Friday, August 28, 2009

Addiction is so powe

Addiction is so powerful http://www.tmz.com/ Please say a prayer for his family..

This is why we need

This is why we need to monitor addicts for the first few years… We monitor for other illnesses, why not addiction?? It is time we work together and spread that message. http://htxt.it/7VYC

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Back in LA for a wee

Back in LA for a week.. for those who are counting I lost 13lbs in 11 days.. I am putting together that website so we can do this together for those who wanted to...

Monday, August 24, 2009

“Labor Day DUI Crackdown Begins Today”

The summer is in full affect for many, drunk driving happens all to often. Buzzed driving is drunk driving. City officials are cracking down and there is a no tolerance level of drinking and getting behind the wheel. All too often I am involved with families where drinking has destroyed someone they love and a DUI or a fatal accident has ripped their life apart.

Read this article about DUI’s and if you or someone you love is going to drink and drive, think again, DUI’s are very hard and expensive to resolve and can potentially kill you or an innocent person or a child. Having an intervention planned by family members is much easier than one enforced by the law. Developing a bottom for an alcoholic is much more effective than identifying their body at the morgue. At Intervention 911 we can help: 1-800-905-7655.

“Labor Day DUI Crackdown Begins Today”

Written By: Mike Morris
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Labor Day weekend is still two weeks away, but a statewide “Operation Zero Tolerance” holiday crackdown on drunk drivers begins today.
The crackdown, which runs through Labor Day, is being run in conjunction with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety’s “100 Days of Summer HEAT” campaign. HEAT stands for Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic.

“The sad fact is one out of three of our fatal highway crashes in Georgia each year is caused by impaired drivers,” said Bob Dallas, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “And every one of those tragic alcohol-related deaths is completely preventable.”

During the next two weeks, officers will be issuing no warnings to impaired drivers, officials said. “We even warn motorists what days to watch out for blue lights,” Dallas said. “We hope every driver will pay attention to our enforcement warning.”

Posted by Ken Seeley – Founder – Intervention 911

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Heading to New Orlea

Heading to New Orleans.. Checking out a treatment center with John Southworth, Pine Grove in Mississippi

Friday, August 21, 2009

SAVE THE DATE.... NY

SAVE THE DATE.... NYC Recovery Project With Jane Velez Mitchell MC and Smokey Robinson entertainment. Thank you A&E... http://htxt.it/2ks0

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Younger people turn to heroin; possible link to prescription drug abuse

Heroin is a seriously addictive opiate that is affecting thousands of people. Not only is it destroying the lives of adults, but our young people are becoming and have been addicted as well. Please view my next post regarding signs that a teenager could be abusing opiates/heroin or drugs.
Teenagers are becoming addicted to heroin not realizing the potency of the drug they are putting into their system; the next hit could be their last hit. Another red flag are the drugs we keep in our medicine cabinets, teenagers are researching prescription drugs on the internet and steeling their parents medication. Read this blog about the teenage heroin epidemic. This is a serious problem and being aware could save a life.


Younger people turn to heroin; possible link to prescription drug abuse

Author: Calli Fisher
CHANNEL 4 NEWS
WEBLINK: http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10941447

Dan Piirainen says he watched some of his lifelong friends' lives turn upside down as they experimented with heroin. But this isn't the typical drug addict story.

A group of friends began using the dangerous drug at a young age, as early as 17 years old. Heroin use overall in Northern Nevada is climbing at an alarming rate, but the Regional Street Enforcement Team says the situation is even more concerning because younger people are buying the drug.

"We used to see a heroin addict be a 30 or 40 year old person who has been using for a couple of years, and they inject it or IV-use heroin. But today, a lot more young people are using it," Sgt. Mac Venzon, with the Street Enforcement Team, said.

Venzon says they are seeing people ages 17 to 20 "stuck in the heroin loop that they just can't get out of." Piirainen says he's not surprised and has witnessed the snowball effect of heroin.

