NetWellness Addiction and Substance Abuse

Retaining Information (Short Term Memory)

Ted Parran MD — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:01:00 EST

Question: dear doc, I started drugs early like doses on LSD and smoking pot at 13yrs old. got addictided to opiates and coke at 20. after 10 years of using, i enterd a program and they sugested methedone which i used for 13 years also got hooked on benzo`s and still used coke and pot. About a yr. ago I starte . . .

Answer: The test that I would think might help pick up what is going on with your heart is a 30-day heart monitor that you trigger when you feel it happening. A Holter is only helpful if it happens during the test. . . .

Ask an Expert: Edna Jones MD, MRO, Addiction and Substance Abuse

Gambling Addiction Help?

Christina Delos Reyes MD — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:11:00 EST

Question: I need help for a gambling addiction, but I really can not deal with 12-step programs. I am a female who is a survivor of a very abusive childhood. I have spent my entire life trying to get over a feeling of powerlessness, so any program that starts out with having to admit to being powerless just . . .

Answer: I am not aware of any specific "non-12-step-options" for gambling addiction. However, I wonder if the following programs, which you may already be familiar with, may be of some help, by applying the principles to gambling, instead of to drinking or using drugs.

1. SMART Recovery (Self-Man . . .

Ask an Expert: Christina Delos Reyes MD, Addiction and Substance Abuse

Caffeine Addiction

Ted Parran MD — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:11:00 EST

Question: I am a college student and I suffer from migraines. I have found ways to manage them fairly well. One of the tools I used to use was caffiene. I would use it to help me do what I needed to do when I had a migraine. When my body became dependent it stopped responding to low doses of caffien . . .

Answer:

Thanks for your questions. There are several things that are known, and some things that you ask about are unknown.

It is known that 1) ANY caffeine use in a person that is bothered by migraines, is probab . . .

Ask an Expert: Ted Parran MD, Addiction and Substance Abuse

Drug-Addicted Babies

Christina Delos Reyes MD — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:11:00 EST

Question:

What are the numbers of children born in the United States with these afflictions?

Answer:

Thank you for your question. �The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare estimates 400,000 to 440,000 babies are born exposed to prenatal alcohol or illicit drugs each year. �That is 10-11 percent of all births or approximately 1 in every 10 births. �Please visit the link below for . . .

Ask an Expert: Christina Delos Reyes MD, Addiction and Substance Abuse

Swollen Ankle

Edna Jones MD, MRO — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:10:00 EST

Question: my friend is 55 yrs. old and his one ankle is twice as big as the other one. it also has little red dots all over it. he says he feels no pain. he drinks everyday and cant stop. I was told that this is caused by his organs shutting down. is this true?

Answer: Ankle swelling in just one ankle is most concerning for a blood clot in the swollen leg. He should see a doctor ASAP as a blood clot can break loose and go to the lungs and kill him. If his organs were shutting down, he should have swelling in both ankles and abdomen and all over. His drinking can a . . .

Ask an Expert: Edna Jones MD, MRO, Addiction and Substance Abuse

Medical Effects of Second Hand Crack Smoke

Christina Delos Reyes MD — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:10:00 EST

Question:

My former son in law was taking my grandaughter to the crack house where he smoked for two years from age 3 to age 5 when we discovered his problem. She sat in the room adjacent to the crack users which was not closed off from the smoking. What should we be concerned about as far as my grandaug . . .

Answer: Most of the studies in the area of second-hand crack smoke focus on infants who are less than 1 year old. In these studies the infants had a higher risk of upper respiratory and lower respiratory infections.

It is difficult to answer your question without knowing exactly how much exposur . . .

Ask an Expert: Christina Delos Reyes MD, Addiction and Substance Abuse

Substance Abuse

Deborah Hoy CNS — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:10:00 EST

Question: what is the most prevalent substance abuse what drug is on the rise

Answer: