HELLO EVERYONE:

Attached are some flyers for programing through PRO-ACT/ Central Bucks Recovery Resource Center (CBRRC). As always these programs are free and available to all. If you need further information or would like to register to attend any of our programs, please feel free to contact me any time!



Please notice these specialty programs:



Start your week off right! Morning Devotions Mondays 10-11am, Feel the Difference!!

NEW Starting July 7th – Mondays 7:30 – 8:30pm. Health & Wellness - Renew Your Mind - Rebuild Your Body & Recover Your Spirit! Finding the sacred part of your recovery through Health & Wellness!!

Our Great Program! Expanding Your Recovery Toolkit June 6th 7 – 8:30. Presentation by two great speakers and group discussion period. Free Pizza to Share With Other Recovering people!!



HAVE A GREAT DAY!! 

An Educated Addict’s Mom is an Empowered Addict’s Mom.

Are you an addict’s mom who needs help with codependency?

Debbie Sherrick, a codependency coach who is offering a free class to our TAM members.

About Debbie Sherrick:

Debbie Sherrick is a Holistic Codependency Coach. Motivated by my own personal journey to healing myself from the Inside Out, I love sharing my story of coming out of the shame, low self-esteem and the pain of codependency. I am a certified Holistic Health Counselor and Codependency Life Coach teaching people how to unite mind, body and spirit for a successful healthy life style to achieve more self-love and empowerment in their relationships and personal life. My passion is to educate and encourage others to become healthy emotionally, physically and to develop a deep spiritual connection in taking control of their own lives in these areas.

Information on Empower Hour Codependency Class:

On Tuesday, June 24, 2014 from 8PM to 9PM EST Debbie Sherrick will be offering a free class “Exposing Shame and Not Good Enough: A Core Belief for Codependents” on the Empower Hour Show on Google+.

Debbie say’s “Feelings can come and go for all of us, but one that shows up so often in codependency recovery is the feeling of Shame....just not measuring up or feeling quite not good enough. It's what makes us feel guilty, bad, unlovable, weak, a people pleaser, sad, and place blame on themselves for many things. It's why saying NO and boundary setting are so hard for codependents.”

"The event is FREE but you must register to attend at www.empowerhourshow.com/live

Much love to all addict’s moms and their families....Barbara Theodosiou founder of The Addict’s Mom.


Visit The Addict's Mom at: http://addictsmom.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Increase Access to Buprenorphine, Senators Urge Federal Officials
/By Join Together Staff
June 19th, 2014/
5



Two U.S. senators this week urged federal officials to expand access to buprenorphine to treat heroin and painkiller addiction.

Buprenorphine helps control drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms, but remains underused a decade after it was approved, the Associated Press reports. It can be prescribed as a take-home medicine, unlike methadone, which must be administered in a clinic. Buprenorphine has a lower risk of overdose and milder side effects, the article notes.

Federal law restricts buprenorphine prescribing, and insurance coverage of the treatment is inconsistent, according to the AP.

“We’ve heard remarkable stories of success with buprenorphine treatment, of lives saved and families rebuilt from the ravages of addiction,” Senator Carl Levin of Michigan said in a news release. “But we have also heard stories of frustration at the fact that many patients want this treatment but can’t get it, and we need to remove those hurdles.”

In 2000, Levin and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah sponsored the Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA 2000), which made it legal for doctors to prescribe buprenorphine for up to 30 patients at a time in their offices. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug’s use in 2002. Subsequently, the patient limit was raised to 100.

Senators Levin and Hatch hosted a forum Wednesday to examine impediments that prevent greater access to buprenorphine, and to explore changes that could help expand access. The American Society of Addiction Medicine has proposed raising the patient limit to as high as 500 for doctors who complete 40 hours of training, the article notes.

Some federal officials said they do not want to raise the patient limit because buprenorphine can be abused. Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said buprenorphine overdoses are common in Europe, where the drug is more available. Raising the patient limit could lead to buprenorphine “pill mills,” some officials noted at the forum.

Treatments for Heroin Addiction Face Challenges, Experts Say
/By Join Together Staff
June 19th, 2014/
1

A number of challenges stand in the way of successful treatment for heroin addiction, experts tell The Courier-Journal. The public must demand a better system for addiction treatment, they say.

