Learn how to recognize these signs and explore the importance of seeking professional help for effective treatment and recovery. In this comprehensive article, we delve into the complexities of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Learn about the impact of AUD on physical and mental health, relationships, and overall well-being. Explore effective treatment options, alternative therapies, relapse prevention strategies, and find support for families and loved ones.
Signs and Symptoms of Poly Substance Use Disorder
Unlike single addictions, polysubstance addiction can mask symptoms and make diagnosis more complicated. One drug can hide or intensify the effects of another, which increases the risk of serious health consequences. Recovery from polly addiction often requires more complex treatment than single-substance addiction.
Prevalence and patterns of opioid misuse and opioid use disorder among primary care patients who use tobacco
Others use one substance to “come down” from another, such as taking a depressant after using stimulants to help sleep or calm down. Lewei (Allison) Lin, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, and the Center for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI.. Substance use disorder can also range from mild to severe, depending on the number of criteria a person meets. Stimulants (also known as uppers) can increase your heart rate and blood pressure to dangerous levels.
Primary care is in an optimal position to start to address polysubstance use
Environmental factors, including social norms, accessibility of substances, peer influence, and socioeconomic conditions, also play a role in shaping an individual’s substance use patterns. Long-term use of psychostimulants, nicotine, opioids, cannabinoids, and alcohol results in widespread and disparate changes throughout the C-BG-T network, yet there are notable alterations that are shared across drugs (Figure 5). These long-term adaptations contribute to transitions from binge/intoxication phases to withdrawal and negative affect, followed by preoccupation substance use disorder and compulsive drug-seeking (Koob and Volkow, 2016). For example, acute withdrawal produces a transient reduction in tonic DA levels in the NAc (Weiss et al., 1992; Diana et al., 1993, 1998; Hildebrand et al., 1998). Conversely, withdrawal also produces a persistent reduction in long-term depression (LTD) and intrinsic excitability in NAc MSNs, as well as a reduction in striatal D2 receptor binding (Trifilieff and Martinez, 2013). Finally, these drugs all drive a persistent increase in ΔFosB expression in cortical pyramidal cells and NAc dMSNs (Lobo et al., 2013), which has been linked to drug-seeking during abstinence (Nestler et al., 2001).
Watch: Clinical Perspectives on Polysubstance Abuse Risks
- Various treatment options, therapies, and supportive interventions are available to assist individuals in their journey to sobriety and long-term recovery.
- Other drugs included methamphetamine, hallucinogens, inhalant, and other nonspecific drugs.
- When stimulant anxiety clashes with ketamine’s profound hallucinogenic and disorienting properties, the psychological outcome is devastating.
- Treatment often starts with understanding the scope of someone’s substance use.
This use of the TAPS Tool data for this analysis was approved by the Duke University Health System Institutional Review Board. Research shows that many people with substance use disorders also have other mental health concerns. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other conditions often interact with substance use in complex ways. Comprehensive treatment addresses both substance use and mental health simultaneously rather than treating them separately, because they can strongly influence each other. Medication-assisted treatment may also be used to stabilize mood and reduce cravings.
- Understanding the long-term consequences and challenges individuals may face during recovery is crucial for providing appropriate support and resources.
- Another limitation was that our sample included primary care patients from urban and suburban clinics in the eastern region of the U.S., which may limit generalizability to other regions.
- For further reading on developing your team to deliver integrated treatment for co-occurring disorders see the SAMSHA Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders.
- One drug may hide the warning signs of another, leading to dangerous mistakes.
- Below is a table summarizing which interventions have been found to be effective in treating different substances.
- Ketamine operates through a fundamentally different pathway, primarily as an NMDA Receptor Antagonist.
- Frequency of cannabis use is also high, with reports of 40% of individuals being daily or near-daily users (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019).
- Loved ones may notice social withdrawal, forming new friend groups, or engaging in risky behaviors.
- Together, they depress the nervous system, slowing breathing and heart rate to dangerous levels.
- The current study tested, for the first time, the effect of DHEA administration during rehabilitation on WM integrity among pSUD individuals, while assessing its putative association with long-term relapse rates.
- Addressing Underlying Mental Health Issues Successful recovery from poly substance use disorder requires addressing underlying mental health issues.
- Navigating these challenges requires perseverance, a strong support system, and access to comprehensive resources.
Cannabis, which is not typically implicated as the cause for polysubstance-related overdose deaths,3 is seldom the focus of existing studies on polysubstance use (a largely opioid-centric literature base3,7-10). Yet with nearly one fifth (latent class 3) of the sample consisting of individuals with predominant cannabis exposure, it is evident that harm reduction frameworks for cannabis11 will need to account for complex patterns of polydrug exposures beyond cannabis itself. Environmental factors and childhood experiences contribute to the development of poly substance use disorder. Adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse, neglect, or exposure to substance abuse within the family, increase the risk of developing addiction later in life.
4 patients were excluded due to missing substance use data; 1 patient was excluded due to missing data on sex. Other drugs included methamphetamine, hallucinogens, inhalant, and other nonspecific drugs. Substance abuse fuels homelessness, worsens health, and limits treatment access.