Dr. Mohammad said, “While the holiday season is typically a time for over-indulgence, ushering in the new year generally means that the over indulgent make a drastic effort to stop indulging cold turkey; there could be no greater recipe for failure and in some scenarios, significant health risk or death.” Mohammad added, “Whether you wish to stop smoking, drinking, eating or abusing drugs, you must have a well-planned, health-conscious strategy or the outcome will be disastrous under most circumstances. It is far safer and healthier to consult a medical professional when attempting to get control of addictive behaviors.”

Dr. Mohammad and his team will answer any questions and provide guidance to all those who submit addiction and behavior-related questions through the Malibu Horizon website. Mohammad added, “More often than not, people underestimate
their physical and emotional dependency on the various vices they attempt to curb by making yearly resolutions. If they are lucky, they will white-knuckle their cravings and find some degree of success; however, the vast majority will resume their addictive behaviors – while many run the risk of severe discomfort, severe mood swings, seizures, irreversible medical conditions and even death if not in the care of a qualified medical expert. Contact our team today and we will help you not only make and stick to healthy, realistic resolutions, but also will work with you to create the best possible you for 2012 and beyond.”

Dr. Mohammad said, “Aside from the countless studies in the United States and Europe, which undoubtedly prove the effectiveness of certain medications for the exceptional treatment of alcohol detox and alcohol treatment through relapse prevention, it is considered is not just frustrating, but also makes it more difficult for us to provide alcohol abusers with the lifesaving medication they need.” Mohammad added, “For instance, Topiramate (Topamax) is an antiepileptic drug, or seizure medication; however, numerous studies have shown that Topiramate can and should be used for Alcohol Detox and Alcohol Treatment through relapse prevention, due to it effects on GABA and Glutamate receptors, which are unbalanced during Alcohol Detox and during abstinence. It’s not FDA indicated for Alcohol Treatment but Clinically we see significant
effects as shown in studies.”

Dr. Mohammad and his team will include this sensitive topic in their forthcoming series of ‘town hall’ meetings in an
effort to educate the public and encourage physicians to become more vocal about these unfortunate limitations. Mohammad added, “It is beyond unfortunate when the best possible medications for alcohol treatment aren’t indicated as
such by the FDA, which makes the process of treating this disease more difficult. While I understand the FDA’s need to set boundaries, there are more than enough conclusive studies regarding the ‘off label’ benefits of various
medications and the simple truth is, we can save more lives by using these medications but we need to work with the FDA to protect physicians from various legal pitfalls that emerge when working with non-FDA indicated medications.”

The aim of a detox center is to help the client safely withdraw, or detoxify from a substance such as alcohol or opiates. There are both medical and non-medical detox programs. Some people need the medical support of doctors, medications in order to  safely withdraw from the substance. For most, they can safely detox with the help of counselors, rest, nutrition, and encouragement.

With respect to alcohol, some people are chronic alcohol users, some go on a binge, drinking hard and heavy for a few days or longer; often not remembering some of those time periods. This is known as a blackout, the person has had so much alcohol that they will never recall what, where, when, or with whom events occurred. If a client has been to a detox center before and there are known medical issues such as alcohol induced seizures, which can occur a few hours or days after alcohol has been consumed, it is recommended the client be sent to a hospital to be medically cleared before returning to the detox center.

Some of the symptoms a client may experience when detoxing from alcohol are nausea, headache, diarrhea, shakiness, and dehydration. This is not a typical hangover that most of us have experienced from time to time. This is a physical and emotional dependence on alcohol, and even though it is making them sick, the urge to use again is more powerful than completely abstaining. Most people who have reached this stage of dependence are unable to quit on their own, and by going to a detox center they can learn about addiction from the counselors and look into their options such as treatment centers.

Other drugs such as opiates, crack cocaine, can be just as to withdraw from, sometimes even worse. The severity of any withdrawal is always dependent on the individual,  taking into consideration issues such as age, length of using substances, amount, and lifestyle habits. Some symptoms that may be expected are extreme fatigue, body aches and cramping, mood swings, heavy sweating and dehydration.

If one is not sure what detox facility will best meet needs, checking with their family doctor or walk in clinic is suggested. Ask questions, and they (the counselor) will ask you questions; such as what your goals are, what and how long one has been using substances, and then a referral to the right kind of facility should be made.

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