Welcome to the Recovery Connections Network .We have spent the last ten years collecting resources so you don't have to spend countless precious hours surfing the Web .Based on personal experience we know first hand how finding help and getting those tough questions answered can be. If you cant find what you need here, email us recoveryfriends@gmail.com we will help you. Prayer is also available just reach out to our email !
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Saturday, April 19, 2014
The 10 Craziest Athlete Excuses For Failed Drug Tests | The Fix
Nutrition and Recovery: How Healthy Eating Can Help You Stay Sober
Eating healthy, research shows, can go a long way toward helping you on the road to addiction recovery.
Shutterstock
By Jenny Smiechowski
Source The Fix
04/15/14
There is a common belief in the addiction recovery world that when you are overcoming a drug or alcohol addiction you should allow yourself to indulge in all the sweets, fats, and junk food you want. After all, why restrain yourself from harmless junk food when you have bigger beasts to slay? Evidence suggests, however, these eating habits may be hindering you more than they’re helping you on your path to recovery.
The Nutritional Double Whammy
The nutritional dilemma faced by recovering addicts is two-fold. First, the very act of ingesting drugs or alcohol wreaks havoc on the body. Alcohol, for example, impedes nutrient breakdown and assimilation resulting in nutritional deficiencies. Opiates tend to cause gastrointestinal issues, and, during opiate withdrawal, severe vomiting and diarrhea can lead to nutrient depletion. Stimulants suppress appetite which can lead to an insufficient intake of calories and nutrients.
In addition to the purely physiological implications of drug and alcohol abuse, there is another factor that results in a less than stellar nutritional report card for addicts: lifestyle. A person consumed by addiction is less likely to eat healthfully. Some drugs cause you to eat too much, others too little. At the height of their drinking, alcoholics often derive as much as 50 percent of their daily calorie allowance from alcohol itself. In most cases, the need for the addictive substance is prioritized over the need for, say, a whole-grain turkey sandwich or other high-quality, nutrient-dense food.
Given the nutritional standing of most recovering addicts, it’s surprising that proper nutrition is not emphasized more in recovery programs. Mounting evidence points to one emerging consensus: nutritional therapy can significantly help those recovering from addiction. It seems like common sense (because it is), but proper nutrition has the potential to make those in recovery feel better both mentally and physically. Furthermore, research suggests that the inclusion of nutrition education in substance abuse treatment programs can increase participants’ success in achieving recovery.
How Nutrition Helps the Healing Process
Proper nutrition helps recovering addicts (and everyone else) feel better because nutrients give the body energy, help build and repair organ tissue, and strengthen the immune system. Because recovering addicts have usually damaged vital organs during the course of their drug or alcohol abuse, good nutrition provides them with the nutritional building blocks they need to begin restoring these damaged tissues.
Nutrition also plays an important role in mood. Research suggests that changes in your diet can alter brain structure both chemically and physiologically, and influence your behavior. Furthermore, the consumption of certain foods has been tied to increased production of key neurotransmitters like serotonin, which enhances mood.
This means recovering addicts can use food to feel better physically (as their bodies receive the nutrients they need to repair prior damage and operate on a more optimal level) and mentally (as they eat foods that enhance their mood and overall well-being). In many cases, feeling better will reduce the risk of relapse, as demonstrated conversely by the fact that recovering addicts with poor dietary habits are more likely to relapse. Additionally, in some cases, addicts are so unfamiliar with the feeling of hunger, they misinterpret hunger as a drug craving and fall face-first into relapse. This potentially disastrous mistake can be easily remedied by eating frequent, healthy meals.
Seeking Support
When adding nutrition to your addiction-fighting arsenal, it is important to collaborate with a trained nutritionist who can tailor your diet to your specific needs in recovery. No matter where you live, there is surely a trained nutritionist nearby, and there are even some who specialize in addiction recovery.
David A. Wiss, MS, RDN, CPT, founder of the Los Angeles-based nutritional practice Nutrition in Recovery, is one such nutritionist. Wiss is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from California State University, Northridge who has dedicated his nutritional expertise to helping those with addiction use diet to their advantage rather than detriment.
Wiss says he was inspired to specialize in addiction recovery nutrition after working as a personal trainer at addiction treatment centers and witnessing first-hand the poor nutritional habits that were encouraged. “I noticed that most of these facilities provided unlimited amounts of junk food to their clients. I decided to dedicate my career to changing that paradigm,” said Wiss.
In some cases, like that of Colorado-based Master Nutrition Therapist Patricia Farrell, a nutritionist’s own struggle with addiction sets him or her on the path of healing through nutrition. Having overcome addiction herself, Farrell brings a passion to her addiction-focused nutrition practice that comes from a personal understanding of the challenges her clients face. In fact, it was during the time she spent in recovery meetings that she had an epiphany about the importance of nutrition in addiction recovery.
“I used to go to this lunch-time recovery meeting and everybody had their bag of McDonald’s and their coffee, and then there were cookies served afterwards,” said Farrell. “It was obvious to me just looking and listening to these people that they did not feel well and it dawned on me that the first thing you want to do when you are recovering and you don’t feel well is to use. That is why I went into nutrition therapy and my expertise is drug and alcohol recovery.”
The Sugar Saboteur and Food as a Substitute Addiction
In her practice, Farrell strongly emphasizes sugar regulation. It is not uncommon, says Farrell, for people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction to become addicted to sugar. Alcoholics are especially prone to sugar addiction and to the energy rollercoaster that accompanies it, but sugar addiction affects other addicts too. Farrell believes that eating in a way that promotes blood sugar spikes and crashes is a recipe for disaster when it comes to maintaining your sobriety.
