Castle Craig

Using hyperbaric oxygen as part of addictions treatment

Bruce — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:22:18 +0100

I recently attended a 3 day international conference on the subject of hyperbaric oxygen in Moscow, which was mostly made up of east european and Russian delegates, as well as one American and one western European (myself). Thanks to my excellent translator I was able to follow proceedings and abstracts on selected topics are in the oprocess of being translated and will eventually be posted on the HBOTT website.

The Russians now have considerable experience over many years of using HBO for a variety of indications that are not accepted in the west, and I consider that it is remiss of authorities to neglect important and effective treatment. In particular I was able to discuss the use of HBO in detox for alcohol and drug cases - with six practitioners who have had considerable experience in this area, and we will be following up on this in the weeks to come.

Beijing & Cyprus Conference

Peter McCann — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:48:07 +0000

Back from two conferences abroad the first in Beijing and the second in Cyprus. Beijing was the International ...

Addiction Politics

Peter McCann — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:58:30 +0000

There has been the most remarkable event in addiction politics in yesterday’s budget when in return for their support for ...

Invite to Holyrood Palace

Peter McCann — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:23:24 +0100

6^th July 2007

Margaret Ann and I were invited to Holyrood Palace yesterday for a Reception to meet ...

Alcoholic Anonymous Reviews

Peter McCann — Thu, 03 May 2007 11:12:36 +0100

An excellent blog site is “Alcoholic Anonymous Reviews” which gives valuable commentaries on alcohol related problems. Today ...

Major Conference in London

Peter McCann — Wed, 02 May 2007 16:53:11 +0100

A major conference in London over the past couple of days has been focusing on cannabis and its dangers and ...

Last week in Vienna

Peter McCann — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 15:19:45 +0000

A very busy week last week. In Vienna for a United Nations NGO Drug Committee Meeting. I was representing the ...

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems

Peter McCann — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 18:49:22 +0000

Yesterday it was announced that a new body was being formed called SHAAP (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems). ...

Professor Neil McKeganey’s research

Peter McCann — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 16:42:48 +0000

Massive interest in the Sunday papers regarding Professor Neil McKeganey’s research which will be published later in November....

Excerpt from this month’s “Addiction Today” Magazine

Peter McCann — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:09:06 +0100

Enclosed is another excerpt from this month’s “Addiction Today” Magazine. This is the EATA (European Association for Treatment of ...

ICAA Conference which we hosted in Edinburgh

Peter McCann — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:22:56 +0100

I attach coverage of the ICAA Conference which we hosted in Edinburgh this September. This is with kind permission ...

“Huge risk in drug benefit claims” and “Addiction cases double in decade”

Peter McCann — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:34:10 +0100

The Glasgow Herald, this morning

It goes on to quote myself saying that there was a postcode ...

STV Interview

Peter McCann — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:36:10 +0100

I was interviewed on radio last Monday and again on television for STV on Wednesday regarding the decline ...

11th September 2006

Peter McCann — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:40:40 +0100

Last week Castle Craig hosted the International Council on Alcohol and Addiction Annual Conference in Edinburgh at the Church of ...

Two stories in today’s media

Peter McCann — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 16:50:50 +0100
1st September 2006

Two stories in today’s media are linked the first is a report on a statement by Tony Blair in which he states that we can clamp down on anti social children before birth and the second relates to expectant mothers in Wales who have one of the highest rates of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Drinking during pregnancy results in Foetal Alcohol Syndrome or alcohol related brain damage and it is these poor children who, as they grow up, exhibit behavioural problems. At present to treat these behavioural problems they are put on Ritalin which in fact will compound their problems and lead them into dependency at an early age. It is all an horrific merry-go-round. Treatment could be on the way to help these young children and Castle Craig is investigating it.

Again more emphasis on drug deaths from cocaine in the Scotsman. Apparently one in seven drug related deaths now involves cocaine and experts have predicted that cocaine could overtake heroin as Scotland’s main problem drug within five years.

