admin, Author at Sahyog Clinic

Aspects of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction

By admin February 18, 2021

Drugs, everyone knows from day one, are bad news, even though marijuana is becoming legal in many countries now for medicinal as well as recreational use and even the social stigma in the younger generation is waning, but alcohol has always had a different connotation. Everybody drinks-it’s good for you, Right? But believe it or not, alcohol too is harmful and kills countless people in the world. It kills by two ways: by damaging the body, as we have detailed in the earlier blogs and by causing accidents, violence, suicides etc. The medicinal benefits of alcohol are virtually nonexistent. A little research has of course shown that alcohol, red wine in particular can be good for the health of your heart. It is ”supposed” to increase the good cholesterol and increase the antioxidant activity, BUT-and it is a big BUT-the benefits seen in that research might have been due to other factors, such as being physically active and eating a diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fats. Besides you can get the same benefits by drinking red grape juice-without any risk. If you want a healthy heart, there are many other things you can do: control your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight; eat a healthy diet and exercise. There is really no need to drink alcohol to get health benefits. When friends and loved ones say that you have a drinking or drug problem and are after you to quit, it can be quite bothersome. Sometimes you think they might be right but most of the time you think that if they are wrong you will be giving up this stuff for nothing. Maybe you have a problem, maybe you don’t. Even if you DO have a problem, chances are that you will not be able to see it clearly. Self-deception is rampant in alcoholism and drug addiction. It is so, because it helps you escape a very unpleasant reality and you do not have to do any thing about it. It may not be easy to answer the question whether you ARE an alcoholic or a drug addict or not. One exercise you can do is write your life story listing all the problems in your life and your drinking and drug use. Be totally honest – even though that is a very tall order. List all the problems and how alcohol and drugs were responsible for those problems and how your life was affected by your use. Note opportunities missed, money spent or wasted, the impact on your family, job, friendships and other aspects of your life. Denial often keeps alcoholics and addicts from seeing the problems alcohol and drugs are causing, so rigorous honesty is required in doing this exercise. If your drinking or drug use is causing problems in your life, or if someone who cares about you believes it is, it could be time to entertain the idea that you might be an alcoholic or an addict. Some people with certain illnesses – for example, cancer, alcoholism and addiction – practice denial. It is not because they are stupid or bad or just plain pigheaded. They are genuinely unable to see the truth for what it is, and they deny the fact that they are ill to protect themselves from facing a fearsome and unpleasant reality. The cancer patient does not want to know about his or her illness out of fear of the unpleasant treatments that might be needed and even a greater fear of the consequences should the treatment fail. Similarly, the alcoholic or addict does not want to know about his condition because of the stigma attached to the conclusion and even a greater fear of having to give up their most trusted chemical support. Denial is a defense mechanism and as long as a person has denial he or she will be able to drink alcohol or use drugs till his or her dying days. It is a primitive mechanism – a self deception that is useful in the short time period but is extremely dangerous and destructive over the long term. This self-deception is common in alcoholism and addiction; your psyche knows that the behavior you are indulging in is self-destructive and not in your own best interest and is unacceptable at many levels coupled with a strong desire to continue using alcohol and other drugs. Learning about alcoholism and addiction and the hope and happiness that treatment at Sahyog Detox and De addiction Center can help overcome denial and open the door to Recovery and that is why Sahyog is the Best De addiction Center in Delhi.

Why do People Drink and Use Drugs?

