Diet Pills Treatment and Rehab
Diet Pills Info
Do you abuse diet pills? Is your body positivity tied to your ability to source diet pills? If so, you maybe need diet pills treatment and rehab. Whether you get your pills over the counter or via prescription, there are many risks associated with continued abuse. The abuse of diet pills can affect the normal metabolism of your body, which in turn can affect organs and the overall integrity of your body system. Irreversible damage and death can also occur in the event of an overdose.
The first step to entering a rehabilitation programme is to, first of all, accept that you have an addiction to diet pills. Then you will move on to the actual process which is formed by assessment, detoxification, rehabilitation and therapy, aftercare and recovery.
The actual treatment process will vary slightly, but most rehabs will focus on helping you expel all traces of diet pills from your body, treat any underlying conditions and then help you to stay away from the pills in future.
What Are Diet Pills?
Diet pills refer to a wide range of supplements and over-the-counter medication, often designed to help people to reduce or control their weight. These pills work by distorting the processes of the body that determine weight, which generally involves the prevention of fat absorption and the increasing of metabolism.
Diet pills are also known as anorexiant drugs, anorectic drugs, anti-obesity medication/preparations and appetite suppressants. Many prescription diet pills are treated as controlled substances in different legislation, so as to prevent drug abuse and ensure only people who need them can actually access them. However, many people still abuse these pills.
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History of Diet Pills and Current Drug Abuse Trends
The history of diet pills can be traced to as far back as the late 1800s when the first of these pills became available. The pills at the time were referred to as fat reducers. They were designed to increase the rate of metabolism and were based on thyroid extracts. The pills were regarded as an effective form of weight reduction. However, they had several side effects including chest pains, weakness, increased heart rate, irregular heartbeats and even death. Despite the dangerous side
effects, many people continued to use these pills in different forms, even as recently as the 1960s. Dinitrophenol became the popular pill for people looking to shed weight in the 1930s. The drug had a thermogenic effect on the body. However, it wasn’t without its side effects. These included damage to the taste buds, cataracts in the eye, severe rashes, as well as hyperthermia (leading to death). The use of Dinitrophenol in the United States played a pivotal role in the evolution of the country’s Food and Drug Administration, in terms of operational power. Of course, the drug was quickly banned.
Amphetamines rose to the fore as the drug of choice for weight loss in the 1950s. During the second world war, soldiers used the stimulant to stay alert and one of the main side effects was suppression of appetite. Pharmaceutical companies relied on this to make diet pills off amphetamines. However, the abuse problem and the terrible psychological and neurological effects meant that the medication was more harmful than helpful. Aminorex fumarate was supposed to be the messianic replacement in 1965, but it was quickly withdrawn in 1968 after numerous cases of pulmonary hypertension were connected to it.
The 1960s were generally a period when thyroid hormone usage for weight loss became popular, with many manufacturers combining it with laxatives, amphetamines and diuretics in order to ensure weight loss. However, many of the products made this way were quickly banned as a result of their overall toxicity.
In the 1970s, ephedrine was used in combination with caffeine to treat asthma following research by a Danish physician. Over time, this treatment became a prescription for weight loss. The drug became a widespread solution – even more so in 1994 when new laws in the USA meant that ephedra was classed as a herb that didn’t need approval from the FDA. With widespread use came side effects such as cardiovascular and neurological problems. This led to the declaration of ephedra as being unsafe. Explorations into ephedra led to the derivation of phenylpropanolamine as an appetite suppressant. However, usage didn’t last for long, as side effects included hypertension and haemorrhagic stroke.
Fenfluramine was approved as a weight loss treatment in 1973 and remained popular into the 1990s. It was then combined with phentermine as a way to improve efficacy in 1992. The resultant medication – Phentermine – became known as ‘fen-phen’, with more than 18 million prescriptions written in 1996 in the United States alone. However, heart-related side-effects began to surface in people taking the medication such as heart lesions, valve abnormalities and pulmonary hypertension. As a result of these risks, both drugs that made up the fen-phen combo were pulled from the market by the manufacturers.
Today, there are many diet pills on the market. Many of these are based on herbal formulation. The key focus of most of them is to reduce the dietary fat that is absorbed by the digestive system. However, the risk of addiction remains high – even with pills such as these.
Why Is Diet Pills Abuse Dangerous?
The pressure to be within a certain weight limit – painted as being attractive by the media and society at large – means that many people end up embracing and becoming addicted, far too early in life. If this is applicable to you, then you are endangering your wellbeing.
Every diet pill is formulated differently, with each one containing ingredients that can be deadly in high doses. There have been many cases of people who died after taking too many diet pills. Some diet pills made up of dinitrophenol or DNP have been known to be responsible for over 60 deaths. The main characteristic of DNP is that it hastens metabolism by overheating the body. With prolonged usage, the body will invariably overheat and break down. It is also important to note that there are no remedies for an overdose on DNP.
It’s not just diet pills containing DNP that are dangerous. In addition to excessive weight loss, most diet pills can also cause the following side effects:
- Dehydration
- Insomnia
- Headaches
- Heart Palpitations
- Respiratory Failure
- Stroke
- Heart failure
As a result of the dangerous side-effects of diet pills, a large number of them have been banned in different jurisdictions around the world.
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Properties of Diet Pills
Diet pills generally contain a long list of substances supposed to suppress appetite, control sugar cravings, increase your energy levels, boost metabolism and help you burn fat. Some even go as far as containing substances that are supposed to elevate your mood and counteract any genetic functions that will expose you to obesity. Unfortunately, only a few of these substances have any scientific backing. Even with those that do, most produced inconsistent results during studies.
The majority of the substances that make up diet pills do not have any scientific support and have not been appropriately tested. Therefore, your diet pills addiction will most likely not yield the results you seek, but instead, leave you wallowing in an addiction that could put you in danger of cardiovascular and neurological damage if you do not seek treatment and rehab quickly.
Some of the most common substances that can be found in most diet pills are covered below:
In most diet pills, you will find substances such as green tea, yerba mate and guarana that are said to contain stimulant properties. In reality, however, that all boils down to caffeine. Caffeine will boost the number of calories burnt, but this doesn’t in any way mean you will lose significant weight. This is because the effects of caffeine are generally small and temporary. In addition, you will begin to develop caffeine tolerance and addiction with regular usage. Additionally, any diet pills that can boost metabolism can also boost your heart rate and blood pressure and equally have a myriad of undesirable effects.
Capsaicin is found in chilli peppers and according to research can briefly increase the rate of metabolism, burn fat and suppress hunger. However, research around this has remained largely inconclusive, as the studies were conducted over a very short period of time, leading to inconsistent results. This means that there is no evidence supporting the fact that having this substance in a diet pill can lead to lasting weight loss.
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a fatty acid that can be found in dairy products and meat. Studies have generally yielded mixed to inconclusive results. Perhaps its biggest putdown came in 2010 from the Canadian food regulatory authority, Health Canada, which stated that there wasn’t any evidence CLA could help with weight loss. It also has a myriad of side effects, which include cutting down the good cholesterol in your body, increased inflammation and a reduction in insulin sensitivity. This substance also resulted in liver damage in animal studies. There are also many formulations of CLA and there’s no way you can know for certain that the type in your diet pill isn’t the riskier one.
Chitosan is a fibre-like substance that is derived from crustacean shells. It is believed to block the absorption of fat in the intestines. There is some proof that chitosan can prove useful in the short-term, but most of the studies are not high in quality or accuracy and have produced mixed results. Some of the more recent trials (that were of higher quality) found that the substance doesn’t have much impact on weight. Even if the substance did block fat, it won’t be all positive for you, as it would also mean the blocking of some fat-soluble vitamins, magnesium and iron. There may also be stronger reactions if you are allergic to shellfish.
Diuretics don’t cause fat loss. Ingredients like a wild pansy, cherry stalk or green coffee in your diet pills will therefore only increase urination. This can lead to a small initial weight loss, but it is only just water loss. The weight will return almost as soon as you drink more water again.
Diet pills may contain food extracts like soybean, tomatoes, garlic, blueberries, spinach and broccoli. These extracts can be marketed as having the ability to help you lose a large amount of weight in a few days, but in reality, most of these do not have any weight loss properties. Even if they did, your diet pills will contain them in minute quantities anyway. Pineapple and Paw Paw extracts can also be included due to the digestive enzymes they contain, but they won’t help your weight loss either.
Fibre can help your weight loss quest because it fills you up and makes you less likely to eat more food. However, the amounts you can find in diet supplements tend to be relatively small and insignificant.
