Category Archives: Coffee

How to Deal with Suboxone Withdrawal

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How to Deal with Suboxone Withdrawal

What is Suboxone?

Suboxone is a prescription medication that contains both buprenorphine
 and naloxone. Both of these drugs are often given to addicts recovering from opiate addiction. Suboxone helps addicts overcome any drug cravings, thereby assisting them in the recovery process. Doctors should slowly taper the dosage of suboxone until you no longer need it to cope with the consequences of drug addiction.

The buprenorphine found in Suboxone is similar to what is found in other opiates, like morphine and heroin. As an opiate, buprenorphine can cause your body to become physically dependent on the drug, so when you suddenly discontinue suboxone, it will cause your body to undergo withdrawal. Withdrawal is your body’s way of attempting to recover from excessive drug use. Suboxone withdrawal can range from mild symptoms to serious, possible life-threatening effects.

Signs and symptoms of withdrawal:

  • Uncharacteristic irritability or agitation
  • Anxiety
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Profuse sweating
  • Excessive tears
  • Runny nose
  • Frequent yawning

However, these symptoms are usually overlooked and may be passed off as symptoms of the flu or other mild diseases.

How to deal with Suboxone Withdrawal

I don’t know. Coffee, ibuprofen, lots of water, natural sleeps aids such as melatonin, hot baths, massage?

As a recovering opiate addict, I tried both a methadone maintenance and suboxone (at different times in my addiction). And quite honestly, the withdrawal sucks. That is totally an understatement.

Some years ago, I kicked methadone. Cold turkey. Not recommended. I stayed away from opiates for a little while but, soon enough, I was back at it. I thought the pain and discomfort of kicking for over a month would be enough to keep me from going down that road again. So, when things got bad again, I decided to get on suboxone. I don’t deny that this can be helpful when detoxing from other opiates (yes other because, after all, suboxone does contain an opiate called buprenorphine). But it is meant to be used short term, as in a week at the most, and with a rapid taper. There will be some discomfort at the end, but nowhere near what it’s like to go cold turkey.

While I was researching suboxone for the purpose of writing this blog and time and time again, I kept finding “information” which stated that, if tapered off of suboxone, you won’t experience any withdrawal symptoms and that if you do, you only think you do; it’s all mental. That’s plain old bullshit. I was on a very low dose of suboxone when I decided to go to treatment. I was taking maybe 4mg a day for the last several months of my active addiction. I tried to taper myself completely but the withdrawals came, and with a vengeance. I could not face suboxone withdrawal again. My solution was going into a medical detox and inpatient program.

If you are facing suboxone withdrawal, you may want to consider doing what I did. There are programs that specialize in suboxone detox that can assist you in the process with very little discomfort.

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Are caffeine pills dangerous?

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Caffeine Pills

Are caffeine pills dangerous?

The truth is anything can be dangerous if you abuse it. Caffeine pills are no different. The average caffeine pill contains about 200 milligrams of caffeine. Most healthy adults can tolerate 200 mg to 300 mg of caffeine a day. This equates to about one caffeine pill or two to three cups of strong coffee.

Are caffeine pills dangerous? Uses

Caffeine is most commonly used to promote mental alertness. It can also be very effective in treating headaches. Caffeine can even be used to treat an acute asthma attack. Caffeine is chemically similar to a common asthma medication and it relaxes the walls of the respiratory system. Even a little bit of caffeine can improve lung function for up to 4 hours.

Some people use caffeine for gallbladder disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and low blood pressure. It can also be used for weight loss and type 2 diabetes.

 Are caffeine pills dangerous? How it works

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. It increases heart rate, muscle contraction, and blood pressure. Caffeine also acts a diuretic- increasing urine flow. When people use caffeine regularly, they can be tolerant of it and it may not have all these effects.

Are caffeine pills dangerous? Considerations

If you consume more than 200 to 300 milligrams a day, you may experience some unpleasant and even dangerous side effects. These include insomnia, nervousness, irritability, upset stomach and fast heartbeat. While it’s easier to overdose on caffeine pills, excessive caffeine intake is dangerous in any form.

