Compulsion Takes Over

At this point, compulsion takes over. The pleasure associated with an addictive drug or behavior subsides and yet the memory of the desired effect and the need to recreate it (the wanting) persists. It’s as though the normal machinery of motivation is no longer functioning. The learning process mentioned earlier also comes into play. The hippocampus and the amygdala store information about environmental cues associated with the desired substance, so that it can be located again. These memories help create a conditioned response—intense craving—whenever the person encounters those environmental cues.

Cravings contribute not only to addiction but to relapse after a hard-won sobriety. From experience, experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury MD, says that any person addicted to heroin is likely to be in danger of relapse when he or she sees a hypodermic needle, like for example, while another person might start to drink again after seeing a bottle of whiskey. Conditioned learning helps explain why people who develop an addiction risk relapse even after years of abstinence. And that is why keeping close touch with the experts is very important.

The formation of this facility (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) by doctor Akoury is to primarily make a difference in your life. We understand the dangers drug addiction tolerance can do to your health and all we want to do is to help you get back to your productive life and live it meaningfully. That is why, if you have any concern about addiction of any kind, you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for the commencement of your recovery process.

Drug Addiction Tolerance Development

By nature, rewards usually come only with time and effort. And like I had mentioned before, addictive drugs and behaviors provide a shortcut, flooding the brain with dopamine and other neurotransmitters. Our brains do not have an easy way to withstand the onslaught. Addictive drugs, for example, can release two to 10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards do, and they do it more quickly and more reliably. In a person who becomes addicted, brain receptors become overwhelmed. The brain then responds by producing less dopamine or eliminating dopamine receptors an adaptation similar to turning the volume down on a loudspeaker when noise becomes too loud. As a result of these adaptations, dopamine has less impact on the brain’s reward center. People who develop an addiction typically find that, in time, the desired substance no longer gives them as much pleasure. And because of that, the development of drug addiction tolerance begins  hence they have to take more of it to obtain the same dopamine “high” because their brains have adapted and that is what is known as tolerance.

When the brain is under attack

By nature, rewards usually come only with time and effort. And like I had mentioned before, addictive drugs and behaviors provide a shortcut, flooding the brain with dopamine and other neurotransmitters. Our brains do not have an easy way to withstand the onslaught. Addictive drugs, for example, can release two to 10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards do, and they do it more quickly and more reliably. In a person who becomes addicted, brain receptors become overwhelmed. The brain then responds by producing less dopamine or eliminating dopamine receptors an adaptation similar to turning the volume down on a loudspeaker when noise becomes too loud. As a result of these adaptations, dopamine has less impact on the brain’s reward center. People who develop an addiction typically find that, in time, the desired substance no longer gives them as much pleasure. And because of that, the development of drug addiction tolerance begins  hence they have to take more of it to obtain the same dopamine “high” because their brains have adapted and that is what is known as tolerance.

Brain natural balance and drug addiction

Chronic over-stimulation of the brain (like that which occurs in addiction) interferes with the maintenance of the brain natural balance (homeostasis). When the brain has difficulty maintaining homeostatic balance, the wonderfully adaptive brain makes adjustments. It does this by creating a new balanced set-point. The creation of a new balance is called allostasis. This may not be very clear to many, but let me make it simpler by using a daily life illustration. Take for instance if you add more weight by 20 units, you will try fitting into your clothing’s despite the discomfort. But with time this will not be bearable and so you will have to adapt to the new body size by buying new clothes that will fit you well. Once this is done you will be more comfortable and at this point you will get used to the fact that your cloths are now large size and not medium or small sizes as it used to be and in the process your homeostasis balance changes from medium to large. And with this adjustment you become comfortable again.

Take note that the reverse can also take place in the future where the added 20 units may be lost to keep healthy and when that happens you will be compelled to make further readjustment to your clothing size by buying smaller sizes. Therefore even though at this moment you will be healthy due to the loss, you will still need to make an unpleasant and costly adjustment by buying smaller clothes. This is very similar to the unpleasant adjustment the brain must go through when people try to give up their addiction. Although this is a positive change, we will be uncomfortable while the brain makes readjustments to suits the present circumstances.

