SeekingGrowth

I just posted this in the "news" forum, but I think it belongs here too. This is a really powerful and disturbing article recently published in the Huffington Post. Super long but well worth the read. I'd love to hear thoughts on this article from folks on this forum.

Dying To Be Free - The Huffington Post

Marcus

Interesting article. I have to admit I did skim a bit of it. Obviously they are high on Suboxone and I will not argue that Suboxone or Methadone or other Opiate Replacements Therapies do have their success stories. Vivitrol shows quite a bit of promise. I have met people who just up and quit dope on their own - said they eventually had enough (I don't quite get that). Also met lots and lots of people at AA / NA meetings who have found sobriety there. Point being not sure there will ever be a one size fits all approach.

When I was on Suboxone I abused it. I don't blame it on the Sub, but my own desire and willingness at the time. Crap even with desire and willingness I found myself high a lot of the time. I popped hydro, oxy, liquid morphine, Dilaudid, even sucked on Fentanyl patches before I finally made my final stop on the opiate train at H. Snorting turned to shooting, 5 bags turned into a bundle, and bundles to grams of raw that I would cut myself.

Over 2 1/2 years clean I still sometimes wonder why did recovery seem to stick this time as it never did before? I tried to get sober dozens of times. Detoxed dozens of times. Methadone did help me I will admit that, but I always felt that I wanted more - I wanted to be a better person. I needed to change my thinking. Again this was my experience. Some addicts are wonderful people with a substance problem - not me drugs turned me into a selfish A-hole whether I liked it or not. I had been to hundreds of AA / NA meetings and some stints of sobriety but continued to relapse.

As the big book says PITIFUL AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE DEMORALIZATION. I had to get to that point. I thought I had been there before, but kept going lower. I think I found it this time. Yes outside consequences helped get me there, but it was when the pain from the inside was so great it was either OD, blow my head off, or truly invest my entire self into recovery.

Thanks for sharing that SeekingGrowth!!!

BlueChair

Thanks SeekingGrowth.

I posted this over on the family substance abuse side last week, thought it was really good.

SeekingGrowth

Thanks so much for your insightful comments, Marcus - I always love to hear your views on things. I apologize in advance for the length of my responsive comments. I have a lot to say on this topic!

Well, I don’t know if they are LITERALLY “high” on Suboxone, lol, but yes, one might think that this article was written by the marketing arm of Reckitt Benckiser (or Indivior now). Based on my observation and work in this area over the past four years, I completely agree with you, Marcus – there is no “one-size-fits-all” and all recovery options should be on the table, including medication assisted treatment. The biggest take-away for me from this article is how rigid adherence to a particular treatment approach (in particular, abstinence-only) can itself be a barrier to recovery. We all know that the relapse rate with recovery from addiction to any drug is daunting, but it is especially so for opiates, and the consequence of relapse for an opiate/heroin addict is too often death. Too many kids are dying for us to simply say, oh, well, they didn’t want it badly enough – especially when the vast majority of heroin addicts are relapsing. What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing but expecting different results? I think the treatment community needs to take a hard look at itself in the context of that definition.

I am a little confused by all the attention on Suboxone, given the existence of Vivitrol. Seems to me that Vivitrol should be the “holy grail” of opioid addiction treatment. It cuts cravings, prevents the user from getting high off opioids for a month, and isn’t addictive. I think the problem is that it is still covered by patents (first one expires in 2017) and is therefore very expensive, and insurance companies are only just starting to cover it. I know several people who have used/are using it with success.

[/QUOTE]When I was on Suboxone I abused it. I don't blame it on the Sub, but my own desire and willingness at the time. Crap even with desire and willingness I found myself high a lot of the time. I popped hydro, oxy, liquid morphine, Dilaudid, even sucked on Fentanyl patches before I finally made my final stop on the opiate train at H. Snorting turned to shooting, 5 bags turned into a bundle, and bundles to grams of raw that I would cut myself.[/QUOTE]

Sounds like a progression story that I have heard many times, and I know that many opioid addicts abuse Suboxone. The young man in my care a few years ago did so. Not sure that that is a reason to withhold it as a treatment option (although it is the reason given by many treatment facilities for not offering it) – abuse of Suboxone is better than a heroin OD, and it is tough to OD on Suboxone. If a diabetic refuses to comply with his exercise/eating regimen, do we withhold medication when he gets sick? If a person with dangerously high blood pressure refuses to embrace the healthy lifestyle that could correct the problem, do we withhold blood pressure medication? No. We give lip service to the idea that addiction is a disease, but we certainly don’t treat it like any other disease that I know of.

