Treatment

Withdrawal symptoms

• Anxiety and strong desire for the drug

• Watery eyes, watery discharge from the nose and yawning

• Dilated (enlarged) pupils of the eyes, loss of appetite and aching of your whole body

• Severe shakes, hot and cold flashes, aching, fever, high blood pressure, and fast pulse and rapid breathing

• Diarrhea, vomiting, low blood pressure and dehydration.

• Weight loss

• Spontaneous ejaculation or orgasm

Treatment

• Most important is to help with withdrawal

o Detoxification

• The primary objective of detoxification it to relieve withdrawal symptoms while patients adjust to a drug-free state. Not in itself a treatment for addiction, detoxification is a useful step only when it leads into long-term treatment that is either drug-free. The best documented drug-free treatments are the therapeutic community residential programs lasting at least 3 to 6 months.

Medication is needed since there is a real biological problem

• Buprenorphine

o Produces a lower level of physical dependence, so less withdrawal

symptoms then methadone

o Dissociates very slowly from opiod receptors, so it has a long duration of action

Compared to other medication, such as methadone, it causes weaker opiate effects and is less likely to cause overdose problems

Treatment continued

• Subutex and Suboxone

o These products represent two new formulations of buprenorphine. The first of these formulations, subutex, contains only buprenorphine and is intended for the use at the beginnings of treatment for drug abuse. The other, Suboxone, contains both buprenorphine and the opiate antagonist naloxone and is intended to be the formulations used in maintenance treatment of opiate addiction. Naloxone has been added to Suboxone to guard against intravenous abuse of buprenorphine by individuals physically dependent on opiates.

• Naloxone and naltrexone are medications that also block the effects of morphine,

heroin, and other opiates.

AS antagonists, they are especially useful as antidotes

• Naltrexone:

o Has long-lasting effects, ranging from 1 to 3 days, depending on the dose

o Blocks the pleasurable effects of heroin

o Been found to be successful in preventing relapse

• Similar to nicotine patch with cigarettes, a patient that uses this medication and decides to consume heroin at the same time would get sick

• The most common reported side effect of Subutex and Suboxone included:

o Cold or flu-like symptoms

o Headaches

o Sweating

o Sleep difficulties

o Nausea

o mood swings

For more information call Wholistic Health and Wellness Program 613-575-2341 ex.3100

Agreements

I accept responsibility for my own safety.

I pledge to my fellow questers my intention to keep myself safe, to not get lost, and to not have an accident.

I have informed my fellow questers of any physical or emotional conditions that could compromise my safety so that they can assist me in the case of an emergency.

I have and will continue to ask for what I need to ensure my own safety

I agree to assist my fellow questers in the event of an emergency to the best of my ability.

I agree to protect the land that we are staying on and abide by the ecological/low impact guidelines.

I am choosing to spend 3 days and 3 nights alone, fasting. I have chosen a solo site that is free of obvious natural hazards.