New standings into a common problem

Because of the consequences that comes with substance abuse, ideally nobody would on a voluntary basis wants to desire to develop an addiction, however many people get caught in its snare from very humble beginnings. And today looking at the prevalence of addiction it is amazing that drug use is almost getting out of hand. Take for instance the latest statistics from the government America where nearly 23 million Americans are addicted to either alcohol or other drugs representing a worrying figure of one in every ten being an addict. The statistics also indicate that more than two-thirds of people with addiction abuse alcohol. While the top three drugs causing addiction are marijuana, opioid (narcotic) pain relievers, and cocaine. These are not worth celebration. The sooner we find ourselves out of this statistics the better. It may seem a long journey, but with the help of experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Akoury MD, this journey can be made shorter and bearable if only you can schedule for an appointment with her today.

Meanwhile in the past the perception about addiction was not right and people who developed signs of addiction were actually seen as people with questionable character and lacking in willpower. As such the remedy was punishment since they were considered wrongdoers besides that they were also being encouraged to make peace with the community by turning away from their bad habits? Nonetheless a lot is currently being done and scientific findings are changing this old perception of addiction. Today addiction is recognized as a chronic disease that changes both brain structure and function. Just in the same way as cardiovascular disease damages the heart and diabetes impairs the pancreas, addiction hijacks the brain. This happens as the brain goes through a series of changes, beginning with recognition of pleasure and ending with a drive toward compulsive behavior thanks to the drug abuse prevalence that has hijacked the functions of the brain.

The brains ability to cope

From the concept illustrated above, the brain’s wonderful ability to make the readjustments, it is important noting that, it is these changes that account for many behaviors associated with addiction such as:

The powerful and lustful need to obtain drugs or continue with the indulgence of harmful activities despite the harm to self or loved ones
The difficulty of quitting an addictive drug or activity, and
The obsessive, all-consuming nature of addictions such that little else in life matters
This is because addiction caused the brain natural balance to change and accommodate the addiction. Once changed, the brain requires the addictive substance or activity in order to maintain this new homeostatic balance. Drugs and alcohol are not helping us in anyway. Instead of the poor health and social discrimination we get from drugs, let’s seek for solution by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for a one on one sharing of what you are going through and she will in the most professional way offer you lasting solutions to all your concerns.

Substance abuse flow in the brain

The brain’s adaptation to the environment

Remember that the brain is the most dynamic and complex organ in our bodies. I believe that you are interested in finding out how to care for this most vital organ of your body. Therefore it will do you good to keep on the link to find out more from the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury. According to these experts, the proper functionality of the brain delivers quality assurance of our very survival. Doctor Akoury says that when our brains (the human brain) functions well, we are constantly adopting or adjusting to our environment (our surroundings) changes well. What many may not know is that this smooth adaptation is the work of our brain. And ironically, it is the brain’s ability to be so adaptive that contributes to the formation of all manner of addictions. From the various studies conducted by researchers across the globe, it has been established that addiction has direct effect to the brain and that it causes changes to the brain in at least four fundamental ways:

Addiction causes changes to the brain’s natural balance (homeostasis).
Addiction alters brain chemistry.
Addiction changes the brain’s communication patterns.
Addiction causes changes to brain structures and their functioning.
The findings listed above will help us understand the importance of the brain and why we must protect it from the effects of drug addiction which has been sighted as one of the main course of damage to this very vital organ. Doctor Dalal Akoury and her team of experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, are going to be very resourceful even as we discuss each of these fundamental changes that come with the effects of addiction to the brain progressively. You certainly don’t want to miss this and so we invite you to stay with us on the link and be enriched with this worthy health information. But in the meantime, if you are struggling with any kind of addiction, you may want to consult with doctor Akoury for a more professional undertaking today.

