Oxycontin is a powerful prescription drug, that when used properly, certainly can help with chronic pain issues.  The problem the staff at Turning Point Centers is seeing more and more is that people are being prescribed this very powerful opiod and the chances of addiction tend to be high.  When our younger clients are coming in addicted to opiates/heroin, recently, almost all are saying they started with Oxycontin and then couldn’t afford it so they switched to heroin.  It can be hard to see if someone is abusing Oxy but if they tell you they are, you almost certainly should ask a very difficult question…”are you using heroin?” ESPECIALLY if money is tight.  Heroin is easy to get and much less expensive on the street than Oxycontin.  Be attentive to your loved one, look for changes in friends, behaviors, sleeping patterns, missing items from your home (including money from your bank), pens with no inside and tin foil…these are some of the big tell tales!  Once you realize he/she is abusing Oxy and/or heroin immediately start calling treatment centers to find help!

Those who use meth and those who know people who use meth don’t need a blog to tell them how highly addictive the drug is. Frankly, it’s next to impossible to quit without help.

Fortunately, there’s hope! We at Turning Point Centers have created a comprehensive meth rehab treatment program that combines the following:

• Behavioral therapy
• Family education
• Individual counseling
• 12-step support
• Drug testing
• Encouragement for non-drug-related activities

Plus, people enrolled in our program gain a support network of staff members to lean on during their stay and even after graduation. Our staff physician, licensed therapists, and educators care deeply about each resident and understand the latest, most advanced clinical approaches.

This potent combination of techniques and people power has been proven to help meth users diminish and even overcome their addiction. It’s never too late to ask for hope.

Among the many symptoms of meth abuse is “meth mouth,” a severe form of tooth decay that is often fixed only by pulling the affected teeth.

According to the American Dental Association ADA, heavy meth use probably causes meth mouth in a variety of ways:

• Dry mouth (hyposalivation): Meth dries up the salivary glands, depleting the saliva needed to neutralize acidic substances in the mouth. These acids can eat away tooth enamel and lead to cavities.
• Oral-hygiene neglect: When meth users are high, which they can be for days at a time, they often skip brushing, flossing, and rinsing altogether.
• Sugary drinks: Meth users tend to crave sugary drinks to quench their drug-induced thirst, and such drinks are great at causing tooth decay.
• Teeth clenching and grinding (bruxism): Meth use induces teeth clenching and grinding, which leads to cracks and wear in the enamel.
• The ADA also notes that some reports have speculated that the acidic nature of meth may also damage teeth.

Many people with high anxiety levels find that having a drink at night to “calm them down” does exactly that…it calms them down and decreases their anxiety.  The problem is this is a very short-term effect and typically gets worse because 1 drink per night turns into 2 turns into 3 and goes from abuse to dependency.  Marijuana is another substance commonly abused to help “calm down.”  It becomes a terrible circle because dependency on alcohol and other substances actually increases anxiety so the person then uses more to calm the anxiety…you see where this is going?  If you notice yourself or a loved on entering this stage get help soon because it will almost always get worse.

Read some interesting statistics today on eating disorders. 

It is estimated that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder – seven million women and one million men

And here are the mortality statistics…again…very scary!

(Source:  South Carolina Depart of Health) 

Our dual diagnosis therapist know too well that this disease is a tough one to battle.  Typically our eating disorder clients are with us longer than the addiction clients.

We’re excited to bring on Dr. Otis to do our EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).  He’s starting next Monday and we know he’s going to fit in nicely with our program and it’s philosophy.  Very often clients come in with serious PTSD and need this service…we proud to offer it to those clients and have seen amazing results because of the process!

The Turning Point Centers Intensive Outpatient program is potentially about to take a nice change.  We’re thinking about having the Family Therapy group on Thursdays.  That way the group won’t get split up and it won’t take away any time from the IOP clients.  The philosophy of the family therapy is very similar to that of the program and Markus runs a great family therapy group!  We’ll know this week what the plans are.

One of our therapists, Markus, has come up with a great idea to do more intense Marriage and Family Therapy workshops!  The interpersonal communication between the different families and Markus combined with our cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach will certainly make the workshops productive.  This would be an intense weekend of therapy for families wanting to move forward not only with beating the addiction in the family but also strengthening their own relationship.  We’re in the beginning phases of setting this program up and I feel it’s going to be a strong component to Turning Point Centers program!

The Sober Transitions program is being announced tonight at the Family Therapy Group!  Can’t wait for the feedback from those clients and their families!  We’ve got our LSAC hired for the position and ready to go…all we need now are some clients to support for their first year in recovery.

Finally, after all these years, we’re moving forward with a “monitoring” program.  By the end of June we’re going to have our sober transitions program.  It’s going to be a great way to transition out of our intensive outpatient program into the “real world.”  With our core beliefs and the communication and counseling with the client for a full year the odds of the clients staying sober go through the roof…can’t wait to see this program take off!