatment and plan to start fresh and new,

    Sorry alcohol, there is no room for you. 

Go find somewhere else to plant your evil hook, 

    I am done with you forever and will never again give you a second look.

-Written by Cheryl Hinneburg

Cheryl is the content writer for KLEAN Treatment Center and is currently pursuing her MS in substance abuse counseling.

Magic Mushrooms

Psilocybin, a hallucinogen, is better known as magic mushrooms or shrooms for short. These are organic dried mushrooms that can be eaten, used in recipes, or brewed in tea. Magic mushrooms will impair bodily functions and reflexes but it also impairs behavior and distorts perception. It causes hallucinations, it alters time and makes it very difficult for the user to distinguish reality from fantasy. It can also cause panic and psychosis. 

LSD 

Better known on the streets as Acid, Bart Simpson, microdots, window panes, or paper, this hallucinogen comes in squares of a gelatin form or blotter paper, most commonly. It is usually swallowed. LSD causes the user to have hallucinations, alteration of time and can cause terror, panic, and extreme agitation. 

Phencyclidine

Phencyclidine is angel dust, Embalming Fluid, Wack and PCP on the streets. This hallucinogen is generally a white or colored powder but can come in capsules. Most people swallow this drug but some do snort, smoke, or inject it as well. Angel dust causes the user to feel very disconnected from reality, a distortion in vision, aggressiveness, and psychotic episodes. 

Ketamine

Ketamine goes by the street names of Special K, jet, K, or Vitamin K. It comes in a white powder that is crystal like. Some dealers will use this powder to make capsules. This hallucinogen can be taken orally, snorted, smoked, or injected. The effects of Ketamine include visual distortions, distorted time and senses, a loss of one’s self, euphoria, loss of taste and smell, confusion, numbness in the limbs, and sense of touch is heightened. 

Mescaline

Usually on the streets Mescaline, a hallucinogen, is a tiny micro dot pill that is swallowed. One who uses mescaline may experience symptoms of visual hallucination, euphoria, vomiting, headache, dizziness, anxiety, panic or irrational thinking. 

Ecstasy/MDMA

Ecstasy or MDMA is more commonly known on the streets as E, X, Adam, or clarity. This hallucinogen comes in a tablet form that can take on many different looks. Usually the tablet will have an imprint on it with some type of logo such as a smiley face or a cartoon character. Ecstasy is usually swallowed. It makes the user feel empathetic and accepted, surroundings are clouded and unreal, time is distorted, a lack of concentration, a loss of boundaries, and sexual heightening. 

Cannabis

Cannabis, much more commonly known as weed, pot, or ganja on the streets is actually considered to be a hallucinogen. Parts of the cannabis plant are generally smoked but can also be used in recipes or brewed in tea. This causes the user to feel euphoria, relaxed, it impairs memory, impairs motor control, and can cause anxiety and panic. 

Man Made

This group of drugs, which are classified as hallucinogens can cause the user to display behavior that often mirrors schizophrenia. The exact results depend on many variables including how much of the substance is taken. Even more dangerous is the fact that these drugs are synthetic hallucinogens. This means that no one really knows what is in them because they are created in man-made labs and have no regulation whatsoever. This fact can increase the side effects that can include coma, heart failure, lung collapse, or convulsions. 

Big Risks

Since no one can accurately predict the real outcome of taking a hallucinogen it is also very possible and even probable that a user will do things that they would not do normally. Hallucinogens affect senses and motor skills so operating a vehicle could very well result in a traffic fatality. Other accidents are known to happen too such as drowning or falls. The reason for this unpredictable behavior is that hallucinogens tamper with the communication system within the brain by disrupting neurotransmitters and neurons.  

Call KLEAN 

There has been an increase in hallucinogen abuse recently. This could be because of the new and growing fad of designer drugs. Hallucinogen abuse must be handled promptly and professionally. At KLEAN Treatment Center there are affiliated physicians who specialize in detox and treating hallucinogen abuse. Call for help before it is too late!

Addiction is a chronic disease. If a person’s mother or father have a disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular disease they are at an increased risk of developing the same illness. This is the same with addiction. It doesn’t mean a person is going to get it, just that they are more likely to. So, if someone knows they are prone to high blood pressure or to diabetes then they take measures to reduce the risks. This is what the families of someone with an addiction should do too. Just because a person has an alcoholic father this doesn’t mean that they are only susceptible to alcoholism. What it means is that they are more likely to develop any addiction. 

When a person takes measures to reduce their risk of developing a disease that someone on their family had they usually do so by controlling their environment because of the genetic link. Someone with a predisposition to high blood pressure would reduce their risks by dieting, reducing stress, and exercising regularly. Basically, this means that it is essential for a person to control their environment in order to effectively change their genetic wiring. This would require taking the same steps to reduce exposure to addictive drugs or alcohol. 

According to Hope Networks, there are close to 30 million people in the US alone that have an alcoholic parent(s). Almost 11 million of that number is minor children under the age of 18. This is not even counting the children that have parents that are addicted to drugs. This suggests that there are millions of people that need to understand their genetic wiring so they can prepare to fight hard for themselves, especially the sons of alcoholic fathers who at the highest risk. 

