Some insurance companies will pay for drug treatment. If you have insurance, check with your agent first. In 2008, Congress passed the Mental Health Parity Act, which requires insurance companies that provide mental health benefits to cover drug rehab.

Other ideas for finding a way to pay for rehab include:
* If you are a veteran, you will want to check with a VA benefits representative. Some VA benefits will pay for rehab as part of the assistance they offer for former military servicemen.
* The federal government makes a large contribution to drug rehab through the Medicaid, Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant. The state government makes sizable contributions for this cause through plans like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan. One of these options may be a possibility for paying for your rehab.
* Some churches and religious organizations offer financial help for recovering addicts; contact a local church to see if this is a possibility.
* Public rehab programs are an option to consider in many cases. Some of these programs offer an excellent standard of care, with many providing some free treatment.

One thing to remember when trying to find a way to pay for rehab is that you can ask for a reduced cost stay. Sounds strange, right? However, you need to keep in mind that most of the better rehab clinics do have programs for low income clients. This works because it’s a good arrangement for both parties; you get rehab at a better price and the clinic has a tax write-off.

You will also want to ask the clinic about financing they have available. You would ultimately be responsible for the entire cost of rehab, but you could pay it over time with this approach. It would basically be like getting a loan for a car, only it’s highly unlikely a new car would change your life in quite the same way.

Payments for drug rehab can come from many different places; you simply have to do some looking. You will probably have to end up paying some of the cost of care for yourself, but you should be able to get a significant amount of financial assistance in most cases. There are many state and county funded programs to helps addicts, with more popping up all the time.

Tiger Woods learned to play golf as a kid with his father being his teacher and mentor. When he was about eight, Tiger became very good at the game. He went to Stanford and won a number of amateur US golf titles before turning pro in 1996. He shot to fame after winning the US Master in 1997–with a record score of 270–at the age of 21. He was the youngest man to ever earn that title and the only African-American.

In his first appearance at the British Open that year, he tied the course record of 64. In the next few years, he collected four US PGA titles, three US Open wins, three Open Championship wins and three US Masters wins. In 2003, Tiger had five wins. In 2004, he won one. He won six championships in 2005 and was voted PGA player of the year for the seventh time in nine years.

After all his success on the green, Tiger is now being forced to come clean about the things he has not been doing well over the years. According to recent news reports, it sounds like Tiger Woods will be entering rehab in Wickenburg, Arizona for sexual compulsions sometime in January 2010. He will also be dealing with his abuse of Vicodin and Ambien while in rehab. It is reported that the two drugs may have had something to do with his November 27, 2009 car accident.

Two days before his auto accident occurred, it was reported that Tiger had been involved in a number of extramarital affairs. At last count, at least six different women have come forward with tales of life as Tiger’s mistresses. They all claim Tiger displays a number of signs of sexual addiction, such as seeking highs from outdoor sex and compulsively seeking new sexual partners.

His wife Elin has said that she will be filing divorce papers in January, although Tiger says he plans to do everything he can to save his marriage. Tiger’s mom has said that she will stand by her son, but she needs some time to work out her disappointment. Tiger’s father allegedly cheated on his mother at some point, too. Since addictive behaviors do seem to have a history of repeating themselves across generations, let’s hope Tiger can get the treatment he needs to stop this destructive pattern with his own family.

Living a clean and sober life requires going through your day doing things that will not lead to going back to the negative patterns that led to your addiction struggles. Many times, addicts neglect learning some basic life skills in favor of living with drugs and alcohol. Doing what is necessary to learn these basic skills, whether it’s taking a parenting course or finding constructive ways to deal with your stress after a long day of work, is important to be able to stay clean and sober over the long term.

The line between the addict life and the sober life is usually very clear. Once you have decided that you want to become clean and sober as part of your New Year’s resolution, you will have to check yourself into some sort of treatment facility. These go from a few weeks to a few months. Once all the drugs are out of your system, they will help you to learn new ways of living sober. They will get you some counseling so you can try to figure out why you were living an addictive lifestyle and help you learn alternative ways of dealing with the issues in your life that were turning you towards drugs and/or alcohol.

Once the drugs and alcohol are removed from your life and you are back home, it’s time to face reality. Many times your reality is littered with the remnants of your past addictive life. You are then encouraged to take responsibility for the pain inflicted upon others and yourself while under the influence. When possible, recovery includes making restitution. Cleaning up the past is a large part of having a clean future. You can become loving a family member and realize the pride in a job well done and a hard day’s work. You can become a friend instead of someone who is a burden.

A clean and sober life is not an easy thing to accomplish. It does not happen as soon as you leave treatment; it is an ongoing struggle that has to be taken one day at a time. There may be feelings of remorse or thinking that it is not worth the effort. However, you must keep in mind that there will be much more good than bad to come from learning to live clean and sober.