"One friend would do it. They would pass it on. It would just get bigger and bigger. Now the monster is out of control," he said. "They always chose the drug over friendship and family. They didn't care."

The Street Enforcement Team has been recovering more and more heroin from the streets over the past couple of years. In 2006, they seized 6.4 grams. It climbed to 59.1 grams and 195 grams in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

The amount of heroin recovered has skyrocketed so far in 2009. The Street Enforcement Team seized 513.9 grams of heroin in the first half of this year alone, which is on pace for 2009 to have more than a 400 percent increase from 2008.

Data also shows the number of arrests for heroin charges in Washoe County is rising. Arrests doubled from 19 in 2007 to 46 in 2008. 56 heroin arrests are in books through the first half of 2009.

So why are younger people turning to heroin? The Street Enforcement Team believes there is a link between prescription drug abuse and heroin. Venzon says heroin and many painkillers are opiate-based drugs. Once a user becomes addicted to the prescription drug, the "turn to heroin is not that far away."

Venzon says the street price of heroin can actually be cheaper than buying pills. A small balloon of heroin goes for about $10, according to Venzon.
Piirainen says the problem is spiraling out of control. "Don't think you can try it once and not do it again. It's not even worth it," Piirainen said.
Posted By: Ken Seeley – Founder – Intervention 911

Teenage Drug Abuse - Warning Signs

August, 17 2009

Here are some very important warning signs to watch for if your teenager or someone you know might be abusing drugs. For more information on warning signs and what to do if a teenager/tween is abusing substances refer to the website below or call us at our toll free number.

At Intervention 911 each case is unique and if your even a little suspicious that your teen or someone you love is abusing drugs or alcohol call us at 1-800-905-7655 for a free consultation with one of our professional Interventionist. Getting involved and stopping the cycle of addiction could save the life of a teenager!


Information from the US Drug Enforcement Agency
By: Barbara Poncelet
Website:
http://www.examiner.com/x-12193-Seattle-Public-Education-Examiner~y2009m8d4-Info-101-How-to-tell-if-your-child-has-a-substance-abuse-problem


How Can You Recognize the Signs of Substance Abuse?

Parents provides general signs of substance abuse and also gives specific signs of alcohol abuse, and several different drugs, narcotics, and inhalants. The general warning signs are:

• Changes in friends
• Negative changes in schoolwork, missing school, or declining grades
• Increased secrecy about possessions or activities
• Use of incense, room deodorant, or perfume to hide smoke or chemical odors
• Subtle changes in conversations with friends, e.g. more secretive, using “coded” language
• Change in clothing choices: new fascination with clothes that highlight drug use
• Increase in borrowing money
• Evidence of drug paraphernalia such as pipes, rolling papers, etc.
• Evidence of use of inhalant products (such as hairspray, nail polish, correction fluid, common household products); Rags and paper bags are sometimes used as accessories
• Bottles of eye drops, which may be used to mask bloodshot eyes or dilated pupils
• New use of mouthwash or breath mints to cover up the smell of alcohol
• Missing prescription drugs—especially narcotics and mood stabilizers

Remember, these are very general signs, specific drugs, narcotics, and other substances may have different signs, it is important to read the specific signs.

What Steps Should a Parent Take?

Should I monitor my child?

Monitoring is an effective way you can help your teen or tween stay drug-free, and an important thing to do — even if you don't suspect your teen is using drugs. The idea of "monitoring" your tween or teen may sound sinister, but it's actually a very simple idea that leads to great things: You know where your child is at all times (especially after school), you know his friends, and you know his plans and activities. ….Because monitoring conflicts with your child's desire to be independent, he is likely to resist your attempts to find out the details of his daily whereabouts. Don't let this deter you from your goal. He may accept the idea more easily if you present it as a means of ensuring safety or interest in who he is and what he likes to do, rather than as a means of control. You need to be prepared for your child's resistance — because the rewards of monitoring are proven. …The most important time of day to monitor is after school from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Kids are at the greatest risk for abusing drugs during these hours….
If I know my child is using drugs, should I alert the principal or the guidance counselor -- or try to keep the information from the people at school?