I note in today’s newspapers

Peter McCann — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:56:02 +0100
31st August 2006

I note in today’s newspapers that alcohol related deaths in several health board areas in Scotland have risen to record levels. For instance in Fife they have increased to 76 and in Lanarkshire 184. Across the country there have been a 20% rise in alcohol related deaths since 1999. These are Scottish Executive figures. There has also been a rise of 25% in fatalities involving heroin. It is interesting to reflect on the fact that national health referrals from Fife and Lanarkshire have dropped because of lack of funding from these health board areas. Could these reduced referrals and increased in deaths from these two areas be any way related? Obviously many patients who require residential care for their addictions are not getting it. We also read in the papers that the deaths from cocaine addiction have soared, this is the drug that everyone claimed was safe, and have jumped almost ten-fold in four years. Castle Craig has seen many more cocaine addicts being admitted to treatment however mainly from the Netherlands. We would like to get the message across that cocaine addiction is very treatable especially using the 12 step or Minnesota Model approach. All patients will be referred after treatment to cocaine anonymous.

We also read today, about the inappropriate way that Liberal Democrats covered up on their former leader’s alcoholism. This is a typical response we see throughout industry and institutions when members of organisations try to cover up for their sick colleagues. It is quite disgraceful that politicians weld so much power while addicted and when their judgment must be warped. This applies to all political parties. Addiction must be confronted at all times and “tough love” applies to politicians just as much as to doctors, lawyers and family members.

Sentenced to death?

Peter McCann — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:59:34 +0100
Wednesday August 2, 2006 The Guardian

Sentenced to death? A talented yet tortured young man killed himself in Strangeways prison's segregation unit. As a diagnosed schizophrenic, should he have even been there? Ed Vulliamy investigates
http://society.guardian.co.uk/
crimeandpunishment/story/0,,1834847,00.html

Horses used to help drug addicts

Peter McCann — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:01:13 +0100

An innovative drug and alcohol programme using horses is being trialled at a hospital in the Borders.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/5293408.stm

Belfast’s “Sunday Life”

Peter McCann — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:04:05 +0100
From Peter McCann Belfast’s “Sunday Life” writes about teenage binge drinkers in Ulster being caught up in a deadly game of Russian Roulette – oblivious that they are risking a terrifying brain disease. They are referring to Korsakoffs psychosis and it is described as “a ticking time bomb” as young people are flooding clubs and pubs for bargain basement booze and happy hours. This is not just in Northern Ireland but across the whole UK and the Netherlands. Experts say that Korsakoffs is now beginning to emerge in people in their 30s and also appearing for the first time in women. Korsakoffs can prove fatal for some for others it could mean a lifetime of care usually in inappropriate nursing homes, a lucky few can catch it in time and with total abstinence from alcohol and drugs can return to a somewhat normal life. What happens with Korsakoffs, well you lose your short term memory and you can suffer from disorientation and you develop an awkward gait. It must be ghastly remembering your youth but losing all knowledge of your life of recent years and even days. Total abstinence is a must but the difficulty for some of these cases is that they cannot remember the danger that alcohol has for them and so if they are offered a drink they accept it. Castle Craig is looking very seriously at helping patients with alcohol related brain damage and we hope before too long to have a specially designed package of treatment for these patients. Monday, 21st August 2006

Two articles both from this weeks Sunday Times

Peter McCann — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 13:34:40 +0100

From: Peter McCann, Chairman

Two articles both from this weeks Sunday Times came to my attention

One quotes some figures from the office of National Statistics revealing a sharp increase in the number of alcohol related deaths in the UK with 8,380 deaths reported in 2004 compared to 4,144 in 1991. The majority of these were due to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, but accidental alcohol poisoning, heart attacks and mental and behaviour orders due to alcohol misuse where also responsible. So far so good or bad from whichever perspective you take it. A certain Professor Nutt, Professor of Psycho Pharmacology at Bristol University tells us that to solve this he has been researching ways of creating a drink made from a drug related to Valium - Yes Valium, can you believe it! Fortunately we get a bit sense from Katie Grant also in the Sunday Times but the Scottish edition. She lays into the Scottish Executives namely Lewis MacDonald, the Deputy Health Minister who reckons spending half a million pounds on a campaign telling drinkers to dodge their round of drinks when they are with their friends. Katie goes on to say that what those in power always fail to appreciate is that as a weapon of mass – behaviour change, government advertising does not work. They clutch at it, I suppose, because the advertisements they commission show the world they are doing something. She goes on that with alcohol abuse costing Scotland one billion pounds every year, she sympathises with this desire for action but just wonders if anybody has ever pointed that the definition of madness is when you carry on doing something that has already failed and some how expect this time you will get a different result. My quote “ sounds like alcoholic behaviour to me”.