Green tea doesn’t just contain caffeine. It also contains a collection of polyphenols known as catechins, which have been known to promote calorie and fat burning. Some reviews have shown that these polyphenols can indeed decrease weight and help to keep it off, albeit in smaller proportions. People with a heavier weight loss expectation may not see any useful results. Additionally, there are no guarantees that these extracts will work for everyone, as different people react to green tea extracts in different ways.
Some herbs like buckthorn, aloe vera, rhubarb root, senna and cascara can be marketed in diet pills as a quick solution for weight loss, due to the erroneous belief that they can help expel undigested food and calories. However, the reality is that these herbal laxatives only aid in bowel movement and will not have any effects on food absorption. Unfortunately, the continued use of these herbs could lead to dependency, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, decreased bowel function and in severe cases of abuse, death can occur.
The Effects of Using Diet Pills
Diet pills of today were designed to replace amphetamines as appetite suppressants and thus it is no surprise that both classes of substances have some similarities, including the potential for dependence as well as addiction. Some diet pills can trigger the feelings of euphoria and increased energy. Other main effects of (ab)using diet pills include:
- Vomiting
- Hallucinations
- Dizziness
- Insomnia
- Chest pain
- Leg and ankle swelling
- Dark urine and light-coloured stools
- Rash and itching
- Yellowish tint in eyes and skin
How diet pills abuse impacts the life of abusers?
When you continue to abuse diet pills, you are exposing yourself to some short and long-term consequences. The physical effects are the first ones you will notice, but there are other ways through which diet pills can impact your life as covered below:
The physical impact of diet pill abuse includes:
- Stroke
- Congestive heart failure
- Dizziness
- Heart palpitations
- Headaches
- Restlessness
- Insomnia
- Unstable weight
- Irregular appetite
- Diarrhoea
- Sex drive fluctuations
- Irregular menstruation
- Respiratory heart failure
- Urinary tract problems
The abuse of diet pills can also trigger psychological effects like mood swings, anxiety attacks and depression. As a diet pill addict, you can become emotionally dependent on the drug and believe that your quest to remain a certain body weight is tied to the continued use of the pills. The main psychological effects of diet pill abuse include:
- Low self-esteem
- Body image issues
- Depression
- Nervousness
- Restlessness
- Increase in paranoia
- Mood swings
- Anxiety
Social effects of diet pill abuse
As your abuse of diet pills deepens, it will become more difficult for you to maintain relationships with members of your family. The tendency to remain isolated will reduce your chances of having a healthy relationship with other people. The social effects of diet pill abuse will, therefore, include the following:
- Avoidance of social encounters and interactions
- Problems within personal relationships
- Increased isolation
- Inability to build new relationships
If you’re addicted to diet pills, you will end up triggering destructive outcomes in other areas of your life such as psychological health, financial responsibility, social life and family relationships. These problems will continue to exist until you choose to seek professional help and receive appropriate treatment.
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Signs and Symptoms of Diet Pills Addiction
If you or a loved one are abusing diet pills, there are tell-tale signs that make it instantly obvious to anyone watching. However, the effects of diet pills will vary from one person to the next. Some signs and symptoms that can be readily seen in anyone that abuses diet pills include:
- Memory loss
- Blackouts
- Mood swings
- Seizures
- Hallucinations
- Liver problems
- Kidney problems
- Vomiting
- Blurred vision
- Severe headaches
- Rapid respiratory rate
- Stomach pain
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Tremors
- Nausea
- Irregular heartbeat
- Chest pain
Contact a medical professional immediately if you or a loved one are suffering from any of these symptoms. After the damage caused by diet pill usage have been addressed, you may need to enrol in a diet pill treatment and rehab programme.
Diet Pills Addiction Treatment and Rehab
Do you have an addiction to diet pills? Do you know anyone that is addicted to diet pills? The good news is that recovery is possible. It’s not easy attempting to quit diet pills usage on your own and the impact of that decision could be overly debilitating. Fortunately, you don’t have to go it alone, as there are many professionals waiting for you to embrace a life of peace, freedom and ultimate wellness.
Why Diet Pills Addiction Treatment?