“When you get that blood sugar crash, your body craves sugar. In an alcoholic’s mind, and it works this way in a drug addict’s mind too, when you crave sugar it immediately translates in your brain to alcohol and you get a really strong craving for alcohol. It may be a craving that you can’t control,” said Farrell.
By regulating their blood sugar, says Farrell, recovering alcoholics can avoid the sugar highs and lows that often send them running for a drink. According to Farrell, in many cases, an addict’s overwhelming urge for his or her next fix is actually a sugar craving in disguise.
The tendency for recovering addicts to develop sugar addiction as they withdraw from alcohol or drugs is an example of a very common phenomenon in addiction recovery: the development of a substitute addiction to food. It is not uncommon for those recovering from addiction to turn to food as a replacement. According to a study published in the international research journal Appetite, men in the early stages of recovery often practice dysfunctional eating habits, including substituting food for their drug of choice. According to Wiss, this is one of the primary issues he addresses in his practice.
“I often get patients who have been to treatment before and have developed severe eating dysfunction while in treatment,” said Wiss. “Some people can gain up to 20 lbs in their first month of treatment from binge eating, emotional eating, and food addiction. By disrupting these patterns through nutrition education and counseling, most of my patients end up staying sober and become interested in a healthy lifestyle, including nutrition and exercise.”
Eating healthy, research shows, can go a long way toward helping you on the road to addiction recovery.
Shutterstock
By Jenny Smiechowski
Source The Fix
04/15/14
There is a common belief in the addiction recovery world that when you are overcoming a drug or alcohol addiction you should allow yourself to indulge in all the sweets, fats, and junk food you want. After all, why restrain yourself from harmless junk food when you have bigger beasts to slay? Evidence suggests, however, these eating habits may be hindering you more than they’re helping you on your path to recovery.
The Nutritional Double Whammy
The nutritional dilemma faced by recovering addicts is two-fold. First, the very act of ingesting drugs or alcohol wreaks havoc on the body. Alcohol, for example, impedes nutrient breakdown and assimilation resulting in nutritional deficiencies. Opiates tend to cause gastrointestinal issues, and, during opiate withdrawal, severe vomiting and diarrhea can lead to nutrient depletion. Stimulants suppress appetite which can lead to an insufficient intake of calories and nutrients.
In addition to the purely physiological implications of drug and alcohol abuse, there is another factor that results in a less than stellar nutritional report card for addicts: lifestyle. A person consumed by addiction is less likely to eat healthfully. Some drugs cause you to eat too much, others too little. At the height of their drinking, alcoholics often derive as much as 50 percent of their daily calorie allowance from alcohol itself. In most cases, the need for the addictive substance is prioritized over the need for, say, a whole-grain turkey sandwich or other high-quality, nutrient-dense food.
Given the nutritional standing of most recovering addicts, it’s surprising that proper nutrition is not emphasized more in recovery programs. Mounting evidence points to one emerging consensus: nutritional therapy can significantly help those recovering from addiction. It seems like common sense (because it is), but proper nutrition has the potential to make those in recovery feel better both mentally and physically. Furthermore, research suggests that the inclusion of nutrition education in substance abuse treatment programs can increase participants’ success in achieving recovery.
How Nutrition Helps the Healing Process
Proper nutrition helps recovering addicts (and everyone else) feel better because nutrients give the body energy, help build and repair organ tissue, and strengthen the immune system. Because recovering addicts have usually damaged vital organs during the course of their drug or alcohol abuse, good nutrition provides them with the nutritional building blocks they need to begin restoring these damaged tissues.
Nutrition also plays an important role in mood. Research suggests that changes in your diet can alter brain structure both chemically and physiologically, and influence your behavior. Furthermore, the consumption of certain foods has been tied to increased production of key neurotransmitters like serotonin, which enhances mood.
This means recovering addicts can use food to feel better physically (as their bodies receive the nutrients they need to repair prior damage and operate on a more optimal level) and mentally (as they eat foods that enhance their mood and overall well-being). In many cases, feeling better will reduce the risk of relapse, as demonstrated conversely by the fact that recovering addicts with poor dietary habits are more likely to relapse. Additionally, in some cases, addicts are so unfamiliar with the feeling of hunger, they misinterpret hunger as a drug craving and fall face-first into relapse. This potentially disastrous mistake can be easily remedied by eating frequent, healthy meals.
Seeking Support
When adding nutrition to your addiction-fighting arsenal, it is important to collaborate with a trained nutritionist who can tailor your diet to your specific needs in recovery. No matter where you live, there is surely a trained nutritionist nearby, and there are even some who specialize in addiction recovery.
David A. Wiss, MS, RDN, CPT, founder of the Los Angeles-based nutritional practice Nutrition in Recovery, is one such nutritionist. Wiss is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from California State University, Northridge who has dedicated his nutritional expertise to helping those with addiction use diet to their advantage rather than detriment.
Wiss says he was inspired to specialize in addiction recovery nutrition after working as a personal trainer at addiction treatment centers and witnessing first-hand the poor nutritional habits that were encouraged. “I noticed that most of these facilities provided unlimited amounts of junk food to their clients. I decided to dedicate my career to changing that paradigm,” said Wiss.
In some cases, like that of Colorado-based Master Nutrition Therapist Patricia Farrell, a nutritionist’s own struggle with addiction sets him or her on the path of healing through nutrition. Having overcome addiction herself, Farrell brings a passion to her addiction-focused nutrition practice that comes from a personal understanding of the challenges her clients face. In fact, it was during the time she spent in recovery meetings that she had an epiphany about the importance of nutrition in addiction recovery.
