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What is Orthomolecular Recovery? | Why is this treatment better? | Does Arche use Toyota as an operations model? | Why won't insurance pay for this?
What is Orthomolecular Recovery?
Orthomolecular - Gk. orth?s - correct or right. Of, relating to, or being a theory holding that mental diseases or abnormalities result from various chemical imbalances or deficiencies and can be reduced by restoring levels of biochemical substances, such as vitamins and minerals, in the body.
Arche Wellness has systematically determined what medical issues our patients experience and the best methodology for treating these problems. The result is a 4 step, systematic medical treatment process that starts treating health issues such as addiction, depression, stress and fatigue at the cellular level and works toward the larger systems of the body. Since this process begins at the biochemical level, it avoids the many mistakes that often occur when treatment is directed only at the symptom level such as misdiagnosis, mistreatment and further systemic disruption.
1. DATA & STABILIZATION
If you were to build a house, start a business or develop a software system, you would begin by gathering information and developing a plan. Before treating a patient, we do the same. Our requirements gathering process is extensive and consists of a medical and psychological evaluation as well as laboratory testing on each patient?s biochemical current condition. While this information is being collected and examined, we also assess the patient for any immediate needs such as treatment for withdrawal or referral to a specialist for a more severe, specific health issue. This allows us to stabilize any immediate needs while information gathering occurs.
2. BIOCHEMICAL REPAIR & RECOVERY
Step 2 consists of gastrointestinal repair and intensive biochemical restoration. Once we have diagnosed each patient?s biochemical and gastrointestinal current condition, we are able to begin treatment. Since all of our patient?s enter treatment with some level of gastrointestinal dysfunction we start this phase of treatment with a 2 prong approach. First we begin a liquid supplement regimen that cleans and repairs the GI tract and liver. Simultaneously, we administer intravenous micronutrient infusions to provide a high level of vitamins, minerals and amino acids to the body and all its systems. Providing high levels of nutrients directly into the vein allows us to bypass the malfunctioning GI tract and kick start biochemical systems that are not being properly fueled and are therefore not performing optimally. Intensive individual counseling, personal training and dietary assessment is also introduced in step 2.
NOTE: Of the 12 nonessential amino acids, 4 are actually semi-essential in children because their metabolic pathway to produce these amino acids is not fully developed until adulthood.
3. PERIPHERAL SYSTEMS REPAIR
Step 3 provides continued restoration and peripheral systemic treatment. Once the immediate gastrointestinal issues have been resolved, the GI tract can optimally absorb food and supplements. At this point, supplementation is transitioned from intravenous infusions to oral supplements as prescribed by the facility physician. Then peripheral health issues such as fungal infections, hormone issues and diet and exercise patterns are addressed. Counseling, reaches a more intensive level in this step and personal training and dietary changes become an integral part of treatment.
4. MAINTAINING
Step 4 begins the maintenance and aftercare portion of the program. Once our patients establish care with Arche Wellness, they have access to all of our services as needed. Many of our programs include up to a year of free aftercare services which include free dietary consultations, personal training, counseling and monthly medical appointments free of charge. These services have been instrumental in maintaining our high success rates and help our patients create realistic, maintainable healthy lifestyles for years to come. Poor health regimens are not achieved in a few weeks. Consequently it is unreasonable to think that permanent, sustainable change can be achieved in only a few weeks. This is why we place a great deal of importance on the role of continuous care in any recovery or transformation regimen.
CLINICAL ? The first two weeks of the program provide counseling to ensure compliance and begin to establish a behavioral and environmental treatment plan. Once the patient?s withdrawal symptoms have subsided and biochemical restoration has begin to occur, the counselor can begin assessing and treating psychosocial, behavioral and environmental aspects of recovery. All counseling services are offered on an individual, couple, or family session. No group services are offered. While the Department of Health requires that all addiction treatment patients receive a new treatment plan every 30 to 60 days and a case consultation every 90 days, our program does treatment plans and case consults each week. This helps our program achieve results much faster and identifies problems or lack of progress immediately so they can be resolved quickly and scientifically.
PERSONAL TRANING ? Exercise under the direction of a certified personal trainer is a significant component of our recovery programs and is directly correlated to success. Patients who engage in the exercise component and attend regular personal training appointments perform much better in our program, achieve better results and stay clean longer. While this may simply be a product of patients who are less compliant ? the correlation cannot be denied. Many people have contacted our program suggesting they receive a lower rate for services and have the training component removed from their program. This is not an option and is alarming since it demonstrates how little importance is attributed to the role of exercise in health.
Our personal training programs are not simply arbitrarily going to the gym. Exercise regimens are designed according to the patient?s addiction and diagnosed biochemical deficiencies and problems. For instance, opiate addicts and THIQ alcoholics are given heavy strength training programs to help their opiate systems rebuild and recover. Benzodiazepine dependents are provided stretching and isometric exercises to help increase their body?s natural GABA response.
ALCOHOL
ORPs were originally designed to treat alcoholism. As a matter of fact, Bill Wilson, the renowned co-founder of alcoholics anonymous, was working with Abram Hoffer, examining orthomolecular addiction treatment approaches particularly using Vitamin B3.
