“When you eat, you’re not just refueling your body, you’re feeding your brain” 

Dr. James Cocores.
 

Order Now

OxyContin Warnings

OxyContin is the opiate that most often appears in headlines and addiction specialists’ offices. In a 2002 report, the Drug Enforcement Administration traced 142 deaths to OxyContin overdose and said it contributed to another 318 fatalities according to the Washington Post. But the term “overdose” needs clarification, as the average reader is likely to link it to suicide instead of accidental death from this particular time-release narcotic. As a nutritional neuropsychiatrist specializing in the detoxification and rehabilitation of substance-dependent individuals including food, gambling, spending, religion, theft, love, or sex addictions, I know most deaths caused by OxyContin overdose to be accidental because of the hazardous way this heroin-like drug is prepared. OxyContin is time released, meaning a large dose is slowly absorbed into the central nervous system over many hours in a sustained way. When this time-release tablet is crushed by opiate addicts, who know it to be more efficacious after it has been crushed, it changes from the mg dose equivalent of one time-release tablet to the equivalent of a multiple mg dose of immediate-release oxycodone. This is what makes OxyContin so deadly.

Regardless of the preparation used, opiate withdrawal symptoms include mild cravings, anxiety, drug-seeking behavior, yawning, perspiration, runny eyes and nose, restless and broken sleep, and irritability. The eyes may not respond properly to light (i.e., pupils will remain dilated in the presence of bright light). More severe symptoms are muscular twitches, gooseflesh, hot and cold flashes, abdominal cramps, nausea, bone pain, rapid breathing, fast pulse, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, and lack of energy. Not everybody suffers all these symptoms or even the most severe ones; the severity of withdrawal symptoms usually depends on the length and frequency of narcotic abuse. Under the direction of a seasoned neuropsychiatrist, relief during the five to ten days of these symptoms can usually be provided through various medications (such as Neurontin or gabapentin plus Effexor XR or Cymbalta, clonidine, Anaprox, Librax, and Compazine) to ease the physical discomfort and help the user get some sleep. Warm baths, mild exercise, BRIGHTFOODS nutrition, and the compassionate support of physicians, nurses, counselors, NA (Narcotics Anonymous) sponsors, and fellowship also ease a person through withdrawal. And self-help group fellowship, though the last item in this list, is not the least important.

In the 1960s, Methadone maintenance programs became popular as means of detoxifying heroin users, and helping them through withdrawal. Methadone is also addicting and Methadone dependence is notoriously hard to kick. More recently, buprenorphine (also known as Buprenex, Subutex, and Suboxone) became fashionable for opiate detoxification, but clinical researchers started seeing more and more people becoming addicted to buprenorphine. “Buprenorphine-dependent people can have a harder time withdrawing than methadone or OxyContin addicts,” according to Dr. Cocores.

Long-term recovery for narcotic users is often made difficult by malnutrition. The following diet and lifestyle plan is an important component of a winning opiate-dependence withdrawal and recovery program.