Do Breastfeeding and Alcohol Mix?

Breastfeeding is very beneficial to both a mother and her child. It is difficult for some mothers to stick to breastfeeding with all of the rules and restrictions that they feel they must follow. Many mothers believe that they must avoid alcohol completely while breastfeeding. This is untrue. Although alcohol passes into breast milk and can affect the baby, mothers can take some steps to consume alcohol safely without ending the breastfeeding relationship.

How Much Alcohol Passes Through Breast Milk?

When nursing mothers consume alcohol, it is thought that less than two percent of the alcohol passes into her breast milk. A mother can safely consume up to two drinks and have the alcohol leave her breast milk within two to three hours. Drinking any more than that would take a longer period of time for it to clear out of the mother’s milk. Within this time, mothers are recommended not to breastfeed.

The Effects of Alcohol on Breast Milk and Breastfeeding Infants

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol does not stimulate milk production. Many mothers are told that they should drink beer if they’d like to produce more milk, but this is simply not true. Furthermore, mothers who drink alcohol on a daily basis tend to have babies who gain weight poorly.

Babies of mothers who drink daily may also have slowed motor development and poor sleep-wake patterns. Alcohol may also change the taste of breast milk, causing infants to nurse less often. This can result in a drop in the mother’s milk supply.

How Nursing Mothers can Safely Consume Alcohol

Mothers who wish to drink should be careful to avoid any poor effects to their breast milk or their child. It is recommended that mothers avoid alcohol altogether in the first three months after giving birth, as the livers of young babies have a hard time processing any alcohol that may be in breast milk.

If a nursing mom is planning to drink, she should pump ahead of time so that she has something else to offer should her baby become hungry. Breastfeeding should be avoided until the mother has sobered up. Sticking to only two drinks can help a mother to sober up quickly and be able to attend to her infant.

Some companies have created a milk screening test, which uses a dip stick to test alcohol levels in a mother’s milk. This can be helpful if a mother wants to be extremely careful and not risk her infant consuming any alcohol.

In summary, it is important that nursing mothers don’t get into a habit of drinking daily, but it can be done without harm on occasion. As long as the baby is not nursed while alcohol is present in the breast milk, there will be no harmful effects to mother or baby.

The post Do Breastfeeding and Alcohol Mix? appeared first on Drug Rehab Blog.

from Drug Rehab Blog http://aplanadora.net/breastfeeding-alcohol-mix/

Is a Buddhist Sajja vow the Solution to Addiction?

ajja (sometimes written as saccha and pronounced more like satja) is a Pali word that refers to truthfulness; a sajja vow is a solemn promise to do or refrain from something. A temple in Thailand called Thamkrabok is using this vow as a means for treating addicts. This Buddhist detox monastery has been involved in this type of work for decades and in recent years there has been a rise in the numbers of addicts arriving there from western countries.

The Sajja Vow of Thamkrabok

Thamkrabok has received a lot of attention in the western media for its unique use of a medicine that makes the addict vomit as part of the detox process. This emetic is only a small aspect of the treatment program though and according to a previous abbot the detox only accounted for 5% of the overall treatment at the temple. More important is the sajja vow. Once you make such a promise it is not permissible to break it and then repeat the vow; the sajja promise is a once off event and there are no second chances. It is a widely held belief in Thailand that keeping such a vow will bring prosperity to a person’s life but breaking it will lead to a less favorable future.

Addicts at the temple will make a sajja vow soon after their arrival. It is usually a promise to refrain from either drugs and alcohol or both for the rest of their lives. This promise is made as part of a ceremony with a Buddhist monk and is conducted using a mixture of the Pali and Thai languages. There is no need for the person to be Buddhist to make such a vow as they can direct it at their own concept of a higher power.

The Success of the Sajja Vow of Thamkrabok

Many people have managed to escape their addictions following treatment at this Thai temple. These individuals frequently claim that keeping their sajja vow has meant that their life in recovery has been full of happy events and success. The monks are keen to promote the idea that there is something magical about this vow that just attracts good things into a person’s life so long as they keep it; karma is often used as a means of explaining why this is so. It is claimed that if the person believes in their vow it will connect them to a higher power that will lead them to peace and happiness – belief is key to the success of the sajja.

Not all of those who have attended treatment at Thamkrabok have been able to keep their sajja vow. It is pointed out that the power of the sajja is tied in with the strength of belief in it; this means that there is sometimes less concern with the negative consequences of breaking the vow among westerners. Some of these people have gone on to have success with other treatment options.

The post Is a Buddhist Sajja vow the Solution to Addiction? appeared first on Drug Rehab Blog.

from Drug Rehab Blog http://aplanadora.net/buddhist-sajja-vow-solution-addiction/

How to Break a Caffeine Addiction: The Effects of Caffeine and Caffeine Withdrawal

Coffee, tea and chocolate have been diet standards in Europe and America since the 17th century, giving that extra kick necessary to survive in the Industrial Era and beyond. But the side effects of caffeine–or the dark side–warrant a closer look as someone starts to feel that he/she is consuming too much caffeine in any of its many forms. Here is how to break a caffeine addiction.

The Effects of Caffeine

Coffee and other caffeine-containing treats, including chocolate, do their work via three stimulating compounds: caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline, which all serve to release excess amounts of the mood-boosting neurotransmitter dopamine by obstructing the brain chemical which blocks dopamine release, known as adenosine. The result? We know all too well: a few hours’ reprieve from the sluggishness and mental torpor that we increasingly suspect found their genesis in our daily—perhaps several times daily—ritual. When a person reaches the point where caffeine or coffee is more the cause than the answer to his/her chronic mood and energy slump, it’s time to take a hard look at what it means to experience caffeine withdrawal, and what the other side—life without caffeine—might look like.

Compounding a caffeine addiction are other enticing, and addictive, substances in one’s caffeine-containing drug of choice. Soft drinks include sugar and colorings—both stimulants—while chocolate might lure us with its sugar content, its high fat content, its phenethylamine (a mood-enhancing stimulant), or all of the above.

Caffeine Withdrawal

Tolerance is a phenomenon as naturally occurring the body with sugar or caffeine as it is with nicotine or heroin, and in looking at how to break a caffeine addiction, understanding it becomes key. The negative feedback system of the brain, in place to prevent overstimulation, habituates to the caffeine and serves to undermine the stimulating effects of caffeine by shutting down receptors for the neurotransmitter dopamine; in response, caffeineophiles naturally jack up the dose. A daily cup of coffee, clocking in at 100mg of caffeine, can escalate to a daily coffee-shop confection hammering hundreds of milligrams of stimulants into the central nervous system, encouraging hypertension, increased blood sugar and cholesterol, insomnia, and dehydration. Moreover, even a seemingly low-grade coffee habit—just 100mg—can cause caffeine withdrawal systems including headache, fatigue, and poor concentration.

Breaking a typical caffeine addiction takes just four days; in this time, the brain brings additional dopamine receptors online until they approximate the level typical before the habit began. Below we will look at how to overcome a caffeine addiction through natural alternatives.

How to Overcome the Addiction

A gentle reduction of caffeine can sidestep the unpleasant effects of caffeine withdrawal. Black tea contains less caffeine than most coffee, and green tea still less so. But even green tea fosters the same cadre of nasty side effects when overused. The answer? Glutamine, an amino acid known as an addiction-buster (and, incidentally, improves mental performance), provides a gentle kick similar to that provided by any stimulant; Dr. Hyla Cass and Patrick Cass recommend taking two to five grams between meals.

The post How to Break a Caffeine Addiction: The Effects of Caffeine and Caffeine Withdrawal appeared first on Drug Rehab Blog.

from Drug Rehab Blog http://aplanadora.net/break-caffeine-addiction-effects-caffeine-caffeine-withdrawal/

Compulsive Underearning as an Addiction: When One Does not Have Enought Money to Take Care of Basic Needs

A compulsive underearner does not earn enough money or have sufficient income to support themselves. When a persons income does not cover basic needs, sooner or later one is to incur unsecured debt, like credit cards or personal loans.

How does Underearning Affect Us?

Being a compulsive underearner and consistantly not having anough money creates a belief cycle, of not feeling good enough to deserve more money than one is currently receiving, or feelings of despair from not being able to meet financial goals or deadlines.

Like alcoholism, compulsive gambling, or overeating, underearning can err on the side of an addiction. One becomes so familiar, yet not necessarily comfortable, with not generating enough income to cover basic needs, that underearning becomes a part of who one thinks they are. Years, even just months, of living constricted lives due to financial restrictions can cause one to lose vitality and their sense of self worth.

Underearning can, and does, destroy relationships. Asking friends and family for money cover them until the next paycheck creates unhealthy relationships of dependency, with the end result being hurt and resentment.

Signs of Compulsive Underearning

• Resenting being in a position where one dislikes their job or is not being paid what they are worth, yet not asking for a pay raise or changing jobs
• Having more basic weekly/fortnightly/monthly expenses like bills, groceries, fuel, education and secured debt repayments (mortgage, car) than the income one is actually bringing home (not including credit card and personal loan repayments)
• Using credit cards to “tide them over” until the next paycheck
• Asking friends and family for money to bail them out of financial hardship on a regular basis
• Believing one’s salary is not important to their wellbeing, but constantly worrying about money
• Working overtime for hours to do a job more perfectly than one is getting paid to do
• Overcommiting time and energy to volunteer activities
• Feeling discouraged or resentful towards others who earn more than they do
• Being so afraid of failure as to not attempt a new career, or even undertake training

Recovering from Compulsive Underearning and Having More Money

Recovery from underearning as an addiction is both possible and closer to fruition than one may currently believe. Like other addictions, the road is seldom smooth and certainly not without personal trials, and maybe even circumstances need to worsen before they can improve.

Recovering from underearning does not necessarily mean one becomes wealthy overnight, but that one’s income increased, needs are met, along with having the means to nourishing oneself with new clothing, holidays or vacations, taking up hobbies and becoming more effective.

Acknowledging oneself as a compulsive underearner is the first step to recovery. There are self-help programs and 12-step fellowships specifically for underearners worldwide.

The post Compulsive Underearning as an Addiction: When One Does not Have Enought Money to Take Care of Basic Needs appeared first on Drug Rehab Blog.

from Drug Rehab Blog http://aplanadora.net/compulsive-underearning-addiction-one-not-enought-money-take-care-basic-needs/

Facing Drug Addiction: The Power of Truth in The Recovering Family

A family discovers the power of honesty and openness as a tool to battle the shroud of secrecy surrounding alcoholism and addiction.

My husband and I were staying at a lovely B&B; in Maine, lingering over a bountiful breakfast and talking with our hosts, as we enjoy doing at B&Bs.;

Where Will The Conversation Lead

One never knows where the conversation will lead, and to our surprise that winter morning, it led to our hosts telling us about their daughter, and their anguish over her drug addiction. They told of repeated attempts at rehab, the failures of either the program or of their daughter to engage and stay with it.

They described heartbreaking setbacks, and their efforts to find new answers and help her try again. Surprise is perhaps too mild a term. We were shocked that total strangers would empty the skeletons out of their family closet. We’re New Englanders, and firm believers in the maxim that what happens at home stays at home. That was before we faced the same crisis ourselves. During the first heart-wrenching weeks and the long months of keeping our fingers crossed that followed, I thought many times of that snowy morning’s breakfast conversation. And each time, I silently thanked those innkeepers.

I called to tell them so, and to tell them how my husband and I intended to continue thanking them. We determined to be as open as they were. We said thank you by “passing it along” to others. We did not hide our daughter’s addiction or her progress in rehab. Whenever the subject of drugs came up, we mentioned our own and our daughter’s experiences. In short, we discussed addiction as we would have discussed any other illness that a family member would be treated for. And do you know what the unexpected result of the innkeepers’ good example was?

