When you need to look at Oklahoma drug rehab centers, how many choices will you have? At the
moment, approximately 90 drug rehab centers in Oklahoma offer recovery from drug and alcohol
addiction. That’s not really a lot of centers for the nearly quarter million people in the state who need
help for their addiction problems.
US government surveys estimate that 245,000 people in Oklahoma had a drug or alcohol problem in
2007, the most recent year for which there are survey results. Fitting 245,000 people into 90 centers
means 2,722 people through a program in each center, each year. As many of these Oklahoma drug
rehab centers are just small storefronts providing out-patient programs, this is really not practical. And
so it is that approximately 200,000 per year do not get addiction treatment despite their need.
There are only three outcomes to addiction: prison, sobriety or death. Families dealing with a loved
one’s addiction problem instinctively know this and are trying their best to make sure that the result in
their situation is sobriety.
References:
http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7State/Oklahoma.htm
Many Rehabs Offer Other Drugs to Replace Street Drugs
In a rather strange twist of logic, many Oklahoma drug rehab centers prescribe drugs for those who are
looking for Oklahoma drug rehab help. Eight drug rehab centers in Oklahoma prescribe buprenorphine,
a synthetic opioid drug that is supposed to prevent withdrawal symptoms in a person coming off heroin
or addiction to one of the opiate or opioid prescription medications. For example, morphine, codeine,
methadone, hydrocodone, oxycodone and several others are common drugs of addiction. Opiate
withdrawal symptoms can be so difficult that the solution many Oklahoma drug rehab centers come up
with is to prescribe a legal form of synthetic opium.
At some point, a person is supposed to be tapered off this drug, but a New York State Department of
Health report says, “Many doctors recommend that patients stay on buprenorphine for a long time
to help them keep off heroin for the long haul.” While buprenorphine contains an ingredient that is
supposed to block the euphoric effects of opiates, some people have managed to overdose on heroin or
opioids while trying to get high at the same time they are taking buprenorphine.
References:
http://www.health.state.ny.us/publications/9555.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buprenorphine
Other drug rehabs in Oklahoma offer methadone which is another form of drug-replacement therapy.
But buprenorphine and methadone are both addictive and are both drugs of abuse. Fourteen Oklahoma
drug rehab centers offer treatment for opiate addiction, which probably means that they recommend
either buprenorphine or methadone or both.
Reference: http://dpt2.samhsa.gov/treatment/directory.aspx
Substance Abuse Services Mixed with Psychiatric Services Usually Means More Drugs
Many Oklahoma drug rehab centers specialize in people with “co-occuring disorders” or “dual
diagnoses.” This means that the recovering person may suffer from addiction as well as depression,
bipolar disorder or other mental illness diagnosis. Treatment in these cases may consist of
benzodiazepines, Clozapine, Lithium or other drugs.
What is very often overlooked is that mental conditions can be an effect of addiction or the destructive
lifestyle of an addict. Addicts are notorious for failing to eat or sleep properly. This neglect can result in
nutritional deficiencies that can greatly contribute to conditions such as depression.
And some drugs can cause behaviors that mimic mental illness. A report from Montana State University
states: “People using speed also exhibit behaviors similar to a schizophrenic.” Thus helping a person
recover from addiction and also trying to treat a mental illness in some cases may be unnecessary. Of
course, distinguishing the addict who simply needs nourishment and detoxification from the person who
is truly mentally ill is a task only for a trained medical practitioner.
Reference: http://www.montana.edu/wwwai/imsd/rezmeth/heycrank.htm
However, in some cases, after an evaluation by a medical practitioner who understands the complex
task of drug addiction recovery, simply helping a person get off drugs and get them fully out of his or her
system may be the priority. When possible, this is the best route because true recovery from substance
abuse and addiction means no more drugs of any kind.
Help in Locating Drug Rehab Centers Oklahoma
When a family is trying to handle a crisis caused by a loved one’s addiction, it can be very hard to study
all sides of the problem and possible solutions. There are so many different types of addiction treatment
that deciding which drug rehab center Oklahoma is right in your situation can seem an impossible task.
Oklahomadrugrehab.org helps families in just this situation. Contacting oklahomadrugrehab.org can
provide the answer you are looking for much faster than searching by yourself. The counselors who
answer your call or emailed message have access to more than ten thousand rehab centers across the
country and can help you match your situation to a facility. Does the addicted person need inpatient
rehab? Outpatient? What legal or health situations exist? What kind of program would enable this
person to focus on his or her recovery?
You don’t have to be the expert. Contact oklahomadrugrehab.org and let them put your mind at rest.