Reggie: It is designed for people who can not make it to the day addiction treatment program which is Monday through Friday 10 – 2pm and this is designed for those that work or have difficulty getting away. It allows them to come in and meet during that time and keeps the schedule that fits their lives.

Brian: We hear this a lot and I do a lot of consultations and we offer free consultations out in the general public wanting to learn more about the program. The first thing they ask about is an evening meeting to fit their needs, and initially we would just have them get involved with individual therapy but now with the new INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT program it is a real help. We have a call! Mark in Atlanta.

Mark: How are you guys doing?

Brian: What is your question

Mark: I don’t mean to put sulking I have been smoking now for 14 years and I moved from New York where cigarettes are $9 and moved here they were more affordable and I can’t quit and working from home makes it even tougher and it is a dirty habit and I want to live a healthy life. What do you recommend, I really I am so used to it in the mornings and breaks at work and I mean I know I don’t compare it to other things but it is so bad for me.

Brian: Interesting you say this Mark, we do know that nicotine and alcohol are the most critical and addictive medications because after all nicotine is a drug and it the thing about it is that it is legal. That is a real challenge that we face. In our program trying to quit smoking and drinking is the toughest because they are always around us and there are medications that people can uh, work with their physicians and they can talk with them about using uh certain types of anti-smoking medications and also too like any other addiction process, it is important to talk with a counselor about the situation to get the help you need. When you are alone it is easier to quit and being in an office can be a trigger. Many times if you will get together with a smoking cessation program there are many programs out there and also there are medications that you can take to help you decrease the craving for smoking.

Mark: What are the side effects?

Brian: Depending upon individuals there are minor to none. In some cases some do have side effects that may increase anxiety or possibly we have heard of some that increase aggression on some rare occasions. I dare say that you should get with your primary care physician and be able to find out uh, what type of medication might be best for you but I would dare say that it is very important that you get good counseling support. It is your emotional triggers that internal feelings the anger frustration or whatever you are experiencing that causes the need to smoke.

Mark: No doubt about it.

Brian: I would recommend that you take a look at smoking cessation clinics. Reggie do you have a though on that.

Reggie: Mark I would definitely say the primary care doctor to help you to curb the alcohol cravings of wanting to smoke and nicotine is an addiction and you also need to address the psychological factors or what it is you are craving that helps you when you are depressed or stressed or bored like you said your job working from home so it could be when you have free time or when you are bored.

Mark: I take a break from home it is all the time and I look at the build up of ash trays and it is disgusting and is like it just makes me feel like such a dirty person.

Brian: You are not a dirty person but certainly the habit can become uncomfortable and I do think you are ready to do something by your words today. You have come to realize that …….the major negative consequences that you might be facing and it could be a situation other than that.

Mark: The funny thing is that the two drinking and smoking are often associated and the funny thing is that I can control my drinking and it is not a problem and drugs have not been a problem and I have a brother who recently overdosed with heroin and the funny thing is that those type of things have not been an issue with me, but I will take a cigarette and stick exhaust from a car in my mouth and it is not immediate and it doesn’t and I just know it is so bad for me.

Brian: Mark we are at a break so hang on and we will talk more about the other piece that you are feeling. We will be right back and you can call in at 770-226-0920.

Commercial Break

Brian: Welcome Back 770-226-0920 is the number to call for the Breakthrough Addiction Recovery Hour. My special guest is Dr. Reginald Riley and he is working in our evening programs and we are excited to have him here today. We are going to get back to Mark in Atlanta. I was checking again about what you could do medication wise and I know that there are several out there and Chantix and Xyban but you need to check with your physician for the appropriate medication. I know you are aware of those in your life that have died as a result of abusing drugs, and I know that is a tragic situation and was wondering have you found this to be something in your life right now and you want free of it.

Mark: Well, I mean I have seen the results of the effects of being a heroin addict and see it first hand and how it ruins your life. Matter of fact the you know and it ruins the childrens lives and the mother now who is or will probably be on methodone the rest of her life and we recently saw in the paper that she was busted and eventually she is going to kill herself or she is going to go to jail. This poor kid has suffered enough and it is really tragic to me to see that someone can’t beat life they can’t beat a drug for life for love. My addiction I can’t compare the two because I am not stealing from people and lying to my family but most maybe it is what I have been through lately that makes me want to quit. I feel dirty and don’t and I go to school at night and around people that don’t smoke and I feel bad over the habit.

Reggie: I was sorry about your brother, but I do see you finding some positive in it by realizing that your addiction is struggling and you want to get help and you should follow up with your doctor if you have one and if not seek one out to speak with about possibly getting some of the medication to put your addiction and also pursue counseling.

Mark: I think I will, I always wish I had been able to help my brother, um, we tried but maybe we were a family of enablers but he couldn’t help himself and then you blame yourself, is there like people out there who need to speak to a stranger or are there programs out there that if you are an addict and I lost someone close to me, are there any services that require or a stranger can call and talk to someone. Do those exist? Somewhere I can get help.

