Top 5 articles on Dr Agresti.com

1. Psychological and physical problems of stopping opiates

Let’s look at the opiates first. An opiate is a narcotic pain killer like Roxycodone, Oxycodone, Loratabs, Loracet, Methadone, Vicodin, Actiq, and Stadol. The action of these drugs may last varying amounts of time and has varying doses. For example, some people can be on 100mg a day of oxycontin while others may take 1000mg a day of oxycontin. (more…)

Top 5 Video’s on Dr Agresti.com

1. Does Charlie Sheen Have Bipolar Disorder?

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Material Possessions

Dr. Mark Agresti discusses how material possessions can affect our health negatively.

Dr. Mark Agresti, West Palm Beach Drug & Alcohol Detox Specialist, Psychiatrist

Call (561) 842-9550 or email: info@206.189.200.158 Dr. Agresti today to get psychiatric help today.

ADD / ADHD

Dr. Mark Agresti discusses the signs, symptoms and available treatments for those suffering from ADD / ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

Dr. Mark Agresti, West Palm Beach Drug & Alcohol Detox Specialist, Psychiatrist

Call (561) 842-9550 or email: info@206.189.200.158 Dr. Agresti today to get psychiatric help today.

Does Charlie Sheen Have Bipolar Disorder?

Dr. Mark Agresti discusses the recent news with Charlie Sheen; his actions, his outbursts and his personality.

Dr. Mark Agresti, West Palm Beach Drug & Alcohol Detox Specialist, Psychiatrist

Call (561) 842-9550 or email: info@206.189.200.158 Dr. Agresti today to get psychiatric help today.

Binging

I’ve been a psychiatrist for a long time, and my patients say: “I don’t have a problem. I don’t use drugs (alcohol) every day.”

Then they tell me some version of the “binge” story, and I’ve seen some pretty severe ones.

They might start out by saying: “You know, every two weeks, I just have to go out and binge drink.”

And then they say, “I’ll have 12 drinks.” Or. “I’ll have a bottle of wine.”  Or. “I’ll drink vodka and shots.”

Just yesterday, a patient told me: “Every week, just to relax, I’ll take some Xanax with some alcohol and maybe mix it with a 30 mg Roxicodone.”

Still others tell me they never use drugs or alcohol, but once a month, they’ll smoke marijuana with their friends. (more…)

Video Game Addiction

Recently, I took my son and four of his friends fishing in the Bahamas. We had a fishing boat at our disposal, a beautiful beach and great weather, and I thought we’d all really enjoy our vacation in this exotic environment.

But, two of the boys are addicted to video games. They brought the games with them and played them the entire time. They never left the hotel room on our five-day fishing trip. I was very concerned and told them so, but it’s a work in progress. Family members need to come together and confront their loved one who is addicted to video games – tell him or her, “Enough is enough. You are losing control of your reality. You are running from the world.”

We all know people who are in this boat…

With adolescents that I’ve treated it starts out innocently enough. The video game is just a form of entertainment. The most common ones I’ve dealt with are “Call of Duty,” “Gears of War,” and “Call of Duty Black Ops.”

What happens, though, is that these games start to take over, and the young people start playing them more and more. They stop going outside, meeting with their friends, leaving their rooms. (more…)

Psychological and physical problems of stopping opiates

Let’s look at the opiates first. An opiate is a narcotic pain killer like Roxycodone, Oxycodone, Loratabs, Loracet, Methadone, Vicodin, Actiq, and Stadol. The action of these drugs may last varying amounts of time and has varying doses. For example, some people can be on 100mg a day of oxycontin while others may take 1000mg a day of oxycontin.

When a person goes through the detox process, problems begin soon after the initial part of the detox at and around five days. Mood problems are the most common with depression and anxiety. Occurring frequently people become lethargic, sad, anhedonia (unable to enjoy anything), unable to concentrate, feeling hopeless, helpless, worthless, despair, negative thinking, worrying, having tension, unable to relax, fearful.

Another thing that happens in recovering opiate addict is they can’t wait for anything. Everything needs to be immediate. They don’t like plans, tend to be impulsive and they just like to do it now. It’s called instant gratification. Problems with sleep last for months if not years. People may develop cravings for sugar and increased sexual drive may occur. Difficulty thinking develops; they may have apathy towards everything which is a lack of interest in all activities. They don’t want to do leisure activities or work. They have difficulty setting goals, finding motivation and have difficulty following through on tasks. They become preoccupied with using opiates. (more…)

What is Subutex/Suboxone?