How would you feel if you are able to get through a whole day without the need to use diet pills or without concerns about how your body looks? This is the benefit you stand to enjoy if you opt for diet pills addiction treatment in an accredited rehab centre. Going for treatment will also drastically slow down the progression of any damages that your organ systems have been exposed to as a result of your diet pill usage, as well as reduce your chances of developing new problems or overdosing. You can overcome your diet pill addiction if you get the right type of treatment.
Diet Pills Addiction Treatment and Therapy Options
There are numerous diet pills addiction treatment and therapy options that can be used to help you fully recover. However, the combinations used and the methods of operation will vary from one rehab to another. The treatment methods will also be influenced by the severity of your addiction. Some of the diet pills addiction treatment and therapy options available include:
- Medical Addiction Treatment
- Psychotherapy
- Individual Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Trauma Therapy
- Rapid Resolution Therapy
- Relapse Prevention
- Smart Recovery Meetings
- Auricular Acupuncture
- Art Therapy
- Chiropractic Care
- Detox Massage Therapy
- Personal Training
- Yoga
- Recreational Activities
What Does Treatment Entail?
Treatment for diet pills addiction will usually begin with a proper assessment to establish the extent of your addiction first and foremost. However, the assessment stage will also be utilised to rule out any psychological problems that may be the root cause of addiction. It’s also at this stage that the presence of co-occurring disorders (such as eating disorders) will be established.
After the true extent of your addiction has been determined, the next step in the treatment process is detox. The aim of detox is to gradually wean you off the diet pills you’ve been consuming. Most diet pill detox programmes are completed within two weeks, but this will ultimately come down to the level of your addiction and the specific diet pill being abused. While some diet pills trigger moderate dependence in users, others are far deeper-reaching and can trigger the same levels of addiction as can be seen in someone abusing methamphetamine.
On completion of detox, you will be placed in different therapy programmes. This stage is important because it’s at this point that the psychological problems behind your addiction will be addressed. In some cases, medication can be used by the rehab centre to aid recovery at this point.
After you’ve completed post-detox treatment and therapy, you will proceed to the final stage of treatment, which is aftercare and relapse prevention. This stage will help re-emphasise everything you’ve learnt during the earlier stages of treatment and will help you to stay free of diet pills after you leave rehab. It is an important stage because many people that take part in rehab and treatment end up relapsing a short while after leaving the treatment programme. With aftercare and relapse prevention, your chances of relapsing and joining this statistic would be very low.
Entering a Diet Pills Rehabilitation Programme
If you don’t believe that you have an addiction, it will be difficult for you to properly commit to a programme and change your behaviour. If you tend to downplay the damage you’ve done to your body as a result of these pills, rationalise your actions or look for justification, you may never enter a rehabilitation programme.
By shrugging off denial and coming to terms with your addiction, you can increase your chances of getting help. To get the right type of professional help, you will have to choose the right rehab suited to your individual needs.
Residential vs. Outpatient Diet Pill Centres
When choosing the diet pill rehab facility that is best for you, the first decision you have to take is to decide between treatments in an inpatient or outpatient centre. This decision will ultimately come down to your level of addiction and the level of care required, as well as your personal preferences. You also need to keep in mind the finance-related differences between both options. Inpatient treatment programmes will cost more, but it is generally the recommended option if you have been battling with your diet pill abuse for a long period of time. With an inpatient programme, you will remain engaged and focused throughout the duration of the treatment process and you won’t have to face any distractions. You will also enjoy the benefit of having a bespoke treatment programme tailor-made for you. Not sure with treatment centre to go with? An addiction helpline may be able to help you choose.
Choosing the Right Diet Pills Rehab Centre for You
When choosing a diet pill rehab programme, you need to keep a few factors in mind. Firstly, blanket approaches to diet pills treatment and rehabilitation will rarely work. Therefore, do not expect the experience of one person to be the same as your own.
Secondly, regardless the type of treatment centre you choose, you must be committed to the programme for it to be effective. Thirdly, the right rehab centre is the one that regularly assesses you over the treatment period to be certain that all your needs are being met and that the treatment options chosen for you are indeed working.
Then, to choose the right centre, place emphasis on the experience of the rehab facility in handling diet pill addiction cases and the robustness of a typical session.
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What Happens During Treatment?
The treatment/rehab process is largely similar for many rehabs. It begins with the assessment session during your intake. It’s at this stage that the medical professionals will determine the type of treatments that will be best for you.
