Banish Anxiety and Panic Attacks: March 2013

Thursday, 28 March 2013

Hydrocodone: Prescription Drug Abuse & Testing

Hydrocodone or dihydrocodeinone is a semi-synthetic opioid derived from two of the naturally occurring opiates, codeine and thebaine.

Hydrocodone Prescription, Dosage & Administration:

Hydrocodone is an orally active, narcotic analgesic and antitussive. Being a narcotic analgesic, it is prescribed for the relief of moderate to severe pain & being a antitussive, it is prescribed as a medicine used to suppress or relieve coughing.

Hydrocodone comes both as a tablet and also in liquid form & thus can easily be taken orally. 5 mg of hydrocodone is equivalent to 30 mg of codeine when administered orally. Earlier hydrocodone and morphine were considered equipotent for pain control in humans. However, it is now considered that a dose of 15 mg of hydrocodone is equivalent to 10 mg of morphine. Hydrocodone is considered to be morphine-like in all respects and thus, final dosage is adjusted by physician according to the severity of the pain and the response of the patient.

Hydrocodone Abuse:

Vicodin i.e. hydrocodone in combination with acetaminophen, is a commonly abused version of hydrocodone in United States and Canada. Vicodin, as with all narcotic analgesics, can be habit forming---causing dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms if not used as it is prescribed. The presence of acetaminophen in hydrocodone-containing products deters many drug users from taking excessive amounts.

Effects of Hydrocodone Abuse:

Some of the common side effects of drug abuse include dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, drowsiness, euphoria, vomiting, and constipation. Some of the lesser common side effects are various allergic reactions, blood disorders, mood swings, mental fogginess, anxiety, lethargy, difficulty in urinating, ureter spasms, rashes and irregular or depressed respiration etc.

Physical Dependence on Hydrocodone:

Opioid analgesics such as Hydrocodone may cause psychological and physical dependence. Physical dependence results in withdrawal symptoms in patients who abruptly discontinue the drug. Physical dependence usually does not occur to a clinically significant degree until after several weeks of continued opioid usage, but it may occur after as little as a week of opioid use.

Commercial Status in United States:

There are over 200 products containing hydrocodone in the U.S. When sold commercially in the US, hydrocodone is always combined with another medication due to a separate federal regulation. In its most usual forms, hydrocodone is combined with acetaminophen. Such commercial hydrocodone products which are combined with acetaminophen are known by various trademark names such as Vicodin & Lortab. Hydrocodone also can be combined with aspirin (Trade name: Lortab ASA), ibuprofen (Trade name: Vicoprofen), & certain antihistamines (Trade name: Hycomine).

Pure Hydrocodone tablets or capsules are not offered currently by any USA drug company. The cough preparation Codiclear DH is the purest available US hydrocodone item, containing guaifenesin and small amounts of ethanol as active ingredients.

With such a huge number of Hydrocodone containing products, the possibility of misuse and addiction remains substantial. As a result, Sales and production of this drug has increased significantly in recent years & so has its diversion and illicit use. To limit abuse of opioid drugs like Dilaudid it is necessary to properly assess the patient, employ proper prescription practices, periodically re-evaluate the opioid therapy, and properly dispense and store the drugs.

Hydrocodone Testing:

Hydrocodone may not cause a positive result in a standard opiate urine test. Many opiate tests test only for morphine (which both codeine and heroin break down into). This is true for both home/business kits and laboratory testing.

However, there are several specialized home and laboratory testing kits available that specifically detects hydrocodone (& hydromorphone, its metabolic product). So test results usually depend on the particular type of test that is used and whether or not laboratory verification is done. If a home drug test is given and the opiate test shows a positive result (due to hydromorphone use), laboratory verification might not result in a positive test because the lab may only test for morphine.

About the Author:

This Article is written by Tarun Gupta, the author of TestCountry Health Information Resources, a longer version of this article is located at Hydrocodone Drug Testing, and resources from other home health and wellness testing sources are used such as TestCountry Drug FAQ.

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Panic Attack Treatments and Prevention

Most people with panic attack disorder are treated in their primary care setting, which is not surprising, since the physical symptoms of a panic disorder can cause people to seek care for what they perceive as a physical ailment.

Difficulties in the diagnosis of panic attack disorder in this setting argue for the possible value of population based screening for the disorder in primary care, which is currently recommended for major depression. Panic disorder is associated with severe disability and work impairment in people receiving primary care, even if the effects of comorbid physical and depressive illness are accounted for. The quality of primary care given to people with panic disorder (and other anxiety/agoraphobia disorders) is not the best; only 19-40% of people are estimated to receive the minium standards accepeted for evidence based treatment. In addition to detection and diagnosis difficulties, many other barriers exist, including uncertainty about where to seek help, insufficient organization of primary care to treat chronic disease and problems with insurance coverage and concerns about cost of care (especially in the USA)

New approaches are needed to overcome these barriers and to improve delivery of health care for people with panic attack disorder. Other promising approaches that could supplement care provided by primary-care physicians, or that might be used alone for some patients, include self-help treatments for which computer (internet-based) delivery approaches are being increasingly proposed.

Because the onset of panic disorder peaks late in adolescence, prevention efforts could be best directed at or before this critical developmental period. In a study, 150 individuals presenting to the emergency room with panic attacks were assigned to 1 h of contact with a clinician from whom they received reassurance or exposure instruction. The exposure group improved on all measures of anxiety and panic after 6 months, compared with controls. 40% of the sample group met criteria for panic disorder, so this investigation was not a pure prevention study. In another study, 151 university students with at least one panic attack in the past year and moderate anxiety sensitivity were assigned to be put on a waiting list or to undergo a 5-h, cognitive-behavioral workshop.148 6 months later, 13•6% of controls developed panic disorder, compared with 1•8% of individuals in the workshop group. Increased research into methods for the detection and identification of individuals at risk of panic disorder (e.g., children of patients with the disorder or behaviorally inhibited children) will be crucial.

Anxiety In Young Children

Just as young children can experience depression, they can also suffer from anxiety. A child's world rapidly expands, and because everything changes so fast, becoming an anxious child is not uncommon at all. The anxiety does, however, require treatment. The anxiety that children feel, however, is usually easier "defined" or "understood" than that anxiety that adults feel.

For example, a child between the ages of 3 and 6 may fear monsters under the bed. As adults, we know that there are no monsters under the bed, but this is a very real fear for a child of that age. Toddlers often suffer from separation anxiety -- not wanting to be left with anyone other than their parent or parents. This is more than being "choosy." They are experiencing a very real anxiety or fear.

Babies do not necessarily suffer from separation anxiety, but they can start to feel anxiety when they are in the presence of a stranger. Have you ever seen a toddler bury his/her head in the parent's lap when you smiled at them? That is anxiety at play. Older, preteen children are more aware of things going on in the world and start to fear natural disasters, accidents, and even war.

Some anxieties can be outgrown. For example, the baby who feels a bit anxious around strangers may outgrow those feelings as they get a little older. But old fears are often replaced with new fears. The child stops fearing strangers, but starts fearing being without their parent (separation anxiety), and once they get past that anxiety, they may start fearing monsters.

Children need to be reassured that they are safe. You should watch for the signs of anxiety in your child, and if you see those signs, you need to try to determine what your child is anxious about. You may or may not be able to reassure the child and help to dispel their fear.

The signs of anxiety in a child include clinging, being impulsive, nervous movements, trouble sleeping, sweaty or clammy hands, an increased heart rate, breathing faster than usual, feeling nauseous, frequent headaches, and frequent stomach aches.

You can find additional info at the following links:

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