“I used to go to this lunch-time recovery meeting and everybody had their bag of McDonald’s and their coffee, and then there were cookies served afterwards,” said Farrell. “It was obvious to me just looking and listening to these people that they did not feel well and it dawned on me that the first thing you want to do when you are recovering and you don’t feel well is to use. That is why I went into nutrition therapy and my expertise is drug and alcohol recovery.”
The Sugar Saboteur and Food as a Substitute Addiction
In her practice, Farrell strongly emphasizes sugar regulation. It is not uncommon, says Farrell, for people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction to become addicted to sugar. Alcoholics are especially prone to sugar addiction and to the energy rollercoaster that accompanies it, but sugar addiction affects other addicts too. Farrell believes that eating in a way that promotes blood sugar spikes and crashes is a recipe for disaster when it comes to maintaining your sobriety.
“When you get that blood sugar crash, your body craves sugar. In an alcoholic’s mind, and it works this way in a drug addict’s mind too, when you crave sugar it immediately translates in your brain to alcohol and you get a really strong craving for alcohol. It may be a craving that you can’t control,” said Farrell.
By regulating their blood sugar, says Farrell, recovering alcoholics can avoid the sugar highs and lows that often send them running for a drink. According to Farrell, in many cases, an addict’s overwhelming urge for his or her next fix is actually a sugar craving in disguise.
The tendency for recovering addicts to develop sugar addiction as they withdraw from alcohol or drugs is an example of a very common phenomenon in addiction recovery: the development of a substitute addiction to food. It is not uncommon for those recovering from addiction to turn to food as a replacement. According to a study published in the international research journal Appetite, men in the early stages of recovery often practice dysfunctional eating habits, including substituting food for their drug of choice. According to Wiss, this is one of the primary issues he addresses in his practice.
“I often get patients who have been to treatment before and have developed severe eating dysfunction while in treatment,” said Wiss. “Some people can gain up to 20 lbs in their first month of treatment from binge eating, emotional eating, and food addiction. By disrupting these patterns through nutrition education and counseling, most of my patients end up staying sober and become interested in a healthy lifestyle, including nutrition and exercise.”
Friday, April 18, 2014
APRIL 18 v 6 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB
Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels;
they are asking for a beating.
STEP 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs .
Why must it come to the point of severe beating for us to realize we don't have all the answers . We lose so much over and over yet we continue the same behaviors .Coming out of addiction and committing step five showed me that arguing with everybody was my way of still trying to control everyone and everything in my life . It also showed me that it was ok to not know everything .When I realized this I really started to get better , and the people in my life were able to start to tolerate being around me . My stress levels dropped dramatically , admitting you are wrong in any situation and asking for forgiveness is one of the most liberating experiences in recovery .
Matthew 18 :15 - Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
By Joseph Dickerson
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Google Isn’t Doing Enough to Stop Illegal Drug Sales Online, Some Attorneys General Say
By Join Together Staff | April 16, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Legal,Marketing And Media & Prescription Drugs
Google is not doing enough to stop online sales of illegal drugs and fake prescription medicines, according to a group of state attorneys general. The company says it disabled 4.6 million pharmaceutical or health supplement ads last year.
Last December, 24 attorneys general sent a letter to Google outlining their concerns, The Washington Post reports. The letter led to private meetings with Google executives. Some attorneys general say they are satisfied with the company’s response, while others are not, the article notes.
The company says since it toughened its advertising policy in 2010, the number of ads placed by unlicensed pharmacies has decreased by 99.9 percent. In 2011, Google agreed to pay $500 million to avoid being prosecuted for aiding illegal online pharmaceutical sales. In the settlement, the company acknowledged it had improperly and knowingly assisted online pharmacy advertisers, allegedly based in Canada, to run ads for illegal pharmacy sales that targeted American customers.
Company emails, disclosed as part of a shareholder lawsuit, indicate the company knew of the risks of illegal pharmacy ads long before they stopped allowing them, the newspaper reports.
Google says it will hire 120 people this year to look for rogue ads and videos, and will eliminate 1,200 predicted search phrases, including “how to become a drug dealer,” which have led people to illegal web sites. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says he will pursue legal action if the company does not also remove sites that sell illicit drugs and other illegal products from its search results.
Private Equity Firm Hopes for Profits From Substance Treatment Facilities
By Join Together Staff | April 16, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Addiction,Community Related, Insurance & Treatment
The private equity firm Bain Capital recently took over the largest chain of substance treatment facilities in Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports. Bain, which usually makes investments in brand-name companies such as Dunkin’ Donuts, sees treating addiction as big business.
Bain paid $58 million for Habit OPCO Inc., which has 13 locations in Massachusetts. It made the purchase through another company it owns, CRC Health, the largest provider of substance abuse treatment and behavioral health services in the nation.
Substance abuse treatment is a $7.7 billion industry, and is growing at a rate of about 2 percent annually, the article notes. A growing number of people addicted to opioids are middle- and upper-middle class, according to Deni Carise, Deputy Chief Clinical Officer for CRC Health.
At Habit OPCO facilities, patients are charged $135 a week for methadone treatment, including daily doses of liquid methadone, access to healthcare professionals, and other services. While some patients have private insurance, others are covered through Medicaid or pay cash.
Dr. Kevin P. Hill, director of the Substance Abuse Consultation Service at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, says he is concerned about the care that some for-profit methadone clinics provide. “The problem I find with some of the for-profit clinics is the absolute minimum required by law becomes the absolute maximum they’re willing to do for their patients,” Hill said.
