Drug Abuse Center - Pittsburg, CAPittsburg Psychiatrist Doctors for Drug AbuseType of Physician: Psychiatrist What is a Psychiatrist? A certification by the Board of Psychiatry & Neurology; practitioners are skilled in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental, addictive and emotional disorders. He or she is trained to understand the biological, psychological and social components of illness and is qualified to order diagnostic laboratory tests and to prescribe medications, as well as to evaluate and treat psychological and interpersonal problems. The psychiatrist is also prepared to intervene with individuals and families who are coping with stress, crises, and other problems in living. Specialty: Psychiatry Common Name: Psychiatrist Doctors in Pittsburg * Ronald L Leon MD  Philip W Shain MD  T J Toranto MD  Nagui S Achamallah MD  Nestor Vaschetto MD  Francis Barham MD  Contra Costa County Mental Health  Howard J Weisman MD PC  Robert Hepps MD  Allan B Barza MD  California Psychiatric Medical Group  California Psychiatric Medical Group  California Psychiatric Medical Group  Michael H Levin MD  John R Rostkowski MD  Raymond Ruzicano MD  Hugh R Winig MD  Robert I Picker MD  Jules M Tanenbaum MD  Steven A Schane MD  Michael J Schwab MD  Samuel G Benson MD  Kaiser Permanente Psychiatry  Mel McGraw MD  Kaiser Permanente Psychiatry  David Golub MD  Kiran Koka MD  Melinda Young MD  M Randall Bloch MD  Lawrence H Diller MD  David Z Ritvo MD  Comprehensive Psychiatry Services  Zena C Potash MD  Comprehensive Psychiatry Services  Rochelle H Gordon MD  Ernest F Pecci MD  Daniel C Dinaburg MD  Contra Costa Regional Medical Center  Contra Costa Regional Medical Center  William H Fisher MD  Andrew Krompier MD  Alan F Scott MD  East Bay Psychopharmacology Group  Brad Gould MD  Jerome A Hanowsky MD  East Bay Psychopharmacology Group  East Bay Psychopharmacology Group  Alonza C Johnson MD  William C Munn II MD  Karen J Leo MD  Bernard S Rappaport MD  Jon D Peterson MD  James S Gracer MD  Behavioral Health Quest  Valley Community Mental Health Center  Valley Community Mental Health Center  Valley Community Mental Health Center  Joel A Fine & Nanelle Jones-Sullivan MD  Joel A Fine & Nanelle Jones-Sullivan MD  James R Pescosolido MD  George D Trahms MD  Janice Jones MD  Center for Behavioral Health  Thomas R Powers MD  Meredyth C Brookshire MD  Meredyth C Brookshire MD  Meredyth C Brookshire MD  Meredyth C Brookshire MD  Meredyth C Brookshire MD  Meredyth C Brookshire MD  Schuman-Liles Clinic  Schuman-Liles Clinic  Schuman-Liles Clinic  John George Psychiatry Pavilion  Phyllis Cedars MD  Jeremy Pearce Hurley MD  Berkley Psychotherapy  F S Seifried MD  Carolyn Z Wilson MD  Mitchell D Wilson MD  Leonard J Duhl MD  Bennett F Markel MD  Patricia L Speier MD  Jeffrey F Johns MD  Alan Siegel MD  Richard C Unger MD  Steven Baskin MD  Ronald L Elson MD  Andrew T Haber MD  Sara Hartley MD  Edmund C Levin MD  Roger Mendelson MD  Judy Schwartz MD  Marcia Dillon MD  Robert A Epstein MD  Michael Lesser MD  Katherine MacVicar MD  Jane L Dulay MD  Joan Facher MD  Justin Simon MD Pittsburg, CaliforniaUpcoming Local Events2012-06-16
2012-06-16
2012-06-24
2012-07-01
2012-07-14
2012-07-28
2012-08-05
2012-08-25
2012-08-26
2012-10-21
Drug AbuseWhat is drug addiction?Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the individual who is addicted and to those around them. Drug addiction is a brain disease because the abuse of drugs leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Although it is true that for most people the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, over time the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's self control and ability to make sound decisions, and at the same time send intense impulses to take drugs. It is because of these changes in the brain that it is so challenging for a person who is addicted to stop abusing drugs. Fortunately, there are treatments that help people to counteract addiction's powerful disruptive effects and regain control. Research shows that combining addiction treatment medications, if available, with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success for most patients. Treatment approaches that are tailored to each patient's drug abuse patterns and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems can lead to sustained recovery and a life without drug abuse. Similar to other chronic, relapsing diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or