Brian: Well, you can go and take a look on line and there are various places like ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS hotline or NA hotline and you know if you want to participate and volunteer you can call them and it is sometimes very helpful because there are those out there that are trying to say who can I talk to? We do this with our program, example, if you want to get the ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS hotline the number is 404-525-3178. Give them a call and get the information of who is needing assistance, and that you again could take a look and find out about your recovery I know there are always people out there looking for help.

Mark: One more thing there is a song out there called “How to Save a Life” someone dealing with someone addicted to drugs and the lyrics are moving.

Brian: Your information has touched a lot of lives. Have a good day.

Brian: Here we go, gosh an individual out there struggling and one of the things we see as we go through addiction recovery people sometimes think it is just them and yet we hear people like mark as a loved one someone in their life that they really cared about and that loss has impacted their lives as well as others. Addiction is not a solo event it really has an impact wide range not only for the person who is suffering but from family members and friends and the community in general, so you know what do you think when looking at INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT at Breakthrough how do we address this?

Reggie: Right, we definitely address negative consequences and even in day addiction treatment and individual therapy. We have the family education that we recommend that our clients attend so that the family can understand exactly what they are going through and understand their addiction.

Commercial Break

Brian: Welcome Back we are talking about the outpatient services at Breakthrough Addiction Recovery and giving options to those needing an alternative to day addiction treatment and the new program has started for Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6pm to 9pm for four weeks. It is a wonderful program and gives our clients an opportunity to review why they are being triggered and gives great opportunities to look at coping skills to help deal with their addiction issues. Addiction is defined as an obsessive compulsive behavior. When I ask the question how much time is spent in drinking and drugging behavior I get the answer, all day long. That certainly is anger and depression are characteristics of getting people to use. So what has been the comments we have heard,

Reggie: A lot of things we hear are people dealing with the financial market whether it is the owner or someone looking at retirement and now seeing their savings go down and now the money has dwindled and they say that stress has made them angry and they are coping by drinking and using drugs.

Brian: As a result that is where we must help them look at coping strategies and obviously these situations seem to be overwhelming and I have found that as we work with our clients and we begin talking it through I love our statement, “Talking keeps you sober, secrets keep you sick” We hear so often that they don’t want to talk or share their thoughts and yet what happens is that as they begin realizing they are in a safe environment and while there working with others who have the same problem with their drinking shat usually happens

Reggie: They open up and we see in INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT individuals meeting in a small group and there is a clinician and initially they clam up and don’t want to share the most intimate details but once they realize they are safe again with a clinical professional and people like themselves they begin to open up and also understanding it is safe and confidential which is important to understand and at Breakthrough everything is confidential and..

Reggie: They definitely struggle but from their perspective they blow it off. It is a social norm for college students to binge drink on the weekends and it is so socially acceptable and if you don’t know your risks then you begin to participate in that behavior and we see a lot of that with both men and women on campus, and if you are listening or parents please call us if you want to talk about this 770-226-0920.

Brian: Many times they don’t know, for those that are experiencing dependence on alcohol or other drugs, first of all there is tolerance and tolerance is part of that characteristic you need more and more of that drug or drink in order to get the same effect, so if two beers used to do it now you need six. The second is withdrawal,

Reggie: Withdrawal is when you take the chemical away from your body and your body goes through physical changes due to missing that chemical in your body.

Brian: Is that dangerous?

Reggie: It can be deadly,

Brian: If that is the case then they need to go to the emergency room and the third component is that if they keep on using despite the negative consequences and get several DUIs and still handle it. 770-226-0920 we would be very interested in hearing your opinion and the time is getting by us and wanted to talk more about alcohol poisoning.

Reggie: Some of the symptoms or signs of alcohol poisoning could be mental confusion and stupor going into a possible coma or an individual that can’t be roused. Counseling on college campuses I heard that a lot. Don’t just take them home to bed you need to look for slower breathing fewer than 8 breaths per minute and also your regular breathing is 10 seconds between breaths and hypothermia can come from alcohol poisoning.

Commercial Break

Brian: We do know that aspiration where people having passed out as a result of drinking if the gag reflex has been disabled and as a result they vomit as an irritant they can actually aspirate and into the lungs and they die. So this is a very very serious situation and we know that many college students um, die as a result of this kind of alcohol poisoning and also because of um, car accidents and we see this happening also too studies we have looked at there is a high incident of college students at the brunt end of intoxication as a result of acts of violence and that can cause a lot of chaos and as a result we find many do not sign up for even a second semester because the alcohol is such a great problem.

Reggie: Students have issues with drugs or alcohol and then don’t return the second semester.

Brian: This article says that when they do pass out they feel that it is ok and because the fact that the alcohol continues to feed in to the bloodstream and as a result they can actually have some problems with gag reflex and respiratory system shutting down. Wish we had more time, well listen if you have a question about our program go to www.breakthroughaddictionrecovery.com and we appreciate you being here Dr. Riley and look forward to our upcoming programs. Join us next week.