Alcohol relaxes most people, but an alcoholic thinks that alcohol will make everything better. If you think alcohol is always the solution to your troubles, this is a clear indication you may have a drinking problem.

Relationships start to suffer when you become a problem drinker. The people closest to us are usually the first to notice a drinking problem, although they are not always the first to speak up about it. Do the people around you make jokes about your drinking? Do co-workers comment about your drinking? Is it making your home life unhappy? Do you get mad when people try to talk to you about your drinking?

Experts think that there are two main components to alcoholism: a mental fixation and a physical response. Do you find yourself thinking about drinking at inappropriate times, such as while at work or in bed at night? Do you regularly go out for one drink and end up drinking a lot more than that? Not all alcoholics suffer from hangovers, but many report feelings of remorse after drinking. Do you ever wake up thinking that you’ve got to stop doing this to yourself?

Alcoholism is a progressive illness; it gets worse with time. Has your drinking increased over the years? Have you seen changes in your drinking habits? Do you go out more often to drink than you used to? Do you avoid others when you drink when you used to drink to have fun with others? Have you tried to drink different types of alcohol in order to try to get less drunk?

For a person with a drinking problem, life becomes chaotic and unmanageable. This can means things such as having financial difficulties because of drinking, getting into trouble with family or the law, insomnia, problems at work, blackouts while drinking, or depression.

Here is a list of some of the behaviors that could indicate you have an alcohol problem:
* Excuses for missing work or excessive use of sick days
* Sloppy work, missed deadlines, and declining performance
* Strained relationships with co-workers, incessant apologies, shortness of temper, irritability, and difficulty in dealing with others
* Borrowing money from others or asking for advances in payroll
* Avoidance of certain people, including managers and supervisors
* Confused thinking and difficulty concentrating
* Always ready with a good excuse for problems

In order to deal with your stress in a helpful rather than hurtful way, it is first wise to learn to recognize the symptoms of stress. Stress is what a person experiences as a result of difficult or upsetting events, especially those that continue for a long time. Also, stress is the experience people have when the demands they make of themselves or those placed upon them are greater than what they feel like they can handle.

Sometimes, we are not aware of the stress and what it is doing to us until it manifests itself physically. Some of the physical symptoms of stress are sleep problems, such as trouble falling asleep, waking up during the night, nightmares, waking up early, and being unable to fall back to sleep. Some other symptoms of stress are headaches, stomach problems, fatigue, moodiness, and irritability. You may have trouble concentrating and feel a general dissatisfaction with life or you may feel overwhelmed.

If you have been experiencing two or more of the classic symptoms of stress, you need to start thinking about how to address the situation before it interferes with your addiction recovery process. You need to have a network of recovery support. The people who relapse are usually the ones who have failed to obtain a support system.

Addicts tend to isolate themselves, withdraw from others, and be convinced that they can take care of problems on their own. This is relapse waiting to happen because the brain is trying in any way it knows to find a justification to start using again. Because of this, it is very important to have people that can be supportive of your struggles.

During the holidays, try not to overdo it. Don’t invite the whole family over to your house for Christmas dinner and plan to make all the food yourself. That may be too much for anyone, let alone the recovering addict. Don’t decide you need the best gifts for everyone you know when you can’t afford to buy them. That will only stress you out. Do what you can do and forget about the rest.

Holidays are ultimately supposed to be about spending time with family and friends. Try your best to concentrate on that and leave the rest behind.

Does Rapid Detox Work?

Depending on what drugs are used and the methodology of the procedure, the promise is that you will lie down on the surgery table addicted to drugs (usually opiates like heroin or prescription drugs that include OxyContin, Vicodin, hydrocodone and others) and wake up completely drug-free. You will be sedated for a few hours and your body will be flushed of the drug (how this happens varies depending upon the company and procedure) and when you wake up you will not have to deal with withdrawal symptoms that usually accompany detox.

It sounds like the perfect fix to an addict’s problem, however, research indicates that this is nothing but a beautiful fairy tale. In fact, the majority of the favorable outcome was associated with research sponsored by institutions that would benefit monetarily from the procedure. A study done by Mount Sinai Medical Center, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami Beach, stated that their rapid detox procedure provides, “One hundred percent successful detoxification.” Of course, they stand to make a great deal of money with this treatment, and 100 percent is not only statistically improbable but more than likely a bold skewing of the data. This facility has also reported that only 55 percent of its patients were relapse free in 6 months, a success rate that is sadly lacking, especially considering the cost and physical risk.

Is Rapid Detox Dangerous?

Rapid Opiate Detoxification (ROD) is widely advertised as an “immediate cure” for addicts searching for a quick fix to their problem. Unfortunately, numerous people are seduced by these absurd claims and subject themselves to dangerous and sometimes lethal procedures.