They are medications used to detox people from opiates like Roxycodone, Oxycodone and Loretab. These medications can also be used over long periods of time like months or years to continually block the cravings for opiates.

This is extremely important valuable. You can take someone who is addicted to Roxycodone also known by the street name “blues”, and detox them painlessly with Subutex /Suboxone. In days past the treatment would end at that point. The individual would detox and then be sent home, but what happen was a post acute withdrawal syndrome. The individual would crave opiates and these craving periods have been described as unbearable which would lead people to relapse. Individuals become irritable, anxious, insomniac, fatigued, and obsessed with getting and using drugs. The street term for this is called “jonesing”.

The advantage of Subutex/Suboxone is the drug Buprenorphine. These pills stimulate the brain into thinking it has an opiate on board. The difference is the individual does not get high, drowsy, have any risks of overdose, and does not engage in drug seeking behaviors. They no longer obsess about drugs, the desire and wanting to use them is diminished. They remove themselves from the drug world. Their lives can normalize and their thinking clears so they can make better decisions. This medication has changed many lives in which other people thought those individuals were hopeless.  The Subutex/Suboxone can be tapered and stopped when the individual is confident of his/her sobriety.  This medication itself is habit forming but much less so. Most people come off it easily. Twenty to thirty percent have problems coming off. This is nothing like the problems of coming off an opiate like Roxicodone, Oxycodone, Lorcet, and Loretab. (more…)

Depression: The use of Medication for Depression

http://206.189.200.158 ~ (561) 842-9550

Dr. Agresti, Psychiatrist in West Palm Beach, Florida, talks about his preferred medications for treating depression.  Depression is more that just feeling sad for a few days.  Psychological symptoms of depression are sadness, lack of desire for fun, hopelessness helplessness, despair, worthlessness, guilt, thoughts of death and dying.  The physical symptoms of depression are changes in appetite and changes in weight. Problems with sleeping develop with people who suffer from depression.  Depression medications start working in a week or two and may take up to two months.  Anti-depressants commonly used are Wellbutrin, Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Paxil, Remeron, Effexor and Pristiq.

Call Dr. Agresti today to get help for your depression.

Opiate Detox: Problems that occur after detox

Initially coming off opiates involves acute detox.  That involves anxiety, abdominal cramping, goose flesh, leg jerking, yawning, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and headache and acute distress.  These pains end in five days.  After the detox ends, the real problems begin.  Individuals begin to experience intense craving for the opiate.  They become anxious, depressed and lethargic.  They have no energy and have trouble functioning.  Problems with sleep develop.  People describe feelings; they don’t know who they are or what their purpose in life is.  They have problems interacting with others because they are not sure how to act.  There’s the feeling of loss. Almost as if they are mourning the loss of a lover.  The loss of what they see as an exciting life and living outside the rules.  It’s very difficult for these individuals to be integrated back into society and live normal lives.  They always feel different.  Also in the addict mind is a grandiose sense they are better and superior.   This interferes with them finding jobs and forming relationships with others.  Commonly individuals who stop opiates relapse, use marijuana or alcohol. Involve themselves in toxic relationships.  Some develop gambling behaviors or inappropriate sexual activities.  They continue to look for the high.

Opiate addicts must make an initial step and say to themselves they no longer want to alter their mental state.  Decide the addict personality must go and a new one must be created.  Psychotherapy may be helpful.  Problems with depression, anxiety, insomnia, lethargy and drug cravings can be helped with non-addicting medication from a psychiatrist.

Forget one thing nicotine is usually what kills these people because they smoke too much.

Bipolar Disorder: Treatment without weight gain

Dr. Agresti talks about medications for treating Bipolar Disorder that do not cause weight gain.  Pregnant women with bipolar disorder should not use these medications.  Learn more about Dr. Agresti, a Board Certified Psychiatrist practicing in Palm Beach County for fifteen years.  He is a specialist in the psycho-social aspects of addiction.

Call (561) 842-9550 or email: info@206.189.200.158 Dr. Agresti today to get help with Bipolar Disorder.