Are caffeine pills dangerous? Caffeine Intoxication

Caffeine intoxication is a state of central nervous system stimulation due to high intake of caffeine. This can lead to hospitalization and even death. The nervous system becomes overworked. This can lead to excessive neural activity and possibly seizures.

Are caffeine pills dangerous? Health problems

While caffeine pills are generally safe to consume in appropriate dosages for healthy people, people with certain health problems should not take them. Pregnant women should not take caffeine pills because they increase the risk of certain complications, including miscarriage. Anyone with heart problems or high blood pressure should also steer clear of taking caffeine pills. It is important to discuss all over the counter medications with your doctor so they can assess any potential risks based on your personal medical history.

Are caffeine pills dangerous? Precautions

If you are going to take caffeine pills there are certain precautions you can take which will make it safer.

– Drink plenty of water: Caffeine pills can act as a diuretic, so water is essential so you don’t dehydrate your body.

– Try to avoid taking caffeine pills late in the day: If you take caffeine pills in the late afternoon or evening, it can make it harder for you to get a good night’s sleep.

– Cut back slowly: If you have been taking caffeine pills for some time, your body could’ve become dependent on the caffeine intake. Cutting back slowly over a period of a few days will help you avoid withdrawal symptoms.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Legal Ways to Get High: Energy drinks, Coffee, and Cough Syrup

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Legal Ways to Get High: Energy drinks, Coffee, and Cough Syrup

Legal Ways to Get High: Energy drinks, Coffee, and Cough Syrup

It seems the newest trend in getting high is legal drugs. When I was a teen, we gravitated towards booze and pot when we wanted to get sh*t-faced, but today’s youth seems intent on finding the best legal way to get high. We had to wait outside the gas station to bribe a bum to buy us booze. Kids today, however, can walk in and get these “legal” drugs at gas stations, pharmacies, and on the internet with ease. As an added bonus, most of the legal ways to get high will not show up on a drug test.

Legal Ways to Get High: Energy drinks and Coffee

While energy drinks have been around since “Jolt” came out in the mid-80’s, they didn’t get really popular until the early 2000’s. Today, energy drinks are a 10 billion dollar market, and they are mostly marketed to young people.

Energy drinks and coffee both contain the same “high”-inducing chemical-caffeine. However, energy drinks often contain ingredients that enhance the caffeine in the drink. Or they contain guarana, which is a source of caffeine itself.

People don’t usually think of caffeine as a dangerous drug, but some energy drinks contain well over the recommended dose. In fact, the FDA recently confirmed reports that 5-hour energy could be responsible for as many as 13 deaths last year.

This legal way to get high can induce euphoria, but it can also cause nervousness, irritability, insomnia, abnormal heart rhythms and agitation. You can become dependent on energy drinks and coffee, and withdrawal can be a real bummer. So yes, caffeine is one of the legal ways to get high, but the mild euphoria you may feel isn’t really worth it.

Legal Ways to Get High: Cough Syrup

The first time I met someone in rehab who told me he was “in” for cough syrup, I seriously thought he was joking. I was still shaking, coming off of heroin, and totally irritable.

“Is that a real thing?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

Yes.  It was real enough to land him in a 30 day treatment center, anyway.

Cough syrup contains dextromethorphan, aka DXM. If you take it in sufficient quantities, you can hallucinate. I’ve heard you will also likely vomit, but I guess that’s the price you pay for this legal way to get high.

Of course, I always wondered why these people didn’t just take acid or shrooms, but cough syrup is legal, so it’s probably easier to get. I can understand using DXM once, out of curiosity or out of desperation, but I could not believe it would be someone’s drug of choice.

Between the puking, diarrhea, and muscle spasms, this doesn’t sound like a very fun legal way to get high, but to each his own, I guess.  And according to experts, the addiction to DXM is psychological, not physical. Keep in mind, however, you have to take a ton of cough syrup to get high: DXM only becomes a hallucinogen at 12.5 to 75 times the recommended therapeutic dose.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.