Habit OPCO and CRC staff say profits are not their main goal. “Frankly, the way to make a lot of money in this particular business is to do it badly,” CRC’s Carise said. “We’re just not going to do that.” She noted the Affordable Care Act, and a law that requires equal insurance coverage for mental health conditions, will give clinics more access to private health insurance. The new laws will help make treatment more affordable for people who previously had no insurance, she said.
Massachusetts Cannot Ban Zohydro, Federal Judge Says
By Join Together Staff | April 16, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Community Related, Legal & Prescription Drugs
Massachusetts cannot ban the new pure hydrocodone drug Zohydro ER (extended release), a federal judge said Monday. The company that makes the drug, Zogenix, argued in a lawsuit that the ban is unconstitutional, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Last Month, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announcedZohydro would be banned in the state. He cited a public health emergency stemming from opioid abuse.
The drug is a pure form of the painkiller hydrocodone. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zohydro ER in October for patients with pain that requires daily, around-the-clock, long-term treatment that cannot be treated with other drugs. Drugs such as Vicodin contain a combination of hydrocodone and other painkillers such as acetaminophen. Zohydro is designed to be released over time, and can be crushed and snorted by people seeking a strong, quick high.
This week, U.S. District Judge Rya Zobel issued a preliminary injunction on the ban. The judge said the state appears to have overstepped its authority in banning Zohydro. She noted Zogenix was likely to be successful in pursuing a court order to permanently lift the ban. In her ruling, Judge Zobel said the ban would “undermine the FDA’s ability to make drugs available to promote and protect the public health.”
“Today’s legal ruling was a positive step forward for Massachusetts patients,” Roger Hawley, Chief Executive Officer of Zogenix, said in a news release. “We invite concerned officials to engage with us to discuss fair and appropriate safeguards for pain medications like Zohydro ER rather than seeking to ban or restrict one specific treatment.”
Governor Patrick said he was disappointed in the ruling, the newspaper notes. “Addiction is a serious enough problem already in Massachusetts without having to deal with another addictive narcotic painkiller sold in a form that isn’t tamper proof,” he said in a statement. “We will turn our attention now to other means to address this public-health crisis.”
Surge in Heroin and Prescription Opioid Use Has Deadly Consequences, Police Say
By Join Together Staff | April 17, 2014 | 1 Comment | Filed in Community Related, Drugs & Prevention
The surge in the use of heroin and prescription opioids is resulting in more deaths than violent crimes and car crashes in many communities, law enforcement officials said this week. They met in Washington, D.C. to discuss the problem and possible solutions.
Many overdose deaths are due to heroin, which is easily available and potent, USA Today reports. Heroin costs between $4 and $20 per bag, depending on the location—much less expensive than prescription opioids.
In 2012, there were 730 drug overdose deaths in New York City—nearly double the number of homicides, the article notes. A government report called the National Drug Threat Assessment found between 2009 and 2013, heroin seizures increased 87 percent. The average size of the seizures increased 81 percent during that period.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told law enforcement officials, “The consciousness of the nation has not really focused on the problem. People saw this more as a state and local problem. …This is truly a national problem. Standing by itself, the heroin problem is worthy of our national attention.”
Other meeting participants included FBI Director James Comey, Drug Enforcement Administration Chief Michele Leonhart and Michael Botticelli, Acting Director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, as well as small-town police officials.
Many police officials said they are hindered in their efforts to fight overdoses by the lack of current data, according to NBC News. Some local police are trying creative solutions. In Washington, D.C., police have started mapping locations where the drug overdose antidote naloxone is used by firefighters and emergency medical technicians, in order to pinpoint areas of high-drug use. New York City is trying to create similar data.
Introverts With Few Positive Feelings at Higher Risk of Drug Abuse: Study
By Join Together Staff | April 17, 2014 | 2 Comments | Filed in Addiction, Drugs& Research
Introverts who tend to have fewer positive feelings, or to not be attracted to rewards in life, are more likely to abuse drugs than more extroverted people with positive emotions, a new study suggests.
Studying personality may help scientists better understand and treat substance use problems, according to the researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Researcher Dr. Sergi Ferré said people who are extroverted and have more positive emotions may be more open to rewards other than good feelings that come from using a drug. For instance, they may feel rewarded by certain social situations such as winning a game or receiving a promotion.
In contrast, people who are introverted and have fewer positive feelings may have less interest in these rewards, and instead be more influenced by pleasant sensations that come from using drugs.
The researchers found having a tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anxiety or depressed mood, is associated with substance use disorder. Having a difficult time stopping a behavior or action once it is started is also linked with an increased risk of substance abuse, The Huffington Post reports.
The researchers noted the likelihood a person will abuse drugs involves many factors, including genes, personality, environment and past drug use. The findings appear in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Commission Asks For Shorter Drug Trafficking Sentences
By Join Together Staff | April 17, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs &Legal
The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which advises federal judges, is recommending shorter prison sentences for most federal drug trafficking offenders, according to Reuters. Up to 70 percent of these offenders would receive shorter prison sentences if the commission’s recommendations are not opposed by Congress.
“This modest reduction in drug penalties is an important step toward reducing the problem of prison overcrowding at the federal level in a proportionate and fair manner,” Commission Chair Judge Patti B. Saris said in a news release. “Reducing the federal prison population has become urgent, with that population almost three times where it was in 1991.”