By admin February 11, 2021

It is clear from my previous blogs that alcohol and drugs are dangerous and at some level everyone knows it, then why do people drink alcohol and use drugs even though it causes them negative consequences? And even after people realize that mind altering substances are dangerous why do they continue using them? Why are they willing to take that risk? To answer these questions we have to look at why people start using alcohol and drugs in the first place and then why do they continue using them. People start using alcohol and other mood altering drugs for three reasons, namely, curiosity, social pressure and automatic cultural responses. People who start using out of curiosity want to see what drinking alcohol and using drugs does to them, so they experiment. They want to try it first hand and see what it does to them. They try to see if they like it and if they do, they tend to continue using them. Many young people do not trust the information given to them by other adults regarding alcohol and drugs. Many young people do not even have a trustworthy relationship with adults they can ask. Kids tend not to believe other sources of information like news or government sources. Kids generally tend to get their information from other users of alcohol and drugs and then decide to try it out for themselves. This is called experimental use of alcohol and drugs and many kids fall prey to it. People who start using because of social pressure wrongly believe that they have to drink alcohol and use other drugs to belong or fit in. They tend to see alcohol and drug use as a ticket to social belonging and social success. They falsely believe that drinking alcohol and using drugs will help them get along with other people. They also falsely believe that if they don’t use alcohol and drugs they will be rejected and left out. Fear of being left out and not belonging are two major fears of young people. These fears can override reason, risk of adverse and negative consequences and even personal knowledge and information. People who start using alcohol and other drugs out of an automatic cultural response are usually part of a subculture that views alcohol and drug use as normal. Drinking alcohol and using drugs becomes a part of everyday life because it is so common that most people do not even notice it. This is likely to happen to people who grow up with families and friends who regularly use alcohol and other drugs. Drinking alcohol and using drugs becomes a ‘normal’ thing. The problem happens if they become addicted to any substance. If they happen to go to any culture where addiction to any substance if considered wrong they become disoriented and want to go back to their original culture where it is not considered a problem. Drinking alcohol and using drugs becomes a part of life and they cannot even imagine a life without alcohol and drugs. They see drinking alcohol and using drugs as humdrum as breathing air. So, people start using alcohol and other drugs for three basic reasons:- 1) Curiosity 2) Social Pressure 3) Automatic Cultural Response People start using alcohol and other drugs for one of these

Harmful Effects of Alcoholism and Addiction

By admin February 10, 2021

The main problem of any alcoholic or addict is stated very nicely by the phrase, “self-will run riot”. It is the self-will of the alcoholic or addict which lands him or her in trouble every time. The main question before the alcoholic or addict is quite simple. What is his/her will? We shall deal with it in a simple fashion to avoid the many complexities we would otherwise encounter. The truth is that their will is to drink and use drugs when and where they choose, resigned to the consequences of their drinking and using drugs. The fact that they have lost the power of choice narrows down the purpose of their to will to one choice, namely – to drink or use drugs. This flat statement of an alcoholic’s or addict’s will relates to his or her unpredictable drinking or using behavior and is open to argument. Few of them drank or used drugs all of the time. Some served their communities. Others held responsible positions contributing to the welfare of their families. But only by bluff, lies, imposition and the co-operative support of friends and families did they manage to conduct much important business. Therein lies the rub, for when the urge to drink or use drugs came, families, religion and business were neglected and disregarded in favor of alcohol or drugs. Medicine and psychiatry seek scientific reasons for their drinking or drug use. But not Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. They admit the results, surmounting them with their spiritual way of life. For this reason new members to A.A. and N.A. are advised to remain laymen. They tend to not remain clean and sober when they try to become able doctors or clergymen overnight. Knowing that members will try it, the stress is on avoiding it. The will of the drinking alcoholic or using addict seems to point in one direction – towards the bottle or drugs of their choice. Perhaps one should briefly consider their drinking or drugging attitude. There is no identical pattern of behavior to which alcoholics or addicts conform. There is fixed ratio of binges, however, for those who swear off for certain periods of time. The new binges are always in proportion to the resolution to stop drinking or using drugs. That is how the will of the alcoholic or addict functions. Even while drinking or using drugs they are not sure for how long they’d be using it. They know exactly the number of days they have been clean or sober, but have no idea of when they might take that first drink or drug. They claim that they want to quit drinking or using drugs. They think they mean it. But the truth is they only wished that they wanted to. What they actually want is to be able to control the amount they consume, at least enough to keep them out of trouble. The word trouble has a wide range of meaning for the drinking alcoholic or using addict. Physically, it can refer to anything from an upset stomach to an alcoholic death. Between these two extremes they are subject to many other infirmities, all because of their unconscious will to drink and use drugs without restraint. For example, there may be anemia, mineral and vitamin deficiency, wet brain. jitters, cold sweats, pneumonia, liver and heart conditions, alcoholic neuritis, low blood sugar, chronic alcoholic poisoning and kindred ailments. The greater the affliction, more the alcoholic will leans toward the bottle or drugs. Any one, or a combination of these maladies, can mean trouble for the alcoholic or addict. Blackouts, D.T.’s, insanity and other sickness adds to their difficulties. They all resulted in mental and bodily discomfort and loss of valuable time. Because of them they may even require hospitalization. At times, they sweat them out at home, but not without someone’s aid and tolerance or without loss to their business interests. Drunkenness begets drunkenness. It dulls their judgement and finer sensibilities. Financial difficulties appear. Creditors become bothersome. Sometimes they brawl, landing in jail or institutions. At times they are arrested for intoxication, drunken driving or other legal infringements. Divorces and sex problems mess up their lives. On most occasions their will to drink or use drugs amounted to an obsession and always ended in trouble. All this is explained at Sahyog Detox and De addiction Clinic in therapy sessions and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Addiction

By admin February 4, 2021

Addiction is a DISEASE and there are no two ways about it. And to top it all, it is a very nasty disease to have. It is the only disease that denies its own existence and resists treatment. Secondly, the medical definition of addiction is that it is a chronic and relapsing disease. Chronic diseases are like diabetes; you can control it but cannot cure it and relapsing refers to the fact that an alcoholic or addict can revert to drinking or using drugs even after staying clean and sober for some time. Third reason why it is a nasty disease is that the success rate is very low. It is the road less traveled. Some estimate that even after completing treatment in a rehabilitation center, only 20% of the patients will remain clean and sober. When we talk about the success rate we have to talk about a timeline. At the end of 5 years the success rate drops to 2-5%. From this discussion we can see that Recovery from alcohol and drugs is very elusive and unless the person is willing to go to any length to stay clean and sober he or she will not succeed. From all this discussion it is obvious that addiction and alcoholism is a very-very nasty disease. It affects the person at all levels. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially and socially, in fact there is no area of ones life that remains untouched by addiction. I have written in detail about the harmful effects of Marijuana, Brown Sugar and Alcohol on the human body. Today let us look at the harmful spiritual effects. When we talk about spirituality, we don’t refer to religious practices. Like going to the temple, mosque, church or gurudwara or keeping fasts etc. These are not being spiritual but only following rituals. Spirituality is more than that. Religion is for people who do not want to go to hell and spirituality is for people who have been to hell and back. In my opinion spirituality refers to relationships. A person has three important relationships in life. The first and foremost is relationship with oneself. If one does not have a relationship with oneself then one cannot have a relationship with others. Having a relationship with oneself starts by looking after oneself. Taking care of health and hygiene is for starters. Then it entails getting rid of resentments, jealousy, past pains, regrets etc. Balancing all the addictive behaviors. Basically, being at peace with oneself and feeling comfortable in ones own skin. The voices in your head will no longer irk you. You will no longer mind solitude. You will then have what is called a fit spiritual condition or have a good relationship with yourself. Life is all about relationships. Man is a social animal and family is the unit one has to start with. Addicts and alcoholics treat strangers with more courtesy than they do their own family members. This is a bitter truth. Family comes first. That is the harbor where I can come to rest and recuperate after facing the storms of day to day living in the outside world. It is not necessary for me to like my family, after all it is an accident of birth, but if I can not even be polite then my recovery has no meaning. It is worthless. After immediate family comes friends. Friends are the family we chose for ourselves. We share things with them without any hesitation and they can give us the appropriate feedback. Next comes relatives or extended family and then society at large. The third and most important relationship is with the God of your understanding. The 12 Step Program gives you complete freedom in choosing the God of your own understanding. It is a very important relationship. It offers hope, strength and succor in times of difficulty. God can stand for many things; Good orderly Direction; Group of Drunks or Drugees etc. It is not necessary to believe in a religious God. People who do find it easier but even agnostics and atheists can benefit from the program of 12 Steps. Even Pascal’s postulates logically explain why it is better to believe in God than not. If there is a God and you do not believe in it then you are depriving yourself of a source Great Power. In any case the term used in the 12 Step Program is Higher Power. All this is explained at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