[/QUOTE]Over 2 1/2 years clean I still sometimes wonder why did recovery seem to stick this time as it never did before? I tried to get sober dozens of times. Detoxed dozens of times. Methadone did help me I will admit that, but I always felt that I wanted more - I wanted to be a better person. I needed to change my thinking. Again this was my experience. Some addicts are wonderful people with a substance problem - not me drugs turned me into a selfish A-hole whether I liked it or not. I had been to hundreds of AA / NA meetings and some stints of sobriety but continued to relapse.[/QUOTE]

And this is the problem, right? Not even the addict knows exactly why recovery works when it does. It seems to be hit-or-miss, which makes it hard to prescribe a sure-fire road to health for any one person. Which takes me back to my original conclusion – ALL options need to be on the table, and NONE of them treated with disapproval or derision by treatment professionals and/or support groups. Because the consequences of failing to arrest the progression of this disease in any one person are simply too devastating – to that person, to those who love him or her, and to the community.

Marcus

Thanks SeekingGrowth. I think we are on the same page actually. I think once you get to Heroin the overdose potential becomes so great and early recovery can be so difficult an opiate blocker can not only help get you sober, but save your life.

I agree with you about Vivitrol (although have not tried it). Especially the 30 day shot. Opiate blocker without the abuse potential and supposed to help with cravings. I kind of wish I would have tried this before methadone, but a few years ago it was just being talked about more and more. Suboxone did the job for me as far as opiate blocking goes, but it does have abuse potential and I would get 2 months worth at a time so it was up to me to take it every day. If I wasn't abusing it, I was often planning my next relapse. Methadone was absolutely a last resort for me. I used on it for the first few months, but once my dose got up to a certain level the dope pretty much quit working and having to go daily and drug test made a big difference. I had to use a lot to get anything out of it and it just wasn't worth it. I had no plans on being on it long term (although accepted it might be a 2 year process) and yes it did allow me to stop using Heroin for me the training wheels eventually had to come off. I needed more support.

Yes AA/NA are abstinence based programs, but also say medications from a doctor are okay when necessary (although NA has a pamphlet basically saying if you are on Methadone you are not sober and shouldn't share at meetings). I go to AA. I have seen people pick up a 5 year coin, but are on the Marijuana Maintenance program. Honestly I am worried about MY recovery. I am not there to judge others. Hey if you want to pick up a 1 year coin with 3 days sober I can't stop you. You usually can tell who is walking the walk and who is talking the talk. I like to stick with those walking the walk. I wonder what NA's stance would be on Vivitrol? As new medications come along it is going to complicate matters further.

I have no problem with using a combination of therapies. Whatever works. If you are on Suboxone or Methadone and AA/NA meetings are helping you by all means use the tools at your disposal (sorry for those that don't agree, but again A DESIRE TO STOP). I do think doctors are quick to turn to Suboxone these days. I know for me it was progressive, but if you have a 50mg a day norco habit and then a doc wants to put you on 16mg's of Sub a day I question that logic.

In the end there was a certain amount of pain I had to go through. I had to come to a realization the alcohol and drugs were a symptom of a bigger problem and absolutely / positively would NEVER EVER be a solution to my problem. It pains me to see how younger and younger kids are using H these days. Back when I was in High School (graduated in 92) the Stoners mainly just drank and smoked pot. Now a group of High School "Stoners" are no longer going to pick up that dime bag or eighth of weed to split, but a bundle of Heroin to snort. It is a sad state of affairs especially since I have 3 kids of my own.

Oh and the High on Suboxone was a bit tongue in cheek. I still am a bit sick in the head!!!

Thanks for your responses!!!

RedManc7

I don't know what the answers are but I know getting off using street drugs and so not being criminalised for it is a start. The sooner addiction is treated as a health issue not a criminal issue the better. Heroin sucks you in, I'd took drugs all my adult life and admittedly had a problem but aged 37 I became a heroin addict and that's a whole new ball game. A life changer. Picking up the pieces is hard and if Subs etc enable that and allow people to start functioning/integrating back into society that I think is a good thing,