Integrative Addiction Medicine at Brain Body Medical

11/07/2021

09/03/2020

Vomiting with Cannabis. Persons who use cannabis regularly may have persistent vomiting with abdominal pain that is usually relieved with hot showers. Many visit the emergency rooms have studies done to look for a cause either because many patients don’t divulge or physicians don’t recognize cannabis use. Most persons are daily cannabis users for at least a year. The symptoms go away with completely stopping cannabis use.

CHS is an under-diagnosed pathology because it is little known to physicians. This syndrome has unique clinical characteristics. Early recognition of CHS avoids repeated visits to the emergency room and unnecessary follow-up examinations.

08/07/2020

Curcumin, a component of the yellow spice turmeric, can help reduce alcohol associated liver damage by improving antioxidant defenses and decreasing inflammation. Since curcumin is not easily absorbed into the body, It is important to have a form of curcumin that is easily absorbed. In this paper, they explored a novel formulation of curcumin with galactomannosides and showed its protective effect in alcohol induced liver disease in rats.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30793463/

07/30/2020

7/30: Sleep is important for good mental health and the gut may be intimately involved in this. The gut microbiota, refers to the trillions of micro-organisms that live in our intestinal tract. The balance of these organisms and the products they make are important for many aspects of optimal health, including sleep. This is called the Gut Brain Axis (GBA). Promoting a good sleep-wake cycle, balancing the gut microbiota by testing and addressing the imbalances, is a vital component of superior mental health.

Translational research on this important field is limited and further investigation of the bidirectional pathways on sleep and the gut microbiome in mood disorders is warranted.

07/14/2020

7/14: Buprenorphine (Suboxone) is a medication used to treat Opioid addiction. From a harm reduction perspective, it is an awesome medication as it saves lives and prevents infections. It is underused in this country. Many patients don’t like it as they are concerned of being “hooked” on it and doctors are concerned about misuse and diversion. As a partial agonist, it has a ceiling effect. For some users of Buprenorphine, the maximum dose may not stop the use of opioids, but for the vast majority it helps with cravings and the withdrawal symptoms. Coming off of Buprenorphine will require a slow taper over a period of time. The other treatment options for opioid use disorder are m**hadone and naltrexone.

Buprenorphine is considered one of the most effective treatments for opioid use disorder and significantly reduces risk of overdose death. However, concerns about its diversion and misuse have often taken center stage in public discourse and in the design ...

07/11/2020

Today is World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day (W-BAD). From their website: "(W-BAD) is a grassroots initiative seeking to raise global awareness about iatrogenic benzodiazepine dependence and the dangers of its associated withdrawal syndrome, which can persist for years. This class of medication can affect different people in different ways, and some people may not experience adverse effects of a medication, but there is a large group of people worldwide who do suffer from adverse effects associated with physical dependence (from as prescribed use) and withdrawal....W-BAD seeks to bring the problem out of the dark to help those who so desperately need it, and to prevent this from happening to others while reducing the impact on socioeconomic costs." Please participate and find out more:

World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day raises global awareness of iatrogenic benzo dependence and benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, annually on July 11.

07/09/2020

There is a profound failure of medications and psychological therapies to meaningfully and substantially help patients with alcohol and opioid use disorders. Yet not a single word in this editorial on looking at nutrition or exploring for root causes of addictions. There are hundreds of published articles on this, yet there is no interest from the medical community on non-pharma based treatment options. The closest this editorial came was to state this “Finally, there is growing awareness of the relationship between sleep abnormalities, addiction, and risk of relapse”. How about all those journal articles that have looked at nutrient imbalances, epigenetic vulnerabilities, gut problems etc…?

Pharmacotherapy of Substance Use Disorders: Challenges and Opportunities

07/08/2020

Metamphetamines (crystal m**h) causes destruction of brain cells. Metamphetamine use is highly addictive initially due to the profoundly increased dopamine that is released in certain areas of the brain and the effects that this produces, including an increased s*x drive. Because of the down-regulation of this dopamine effect that eventually occurs, it takes a while for the brain to repair itself and get back to adequate function. In the meantime, we CAN help the brain of the person with Metamphetamine use disorder. We can help decrease brain cell inflammation and neuron death that happens with use of Cannabidiol (CBD), or Echinacea, or Turmeric or Omega-3 fatty acids. Use of these and many other nutrients may prevent some of the behavioral symptoms we see with this use disorder.

The neurodegeneration, neuro-inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction which occur by m**hamphetamine (M**H) abuse or administration are serious and motivation therapeutic approaches for inhibition of these types of neurodegeneration. As we know, M**H through Toll-like receptors (TLRs), specially t...

07/07/2020

What is the goal for alcohol addiction treatment? It used to be abstinence from any use of alcohol. This has been a difficult goal to achieve with the current standard of care which only includes medications, psychological therapies and peer support groups. Relapse rates have been close to 70-80% at the end of one year. So new achievable goals have been proposed: measuring the reduction in drinking levels from baseline without the goal of actual abstinence. But why not look to see why folks are having a difficult time abstaining from alcohol. Studies have shown that low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), nutrient deficiencies and gut issues could be among the many root causes of relapse. Give patients a chance to succeed- replete them with brain healthy foods, nutrients and do appropriate tests and give targeted treatments.

One- and 2-level reductions in WHO risk levels during alcohol treatment were maintained after treatment and associated with better functioning over time. These findings support the use of the WHO risk level reductions as an outcome measure that reflects clinically significant improvement in how indi...

07/03/2020

Xanax or Alprazolam. One of the medications with the worst risk- benefit ratios. Xanax belongs to a class of medications called benzodiazepines. Using these for more than a few days can lead to physical dependence. Coming off of these medications is like a really bad nightmare and nearly impossible for many. For the elderly, long term use has been associated with increased risk of dementia, fractures and pneumonia and accidents. In 2017, it was the 21st most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 25 million prescriptions. Next week, July 11th was chosen by the grassroots organization, w-bad.org, as the day to highlight the dangers of benzodiazepines. Please go to their website to learn more and participate.

07/03/2020

Stigma enveloping individuals with substance use disorders and mental health issues lives on. Those with addictions are dehumanized, viewed as “lowest of the low” and in one survey, more than 70% of individuals surveyed stated that they would not like to spend an evening socializing with an “addict”. There are so many changes that happens in the brain with the use of drugs, like the changes that happen to the heart with the use of processed foods and sugar. If we treat the brain like we treat the heart with a good diet, appropriate medications and targeted nutrients etc.. we might improve health and decrease deaths.

2S.J. Quinney College of Law, Center for Law and the Biosciences, Program in Medical Ethics and Humanities, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States

06/30/2020

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. Using this much maligned test can improve both mental health and addictions. Mineral imbalances show up as symptoms. You need to balance minerals for good brain health. Testing of hair before washing, which only a select few laboratories do, shows mineral ratios and toxic metals. Expert use of this test can help with appropriate use of diet, supplementation and medications.https://isom.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/JOM_2001_16_1_08_Successful_Recoveries_with_Orthomolecular_Treatment.pdf