By admin February 2, 2021

One blog is not sufficient to list all the Harmful Effects of Alcohol. This just goes to show how harmful this legal drug is. Most people who drink alcohol are social drinkers, in fact 88% of them are but a small minority are alcoholics and they need to stay away from it as they cannot enjoy and control at the same time. Social drinkers drink alcohol but know how much they are going to consume and even if their behavior gets changed it is minor but an alcoholic is not able to guarantee how much he is going to drink and how he is going to behave after drinking. Some change in behavior occurs even in social drinkers but in the case of an alcoholic it is quite drastic and apparent even after small quantities. As mentioned earlier, the main harmful effect of alcohol is on the liver and the condition which occurs is called cirrhosis of the liver. There are other causes of cirrhosis also but the one we are concerned is due to alcohol. It is also called Alcoholic Liver Disease. I had written about Portal Circulation and how it gets obstructed due to cirrhosis of the liver resulting in ascites. The most dangerous effect of obstruction of Portal Circulation is esophageal varices. The portal circulation and the systemic circulation interact with each other at six places. At the umbilicus, it results in caput medusae or the head of Medusa, which we know consisted of snakes. So the appearance is that of snakes underneath the skin which are nothing but coiled and tortuous blood vessels which have dilated as a result of increase in the pressure in the Portal Circulation. The systemic circulation and the portal circulation also meet at the rectum and the dilatation of blood vessels resulting from increase in pressure in portal system causes piles. At the base of the esophagus or food pipe also the portal and systemic circulations meet and this results in a very dangerous condition called esophageal varices. Varices refers to the worm like appearance on endoscopy. It really feels as if a bunch of earthworms is sitting at the base of the food pipe. When these burst it seems as if the liver has burst because the blood which comes out is clotted blood and is jelly like and the color is also like that of liver, thereby confusing people who think that pieces of liver are coming out. Whenever on endoscopy esophageal varices are seen they are banded so as to prevent them from bursting. If they burst it is an emergency and can be fatal if medical attention is not prompt and accurate. Another very dangerous combination is having difficulty in clotting of blood or coagulopathy. Along with cirrhosis it carries a very bad prognosis. The coagulation profile of the blood can be ascertained by doing a PTINR test or Prothrombin Time. There is one very important function of liver and that is activation of testosterone, the male hormone. As the name implies, it is made in the testes but reaches its active form by passing through the liver. Males are different from females because of this hormone. When there is cirrhosis of the liver, the testosterone activation is disrupted, resulting in the feminization of the males. There is testicular atrophy, loss of body hair, gynecomastia or breast formation in males and most importantly, impotence. Even in acute stages, alcohol always increases the desire for sex but decreases the performance and in chronic cases it causes impotence when the liver is affected to a great degree. The world functions because of two drives, hunger and the sex drive. Alcohol is such an insidious poison that it can affect both these drives. It can kill the appetite and finish the sexual drive totally. All this is explained at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best De addiction Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

By admin January 30, 2021

Like I had written earlier, 1 blog is not sufficient to list all the harmful effects of alcohol. That just goes to show how harmful alcohol is. It effects all the organ systems of the body but the main harmful effect is felt by the gastrointestinal tract and in that too liver is the organ which suffers the most. Liver is a very important organ. Besides digestion of food, clotting of blood, converting proteins to urea is all done in the liver. It is an important part of reticulo-endothelial system associated with the filtration of blood. The condition which occurs in the liver because of alcohol abuse is cirrhosis. There are other causes of cirrhosis but alcohol is the one we are concerned with. Cirrhosis has got 3 Stages. Stage 1,2, and 3. In Stage 1 there is fatty enlargement of the liver. The liver is normally behind the ribs on the right side of the body and except in very thin individuals one cannot palpate the liver. If the liver is palpable that means that it is enlarged and the doctor will write that it is enlarged by so many cms below the costal margin.Liver is associated with the fat metabolism and even a bout of single night of heavy drinking will result in fat droplets to occur in the plasma making it milky. This fat accumulates in the liver leading to fatty liver. In Stage 2 of cirrhosis of liver the structure of liver is altered but the microscopic structure is maintained. In Stage 3 of cirrhosis of liver even the microscopic structure is damaged beyond repair. In Stage 2 if a person stops drinking the liver will heal itself but in Stage 3 even if a person stops drinking the liver will not revert to its original structure. All the blood from the intestines comes into the liver via the Portal Vein. This is called the Portal Circulation. Due to cirrhosis the pressure in the Portal system is increased resulting in accumulation of plasma in the peritoneum called ascites. The accumulation can be of many liters per day. The doctor may drain the ascitic fluid but due to the cirrhosis it accumulates again. All this is explained at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

By admin January 23, 2021

Since one blog is insufficient to list all the harmful effects of alcohol this is in continuation of the previous blog. In the previous blog I had listed all the harmful effects of alcohol on the Central Nervous System. But since alcohol is drunk the most harmful effects are on the gastrointestinal tract. However, I have seen one patient who used to inject alcohol when he was unable to drink it because of vomiting, but that was an exception. Mostly alcohol is drunk, In the esophagus or food pipe it causes heartburn, which has got nothing to do with the heart but a burning sensation in the chest because of acid reflux from the stomach. Because of alcohol the cardiac sphincter of the stomach becomes loose and the acid present in the stomach is able to come into the mouth also. The lining of stomach is used to this concentrated Hydrochloric acid but the lining of the food pipe is not and it literally gets burnt as a result of the acid reflux causing pain in the chest called heartburn. There may be sour eructations also present. Because of vomiting alcohol can also cause Mallory Weiss Syndrome which is nothing but a tear in the mucosa of the food pipe and is a medical emergency. In the stomach, it causes an increase in the secretion of Hydrochloric acid. In fact to diagnose acholorydia – a condition in which there is a congenital absence of the secretion of Hydrochloric acid, a little alcohol is given through the nasogastric tube to ascertain the diagnosis. The increased acid may cause gastritis. Small quantities of alcohol increase the appetite but large quantities can suppress it totally. Some alcoholics only drink and I frequently see patients who have not eaten for days. The next main organ to suffer from the harmful effects of alcohol is the pancreas. Pancreas are an important organ of digestion and glucose metabolism. It has an endocrine part which secrete insulin and glucagon and an exocrine part which secretes digestive juices to digest proteins and fats. Acute pancreatitis is a very painful condition and one of the main causes is alcohol intake. It is not dose dependent,i.e., if a person is a heavy drinker it is not that it is more likely to occur. It can occur even in moderate drinkers. Repeated attacks of acute pancreatitis can lead to chronic pancreatitis which can lead to diabetes due to the scarring of the pancreas. There is a condition called acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis in which the pancreas burst and all the secretions go into the abdomen. It is the most painful condition known to medical science. The digestive juices of the pancreas start digesting the lining of the abdomen from inside. It is as if a piece of metal is being eaten by acid corrosion. It is a medical emergency in which the pain is the most important feature. On a scale of 1-10, if the pain of a lady giving birth for the first time is 9 then the pain of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis is 10. The pain is so severe that the person goes into shock because of the pain itself. Alcohol can cause or aggravate IBS, i.e., irritable bowel syndrome. IBS is a chronic and debilitating disease which can be quite uncomfortable. But the organ most affected by alcohol intake is the liver. Liver is a very important organ doing a lot of functions which are essential for good health. It is a well known fact that the liver of alcoholics gets affected in a bad way. You don’t have to be a doctor to know that. But liver has tremendous capacity to heal itself also. If in a healthy person you cut off the entire liver and leave a matchbox size portion, it will grow back, provided you don’t insult it on a daily basis by drinking alcohol. The condition which occurs in liver because of drinking is called cirrhosis. There are many causes of cirrhosis but alcoholic liver disease is chief cause of cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a morphological diagnosis, that is to say, the diagnosis is made by observing the liver. In olden days dead bodies were dissected to know about the anatomy of the body and its parts. They found that the liver of alcoholics was gnarled and lumpy and in many cases shrunk. These days we make the diagnosis ultrasonically. All this is done in detailed medical inputs at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