(See Bill Wilson on Orthomolecular addiction treatment - 101 Program)
Our alcohol program starts with an assessment that helps to diagnose what type of alcoholism the patient has ? yes there are more than one. ORP experts like Joan Matthews Larson, Ph.D. and Yakov Marshak M.D. have identified these alcoholism biotypes and used them to guide highly effective treatment approaches for over 30 years.
Health Recovery Center
The Marshak Clinic
A majority of alcoholics suffer from a metabolic imbalance in the liver that leads to alcohol cravings. The human liver processes alcohol in two separate phases. In phase 1, the liver breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde using an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). Here is the reaction that occurs:
CH3CH2OH + NAD+ -> CH3CHO + NADH + H+
Phase 2 then breaks down the acetaldehyde into acetic acid to be dispelled mostly via the urine. In this particular alcoholic, phase 1 is very fast, while the phase 2 processes occur at a normal rate. This causes the alcohol to be metabolized into acetaldehyde at a more rapid rate than it is broken down, creating a build-up of acetaldehyde in the system. Acetaldehyde is extremely neuro-toxic and enters into the brain quickly. It then mixes with existing neurotransmitters and creates hybrids called tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQ). These THIQs are chemically similar to opiates (like heroin, morphine or painkillers) and are addictive.
NOTE: The chemical sweetener aspertame, when metabolized in the body, is converted to formaldehyde. Studies have shown that formaldehyde condenses with internal chemicals to form tetrahydroisoquinolines, causing an addiction to the aspartame. We have seen a few cases of aspartame addiction, toxicity and even aspartame induced psychosis.
OPIATES
Opiate addictions are one of the simplest addictions to treat using biochemical stabilization. Each opiate addicted patient must enter the program with 24 hours clean of all opiates. Methadone and Suboxone patients are asked to enter the program with 48 hours drug-free of these and all other opiates. The patients present in active withdrawal for their first session. After evaluation, patients receive an IV infusion composed of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. While this may seem rather innocuous when compared with the severity of opiate withdrawal, it is a very effective formula. The IV is mostly composed of Vitamin C, which, when administered intravenously and broken down, is similar to an opiate. Therefore, the large dose of vitamin C temporarily fills the opiate receptor.
We realize that this approach seems far too simple to be effective and we thought so too when first encountering it. Our director had worked with opiate specific addiction for years (methadone, suboxone, etc). Even in her time at IRETA, she never encountered one discussion on this concept. But the patients who have experienced it tell a different tale. (click here to read the History of Arche Wellness)
There are many people out there who continue to believe that this is simply not possible. Here are some of their arguments and our responses.
ARGUMENT: Taking high doses of vitamin c actually causes opiates to be removed from your system and INCREASES withdrawal.
RESPONSE: This argument is for oral vitamin C. Yes, taking the dosage of vitamin c necessary to provide withdrawal relief in an oral form would result in loose stools and encourage depletion of opiates in the system. However, what many doctors seem to be unaware of, is that, in IV form, the loose stools do not occur and neither does this effect. Furthermore, sodium ascorbate (vitamin C) is broken down differently in the vein than it is in the gut. A study performed by Ghione in 1958 demonstrated that ascorbate injected into rats at the rate of 100 mg per kg body weight attenuated and abolished the narcotic effects of morphine.
ARGUMENT: Studies have demonstrated that ascorbate injections are not significantly effective in the treatment of opiate addiction
RESPONSE: DOSAGE, DOSAGE, DOSAGE. An effective dosage is absolutely necessary. This is determined by a number of factors starting with age, height, weight, severity of addiction, length of addiction, the specific type of addiction, liver health and other health status. As the notion of orthomolecular medicine suggests, you cannot simply create a standard dosage in a lab and start ramming it into heroin addicts without adequate knowledge of the process and the dosage determining criteria. The majority of studies on ascorbate based opiate addiction treatment use an inadequate dosage to meet the needs of the patient?s addiction. Essentially, it?s like treating starvation with a basic multivitamin ? not near adequate for effective treatment.
For a more detailed discussion on the use of ascorbate in opiate addiction click here.
THe Hypoascorbemia-Kwashiorkor Approach to Drug Addiction Therapy: A Pilot Study
BENZODIAZEPINES
American Academy of Family Physician's Article
Benzo?di?az?epine (ben'zo di az'? pen') n. Any of a class of synthetic, potentially addictive, tranquilizers and sleeping pills, including Valium, Librium, and Dalmane. - yourdictionary.com
Stress and anxiety have become all too common in our society. Since these issues can interfere with everyday activities and obligations, benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety medications) such as Alprazolam (Xanax), Diazepam (Valium) or Lorazepam (Ativan) are often prescribed as treatment. While these drugs can be very effective in the short-term, they have a significant effect on the body after long-term use.
When a benzodiazepine is taken, it acts on the GABA receptor. When GABA receptors are activated, they negatively charge the neuron and cause it to be far less responsive to many other brain chemicals. This process deactivates a number of other essential neurotransmitters in the body, causing decreases in brain activity involving memory, motor skills, heart rate, blood pressure and other important functions.
