Unit 35 Substance Abuse Flashcards
What medications are taken for treating alcohol withdraw/addiction?
Benzo’s
**Librium with substitute therapy
Adavan
What are gateway drugs?
Alcohol, Nicotine, Marijuana
What is defined as drug addiction?
Involves all of these points:
-Tolerance
- Withdrawal
- Unsuccessful attempts to cut down
-Increasing time spent in obtaining, using, and
recovering from the drug’s effects
-Continued use despite significant substance related problems
Which drugs are stimulants and what do they cause/side effects?
Cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine, coffee, tea, tobacco
-Act on CNS increasing alertness, euphoria, HR and BP
Side effects: Insomnia and loss of appetite
Describe CNS stimulant withdrawal.
- Develops in a few hours to several days of heavy and prolonged use
- Dysphoria, fatigue, vivid unpleasant dreams, insomnia, psychomotor agitation
- Does NOT require medical detoxification
What drugs are considered depressants and what are the side effects
Benzo’s, Barbiturates, Quaaludes, and alcohol.
Side effects: CNS depression, problems with tolerance and dependance
Describe sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic withdrawal. what is the treatment?
- Develops after several weeks of regular use
- Occurs 6 hrs to a week after decrease use or cessation
- Sweating, hand tremors, seizures, Increased HR, agitation
Treatment: decrease gradually and substitute with safer benzo’s. Supportive care, and medical supervision.
What are narcotics and what do they cause? What is the opiate antagonist?
Opium, morphine, codeine, and heroin.
Initially euphoria, followed by impaired judgement, dysphoria, slurred speech, constricted at first THEN dilated pupils, death, etc. Lasts several hrs.
Side effects: CNS/Respiratory depression, tolerance, dependance, coma, death
When does opioid withdrawal happen?
About 1-3 days after last doping
What are the types of drug users?
Experimenters: curiosity and peer pressure
Compulsive: use drugs on a full time basis and desire to escape from or alter reality
Floaters or “chippers”: vacillate between experimental drugs and chronic drug use
What does overstimulation of drugs cause?
“exhausts” dopamine system, leading to depression and lack of ability to experience normal pleasure, leading to more “cravings”
Describe how drug abuse related to psychiatric disorders?
Drug abuse can cause mental conditions that mimic major psychiatric illnesses
What are the drug abuse theories?
Genetic explanation: thought to be genetically related, counts for 1/3 of drug use
Learning theory: Reinforcement is the motivator to use or abuse drugs because it reduces anxiety, tension, and stress
Social theory: Learned behavior from significant others
What are the four phases of drinking?
Phase I: pre-alcoholic, use of alcohol to relieve everyday stress. Tolerance develops
Phase II: Early alcoholic, “blackouts”, drinking, no longer a pleasure, but required. Sneaking, secret, gulping, preoccupation.
Phase III: Crucial phase, loss of control, binges with sickness, physiological dependance.
Phase IV: Chronic phase, emotional and physical disintegration
What is alcohol intoxication? What are the symptoms?
BAL (blood alcohol level) of 100-200 (0.1 - 0.2)
Symptoms: Mood lability, impaired judgement, slurred speech, unsteady gait, etc.
Death at levels from 400-700. (0.4 - 0.7)