Last month, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified in favor of changing federal guidelines to reduce the average sentence for drug dealers. He told the Sentencing Commission the Obama Administration supports changing guidelines to reduce the average drug sentence by about one year, from 62 months to 51 months. The proposed changes would reduce the federal prison population by about 6,550 inmates over the next five years, the article notes. Currently, half of the 215,000 inmates in the federal prison system are serving time for drug crimes.
The new rules will go into effect on November 1, unless Congress votes to stop the sentencing guidelines, the article notes. Drug traffickers with the greatest quantities of drugs would not receive reduced sentences.
Reducing sentences could result in less leverage for prosecutors, warned Scott Burns, Executive Director of the National District Attorneys Association. He said district attorneys often use the threat of long sentences to convince drug offenders who have witnessed larger crimes to cooperate. “They can use the leverage of the threat of harsher punishment in order to solve murder cases and prosecute drug kingpins,” he said.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
APRIL 16 v 33 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB
We may throw the dice,
but the Lord determines how they fall.
but the Lord determines how they fall.
STEP 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God.
What are you waiting for ! HE HAS A PURPOSE ! HE HAS A PLAN ! You can roll the dice all you want but you will never control the outcome . Haven ' t you made enough of a mess ! All you need to do is step three pray , relax , live , laugh , love , forgive , forget , and breathe !
Romans 12 : 2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
By Joseph Dickerson
Almost One-Fourth of Pregnant Women on Medicaid Filled Opioid Prescriptions: Study
By Join Together Staff | April 15, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Parenting & Prescription Drugs
Almost one-quarter of pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid in 2007 filled a prescription for opioids, a new study finds. The risks of opioids to a developing fetus are largely unknown, The New York Times reports.
An estimated 1.1 million pregnant women were enrolled in Medicaid in 2007. The program covers medical expenses for 45 percent of births in the United States, according to the newspaper. The study, published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, found the rate of opioid prescribing is on the rise—18.5 percent of pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid in 2000 filled opioid prescriptions, compared with 23 percent in 2007.
“To hear that there’s such a high use of narcotics in pregnancy when I see so many women who worry about a cup of coffee seems incongruous,” Dr. Joshua A. Copel, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the Yale School of Medicine, told The New York Times.
The reason for the increase in opioid prescribing for pregnant women is unclear, but may be partly due to back pain.
An article published earlier this year in Anesthesiology, which included 500,000 privately insured women, found 14 percent were given opioid painkillers at least once during their pregnancy. Both studies found codeine and hydrocodone were the most commonly prescribed opioids during pregnancy. Most of the women took the drugs for a week or less.
The Medicaid study found stark regional differences in opioid prescribing. Among pregnant women in Utah, 41.6 percent were prescribed opioids, compared with 35.6 percent in Idaho, 9.6 percent in New York and 9.5 percent in Oregon. “The regional variation really concerned me the most,” said Dr. Pamela Flood, a professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at Stanford University. “It’s hard to imagine that pregnant women in the South have all that much more pain than pregnant women in the Northeast.”
Almost one-quarter of pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid in 2007 filled a prescription for opioids, a new study finds. The risks of opioids to a developing fetus are largely unknown, The New York Times reports.
An estimated 1.1 million pregnant women were enrolled in Medicaid in 2007. The program covers medical expenses for 45 percent of births in the United States, according to the newspaper. The study, published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, found the rate of opioid prescribing is on the rise—18.5 percent of pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid in 2000 filled opioid prescriptions, compared with 23 percent in 2007.
“To hear that there’s such a high use of narcotics in pregnancy when I see so many women who worry about a cup of coffee seems incongruous,” Dr. Joshua A. Copel, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the Yale School of Medicine, told The New York Times.
The reason for the increase in opioid prescribing for pregnant women is unclear, but may be partly due to back pain.
An article published earlier this year in Anesthesiology, which included 500,000 privately insured women, found 14 percent were given opioid painkillers at least once during their pregnancy. Both studies found codeine and hydrocodone were the most commonly prescribed opioids during pregnancy. Most of the women took the drugs for a week or less.
The Medicaid study found stark regional differences in opioid prescribing. Among pregnant women in Utah, 41.6 percent were prescribed opioids, compared with 35.6 percent in Idaho, 9.6 percent in New York and 9.5 percent in Oregon. “The regional variation really concerned me the most,” said Dr. Pamela Flood, a professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at Stanford University. “It’s hard to imagine that pregnant women in the South have all that much more pain than pregnant women in the Northeast.”
Bipartisan Senate Group Forms to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse
By Join Together Staff | April 15, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Government, Prescription Drugs & Prevention
A bipartisan group of senators has formed to fight prescription drug abuse, according to The Hill. The group will look for innovative solutions to opioid abuse.
The Prescription Drug Abuse Working Group, part of the Senate Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, will convene a series of meetings about prescription drug abuse, involving local, state and federal officials, private coalitions, and companies developing novel technologies for combating abuse. The group will focus on hydrocodone, oxycodone and other narcotics that can be easily abused, according to HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa.
Committee Ranking Member Lamar Alexander of Tennessee has been an outspoken critic of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the pure hydrocodone drug Zohydro. In February, he and two other Republican senators wrote to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to protest the agency’s decision to approve the drug. They wrote, “We believe the approval of pure hydrocodone products without methods to prevent abuse, misuse, and diversion, including abuse-deterrent formulations, poses a significant danger to our constituents, as it could worsen the drug abuse epidemic in our country.”
In a news release announcing the new Senate working group, Alexander said, “Not a day goes by that we don’t hear news of how prescription drug abuse is harming Americans across the nation, including in Tennessee. We are launching this working group to look at the problem from all angles—particularly what the federal government is doing to enable the mayors, governors, and law enforcement and public health officials who are working hard to address the problem.”