There is some evidence that suggests that the genetic link might skip a generation. This would suggest that a person’s chances of becoming addicted are increased if they had grandparents or even great grandparents that were addicts. This makes these efforts even more difficult to trace back. Because of this education for everyone is essential and it needs to start very early on. There needs to be more addiction prevention program designed for adolescents. The programs that address elementary school students such as DARE are good starts but are not effective enough. 

More programs need to be integrated where these genetically high risk children can learn ways to use the energy that would be used in addiction and how to channel it in ways that are positive. Doing this at the very earliest possibility is a way for these children to fully know and understand that their genetic make-up is faulty but that they are not faulty. Education is the best way to deal with this but it will only work if it is basically in bred in the very youngest of children.

Shortly before the attacks Cipriano and Young were hanging out at a Farmington Hills hotel with friends who said that the pair had been smoking the synthetic marijuana called Spice. This wasn’t the first time that the two engaged in using Spice. They have been seen by friends buying it at a nearby gas station. Both had also been hanging out as guests at the hotel where Spice abuse is quite common. 

The judge that is handling this case, Waterford District Court Judge Jodi Debbrecht, expressed grave concern as the number of these types of crimes continues to increase in her courtroom involving Spice. She is seeing a pattern of consistency evolving around Spice that is related to hyperactive and aggressive behavior that leads to assault. 

Michigan is one of the states that have banned Spice consumption and sales but it is made in home labs and the ingredients keep changing. The labels still clearly read, “Not safe for human consumption.” The result of the changing ingredients is that you never know what you are getting. Spice is part of the “designer drugs” group and people like it because it is easy to get, cheap, and it gets you high. So, most disregard what is in it. 

Spice is an alternative to marijuana and has many different street names such as K2, fake marijuana, Yucatan Fire, Skunk, and Moon Rocks. The product consists of dried plant material that very much resembles potpourri and then it is sprayed with mind altering chemicals. What those chemicals are, no one is quite sure. Spice can be purchased over the Internet, in head shops, and in gas stations. 

The Cipriano and Young murder case is not the first time that designer drugs have been involved in horrible crimes. The other popular designer drug is called bath salts. One student killed his girlfriend after using bath salts, another male attacked himself with a knife after using bath salts, and a 14 year old boy died after smoking Spice from a Pez dispenser. 

The real question here is would the end result have been the same with Cipriano and Young if they hadn’t been smoking Spice? Spice is known to cause mood swings, accelerated heart rates, anxiety, vomiting, hallucinations, and psychosis. When the pair was confronted in the midst of their attempted robbery would they have picked up a baseball bat and started swinging until three family members were left for dead? It makes you think, doesn’t it? 

Can these drugs that are so easily attainable really cause people to act in ways that they never imagined they could? Watch the video and you decide.

Tucker Cipriano Charged in Father's Beating Death: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Anxiety and addiction are two very different and separate problems but when they are coupled together they can be nothing short of devastating. When an individual has both of problems the clinical term is dual diagnosis. Katie was a person that suffered from both anxiety and addiction and here is her story. 

Katie had anxiety as far back as she could recall, even as a young child. It was never professionally treated and now at the age of 33 Katie self-medicates her anxiety with her addiction to Xanax and alcohol. When Katie was 29 one of her friends gave her a few Xanax and told her they would help her to relax and relieve some of her anxiety. Of course, by this time Katie’s anxiety had her in a stranglehold and had turned into full blown panic attacks. Katie’s friend was right, the Xanax did relieve the anxiety, in fact it completely vanished but only until the Xanax wore off. 

Here is the other problem; Katie had already been self-medicating at home, where she spent the majority of her time, drinking alcohol. Katie found that the alcohol worked pretty well since she would drink until she would pass out most nights. But, once her friend gave her the Xanax Katie wasn’t sure which one worked better so she just started indulging in the two together. That was four years ago. 

Katie’s anxiety and panic attacks made it impossible for her to hold down a job but she did manage to take in a few babysitting jobs here and there but it wasn’t that big of a deal since she was living with her widower father who was clueless to Katie’s problems. In the morning Katie would wake up and pop a few Xanax with a Vodka and OJ chaser. After all, this was her morning ritual. 

The addiction masked the mental illness so Katie believed that she was living a pretty functional life. Wasn’t this a lot better than staying home all the time basically in isolation? Some may agree but considering that Katie was wasted most days by 11am it was no surprise that she just got her third DUI and could very well do some jail time over this last one. 

Not many people talk to Katie anymore, as far as friends and family go. The Xanax and the booze pretty much render Katie senseless to talk to plus she keeps nodding off and slurs most of her words. Everyone notices but her dad who is still mourning the loss of mom and has the beginning stages of Dementia. So, it is Katie and her two best friends Xanax and vodka, which are all that is left now. 

Katie is doing about eight Xanax a day and drinks a fifth of vodka. She no longer suffers from anxiety or panic but is that really any consolation since she also cannot remember her name on most days either? Katie is in serious need of professional treatment from a center that specializes in treating dual diagnosis patients. 

Katie will need this professional help to get her safely through detox. Alcohol and Xanax are two of the most difficult substances to come off of and the urgency for professional medical care cannot be stressed enough. Katie will then need some extensive inpatient treatment that will allow her to seek treatment for the anxiety problem and substance abuse problem at the same time. 

There is help available for someone like Katie and there are hundreds of thousands just like her. The story may change a bit but the concept is very much the same. Help is available and you are never alone.