Research-based best practices for treating addiction are not standard, as they are for other chronic illnesses, addiction expert A. Thomas McLellan told the newspaper. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, says the stigma of drug addiction has impeded development and investment in new treatments. Federal spending on addiction research was $320 million last year, about the same as 2002 when adjusted for inflation.

According to the NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, only about 10 percent of Americans who are dependent on heroin or prescription drugs receive treatment.

Traditionally, drug use was treated with group counseling and therapies, peer pressure and peer-oriented counseling, said Mady Chalk, formerly of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Treatment has often consisted of programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, which promote abstinence. “This idea that you can go in (to treatment) and come out the other end like you come out of a washing machine and you’re squeaky clean — now abstinent for the rest of your life — it doesn’t work that way,” she said. “Success doesn’t happen for a very long time. (You need) five years of monitoring and family intervention, then let’s talk about what you mean by success.”

Melinda Campopiano, Medical Officer for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at SAMHSA, says while abstinence is the ultimate goal, medicines to treat addiction such as methadone, Suboxone and Vivitrol can help. “Your number-one goal is to keep this person alive. The odds of them dying in their uncontrolled addiction is very high,” she said.

While research indicates medication-assisted treatment results in better recovery rates, people addicted to drugs who are in the criminal justice system often are denied such treatment, the article notes.

Safety Warnings About Antidepressants Linked With Increase in Suicide Attempts
/By Join Together Staff
June 19th, 2014/


After health officials warned antidepressant use could lead to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts among young people, there was a rise in suicide attempts in this age group, according to a new study.

Doctors may have avoided prescribing antidepressants after media reports of the warnings by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Reuters reports. This could have led to an increase in depressed children and teens who were untreated, the researchers report in BMJ.

“This study is a one of the first to directly measure a health outcome driven by the interaction of public policy and mass media,” lead author Christine Lu of Harvard Medical School said in a news release. “The FDA, the media and physicians need to find better ways to work together to ensure that patients get the medication that they need, while still being protected from potential risks.”

In 2004, the FDA required warnings about the link between antidepressants and an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and teens to be printed on antidepressant drug labels. The warnings were expanded in 2007 to include young adults. Previous research indicated use of antidepressants decreased after the warnings were issued, but other treatments for depression, such as therapy, did not increase.

The new study looked at data from healthcare organizations that provide care to about 10 million people. They found after the warnings were issued, use of antidepressants fell 31 percent among teens, 24 percent among young adults and 15 percent among adults.

During the same period, there was an increase in the number of teens and young adults who received medical care for overdosing on psychiatric medications, which the researchers said indicated an increase in suicide attempts. These overdoses rose by 22 percent among teens and 34 percent among young adults. There was no change among adults, and no change in completed suicides.

FDA Wants Drug Companies to Tweet Medication Risks Along With Benefits
/By Join Together Staff
June 19th, 2014/
0

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed social media guidelines that would require drug companies using Twitter to include the risks of their products along with benefits.

Experts said the guidelines would make it almost impossible for companies to tweet about the most commonly prescribed drugs.

All tweets would have to include the most serious risks associated with a drug, including those known to be fatal or life-threatening, according to ABC News. All side effects and warnings printed on approved product labeling would also have to be included, and the company would have to include links to more information about the drug’s risks and benefits. The guidelines, if approved, would go into effect in 90 days.

In the guidelines, the FDA offered a sample tweet for a fictional drug named NoFocus: “NoFocus (rememberine HCl) for mild to moderate memory loss-May cause seizures in patients with a seizure disorder www.nofocus.com/risk.”

Pfizer, which makes the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, would have to include nine potentially serious side effects. The drug also has nine potentially dangerous interactions with other medications. There are at least 14 health conditions for which Viagra is not recommended for safety reasons.

“They wouldn’t be able to do it,” said Thomas Sullivan, editor of the Policy and Medicine blog for Rockpointe, a Maryland-based medical education company. “You’re not fitting that into 140 characters.” He added, “The FDA isn’t necessarily up on the realities of social media.”