By Join Together Staff | April 15, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Government, Prescription Drugs & Prevention
A bipartisan group of senators has formed to fight prescription drug abuse, according to The Hill. The group will look for innovative solutions to opioid abuse.
The Prescription Drug Abuse Working Group, part of the Senate Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, will convene a series of meetings about prescription drug abuse, involving local, state and federal officials, private coalitions, and companies developing novel technologies for combating abuse. The group will focus on hydrocodone, oxycodone and other narcotics that can be easily abused, according to HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa.
Committee Ranking Member Lamar Alexander of Tennessee has been an outspoken critic of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the pure hydrocodone drug Zohydro. In February, he and two other Republican senators wrote to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to protest the agency’s decision to approve the drug. They wrote, “We believe the approval of pure hydrocodone products without methods to prevent abuse, misuse, and diversion, including abuse-deterrent formulations, poses a significant danger to our constituents, as it could worsen the drug abuse epidemic in our country.”
In a news release announcing the new Senate working group, Alexander said, “Not a day goes by that we don’t hear news of how prescription drug abuse is harming Americans across the nation, including in Tennessee. We are launching this working group to look at the problem from all angles—particularly what the federal government is doing to enable the mayors, governors, and law enforcement and public health officials who are working hard to address the problem.”
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
April 15 v 22 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB
Plans go wrong for lack of advice;
many advisers bring success.
many advisers bring success.
STEP 1 - We admitted we were powerless against addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.
Sometimes it takes a village to raise a child. When it comes to sobriety the same is true . I have seen many including myself under the direction of my old prideful thinking that I can white Knuckle my recovery in the beginning and then I would be fine. It was that kinda of thinking that kept me stuck for so long. Addiction is the only war you will win when you surrender, Our nature as humans is to dominate and stay in charge.The step tells us we are powerless and that is only true if we think we can do this on our own. Surrendering and admitting your whipped breaks the grip of your foolish pride .Once its grip is loosened you have to cry out for help from others like yourself who have been right where you are . The more brothers and sisters you surround yourself with and talk to the more likely your chances of success will be.
Psalms 13: 3 - 6 - Consider [and] hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the [sleep of] death;
By Joseph Dickerson
Largest Health Insurer in Massachusetts Has Cut Narcotic Prescriptions
By Join Together Staff | April 9, 2014 | 1 Comment | Filed in Community Related, Insurance, Prescription Drugs & Prevention
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state’s largest health insurer, announced it has reduced prescriptions of narcotic painkillers by about 6.6 million pills in the past 18 months. The insurer limited the amount of opioids that members could obtain without prior approval of the company, WBUR reports.
Since the changes were implemented in July 2012, prescriptions for opioids including Percocet have declined by 20 percent, and those for long-lasting drugs such as OxyContin have declined by 50 percent, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts President Andrew Dreyfus told The Boston Globe.
An initial review of prescription information, launched in 2011, revealed more than 30,000 of the company’s members received opioid prescriptions that lasted for more than 30 days. “What we found out is in looking at patients who deserved to get pain medications or needed pain medications, many of them were getting significantly more than they would need,” Dr. John Fallon, Senior Vice President and Chief Physician Executive, told WBUR.
Under the program, patients are initially given shorter-term prescriptions for opioids. Patients seeking long-term prescriptions must go through a review process. Before patients are given more medication beyond the new limits, they must be assessed for the risk of addiction, and must agree on a treatment plan with their doctor.
Patients with cancer or other terminal illnesses are exempt from the rules.
“In the past, physicians said that no one should be in pain, and people gave more prescription medication than they probably needed, and that led to supply sitting around, which was then used for inappropriate reasons,” Fallon said. “Now I think there’s an awareness in the physician community how hazardous these medications are.”
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state’s largest health insurer, announced it has reduced prescriptions of narcotic painkillers by about 6.6 million pills in the past 18 months. The insurer limited the amount of opioids that members could obtain without prior approval of the company, WBUR reports.
Since the changes were implemented in July 2012, prescriptions for opioids including Percocet have declined by 20 percent, and those for long-lasting drugs such as OxyContin have declined by 50 percent, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts President Andrew Dreyfus told The Boston Globe.
An initial review of prescription information, launched in 2011, revealed more than 30,000 of the company’s members received opioid prescriptions that lasted for more than 30 days. “What we found out is in looking at patients who deserved to get pain medications or needed pain medications, many of them were getting significantly more than they would need,” Dr. John Fallon, Senior Vice President and Chief Physician Executive, told WBUR.
Under the program, patients are initially given shorter-term prescriptions for opioids. Patients seeking long-term prescriptions must go through a review process. Before patients are given more medication beyond the new limits, they must be assessed for the risk of addiction, and must agree on a treatment plan with their doctor.
Patients with cancer or other terminal illnesses are exempt from the rules.
“In the past, physicians said that no one should be in pain, and people gave more prescription medication than they probably needed, and that led to supply sitting around, which was then used for inappropriate reasons,” Fallon said. “Now I think there’s an awareness in the physician community how hazardous these medications are.”
Daily Quote
"Forgiveness is the economy of the heart... forgiveness saves the
expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits." - Hannah
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Monday, April 14, 2014
APRIL 14 V 17 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB
Short-tempered people do foolish things,
and schemers are hated.
and schemers are hated.
