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The human body is an amazing organism. Despite what we put into it, our body adjusts to almost anything and helps us deal with an amazing array of substances, both good and not so good, that we ingest. Diet is continually underrated as far as its effects on our daily lives. I believe that is because we see individuals eat a wonderfully healthy diet and they seem to thrive day in and day out, and yet we also observe others who do not follow a healthy dietary regimen, and yet they seem to not differ significantly in their daily lives from the individuals who observe a healthier regimen. Of course if we follow two individuals for a long period of time, say over 10 years, perform studies such as blood levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, etc., while one individual follows a healthy diet and the other does not, we would see the ‘healthy dieter’ most likely have normal blood levels for these measures, and the unhealthy dieter perhaps not so normal, or at least deviating from what is considered normal.

This brings us to prescription drug tolerance. As with diet, our bodies will adjust to foreign substances, including prescription medications, and seek to remain as normal as possible. The more we ingest of a certain substance, like Vicodin and Xanax, the more our bodies adjust to it, and become more adept breaking it down for excretion. The main ‘detoxifier’ in our bodies is our liver. We manufacture enzymes to help us break down ingested substances. When we take in an over abundance of a certain drug, our bodies adjust and manufacture more of the enzyme needed to break it down, and thus a certain tolerance occurs. As our bodies become more efficient in this biochemical breakdown, we then need to take in more of the certain drug to achieve the same effects as we experienced at the time we first took this prescription drug. This can lead to more ‘drug seeking’ behavior as we strive to obtain more and more of the targeted drug, whether by legal or illegal means.

The bottom line to this would be to only take any prescription drug for the condition it is prescribed for, and when the condition is relieved, stop any drug use associated with the condition. You will live a much healthier life in the short and long run if you do not build up a tolerance for any prescription drugs.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides medical detoxification as part of our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare in alcohol and drug treatment. If you or a loved one is in need of prescription drug detox, or detox from alcohol or other drugs, please call us now at 888-777-8565 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.