ROD is physically dangerous for a number of reasons. The aggressive assault on the body and brain with concentrated amounts of medication used to block the opioid receptors isn’t safe, particularly for someone who has been abusing their body with drugs and alcohol for years. Co-occurring medical disorders are often present and go undiagnosed during addiction; these underlying conditions can cause complications when a detox is done safely and the risk is exponentially increased during a dangerous procedure like rapid detox.

The bottom line is that rapid detox just isn’t safe and though you may deeply desire to be free of opiates without the physical withdrawal symptoms, the best and fastest way to do that is to undergo a medical detox at an inpatient long-term residential facility that provides medical monitoring and follow-up psychological addiction treatment to help you fight relapse.

Drug Detox: Safe and Slow

Studies done by less biased companies show that after rapid detox, withdrawal symptoms are clinically present 24 hours after the detoxification was completed and the rate of relapse after six months was 80 percent. Another study established that the procedure was too dangerous to carry out and announced no detoxification was completed within the 48-hour time frame, that no obvious benefit could be found in the rapid detox method, and that the risks were simply too high.

A slow safe drug detox under medical supervision is the best choice when faced with opiate addiction. Call for more information today.

What is a Prescription Drug Withdrawal?

Prescription drugs that contain an opioid do an excellent job of blocking your perception of pain. Along with pain relief, opiates will affect the nerve cells in the brain that perceive pleasure. Over time, your brain comes to depend on the chemicals in your prescription and stops making the natural chemicals that fight pain and make you happy. When you abruptly stop using the drug, you stop providing the catalyst for the chemical effects it triggers. In response, your body begins to detox and you experience what is known as prescription drug withdrawal or withdrawal symptoms.

What are the Symptoms of a Prescription Drug Withdrawal?

Opioid-based prescription drugs, depending upon their chemical makeup, all leave you with more or less the same withdrawal symptoms, though intensity will vary depending upon a number of factors. The most commonly experienced withdrawal symptoms include:

• Overall restlessness
• Vomiting
• Cold flashes accompanied by goose bumps
• Uncontrolled leg movements
• Insomnia
• Diarrhea
• Acute muscle and bone pain

Many people encounter all of these symptoms while others experience just a few of them. The speed of onset and the intensity of these symptoms, too, will vary among users.

Can I Just Go Through Prescription Drug Withdrawal at Home?

It is not recommended that you attempt to go through a prescription drug withdrawal and detox alone because the symptoms can be so overwhelming. If you have co-occurring medical disorders, even ones you don’t know about, they can cause complications during detox. It is recommended that you undergo a prescription drug detox at a certified drug detox and rehab center where you will have round-the-clock medical supervision and support. This is the only way you can ensure your physical safety and get the support you need from peers and counselors for the psychological issues and cravings that may develop.

What are the Treatment Options for Prescription Drug Withdrawal?

A quick online search will reveal a number of treatment options available to those who are experiencing prescription drug withdrawal, ranging from home remedies to high-end luxury inpatient facilities. Research shows that the best treatment for any drug addiction including prescription drug addiction is an inpatient drug rehab that provides medical detox and psychological addiction treatment services. The longer you stay involved in treatment and the more time you spending building a strong start in your recovery, the more successful will be your recovery.

The Issue of Prescription Drug Addiction

Prescription drug addiction is a little bit trickier to identify than addiction to other addictive drugs. With regular use, even when you follow the prescription exactly as the doctor intended, the body quickly develops a tolerance. This tolerance is the hallmark of physical dependency, and the beginning of drug addiction for any kind of drug. This is a common occurrence, however, among those who use prescription drugs, especially to treat chronic conditions like pain or anxiety.

Physical dependence upon a prescription drug doesn’t necessarily mean that drug rehab is necessary. It’s when you become psychologically dependent, craving the drug and depending upon it to handle emotional situations or get to sleep that it’s a significant problem that requires treatment.

How To Recognize Drug Addiction: Physical Dependence

Being physically dependent on any drug of addiction is usually most obvious when you try to stop taking your drug of choice. Within hours of missing dose, your body physically responds with withdrawal symptoms that start small and steadily increase until they are almost unbearable. These withdrawal symptoms will be different depending upon whether you are addicted to alcohol, cocaine, crystal meth, heroin, prescription drugs or a combination of drugs, but they are usually significant and difficult to endure without relapse.

How To Recognize Drug Addiction: Behavior

Your behavior metamorphoses under the control of addictive drugs. You become completely focused on getting your drug of choice and staying loaded, drunk or high to the exclusion of all else. You may become moody or angry and depressed depending upon your drug of choice and when you last used. Short-term memory and the ability to maintain commitments becomes more difficult and your relationships, your job and your finances suffer as a result.