The Brain’s Adaptation to The Environment

The brain’s adaptation to the environment

Remember that the brain is the most dynamic and complex organ in our bodies. I believe that you are interested in finding out how to care for this most vital organ of your body. Therefore it will do you good to keep on the link to find out more from the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury. According to these experts, the proper functionality of the brain delivers quality assurance of our very survival. Doctor Akoury says that when our brains (the human brain) functions well, we are constantly adopting or adjusting to our environment (our surroundings) changes well. What many may not know is that this smooth adaptation is the work of our brain. And ironically, it is the brain’s ability to be so adaptive that contributes to the formation of all manner of addictions. From the various studies conducted by researchers across the globe, it has been established that addiction has direct effect to the brain and that it causes changes to the brain in at least four fundamental ways:

Addiction causes changes to the brain’s natural balance (homeostasis).
Addiction alters brain chemistry.
Addiction changes the brain’s communication patterns.
Addiction causes changes to brain structures and their functioning.
The findings listed above will help us understand the importance of the brain and why we must protect it from the effects of drug addiction which has been sighted as one of the main course of damage to this very vital organ. Doctor Dalal Akoury and her team of experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, are going to be very resourceful even as we discuss each of these fundamental changes that come with the effects of addiction to the brain progressively. You certainly don’t want to miss this and so we invite you to stay with us on the link and be enriched with this worthy health information. But in the meantime, if you are struggling with any kind of addiction, you may want to consult with doctor Akoury for a more professional undertaking today.

Medical Weight Loss Program

Key Advantages of Medical Weight Loss Program

A medically supervised weight loss plan provides numerous advantages in comparison to unplanned gimmicky lose-weight-quickly regimens:

Medical Supervision
Special care needs to be exercised when attempting to lose weight, especially if you are considerably over-weight or obese. Weight gain causes significant changes in the body and body fat reduction must be done gradually and be carefully monitored by a medical professional.

Customized Weight Loss Plan
An experienced medical weight loss professional will take into consideration your current health condition, body type, weight loss goals, and other important factors when designing a custom weight loss program for you. All health related aspects must be prioritized to ensure safe and successful weight reduction.

Nutrition Plan
Unsafe diets commonly deprive you of the essential nutrients your body needs on daily basis. What you eat, and what you don’t eat, has an enormous impact on your overall health and vitality. A medical weight loss program consists of a professionally designed customized nutrition plan that will ensure your weight loss is healthy, safe, and effective.

Professional Advice and Coaching
It’s easy to get off-track in your quest to lose weight. You’ll need all the support you can get. Diets and exercise programs don’t offer the professional support a medically supervised weight loss program does. Your medical weight loss professional will provide sound advice, coaching, and support.

Long Term Solution
Medical weight loss programs are designed to provide long term solutions. The program we offer will help you lose excess weight steadily and maintain a healthy weight over time. You will get a weight loss plan that works for you and is practical to implement in your daily routine.
Whether through lifestyle changes, medication or hormone replacement therapy, obesity is a debilitating issue worth treating. Obesity  can be confusing to deal with on your own, so it’s best to contact a doctor. 

Medical Weight Loss Program in Myrtle Beach, SC

Medical Weight Loss Program – A Better Way to Lose Weight Medical Weight Loss Program in Myrtle Beach, SC

A professionally supervised medical weight loss programis the key to your success. With the aid of a structured, holistic, medical approach, weight loss is no longer an insurmountable challenge. Shedding excessive pounds now becomes an achievable goal that can be realized relatively quickly, and most importantly, safely for your health.

A well-designed customized medical weight loss programgoes far beyond dieting and exercise regimens. A comprehensive medical approach is used to incorporate fat reduction strategies that fit your specific needs. A successful medically supervised weight loss program may include any or all of the following:

Customized weight loss plan
Nutrition planning
Body detoxification
Dietary supplementation
Vitamin supplementation
Hormone replacement
Healthy exercise
Trained medical supervision
A medical weight loss program is strictly supervised by a medical professional who will ensure that the execution of your weight loss plan is successful and conducted with the best interest of your health in mind.

Lose Weight When Diets and Exercise Have Failed.

Overweight gain is referred to as obesity, is an uncomfortable, irritating condition to deal with. It can interfere with your life and make ordinary situations frustrating.

Are you overweight?

Is obesity a daily source of stress for you?

Do you gain fat easily but it’s very difficult to lose weight?

As most Americans have, you’ve probably tried your share of fad diets, weight loss programs, and exercise regimens. They all promised magical results, but delivered very little. Don’t worry. These results, or lack thereof, are actually very typical! Losing weight for those who struggle with it is usually a big challenge. You are not alone.

