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(NaturalNews) There are many reasons why a doctor may prescribe a strong pain killer to manage a patient's pain. Injuries, strained muscles, arthritis, cancer, or even recovery from surgery are all situations where a patient may be prescribed strong prescription pain relievers. Unfortunately, it is all too common for patients to become dependent on pain relievers such as OxyContin, Vicodin, and other opiate painkillers. When this happens, the drugs that were initially prescribed to help a patient now harm them. It is possible to attempt to recover from these addictions without creating a second addiction, however.

There are an estimated 1 million Americans addicted to heroin today. There are also about 120,000 people who are taking methadone to control a heroin addiction. Approximately 20% of these methadone patients continue their treatment for over ten years.

Methadone is a synthetic prescription drug that is classified as an opiate narcotic. When this drug is taken twice per day it will typically suppress the withdrawal symptoms experienced by a heroin addict. Patients become similarly dependent upon methadone in the place of the heroin or other opiate (OxyContin or Vicodin) to which they were previously addicted. Methadone is purely a drug substitute – it does not solve an addiction problem.

One might imagine the controversy that would surround the use of methadone to treat opiate addictions. This practice has been occurring since the early 1960s and it is highly controversial.

Methadone addiction is a problem that has very serious ramifications. When users participated in a blind trial they could not differentiate between the effects of heroin and methadone. The typical withdrawal period for heroin or other opiates is between 7 and 10 days. The typical withdrawal period for heavy methadone is between five and six weeks.

People who have experienced withdrawals from both addictions claim that the withdrawal from opiates is much less difficult than withdrawal from methadone. There is much disagreement among experts about whether a methadone addiction is preferable over an opiate addiction. Methadone is considered one of the hardest drugs to withdraw from and it has long lasting effects because it is stored so heavily in body tissues.

The physical discomforts that result from Methadone withdrawal are considerable. The amount of Methadone must be decreased very gradually and this rate must be carefully gauged according to the reaction of the individual patient. The goal must be to keep the symptoms tolerable and this is very difficult to achieve.

Scullcap is an natural herb that reportedly has some beneficial effects and can bring relief from some withdrawal symptoms associated with opiates without any fear of transferring one negative addiction for another. Scullcap is an effective sedative known to relax spasms with additional anti-toxic effects.

There are many types of drugs (including Methadone, sleeping pills, tranquilizers, narcotics, and illegal drugs) that will remain in the body for years. Over time the residues of these drugs will be stored in the fatty tissues of the body. When this occurs these stored residues will make it hard for an addict to remain drug-free because the residues will create lingering cravings and depression.

L. Ron Hubbard conducted some research and was instrumental in developing methods designed to help addicts withstand the pain of withdrawal without resorting to using other addictive drugs. An integral part of this successful rehabilitation is the flushing of the accumulated residues from the fatty tissues of the body. A whole body cleanse that also includes exercise, nutritional supplements, and the use of a dry sauna will help to flush out the fatty tissues as well.

Source: http://www.healingdaily.com/exercis...

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