By admin January 18, 2021

Alcohol has so many Harmful Effects that 1 blog is not sufficient for it. Alcohol is a legal drug that has been causing so much grief for so many people around the world. Everybody who drinks is not an alcoholic, in fact if 100 people drink, on average only 12 are alcoholics; rest are social drinkers. An alcoholic is a person who is not able to guarantee how much he is going to drink or who cannot guarantee his behavior after drinking. People generally know how much they are going to drink but an alcoholic has no brakes and is not able to stop. They do not get into trouble every time they drink but every time they get into trouble they have been drinking. Whether it is fights, brawls, disagreements at home, legal trouble, the list is endless. The behavior of every person changes a little bit after drinking alcohol but in an alcoholic the change is quite stark. Most people become garrulous, jovial or in some case even maudlin but the alcoholics can become antisocial too. Now let us discuss what deleterious effects alcohol has on the human body. Let us start by the harmful effects on the Central Nervous System. The Central Nervous System consists of the brain and spinal cord. The first and most apparent effect is loosening of inhibitions. There is sort of brake in our prefrontal cortex part of the brain which stops us from doing stupid things like using abusive language in front of elders, looking left and right before crossing a road etc. Even with small quantities of alcohol this brake is removed. Because of this a person may seem more excited than usual, whereas it is a known fact that alcohol is a depressant and slows down the neuronal activity. A person under the influence looses his inhibitions and may end up doing things he would not even imagine doing in a sober state. The next harmful effect of alcohol is seen on the memory. Both short term and long term memory is affected. Some times the alcoholic comes out of a black out without any remembrance of the previous night. He may not even remember how and when he got home and what all he said at the party. Alcohol directly effects the nerve cells by killing them but memory is not a function of the number of neurons, in fact it is a function of the connections between the nerve cells. Due to this fact the memory deficit can be overcome by doing mental and memory exercises, but the loss of neurons may lead to cerebral atrophy, which is a common finding in alcoholics who are growing old. Next harmful effect of alcohol is very interesting, the damage is caused by drinking but the effect is not seen until the person stops drinking. Till the time he is drinking he is fine but on stopping alcohol he may develop Wernicke’s Encephalopathy or Korsakoff’s Psychosis. These two conditions are named after the people who first described it. Earlier they were thought to be different diseases but now they are considered to be two ends of the same spectrum. The main cause is Thiamine deficiency and in Wernicke’s Encephalopathy the persons brain becomes soft and is also called ‘wet brain’. In Korsakoff’s Psychosis the person has visual and auditory hallucinations and may be delirious. Luckily the effects are reversible with medication, otherwise they may even be fatal. The next harmful effect of alcohol on the CNS is the effect it has on reflexes of the person. The reflexes become slow. That is why the old adage that don’t drink and drive. One can devise an experiment on a simulator where a person slams on the brake after seeing a child on the screen in front. After drinking even legally permissible quantities of alcohol the time is greatly increased. The next harmful effect of alcohol is on the secretion of anti diuretic hormone. It suppresses its secretion. Anti diuretic hormone is secreted by posterior pituitary gland. As a result, the person urinates more after drinking alcohol. All this is explained at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Brown Sugar

By admin January 11, 2021

Brown Sugar or Smack is the adulterated form of Heroin. Because Heroin is so expensive it is adulterated with many things like talcum powder, lactose and many-many other things to increase its bulk. Pure Heroin is white in color but because of adulteration the color changes to brown and since lactose or glucose is a common adulterant the name Brown Sugar came about. Heroin is made from opium and opium comes from the poppy plant. Poppy plant has very beautiful flowers and at the base there is a pod called ‘dodha’. A cut is given at the base of the flower and the milky juice that exudes from it is allowed to turn black on exposure to air. This is then scraped off and becomes raw opium. Opium is called the mother of all drugs as many medicines are made from it. It has been used as a medicine since ancient times. Opium and all its products including Brown Sugar are highly addictive. This is the main drawback of opiates. The addiction liability is very very high. In toxicology opium is classified as a somniferous poison. The common opiates which are abused are raw opium, heroin and brown sugar, cough syrups containing codeine, Spasmoproxyvon capsules containing dextropropoxypene, morphine and pethidine, fentanyl etc. Opiate addiction has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. and thousands of people die because of overdose. There the most common opiates are prescription based. The most prominent effect of opiates is euphoria. This effect is what makes the opiates so addictive. Even though there is rapid tolerance to this effect, i.e., a person stops feeling euphoria after a few times but the brain remembers it and the person keeps on taking it because of euphoric recalls. During the withdrawals there is intense dysphoria. The next effect is analgesia or pain relief. Opiates are still considered the gold standard as far as pain relief is concerned because not only do they increase the pain threshold but also modify the emotional reaction to pain. During withdrawals there is bone pain and because of this the addict goes back to using his substance again. There is vomiting initially because smack stimulates the chemo receptor trigger zone in the brain resulting in vomiting of central origin. It is effortless and projectile. In contrast the alcoholic retches and his vomit is not projectile. But the body soon becomes tolerant to this effect and vomiting ceases. There can be vomiting during withdrawals as well. One effect which remains constantly is constipation. The smack or heroin addict is perpetually constipated. The person never becomes tolerant to this effect. The constipation is because of three reasons. All the sphincters go into a spasm thereby reducing the propulsion of food. The secretion of all the digestive juices is reduced causing constipation and the speed of peristalsis is also reduced. All contributing to constipation. During withdrawals there are loose motions. Another organ which never becomes tolerant is the pupils of the eye. They become constricted and are typically described as pin-point. During withdrawals they dilate. Under the influence of opiates the blood vessels dilate resulting in excessive sweating. During withdrawals there is piloerection and cold sweats are common. Opiates suppress all secretions and during withdrawals they are reflexively increased. All this is taught in medical inputs at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Marijuana