Before discussing the situation with anyone at the school, it can help to seek assistance from a professional who has experience with adolescent substance use, such as a mental health professional, family therapist, pediatrician or family physician, substance use counselor, or employee assistance professional. Ask for an in-person evaluation with your child, or a meeting to discuss your concerns and get advice about how to proceed. Perhaps counseling, a support group, or a treatment program is warranted. If your child refuses help and continues to use substances, contacting the school is an option, but should be used with great caution. School officials want to keep alcohol and other drugs off school premises, and ensure that students are not coming to school high or using during school. They are required to punish students who violate these rules by suspending or expelling them. Notifying the school about your teen’s behavior will likely put them on a ‘to be watched’ list. Other times the school is the immediate source of feedback on problems – drugs or alcohol found in lockers or used during the school day, etc. and you’ll need to speak with someone at the school right away. The school may have resources available to help, such as a staff substance abuse counselor who can work with your child. For some teens, this strategy can be very positive -- school authorities’ monitoring can give you concrete help in keeping a child with a problem on track in changing his behavior. Some children, however, need to suffer serious consequences before they will seek or accept help.
Should I try to make my teen give up friends?

It is very difficult to get teens to give up their friends. However, you can express your concerns. Tell your child what it is about the friend that worries you. Support developing a variety of friends and not relying too much on any one. Remember that teen drug use is basically a social behavior. If you know certain friends of theirs are using substances, minimize your child’s social contact with those friends by not giving them car rides, allowing visits or sleepovers with them or attendance at parties where they will be involved. This will send a strong message to your own child about how seriously you take health risks of substances.
On the other hand, go out of your way to encourage and facilitate your child’s contact with any friends who you believe are not using substances. These ties can be all incredibly important support for a child trying to change his behavior.
What limits should I set?

Work at setting limits only on behaviors you can control. For example, a rule that a teen cannot smoke pot is nearly impossible to enforce, but a rule that says a teen who gets caught smoking pot will be grounded or cannot use the family car for a month is one that you can enforce.
What should the penalties be for violation of those limits?

Choose consequences that can be applied without expressing a lot of critical or angry feelings. Parents frequently be¬tray their sense of helplessness by resorting to angry outbursts that are much more punitive than a consequence administered without anger or rage. A relatively short-term punishment carried out to the letter is much more effective than a long-term punishment that parents eventually ignore because they feel guilty. Make sure the penalties can be enforced by you on a practical basis – if they involve supervision or monitoring, change them for times you can be there.
If your child continues to violate limits, impose more severe consequences.

IF YOU NEED AN INTERVENTION FOR A TEENAGER INTERVENTION 911 CAN HELP:
www.intervention911.com / 1-800-905-7655

Another helpful resource is Alateen:
http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/

Blog posted by: Ken Seeley - Founder – Intervention 911

Sunday, August 16, 2009

I have gained way to

I have gained way to much weight. I am back at the gym tomorrow and eating better, going to loss a pound a day for the next month.. Anyone up for a challenge?

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Check in OUT not our

Check in OUT not our... Sorry

Every Friday night T

Every Friday night The Crossing 7pm 2115 Newport Blvd. Costa Mesa, CA 92627 949.645.5050, If you never been please check it our so much fun... It was a blast last night very high energy.. Put in your calendar as a must see….

Friday, August 14, 2009

Looking forward to s

Looking forward to speaking at The Crossing tonight 7pm. The Crossing, hope to see you there.. 2115 Newport Blvd. Costa Mesa, CA 92627 949.645.5050 fax 949.645.4767 We are located on Newport Blvd. near the corner of Newport and Victoria.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Gooing to Lake Arrow

Gooing to Lake Arrowhead to check out a sober living home tomorrow.. Looking foward to seeing it should be nice this time of year up there..

Dual Diagnosis

Dual Diagnosis:

So many times people are diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses. The fear of being honest with a medical professional is overwhelming and people are not reporting to their Doctors that they are abusing street drugs, alcohol or prescription medication. This is a severe problem and knowing the truth about dual diagnosis is so important in order to give hope to those who suffer and the families that love them.