We Are Not Alone

We learned that we were not alone. Once we were open, so were others, and we discovered that most of our friends and associates had experienced drug or alcohol addiction in their own families, but had never mentioned it. They had feared being shunned or considered failures as parents. They were ashamed and hid this perceived disgrace. Why? Because no one talked about it, so decades of ignorance continued unchanged. And families continued to agonize in silence never dreaming that their neighbors shared the same struggles.

We learned that even though a family finally confronts the problem, they still can’t get the elephant out of their living room when company comes. And the astonishing discovery that so many of our friends had been silently enduring this distress we shared renewed our determination to be open about our own experiences.

A few decades ago, people didn’t talk about breast or prostate cancer, either. It took public figures being honest about these diseases to focus public attention and demand research for treatments. Each of us whose life has been touched by addiction can take part in the revolution to make addiction a public health priority, to force insurance companies and employers to treat it as they would any disease, and to stamp out the public mistrust of those who suffer from it. We can all become innkeepers, and in the process learn that it makes our own way easier, too.

The post Facing Drug Addiction: The Power of Truth in The Recovering Family appeared first on Drug Rehab Blog.

from Drug Rehab Blog http://aplanadora.net/facing-drug-addiction-power-truth-recovering-family/

FAQ’s Prescription Drug Detox Treatment

If you are concerned that someone you know may be abusing prescription drugs, here are a few important questions to consider.

What prescription drugs are most frequently abused?

While any prescription drug can be abused, the most common types include opioids, depressants, and stimulants. Opioids are used for pain management, depressants are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders, and stimulants are typically used to treat attention disorders such as ADHD.

How quickly can a person become addicted to prescription drugs?

This depends on a lot of factors, such as the type of drug, the person’s age and gender, the family’s history of substance abuse, and the level of abuse of the drug. Opioids are much more addictive than other types of drugs, so a dependency can form much more quickly. However, any type of prescription drug that is misused over a length of time runs the risk of creating an addiction.

What are the physical signs of prescription drug abuse?

The physical signs of prescription drug abuse will very depending on the type of drug that is being abused. Opioid abuse can result in constipation, nausea, feelings of euphoria, slowed breathing, drowsiness, confusion, and poor coordination. Depressant abuse can result in unsteady walking, slurred speech, problems with memory, drowsiness, and poor concentration. Stimulant abuse can result in reduced appetite, agitation, increased body temperature, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heart beat, anxiety, and paranoia. Other signs to look for include someone who is stealing prescription medication, taking higher doses than prescribed, seems hostile when confronted about their drug use, or is seeing more than one doctor for prescription drugs.

What are effective treatment options for prescription drug addiction?

There are many effective types of drug addiction treatment centers available. Depending on the level of abuse and type of drug, these include rehabilitation, behavioral therapies, support groups, and medication.

What is the detoxification, or “detox” period?

The detox period is when the addict allows their body to rid itself of the drug they have been abusing. In addition to not taking that drug, this often includes drinking large amounts of water to flush out the system, exercising to burn off any of the drug that the body has stored, and eating certain foods that aid the liver in detoxifying the body. Detox centers in Florida are plenty as the Sunshine state attracts a heavy influx of drugs due to the warm weather and party scenes due to tourism.

What is the difference between detoxification and withdrawal?

The detoxification period refers to removing the drug from the person’s system, while withdrawal is actually the physical symptoms that result from the detox. These can be very sever and unpleasant, occasionally requiring medication to ease the symptoms. They can include diarrhea, vomiting, muscle pain, restlessness, depression, and feelings of dysphoria. Depending on how sever the addition was, the withdrawal symptoms can last for weeks.

Where can detailed educational materials be obtained about prescription drug abuse?

The best places to find information about a specific type of prescription drug abuse include medical or government-based internet sites, pamphlets at local doctor’s offices and hospitals, or speaking directly with a professional at a local rehab facility.

The post FAQ’s Prescription Drug Detox Treatment appeared first on Drug Rehab Blog.

from Drug Rehab Blog http://aplanadora.net/faqs-prescription-drug-detox-treatment/