heart disease, drug addiction can be managed successfully. And, as with other
chronic diseases, it is not uncommon for a person to relapse and begin abusing
drugs again. Relapse, however, does not signal
What happens to your brain when you take drugs?Drugs are chemicals that tap into the brain's communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. There are at le... Recommended Reading Related to Drug AbuseWhat is job stress?Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury. The concept of job stress is often confused with challenge, but these concepts are not the same. Challenge energizes us psychologically and physically, and it motivates us to learn new skills and master our jobs. When a challenge is met, we feel relaxed and satisfied. Thus, challenge is an important ingredient for healthy and productive work. The importance of challenge in our work lives is probably what people are referring to when they say "a little bit of stress is good for you." When the challenge has turned into job demands that cannot be met, relaxation has turned to exhaustion, and a sense of satisfaction has turned into feelings of stress, the sate is set for illness, injury and job failur... Other Related Drug Abuse ArticlesEmergency Contact for Pittsburg
Nearby Pittsburg Hospitals *Sutter Delta Medical Center John Muir Medical Center Concord Campus John Muir Behavioral Health Center John Muir Medical Center Walnut Creek Campus VA Northern CA Healthcare System at Martinez Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center Contra Costa Regional Medical Center San Ramon Regional Medical Center Telecare Solano Psychiatric Health Facility NorthBay Medical Center Sutter Solano Medical Center St Helena Hospital Center for Behavioral Health Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center ValleyCare Health System Pleasanton Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Alta Bates Campus Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Herrick Campus VacaValley Hospital Alameda County Medical Center Highland Campus Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland Kaiser Permanente Medical Center at Oakland Valley Memorial Hospital Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Summit Campus Eden Medical Center John George Psychiatric Pavilion Kindred Hospital San Francisco Bay Area Alameda County Medical Center Fairmont Campus Doctor's Medical Center San Pablo San Leandro Hospital Alameda Hospital Napa State Hospital Livermore Division of the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System St Rose Hospital Kaiser Permanente Hayward Medical Center Queen of the Valley Medical Center Sutter Tracy Community Hospital Washington Hospital Chinese Hospital Dameron Hospital Lodi Memorial Hospital West St Joseph's Behavioral Health Center Saint Francis Memorial Hospital Fremont Hospital St Joseph's Medical Center California Pacific Medical Center Pacific Campus Lodi Memorial Hospital San Francisco General Hospital UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center San Joaquin General Hospital California Pacific Medical Center Davies Campus St Luke's Hospital California Pacific Medical Center California Campus California Pacific Medical Center East Campus Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
Suggested Reading on Drug Abuse by Our Doctors
-
Related Diseases & Conditions
52 articles-
Anxiety
- Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.
-
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
- HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus, which infects humans when it comes in contact with a break in the skin or tissues such as those that line the vagina, anal area, mouth, or eyes.
-
Hepatitis C
- Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver due to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is usually spread by blood transfusion, hemodialysis, and needle sticks, especially with intravenous drug abuse. Chronic hepatitis C may be treated with interferon, usually in combination with anti-virals.
-
Alcoholism
- Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law.
-
Stress
- Stress occurs when forces from the outside world impinge on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life. However, over-stress, can be harmful. There is now speculation, as well as some evidence, that points to the abnormal stress responses as being involved in causing various diseases or conditions.
