Substance Abuse

Hello,

I currently work in a drug and alcohol detox center. I have been there for a year now, and although it can have it's ups and downs, its a pretty good job. The substances we detox people off of are opiates, alcohol, and benzos. Treatment for opiates includes methadone or suboxone, as long as they havent been doing benzos, they can opt to have suboxone. Treatment for alcohol is a Librium taper, which they only get if they start to show signs of mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal, which is calculated using the CIWA score. For people who use benzodiazepines, whether prescribed or not, get phenobarbital right away, since people coming off benzos have a high risk for seizures. It can be pretty taxing sometimes though since the majority of them tend to be manipulative and demanding. But overall I enjoy it. Hope this helps for you.

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Franklin Rose

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i work on a general psych unit and half my patients are usually detoxers =P i do like working with them for the most part, im new but others say that it can be heartbreaking to watch them slowly deteriorate with each admit. They can also be extremely manipulative and many are convincing liars.

You need really good assessment skills because as the above posts have mentioned, the detoxers are very good manipulators and many are med-seeking....they complain constantly and want some med for something...must determine if they are actually having withdrawal symptoms or just wanting a pill...on the plus side..there is never a dull moment and the shift goes quickly...you are always busy, for sure...

I just love giving them their picture (taken when they first came in) as they are being discharged...The difference is night and day...some don't even look like the same person...I tell them to put on their ref. to look at if they think about using again...

a male psychiatric patient, 26 years of age, was admitted last may 23, 2008, due to relapse of psychotic disorder. In the past he was using Marijuana during his second year high school up to mid-third year high school. He was then admitted at New Corilla Rehab Center but escaped then to DMC but escaped again. At present, he was admitted into this institution(Anonymous). No signs of hallucinations and delusions noted. EPS were noted. Drug treatment are biperidine HCL and Chlorpromazine. He passed the criteria of an avoidant behavior, but i find it hard to have a concrete diagnosis of my patient. What would be most likely the diagnosis of the patient using the DSM IV criteria? pls help.. plsssss... need it..