Unmonitored weight loss plans, diets, and exercise programs simply do not help in knocking off those extra pounds. Why? They rarely take the required comprehensive approach that a medically supervised weight loss program will provide. You may think that you’ve exhausted all weight loss solutions, and that there is no more hope. But, you should really know that there is a medical way to safely lose weight.

Bioidentical Hormones in Myrtle Beach, SC

Bioidentical Hormone Treatment

There are many reasons why a person may seek out bioidentical hormone treatment. In essence, all reasons come back to one condition: hormonal imbalance.

Common hormonal imbalance symptoms for men and women include:

Low libido
Fatigue
Weight gain
Muscle loss
Hot flashes
Mood swings
Stress
Insomnia
Depression
Anxiety
Bioidentical hormone treatment typically begins with a hormone level test. Hormone level tests can be performed on urine, blood or saliva. If a hormonal imbalance is detected, treatment using bioidentical hormones can begin. Bioidentical hormones can be delivered as:

Hormone Pills
Hormone Patches
Hormone Pellets
Hormone Gels
Hormone Creams
All of these delivery methods are valid, but not all will be provided by every provider. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and bioidentical hormones are considered to be a safe and effective treatment.

Bioidentical Hormones

Types of Bioidentical Hormones !!!

The most commonly used bioidentical hormones are testosterone and estrogen, both of which can be used to treat men and women. However, there are many other types of bioidentical hormones available. A list of commonly used bioidentical hormones includes:

Bioidentical Testosterone: Used for the treatment of andropause, low testosterone and other issues.
Bioidentical Estrogen: Used for the treatment of menopause and overproduction of progesterone.
Bioidentical Progesterone: Used to treat women’s health issues and restore a healthy estrogen-progesterone balance.
Bioidentical DHEA: Used to combat adrenal fatigue and the associated symptoms.
Bioidentical Melatonin: Primarily used to restore circadian rhythm and to treat sleep disorders such as insomnia
Bioidentical Pregnenolone: Used to restore a generally malfunctioning endocrine system.
What each of these bioidentical hormones have in common is that they are completely natural and plant-derived.

Integrative Cancer Therapy in Myrtle Beach, SC

What is Integrative Cancer Therapy?

Integrative cancer therapy (ICT) is a treatment protocol designed to target both developing and advanced cancers. Combining both conventional and alternative cancer treatments, integrative oncology seeks to move patients beyond just the three standard cancer treatments of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

For early stage cancers, ICT is focused on:

Decreasing side effects associated with radiation, chemotherapy and/or surgery
Improving immune competency
During early stage cancers, integrative cancer therapy works alongside conventional therapies by enhancing the patient experience, decreasing side-effects and providing alternative cancer-cell destroying treatments.

For advanced-stage cancers, ICT seeks to convert an acutely progressive terminal disease into a chronic manageable disease. This is done by thinking beyond the standard three cancer treatments and incorporating a more comprehensive approach.

Integrative Cancer Therapy

Integrative Cancer Therapy Treatment

Integrative oncology incorporates a number of different modalities that are designed to effectively target cancer resistant cells. Like all medical programs, ICT starts with diagnostics. Integrative cancer therapy diagnostics include:

Chemotherapy sensitivity testing
Ceruloplasmin level testing
Lymphocyte subset panel
Glucose, insulin and HbgA1C level testing
Heavy metal testing
Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs)
After diagnostics, integrative cancer treatment can begin. Each ICT treatment plan will vary depending on the individual cancer and patient. In addition to conventional oncology, integrative cancer therapy typically includes:

Low-Dose Metronomic Chemotherapy
pH Manipulation Therapy
Diet and Nutritional Counseling
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
IV Therapy
Pharmaceutical Drugs (used in an “off-label” fashion)

Business Development

Create individualized business plans for practices
Analyze Accounts Receivables
Analyze Accounts Payable
Analyze Profit Loss Statements
Revising and choosing corporate structures to protect personal and professional assets
Implementation of Bio-identical hormone replacement
Implementation of cosmetic procedures into a medical practice
Implementation of functional medicine into a practice
Help insurance based practices to become 50%-100% more profitable
Help practices to switch to cash based and out of network practice
Implement multiple sources of practice income
How to choose the right practice accountant and attorney
How to choose the right bank for a practice
How to negotiate a office space purchase or a lease