After long-term use, the other brain chemicals that are not as effective begin to compensate for the inhibitory GABA activity, and the benzodiazepine is no longer as effective. Furthermore, removal of the benzodiazepine causes a heightened sensation to other active neurotransmitters, causing even more anxiety and stress.
Current research suggests that it takes about 6 months for a person to become physically dependent on a benzodiazepine at a consistent dosage. At this point, the patient may require a higher dosage, more of the drug or a stronger form of the medication to achieve the same effects. Increasing the dosage, frequency or type of medication to get the same effect is known as tolerance and is a sign of physical dependence or addiction.
Those addicted to a benzodiazepine often feel that they are not an addict because they did not abuse their medication or use it to get a ?high?. Unfortunately, many addicts of alcohol, painkillers and other drugs did not start out abusing a drug or using it to get ?high.? Some of them used their drug of choice to simply feel normal. No one ever ?wants? to become an addict. Typically, it just happens.
Symptoms of benzodiazepine addiction:
Fear of being outside the home
Fear of interacting with others
Inability to make decisions
Anxiety dealing with normal activities
Being overwhelmed by mild stressors such
as paying bills or grocery shopping.
Inability to focus
Memory impairment
Complete, maintainable recovery from benzodiazepine dependence involves an intensive diagnostic and restoration process at the physical, psychological, behavioral and emotional levels of patient functioning. Our program provides extensive laboratory analysis to identify biochemical deficiencies and dysfunctions which contribute to severe and highly stressful benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms. Restoring biochemical balance involves a delicate combination of benzodiazepine reduction and intravenous infusions of essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. Withdrawal symptoms such as insomnia, gastrointestinal distress, sweats, flushing and nausea are all addressed using natural supplements to provide a faster and more systemic recovery. It is our view that, when medications are used to treat withdrawal, they can stunt the body?s natural re-stabilization process. Supplements that are natural to the body enhance re-stabilization efforts creating a faster, more effective recovery process.
In addition to the biochemical stabilization process, patients are provided personal training and exercise instruction that is strategically designed to address diminished motor responses and opiate desensitization. Dietary guidance is provided to further address chemical imbalances and extensive counseling provides emotional support and helps the patient to build coping mechanisms and improve cognitive functioning throughout recovery.
At the end of the 10 week program, the patient is free of benzodiazepines and is placed on a maintenance level of supplements that will continue to be decreased throughout the aftercare program.
Successful completion of the 10 week intensive program is followed by 12 months of continued progressive recovery care, offered at no cost to the patient. This provides continued services from the staff therapist and personal trainer as well as a monthly medical review with the physician to coordinate supplement decreases and medical monitoring. The progressive recovery program has been designed to help each patient continue to progress in their recovery and provide support and guidance throughout the first year of recovery. Many patients experience difficulty with decision making, emotional awareness, problem solving and general coping skills throughout their addiction. Progressive recovery care provides an intensive and extended therapeutic approach in order to develop and re-establish the life skills necessary to live a healthy, well adjusted lifestyle without anti-anxiety medications.
Benzodiazepine Comparison Chart
ARGUMENT: If this is so effective, why aren?t all programs doing it?
ANSWER: First off, there are a number of programs doing it. These are located in The Midwest and West coast of The United States. Furthermore, programs in Canada, Russia, Irael and Europe have been doing this approach for years. We even located one in Virginia, demonstrating that the US East coast is starting to catch up.
While it?s difficult to pinpoint one specific reason why the East coast has been hesitant to engage ORP addiction treatment, there are a number of contributing factors.
The Pharmaceutical lobby:
In 2004 the top 20 global drug companies took in over $332 billion in sales representing 64% of global drug sales. In that year, drug companies spent $123 million on lobbyists.
In 2003, pharmaceutical companies spent $116 million lobbying the government. This was the same year that the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 was signed into law to provide taxpayer funds for prescription drugs. The act also includes a provision that BARS medicare from negotiating for lower prices. Yes ? bars the government, one of the largest consistent purchasers of pharmaceuticals from negotiating for lower prices? (Center for Public Integrity: Special Report, 2005)
Since 1998, the drug lobby has spent $675 million on federal lobbying, $46 million on state political contributions and $10 million in donations to 527 organizations. The industry contributed $87 million to federal campaigns in the 1998 election cycle alone. (Center for Public Integrity: Special Report, 2005)
Does anyone really think that this financial giant would ever allow vitamin therapies to gain any traction or integrity in the medical community?
Furthermore, the medical periodicals of distinction do not publish orthomolecular studies, regardless of a study?s validity, unless they state that vitamin therapies are not effective. The reason for this is simple, medical journals need two things to maintain - subscriptions and advertisers. The doctors subscribe ? but who advertises in these publications? And what would those advertisers do if these journals starting writing that you could effectively treat mental health issues with simple vitamins?
This prevents medical professionals from getting information regarding orthomolecular and vitamin therapies, establishes and enforces the belief that anyone who practices these techniques is a ?quack? and inhibits advancement of these approaches.
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