The next step is detox. During this stage, you will most likely remain in a controlled environment, where your body will be cleansed of diet pills. At the end of the detox process, your addiction treatment will then begin in full.
During the treatment stage, you will meet other people in your position, attend lectures, take part in group and individual counselling sessions, and also learn coping skills that will help you stay clean when you leave rehab. The final stage in treatment is the aftercare phase, which prepares you adequately for life without diet pills.
Your diet pills treatment can be undertaken in a private setting or as part of a group.
Treatment Timeline
The timeline for treatment of a diet pills addiction is dependent on the severity of addiction and components of the treatment and rehab programme. However, most rehab and treatment programmes are completed been 30 and 90 days. Detox can take up to 21 days, with the rest of the treatment process taking up the remainder.
Diet Pills Recovery
Even if you recognise that the pills are doing more harm than good and attempt to quit on your own, you may hit a wall when it comes to staying away from the environment that usually relates you with the addictive behaviours you are trying to run away from. Addiction to diet pills affects your mind and body; therefore, successful diet pills recovery will involve undergoing treatment that addresses both areas. This is why you should better get diet pill addiction treatment – to address both underlying factors and the addiction itself.
Even when you have decided to stop taking the pills, you need to think about the reasons that made you start using them in the first place. Do you have the right mechanisms for coping with these reasons? Your attempt at self-recovery may also be hampered by factors like co-occurring disorders (depression, generalised anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder), trauma, body image issues and grief.
Live a Clean and Drug-Free Life Again
You can live a clean and drug-free life again. All you need to do is contact an advisor to see which is the best treatment option for you or your loved one. There are many centres around you, experienced in the delivery of diet pill treatment and rehabilitation solutions that work. Find them today!
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Support Group
All good diet pills addiction treatment centres feature support groups that make recovery easier. Whilst a part of the group, you will take part in many activities geared towards helping you achieve a faster and safer recovery.
Get Help for Diet Pills Addiction Now
You can get help for your diet pill addiction today if you can find the rehab that’s best for you. If you can’t find one, talk to addiction experts who can quickly locate one near you.
Make the Call and Get a Fresh Start Today
Once you’ve found the right diet pill rehab and treatment centre for you, the next step should be placing a call to book your initial assessment. Remember, the assessment stage is vital to the formulation of a treatment method. Therefore, you need to co-operate with the professional handling your case.
FAQs
What are diet pills?
Diet pills are drugs marketed as medication for weight loss. They contain a myriad of ingredients that are supposed to make them effective.
Is treatment necessary?
Yes. Diet pill addiction treatment is necessary to help you correct the physical and psychological damages of addiction, avoid future problems the risk of an often fatal overdose.
Why is diet pills abuse dangerous?
Diet pills abuse is dangerous because the body can be critically damaged as a result of the functions of ingredients used in the making of the diet pill you’re abusing. Even when there are no immediate dangers as a result of such ingredients, continued use of diet pills can trigger mental conditions that could lead to more deadly addictions.
What should I choose a diet pills rehab centre?
The right diet pill rehab to choose is the one that is best equipped to handle your level of addiction. Talk to the rehab centre extensively before making a decision.
What happens after treatment?
After treatment, the focus will be on helping you to avoid a relapse. The best rehab centres have special aftercare programmes that are carefully designed to keep you abstinent long enough to get past the stage where the risk of relapse is highest.
Can you get addicted to diet pills?
Yes, you can get addicted to diet pills. Some of the ingredients used in the making of diet pills end up triggering addiction in some people.
Can I afford rehab for diet pills?
The cost of rehab will vary from one centre to another. Luxury rehab centres tend to cost more. However, the cost of rehab (when undertaken in an appropriate centre) will always be worth it, especially when you consider the dangers of allowing the addiction to fester.
How long does inpatient diet pills rehabilitation take?
The duration of rehab will rest on the severity of addiction. However, most inpatient diet pill rehab programmes end within 90 days.
What happens during treatment?
During treatment, the focus of rehab and all programmes utilised will be targeted at detox, therapy, aftercare and relapse prevention.
Who can I talk to if I do not trust my family?
You can talk to your doctor or an addiction specialist.
What should you do when your drug use becomes too much?
When your diet pill use becomes too much, don’t allow it to degenerate any further or you could risk overdose and even death. Seek professional help immediately and be willing to partake in a treatment programme.
Call our admissions line 24 hours a day to get help.