By admin January 9, 2021

Marijuana or Cannabis or Ganja is the opening batsman, i.e., many people start using drugs from Marijuana. It has been made legal in many countries, not only for medicinal use but also for recreational use too. Many states in the U.S. now permit its use. That is not to say that it is harmless. It has got its own harmful effects. Many youngsters say that it is now legal, but then so is alcohol. And alcohol has been legal for such a long time and so many people suffer deleterious effects of alcoholism which cause so much morbidity and mortality. Marijuana is derived from the hemp plant. It is commonly known as weed or grass. Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa is the Latin name for the plant. Ganja is the flowering top of the plant. Hashish or Charas is the resinous extract of the plant and rest of the plant is called Bhang. Whatever the form, the active ingredient in all three is the same, namely, Tetrahydrocannibinol or THC in short. It grows wild in many parts of Asia and Americas and Africa. But people cultivate it now for their own personal use. Cultivation is also done since it has become legal. THC content has nearly doubled over the past few years as hybrid and high yielding varieties are now cultivated. It is most commonly smoked but it many also be eaten like Bhang or Hash Cookies etc. THC is the psychoactive chemical found in Marijuana. While THC is not physiologically addictive it is definitely psychologically addictive as evidenced by the drug seeking behavior of addicts when they do not get their dose. It has no withdrawal symptoms except mild headache, insomnia or lack of appetite. Mood swings may also occur. Pharmacological effect of THC is that it opens the gate at the level of the spinal cord which regulates the inflow of sensory information to the brain. As a result of this increased sensory input lot of people have this misconception that they become more artistic after consuming Marijuana. Colors seem more vivid and music also takes on a different sensory perception because of this. It is one of the few psychoactive substances which has no known lethal dose, that is to say you cannot die because of overdosing on Marijuana. While it may not be lethal Marijuana is not without serious side effects. THC is a psychoactive substance and has been found in the fatty tissue of the brain even eight years after the person stopped using Marijuana. The most serious harmful effect of Marijuana is that it causes Amotivation Syndrome. The person who uses Marijuana lives in a dream world of his own and never gets down to actually doing the physical action required for work. It is an ideal nasha for two kinds of people, a king or a beggar. People who do not have to work in life. For everybody else it is a strict no-no, especially for addicts. With any substance there is use, misuse and then abuse. Abuse of Marijuana is very common. Very few people are able to use it and do their day to day work. Next deleterious effect of Marijuana is that it is a “gateway drug”. People who use Marijuana are more likely to use other drugs also. It is as if weed is the opening batsman and the other substances follow soon after. The most harmful effect of Marijuana is that it may cause Cannabis psychosis. It does not cause it in everyone who uses it but it is a distinct entity. It is not dose dependent, that is to say more use does not seem to increase the incidence but more of an allergic reaction. A single joint may flip a person. Anti-psychotics and total abstinence from Cannabis is required and the treatment is long drawn. Whether it causes psychosis itself or precipitates a preexisting underlying psychosis cannot be determined. But its accumulation in the fatty tissue of brain is well known. So, Marijuana may be herbal but it is not without its harmful effects. If you were to come to know before a flight that the pilot has had a few joints of Cannabis, would you feel safe to fly in that flight? While it is better than most other intoxicants it is not safe for addicts and people who have to do some work or study in life. All this is explained at Sahyog Detox and De addiction Clinic and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Aspects of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction

Aspects of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction

Why do People Drink and Use Drugs?

Harmful Effects of Alcoholism and Addiction

Harmful Effects of Addiction

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Harmful Effects of Brown Sugar

Harmful Effects of Marijuana

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