-
Hepatitis B
- The hepatitis B virus is a unique, coated DNA virus belonging to the Hepadnaviridae family of viruses. The course of the virus is determined primarily by the age at which the infection is acquired and the interaction between the virus and the body's immune system. Successful treatment is associated with a reduction in liver injury and fibrosis (scarring), a decreased likelihood of developing cirrhosis and its complications, including liver cancer, and a prolonged survival.
-
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a ballooning or widening of the main artery (the aorta) as it courses down through the abdomen. The most common cause of aortic aneurysms is "hardening of the arteries" called arteriosclerosis.
-
Depression
- Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
-
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a psychiatric condition, can develop after any catastrophic life event. Symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, sweating, rapid heart rate, detachment, amnesia, sleep problems, irritability, and exaggerated startle response. Treatment may involve psychotherapy, group support, and medication.
-
Suicide
- Suicide is the process of intentionally ending one's own life. Approximately 1 million people worldwide commit suicide each year, and 10 million to 20 million attempt suicide annually.
-
Schizophrenia
- Schizophrenia is a disabling brain disorder that may cause hallucinations and delusions and affect a person's ability to communicate and pay attention. Symptoms of psychosis appear in men in their late teens and early 20s and in women in their mid-20s to early 30s. With treatment involving the use of antipsychotic medications and psychosocial treatment, schizophrenia patients can lead rewarding and meaningful lives.
-
Borderline Personality Disorder
- Borderline personality disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of self-identity. Originally thought to be at the "borderline" of psychosis, people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) suffer from a disorder of emotion regulation.
-
Bipolar Disorder
- Bipolar disorder (or manic depression) is a mental illness characterized by depression, mania, and severe mood swings. Treatment may incorporate mood stabilizer medications, antidepressants, and psychotherapy.
-
Aneurysm (Brain)
- Brain aneurysm (cerebral aneurysm) is caused by microscopic damage to artery walls, infections of the artery walls, tumors, trauma, drug abuse. Symptoms include headache, numbness of the face, dilated pupils, changes in vision, the "worst headache of your life," or a painful stiff neck. Immediate treatment for a brain aneurysm is crucial for patient survival.
-
Erectile Dysfunction (Impotence)
- Impotence, also known as erectile dysfunction, is a common problem among men characterized by the consistent inability to sustain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse or the inability to achieve ejaculation, or both. Impotence can have emotional causes but most often it is due to a physical problem.
-
Rhabdomyolysis
- Rhabdomyolysis is a rapid deterioration and destruction of skeletal muscle. Some of the causes of rhabdomyolysis include severe burns, muscle trauma, coma, seizures, electrolyte imbalance, medications (statins), viruses, bacteria. Treatment of rhabdomyolysis depends on the cause.
-
Antisocial Personality Disorder
- Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) has many symptoms, signs, and causes. Therapy is one treatment option for antisocial personality disorder. It is closely related to other personality disorders (PD), such as borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.
-
Child Abuse
- Child abuse falls into four categories: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. There are certain risk factors that predispose a child to being abused and an adult to abusing a child. Risk factors for children are age, children with learning disabilities, adopted and foster children, children with congenital abnormalities, and a past history of abuse. Parental risk factors include young or single parents, those who suffered abuse themselves, adults with substance-abuse problems or psychiatric disease, and those who didn't graduate from high school.
-
Botulism
- Botulism is an illness caused by a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. There are three types of botulism: food-borne, wound, and infant. Symptoms include muscle paralysis, dry mouth, constipation, slurred speech, and blurred vision. If food-borne and wound botulism are detected early enough, they may be treated with an antitoxin. Infant botulism is treated intravenously with BabyBIG (Botulism Immune Globulin).