How To Recognize Drug Addiction: Compulsivity

Addiction is defined by using a substance compulsively as well as the lack of control over the addiction or the inability to stop. When you are at the mercy of drug addiction, you no longer have the ability to control your behavior. Taking your drug of choice seems less like a decision and more of a compulsion. You may think of few things other than getting drugs and making sure that you keep a certain amount of your drug of choice in your system at all times. You may not have any concern about the danger that you put others in or the fact that you’re hurting those who love you. Your sole occupation is maintaining your addiction to the point that you let everything else go.

The best way to avoid drug overdose is to stop using drugs. If you are addicted and can’t stop on your own, contact a drug rehab today for help.

What are the Signs of a Drug Overdose?

A drug overdose is usually accompanied by slow and labored breathing, faint heart rate, and an unshakeable unconscious state. In a grave overdose, you may experience apnea, cardiac arrest, coma and even death. Listed below are additional signs to look for when you suspect a drug overdose:

• Pinpoint pupils
• Blue-tint to fingernails and lips
• Itching skin
• Spasms of stomach and/or intestinal tract
• Constipation
• Weak pulse
• Low blood pressure

What Do I Do in the Event of a Drug Overdose?

Because an overdose can be fatal, it is imperative that you call 911 as soon as you recognize that there is a problem. Be prepared to provide the operator with the information they request, which may include the overdose victim’s age, weight and symptoms. They will also ask for the name of the drug that was taken along with how much and when. If prescription drugs were involved, bring the bottle for the paramedics if possible.

If you suspect that you or someone else is exhibiting the signs of a drug overdose but you aren’t sure, contact the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. Be ready to answer the same questions as if you were calling 911. The National Poison Control Center is a free and a confidential service.

How is a Drug Overdose Treated?

If you overdose, you may experience a number of emergency medical treatments. If you are having difficulty breathing, it will be essential to open your airways. You will be put on either an assisted or a controlled ventilator. If you were taking opioid-based painkillers or heroin, you will be given a dose of the narcotic antagonist naloxone to stop the respiratory depression that accompanies opiate overdose.

To remove the rest of the unabsorbed drug or drugs, you may also have your stomach pumped. Oxygen, intravenous fluids, and other supportive measures will be provided to keep your body stable as well.

How Do I Avoid a Drug Overdose?

Give your physician a list of all the prescription and nonprescription drugs you are taking to avoid accidental overdose with new prescriptions. Avoid mixing drugs with alcohol or taking street drugs that have unknown chemical quantities. Always be aware of what drug you are taking along with the dosage requirements and if you suspect that you have overdosed, call 911 immediately.

Of course, the most effective way to avoid a drug overdose is to seek help as soon as you suspect you have a problem. If you are struggling with drug addiction, get help at a drug rehab today.

Drug Addiction: Quitting Alone is Not Safe

Despite what you see in the movies or may assume from the ways celebrities purport to be clean one day and then loaded the next, it is never safe to completely stop using drugs of addiction including alcohol without medical supervision. The withdrawal symptoms alone are enough to sabotage the entire detox but if you unknowingly have co-occurring medical conditions, the experience could be fatal. Those who experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking or using opiate painkillers specifically should ever try to stop cold turkey. Always choose a medical detox facility and drug rehab to ensure your safety.

Drug Addiction: Physical and Psychological Addiction

Drug addiction is both a physical and a psychological issue. The psychological cravings can continue to be overwhelming long after the physical withdrawal symptoms subside. Detox-only treatments that focus solely on the physical dependence don’t provide a comprehensive treatment. In the same way, a couple weeks spent in rehab after long-term drug addiction doesn’t do much to build a strong foundation in recovery. Studies show that the longer you spend in treatment and the deeper you go in terms of psychotherapeutic treatment, the more likely you will be to remain abstinent for long periods after you return home.

Drug Addiction: A Medical Disease

Drug addiction is a medical disorder affecting the central nervous system. With prolonged use, permanent changes can take effect in the brain’s chemistry. For example, a healthy, normal brain will produce endorphins naturally. But with extended drug and alcohol abuse, the brain stops providing endorphins and will instead rely on your drug of choice. For that reason, it is recommended that you undergo drug addiction treatment sooner rather than later once you recognize your dependence upon your drug of choice.

Drug Addiction: Commitment for a Lifetime

Deciding that you are ready to get help is a monumental decision. However, it should be understood that recovery continues long after drug addiction treatment is over. Maintaining sobriety is a lifelong commitment and can be difficult at times. Support from family and friends as well as outside personal therapy sessions and 12 step meetings are essential to continued success for many people.

Drug and alcohol addiction is a chronic condition that, like other diseases, is prone to relapse. There is no cure. There is only treatment. It is common for those in recovery to “slip” or use just one time. Those who “binge” or relapse for a few days or weeks may choose to re-enter treatment in order to set themselves up for success in the future. If you are struggling with drug and/ or alcohol addiction and you need help, don’t wait. Call today.