STEP 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Manipulation of others at this point should not bet an option in your toolbox for life. From time to time I catch myself thinking the way I used too think and how can I get over on someone who is just not following my rules . It is that kinda of thinking that made me sick. My short temper made many in my life run away and I only have myself too blame . Looking at the Proverb and the step make me realize I was a real piece of work and their were many victims of my insanity . Regret is an anchor that will slow your recovery process down . Say your sorry try to make it up too them and move on . Some of your victims want nothing too do with you apologize and leave them alone . NO more games ! Its called maturity and sobriety ! Pray for what you need , always remain calm and wait , if what your praying for does not come it means God has something better .
Colossians 1:11-12 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
By : Joseph Dickerson
Sunday, April 13, 2014
APRIL 13 V 15 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB
A person with good sense is respected;
a treacherous person is headed for destruction.
a treacherous person is headed for destruction.
STEP 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Who are you ! Are you someone heading to hell in a hand basket or are you someone with good sense .Step four will help you figure this one out . My life was a mystery for thirty two years all that time growing up and living in active addiction had me convinced I was someone else . After hitting bottom and finding the steps , I began to discover I was not who I was pretending to be. Step four solved the mystery and brought freedom I never thought possible in life .
Proverb 21 v 2 - Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.
BY : Joseph Dickerson
Ten Ways the War On Drugs Violates the U.S. Constitution
How our government's ongoing policy on drugs threatens all of us in unexpected ways.
shutterstock
By Clarence Walker
04/10/14
Share on facebookShare on twitter | More Sharing ServicesShare
An Inside Look at the Drug War Vs. Civilization
Art Exhibit Confronts Race and the Drug War
Blacks In Government Blast "Racist" Drug War
Is Drug Testing an Invasion of Privacy?
Even while marijuana legalization has been approved in some states, the War on Drugs remains the biggest and greatest violation and imminent threat to our civil liberties and the preservation of the Bill of Rights under the Constitution. The War on Drugs is an enemy to the rights and privacy of U.S. citizens everywhere. And this war not only targets guilty drug users or traffickers; it is also waged against innocent Americans who may think they are safe from draconian drug war policies.
This belief is a myth, and here's why: even if you don’t use marijuana, cocaine, pop pills or inject heroin—the drug war can still target you as a suspect. It doesn't matter if you're at work, picking up mail, applying for a job or even purchasing cold medicine at drug stores like CVS or Walgreens, the drug war has boldly established a 24-7 disturbing presence in the lives of American citizens.
The drug war is also responsible for the past and present illegal surveillance of people's cars and property and even plays a vital role in collecting information through illegal spying. The government's drug policies have unequivocally undermined basic civil rights and gutted the constitutional amendments. And it's not coincidental that much of the eroding civil rights in the "war on terror" came directly from the war on drugs.
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once summed up the drug war by reminding his fellow justices that "there is no drug exception to the Constitution."
The drug war is a war on everyone. So who is the real enemy? Drugs are not the enemy because drugs are chemicals. We have a war on drugs no more than we have a war on fruit trees. Just read the Constitution and there's nothing in it that says our government can pass laws to prohibit citizens from injecting narcotics or smoking marijuana; our brains and bodies don't belong to the government.
In a recent email, Phil Smith, editor of Drug War Chronicle, slammed the drug war this way: "One area of constitutional violations is in the realm of mandatory, suspicionless drug testing. The federal courts have held repeatedly that a drug test is a search under the Fourth Amendment and have generally barred government from requiring such tests, although they carved out a handful of exceptions for public safety-sensitive positions such as law enforcement, and for students engaged in extracurricular activities."
Smith points out the differences in how the Constitution functions against the government and private entities. "The Fourth Amendment protects us from the government, not privatization. That's why private employers can demand a drug test for no reason, but the government cannot demand welfare recipients take a drug test for no reason."
According to drugpolicy.org and Forbes, here are the stats proving the failure and institutionalized racism of the drug war:
• More than $51 billion has been spent annually in the U.S. on the drug war.
• 1.55 million people were arrested in 2012 on non-violent drug charges.
• 749,825 people were arrested that same year for marijuana drug violations. Of those, 658,231 were charged with possession only.
• Over 200,000 students lost federal financial aid eligibility due to a drug conviction.
• Studies show that the amount of tax revenues drug legalization would rake in annually is estimated at $46.7 billion dollars if current illegal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to alcohol and tobacco.
• African Americans represent an alarming 62 percent of all drug offenders sent to U.S. state prisons, yet they only represent 12 percent of the American population.
• Black men are sent to prison on drug charges at a rate that is 13 times that of white men.
• Out of 25.4 million Americans arrested on drug charges since 1980; approximately one-third of them were black
Here are prime examples of how the drug war policies violate the Constitution:
(1) Facts Behind How DEA Designated Marijuana as a Schedule 1 Drug: Long ago the federal government defined marijuana as a schedule 1 drug with no scientific accepted medical use. Apparently the feds intentionally ignored how marijuana is beneficial for people to treat serious ailments like arthritis, diabetes, glaucoma, Crohn's disease, and Parkinson’s disease and marijuana is also used to relieve joint pain as well as relieve nausea that cancer patients feel after undergoing chemotherapy. Further, marijuana has been used to treat depression and other mood disorders.
Plus we must not forget how the DEA and conservative lawmakers have tried to block legislation for states to pass medical marijuana laws. Thousands of chronically ill patients have suffered unnecessarily due to this opposition. In states where medical marijuana is legal the DEA along with city and county law enforcement officers continue to raid marijuana businesses, and arrest patients and legal pot growers.
Warning: Anyone living in a state without medical marijuana laws can be arrested for buying it to treat a medical condition. Under federal law marijuana is illegal even if a particular state legalizes it for medical or recreational purposes.