2/3 of the patients checking-in to receive substance abuse treatment display signs of dual diagnosis (Falls-Stewart & Lucente). Dual Diagnosis is when a person suffers from a form of mental illness and they also abuse chemicals (alcohol included). The biggest misconception is assessing the person to have a certain mental illness that is being induced by the chemical being abused; unknowingly due to dishonesty.

If a person truly has a mental illness, the sickness will display itself early in age – usually around 18-22 years old, sometimes even younger. Substances can also make mental illnesses surface later in age. Substances cause behaviors that are very similar to several different mental illnesses.

The only way to really tell if someone is truly mentally ill is to allow the person to detox from the substances that they are abusing and then make an assessment that is beneficiary to their needs. In most cases their mental issue behaviors are caused by the substances and will completely go away once the substance has completely left their system.

Dual diagnosis is a tricky and sensitive issue. Most addicts want to diagnose themselves, prolonging their disease, not knowing that the substances they are using; cause 99% of their problems. It can take 3 days to 8 weeks to fully detox and give a proper diagnosis to ones health issues.

It is so sad to watch people suffer from dual diagnosis while they are their disease; the good news is that there is a solution! In the Washington Post there is a very informative, yet sad article about a guy name “Danny” who severely suffered from dual diagnosis. Read this article to help bring awareness in order to help prevent this sad story from happening again:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/07/27/ST2009072702451.html?sid=ST2009072702451

Monday, August 10, 2009

http://htxt.it/HTnE

http://htxt.it/HTnE see what other say about tonights show...

Don't forget to let

Don't forget to let your friends know about tonight 9pm A&E all new Intervention.. Thanks for passing it on.. It helps people be aware how to save a loved one from addiction...

Friday, August 7, 2009

Have a great weekend

Have a great weekend but remember Monday 9pm a all new Intervention on A&E Tell your friends..

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Drunk Driving Tragedy

A mother drank vodka and smoked marijuana while taking a vanload of children home from a weekend camping trip that ended in disaster when she went the wrong way on a highway and crashed into an SUV, killing eight people, police said Tuesday.

Diane Schuler, who died along with her 2-year-old daughter and three nieces in her red minivan, had more than 10 drinks of alcohol in her system and a high level of the main ingredient in marijuana, authorities said. A broken 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut vodka was found in her wrecked minivan, police said.

The revelations from the 36-year-old Long Island woman's autopsy helped explain how the woman her family called "an accomplished working mother who always put her children before any other priorities" wound up driving the wrong way for nearly two miles on a suburban parkway before slamming into the SUV.

The July 26 crash on the Taconic State Parkway, about 35 miles northwest of New York City, also killed three men in the SUV. Schuler's 5-year-old son, in her minivan, survived.

Investigators said Schuler had been driving erratically on other upstate roads before getting on the highway for the 140-mile trip home.

Schuler's blood-alcohol level was well above the legal limit, and she still had undigested alcohol in her stomach, State Police Maj. William Carey said Tuesday.

Blood tests also showed she had smoked marijuana 15 minutes to an hour before the crash, said Betsy Spratt, chief toxicologist for the Westchester County medical examiner.

"With that level of alcohol ... she would have had difficulty with perception, with her judgment, with her memory," Spratt said. "You start to get what we call tunnel vision."

Police said no criminal charges were planned in the case.

Roseann Guzzo, whose father and brother were killed in the SUV, said Tuesday her family wanted to meet with prosecutors to discuss the case.

"We're outraged by it," she said. "It's a choice she made. And that choice she made to us is like she committed murder."

State police have been investigating why Schuler, who was a regular upstate campground visitor, would have been driving toward her home the wrong way on a highway she had driven many times before.

Toxicology reports found the businesswoman's blood-alcohol level was 0.19, more than twice the state's legal limit of 0.08, Carey said. She also had 6 grams of undigested alcohol in her stomach, Carey said.