Office Development

Office organization
Interoffice communication
Analyze Accounts Receivables
Analyze accounts Payable
Analyze employee job duties
Analyze most frequently used billing codes
Maximize your billing based on coding guidelines
How to price and code correctly for services
Identify problems which affect collections
Setting up accounting software and records
Analyze Profit Loss Statements
How to automate an office
How to computerize your office with electronic medical records ( EMR) and electronic billing
How to choose the appropriate EMR and Medical Billing Software
How to choose an office accounting software
How to document medical charts for billing
How to choose the right medical billing service
Assist in transitioning physician and staff to Electronic Medical Records
Screening applicants for hire
Advise on HIPPA and Department of Labor Compliance
Advice concerning protecting yourself from disgruntled employees
Advise on how to handle disgruntled patientsHow to handle complaints to medical state boards

Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Programs in Myrtle Beach, SC

Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Once the toxins have been eliminated from the patient’s body, the journey towards abstinence begins.

Some prefer a holistic method to rehab that involves counseling, medications and nutritional supplements.

When someone is suffering from a chemical dependency, his or her nutrition suffers as well, and this almost always leads to illness. These plans typically include dietary supplements early in treatment.

Some of these supplements include:

• Vitamins A, B complex, and C
• Folic acid
• Carnitine
• Magnesium, selenium and zinc
• Fatty acids and antioxidants

Addiction Treatment

Maintaining Sobriety After Treatment

Staying sober requires the dedication of the patient as well as a healthy support group comprised of health care professionals, family and friends. Some patients prefer a 12-step program such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) that introduces patients to others who have struggled with similar addictions.

Our team will also develop a fitness program to not only rebuild your health, but to introduce you to the positive feelings that exercise can bring about. These routines are usually coupled with relaxation therapies such as meditation and massage that stimulate natural pleasure responses within the brain.

Adult Stem Cell

Adipose Stem Cells Versus Bone Marrow Stem Cells

Adult stem cells are generally placed into two categories, which are differentiated by how they are derived from the body. The categories are adipose stem cells and bone marrow stem cells.

• Adipose stem cells: This type of stem cell is drawn from fat deposits in the body. Using tumescent liposuction, the fat is drawn from the body. Then, with the use of special medical equipment, the stem cells are separated from the other fatty tissue. Adipose stem cells are less invasive to harvest from the patient, but they are more experimental.
• Bone marrow stem cells: As the name implies, bone marrow stem cells are drawn from within the patient’s bones. Here, the stem-cell-rich bone marrow is drawn from the patient intravenously. This is a more invasive procedure, but it has been used more historically.

Adult stem cells are often combined with platelet-rich plasma (PRP), but not always. Platelet-rich plasma is taken from the patient’s blood and enhances the regenerative qualities of stem cells because it has regenerative qualities as well.

Adult Stem Cells

How are Adult Stem Cells Used?

Adult stem cells can be used in a variety of medical treatments. The list below represents a small portion of the many possible adult stem cell treatments. As medical science and the understanding of stem cells advance, the number of treatments will likely increase as well.

Possible treatments include:

• Adult stem cells for orthopedic care
• Adult stem cells for wound care
• Adult stem cells for cancer treatment
• Adult stem cells for infertility
• Adult stem cells for vaginal rejuvenation
• Adult stem cells for breast lifts
• Adult stem cells for musculoskeletal injury
• Adult stem cells for diabetes
• Adult stem cells for hair restoration
• Adult stem cells for skin rejuvenation
• Adult stem cells for organ Growth
• Adult stem cells for bone marrow growth
  

Adult Stem Cells in Myrtle Beach, SC

What are Adult Stem Cells?

Adult stem cells are stem cells drawn from the body of a healthy adult rather than from embryonic tissue. This means they aren’t controversial like embryonic stem cells, which may require the destruction of a human embryo.

Adult stem cells, like all stem cells, have special regenerative properties. This is because they take on the properties of the surrounding cells. Because of this, adult stem cells have many different uses, from minor aesthetic treatments to potentially life-saving procedures.

Adult stem cells come either from the patient himself or from a donor bank. It is much more common for the stem cells to be drawn from the patient. When the stem cells are drawn from the patient, they are also called autologous stem cells.