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| Remember that only a doctor can diagnose an addiction or prescribe treatment for addiction. The text below is for information only. |
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| Self-reports, or family reports, of excessive and/or problem-generating use of alcohol and other drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin.
Arrest for Driving While Impaired (DWI), poor work or school performance, or family conflicts in the context of excessive use of alcohol or any use of illicit drugs. Physical or mental problems commonly seen as a result of addiction, including high blood pressure, accidents, depression, anxiety, or panic attacks. Abnormal laboratory values suggesting chronic overuse of alcohol including elevated GGT, AST, MCV, bilirubin, etc. |
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One of the best clinical tests for addiction is the CAGE test, which can be extrapolated from alcohol to apply to any addicting drug. Here are the four CAGE questions:
The key CAGE words, which are easy to remember are: Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty and Eye-opener. |
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| Research has shown that even a single positive response to any of the CAGE questions suggests the possibility of the presence of alcoholism, that two or three positive responses create a high index of suspicion of alcoholism, and that four positive responses is diagnostic of alcoholism. | |
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| From: Addiction & Recovery: The Physician’s Role, published by the Betty Ford Center, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 | |