(2) Millions of Americans are Drug-Tested Each Year: Remember the job you applied for where the hiring requirements included submitting to a drug test? Well approximately 84 percent of U.S employers drug-test current employees including anyone considered for hiring.
So here's the kicker: what if a potential employee confides to a prospective employer that he takes prescribed legal opiates like oxycodone for pain, or a legal amphetamine like Adderall for ADHD, or even medical marijuana? The potential employee has just set himself up for rejection; even though he takes legally prescribed medication, this testing mandate actually gives employers unlimited power to discriminate against millions of workers based on private health decisions.
shutterstock
By Clarence Walker
04/10/14
Share on facebookShare on twitter | More Sharing ServicesShare
An Inside Look at the Drug War Vs. Civilization
Art Exhibit Confronts Race and the Drug War
Blacks In Government Blast "Racist" Drug War
Is Drug Testing an Invasion of Privacy?
Even while marijuana legalization has been approved in some states, the War on Drugs remains the biggest and greatest violation and imminent threat to our civil liberties and the preservation of the Bill of Rights under the Constitution. The War on Drugs is an enemy to the rights and privacy of U.S. citizens everywhere. And this war not only targets guilty drug users or traffickers; it is also waged against innocent Americans who may think they are safe from draconian drug war policies.
This belief is a myth, and here's why: even if you don’t use marijuana, cocaine, pop pills or inject heroin—the drug war can still target you as a suspect. It doesn't matter if you're at work, picking up mail, applying for a job or even purchasing cold medicine at drug stores like CVS or Walgreens, the drug war has boldly established a 24-7 disturbing presence in the lives of American citizens.
The drug war is also responsible for the past and present illegal surveillance of people's cars and property and even plays a vital role in collecting information through illegal spying. The government's drug policies have unequivocally undermined basic civil rights and gutted the constitutional amendments. And it's not coincidental that much of the eroding civil rights in the "war on terror" came directly from the war on drugs.
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once summed up the drug war by reminding his fellow justices that "there is no drug exception to the Constitution."
The drug war is a war on everyone. So who is the real enemy? Drugs are not the enemy because drugs are chemicals. We have a war on drugs no more than we have a war on fruit trees. Just read the Constitution and there's nothing in it that says our government can pass laws to prohibit citizens from injecting narcotics or smoking marijuana; our brains and bodies don't belong to the government.
In a recent email, Phil Smith, editor of Drug War Chronicle, slammed the drug war this way: "One area of constitutional violations is in the realm of mandatory, suspicionless drug testing. The federal courts have held repeatedly that a drug test is a search under the Fourth Amendment and have generally barred government from requiring such tests, although they carved out a handful of exceptions for public safety-sensitive positions such as law enforcement, and for students engaged in extracurricular activities."
Smith points out the differences in how the Constitution functions against the government and private entities. "The Fourth Amendment protects us from the government, not privatization. That's why private employers can demand a drug test for no reason, but the government cannot demand welfare recipients take a drug test for no reason."
According to drugpolicy.org and Forbes, here are the stats proving the failure and institutionalized racism of the drug war:
• More than $51 billion has been spent annually in the U.S. on the drug war.
• 1.55 million people were arrested in 2012 on non-violent drug charges.
• 749,825 people were arrested that same year for marijuana drug violations. Of those, 658,231 were charged with possession only.
• Over 200,000 students lost federal financial aid eligibility due to a drug conviction.
• Studies show that the amount of tax revenues drug legalization would rake in annually is estimated at $46.7 billion dollars if current illegal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to alcohol and tobacco.
• African Americans represent an alarming 62 percent of all drug offenders sent to U.S. state prisons, yet they only represent 12 percent of the American population.
• Black men are sent to prison on drug charges at a rate that is 13 times that of white men.
• Out of 25.4 million Americans arrested on drug charges since 1980; approximately one-third of them were black
Here are prime examples of how the drug war policies violate the Constitution:
(1) Facts Behind How DEA Designated Marijuana as a Schedule 1 Drug: Long ago the federal government defined marijuana as a schedule 1 drug with no scientific accepted medical use. Apparently the feds intentionally ignored how marijuana is beneficial for people to treat serious ailments like arthritis, diabetes, glaucoma, Crohn's disease, and Parkinson’s disease and marijuana is also used to relieve joint pain as well as relieve nausea that cancer patients feel after undergoing chemotherapy. Further, marijuana has been used to treat depression and other mood disorders.
Plus we must not forget how the DEA and conservative lawmakers have tried to block legislation for states to pass medical marijuana laws. Thousands of chronically ill patients have suffered unnecessarily due to this opposition. In states where medical marijuana is legal the DEA along with city and county law enforcement officers continue to raid marijuana businesses, and arrest patients and legal pot growers.
Warning: Anyone living in a state without medical marijuana laws can be arrested for buying it to treat a medical condition. Under federal law marijuana is illegal even if a particular state legalizes it for medical or recreational purposes.
(2) Millions of Americans are Drug-Tested Each Year: Remember the job you applied for where the hiring requirements included submitting to a drug test? Well approximately 84 percent of U.S employers drug-test current employees including anyone considered for hiring.
So here's the kicker: what if a potential employee confides to a prospective employer that he takes prescribed legal opiates like oxycodone for pain, or a legal amphetamine like Adderall for ADHD, or even medical marijuana? The potential employee has just set himself up for rejection; even though he takes legally prescribed medication, this testing mandate actually gives employers unlimited power to discriminate against millions of workers based on private health decisions.
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