Schuler's husband, Daniel, told investigators that everything seemed fine when he and his wife left the Sullivan County campground at about 9:30 a.m. on the morning of the crash. He went on a fishing trip while his wife headed home with the children, stopping at a McDonald's on the way, police said.

Her brother, the father of the three girls who died, said she called him about a half-hour before the wreck sounding disoriented and saying she didn't feel well. Schuler's 8-year-old niece also spoke briefly with her father from the highway. The woman's cell phone was later found abandoned at a rest stop.

Witnesses said they saw Schuler's minivan straddling two lanes and tailgating, with its headlights flashing and horn beeping.

Others saw the vehicle veering from one lane to another, and one witness said it appeared as if she was attempting to pass him on the shoulder of the highway. Another witness said the van drove across a grass divider at a service area.

Six drivers called 911 before the collision, which happened after Schuler drove 1.7 miles south in the parkway's northbound lane.

An attorney who served as a family spokesman at funerals last week did not immediately return a telephone message left by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Floral Park village police blocked access to the home of Schuler's brother and said no one was there to comment. There was no answer when a reporter knocked on the door of the Schuler family home in West Babylon.

Neither Schuler's husband nor extended family has spoken with reporters about the crash. The families issued a statement last week calling Schuler "a devoted mother to her children, Bryan and Erin."

"She was a constant, doting presence in her nieces' lives, and our extended family admired her competence, ease with children and sense of humor," it said. "Never has there been a more responsible and trusted friend or caregiver."



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/08/02/national/a112012D22.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0NL5OAlRw

Monday, August 3, 2009

Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds

Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Use of antidepressant drugs in the United States doubled between 1996 and 2005, probably because of a mix of factors, researchers reported on Monday.

About 6 percent of people were prescribed an antidepressant in 1996 -- 13 million people. This rose to more than 10 percent or 27 million people by 2005, the researchers found.

"Significant increases in antidepressant use were evident across all sociodemographic groups examined, except African Americans," Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University in New York and Steven Marcus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

"Not only are more U.S. residents being treated with antidepressants, but also those who are being treated are receiving more antidepressant prescriptions," they added.

More than 164 million prescriptions were written in 2008 for antidepressants, totaling $9.6 billion in U.S. sales, according to IMS Health.

Drugs that affect the brain chemical serotonin like GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil, known generically as paroxetine, and Eli Lilly and Co's Prozac, known generically as fluoxetine, are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant. But the study found the effect in all classes of the drugs.

Olfson and Marcus looked at the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys done by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, involving more than 50,000 people in 1996 and 2005.

"During this period, individuals treated with antidepressants became more likely to also receive treatment with antipsychotic medications and less likely to undergo psychotherapy," they wrote.

SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE

The survey did not look at why, but the researchers made some educated guesses. It may be more socially acceptable to be diagnosed with and treated for depression, they said. The availability of new drugs may also have been a factor.

"Although there was little change in total promotional spending for antidepressants between 1999 ($0.98 billion) and 2005 ($1.02 billion), there was a marked increase in the percentage of this spending that was devoted to direct-to consumer advertising, from 3.3 percent ($32 million) to 12 percent ($122.00 million)," they added.

Dr. Eric Caine of the University of Rochester in New York said he was concerned by the findings. "Antidepressants are only moderately effective on population level," he said in a telephone interview.

Caine, who was not involved in the research, noted that several studies show therapy is as effective as, if not more effective than, drug use alone.

"There are no data to say that the population is healthier. Indeed, the suicide rate in the middle years of life has been climbing," he said.

Olfson and Marcus said out-of-pocket costs for psychotherapy and lower insurance coverage for such visits may have driven patients away from seeing therapists in favor of an easy-to-prescribe pill.

The rise in antidepressant prescriptions also is seen despite a series of public health warnings on use of antidepressant drugs beginning in 2003 after clinical trials showed they increased the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and teens.

In February 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added its strongest warning, a so-called black box, on the use of all antidepressants in children and teens.