-
Alcohol and Teens
- Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by American teenagers. Teens that drink are more likely to drive under the influence, have unprotected sex, and use other drugs, like marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Symptoms of alcohol abuse in teens include lying, breaking curfew, becoming verbally or physically abusive toward others, making excuses, smelling like alcohol, having mood swings, and stealing.
-
Chronic Pain
- Chronic pain is pain (an unpleasant sense of discomfort) that persists or progresses over a long period of time. In contrast to acute pain that arises suddenly in response to a specific injury and is usually treatable, chronic pain persists over time and is often resistant to medical treatments.
-
Fatigue
- Fatigue can be described in various ways. Sometimes fatigue is described as feeling a lack of energy and motivation (both mental and physical). The causes of fatigue are generally related to a variety of conditions or diseases for example, anemia, mono, medications, sleep problems, cancer, anxiety, heart disease, drug abuse, and more. Treatment of fatigue is generally directed toward the condition or disease that is causing the fatigue.
-
Learning Disabilities
- Learning disabilities can cause an individual to have trouble learning and using skills such as reading, listening, writing, reading, speaking, reasoning, and performing mathematics. There is no cure for learning disabilities. Parents and teachers working together to properly diagnose learning disabilities can properly plan a course of education. For some, medication may be appropriate as complimentary treatment.
-
Teen Drug Abuse
- Drugs commonly abused by teens include tobacco products, marijuana, cold medications, inhalants, depressants, stimulants, narcotics, hallucinogens, PCP, ketamine, Ecstasy, and anabolic steroids. Some of the symptoms and warning signs of teen drug abuse include reddened whites of eyes, paranoia, sleepiness, excessive happiness, seizures, memory loss, increased appetite, discolored fingertips, lips or teeth, and irritability. Treatment of drug addiction may involve a combination of medication, individual, and familial interventions.
-
Psychotic Disorders
- Psychotic disorders are a group of serious illnesses that affect the mind. Different types of psychotic disorders include schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, brief psychotic disorder, shared psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, substance-induced psychotic disorder, paraphrenia, and psychotic disorders due to medical conditions.
-
Steroid Drug Withdrawal
- Corticosteroid drugs such as prednisone and prednisolone are commonly used to treat asthma, allergic reactions, RA, and IBD. Steroids such as these do have serious drawbacks such as steroid withdrawal symptoms such as: fatigue, weakness, decreased appetite, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Speak with your healthcare provider prior to tapering off steroid medications.
-
Smoking (How to Quit Smoking)
- Smoking is an addiction. More than 430,000 deaths occur each year in the U.S. from smoking related illnesses. Secondhand smoke or "passive smoke" also harm family members, coworkers, and others around smokers. There are a number of techniques available to assist people who want to quit smoking.
-
Bronchiectasis
- Bronchiectasis is a condition in which the bronchial tubes of the lung become damaged. Inflammation from infection or other causes destroys the smooth muscles of the bronchial tubes. Bronchiectasis is a form of COPD (which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis). There are three primary types of bronchiectasis: 1) cylindrical bronchiectasis; 2) saccular bronchiectasis; and 3) cystic bronchiectasis. Bronchiectasis may also be acquired or congenital. The most common symptoms of bronchiectasis are recurrent cough and sputum production. There is no cure for bronchiectasis. Treatment is often geared toward controlling the symptoms of bronchiectasis.
-
Hypothermia
- Hypothermia is having a body core temperature of less than 35 C or 95 F. Most causes of hypothermia are preventable. Risk factors for hypothermia include age, mental status, medical conditions, and medications. Symptoms of hypothermia generally depend upon the severity of the condition. Treatment depends upon the severity of hypothermia. If not treated early, hypothermia can lead to cardiac arrest, coma, or death.
- See All Related Diseases & Conditions »
-
Anxiety
-
Medications
16 articles -
Procedures & Tests
0 articles -
Pictures, Images & Quizzes
8 articles -
Doctor's & Expert's Views
17 articles -
Health News
75 articles -
Health Features
27 articles
