Pain Killer Dependency

Narcotics Anonymous is a support group using the same principles as Alcoholics Anonymous but designed for individuals addicted to narcotics (Fortinash & Holoday Worret, 2012). The programs emphasize both personal responsibility and mutual accountability by means of a social model recovery program which is peer-driven. Recovery Kentucky utilizes care and change as their foundation for the peer-driven model. Participants are often reminded the program is not just a pit stop for drug and alcohol use but a commitment to change the whole body, mind and spirit. They are required to attend community meetings and complete a twelve step program where the client will acknowledge the problem, recognize a solution and develop a plan of action that will support the ultimate goal of sobriety (MIC Program Description, n.d.).

"If we could sniff or swallow something that would, for five or six hours each day, abolish our solitude as individuals, atone us with our fellows in a glowing exaltation of affection and make life in all its aspects seem not only worth living, but divinely beautiful and significant, and if this heavenly, world-transfiguring drug were of such a kind that we could wake up next morning with a clear head and an undamaged constitution - then, it seems to me, all our problems (and not merely the one small problem of discovering a novel pleasure) would be wholly solved and earth would become paradise."

There are a variety of treatment modalities, both conservative and emerging, that clinicians, therapists, and doctors use to treat heroin and opioid dependence. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), 12 step programs, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) are just a few that have been used in the past, and even today, in the treatment of substance dependence. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is yet another form of therapy; particularly for opioid and heroin dependence, that has been around for decades. However, it has recently begun to spark interest and controversy in light of the growing epidemic.

¨ More than a quarter of a million Americans are enrolled in methadone clinics, where they participate in “methadone replacement” or “methadone maintenance” to treat narcotic addictions to heroin or morphine, or prescription painkillers like oxycodone, hydrocodone, OxyContin or Vicodin.¨ (Novus Detox, 2016) Clinics that treat opioid addiction use several combinations other than methadone to be effective. In addition to daily methadone treatments, there are also random drug test to make sure the individual is complying with the program. There is also individual and group counseling that provides education and support with each being customized with goals set forth by the patient. Some addiction require patients struggling to seek professional help with a psychiatrist and/or speciality

Substance abuse treatment, counseling, and therapeutic interventions faces two polar opposites in terms of evidence-based treatment modalities currently being practiced: abstinence-based and medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Fundamentally, each treatment is in direct opposition of one another, as the long-held abstinence based approach, concurrenly rooted in the 12-step model found in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), do not agree with the notion of MAT. They see MAT as essentially replacing an illegal opiate substance, with a prescribed and monitored opiate substance, whether that is Methadone

Opioid dependence in the United States is increasing in numbers with those addicted to heroin and prescription opioid analgesics. Opioid use includes morphine, codine, oxycodine, the painkillers oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and heroin. Several different treatment options are available for opioid dependence. Behavioral therapy includes counseling, cognitive therapy, phychotherapy, and the twelve step recovery program developed by Alcoholics Anonymous. Prescriptions can also be used for the treatment of opioid dependence. For example, methodone is used to help treat heroin abusers, and buprenorphine is used to treat opioid dependence, more specifically, Suboxone.

“You’re faking it.” or “Can’t you just suck it up?” Millions of people who suffer through chronic pain have heard these statements made about them. In truth, they aren’t faking it, and they cannot just “suck it up.” Chronic pain, or pain lasting for longer than six months, can be a life-altering experience. According to Dr. Karriem-Norwood, the symptoms of chronic pain include: “mild to severe pain that does not go away, pain that may be described as shooting, burning, aching, or electrical, feeling of discomfort, soreness, tightness, or stiffness, fatigue, sleeplessness, withdrawal from activity and increased need to rest, weakened immune system, changes in mood including hopelessness, fear, depression, irritability, anxiety, and stress

Out of the 60 participants 14 were women, 42 came from treatment settings, 18 came from criminal justice settings and 5 did not attend the follow-up 6-month interview. During the 6-month treatment trial, 95% of the participants used opioids on one or more occasions while the other 5% reported completely refraining from using opioids during treatment. The average frequency of opioid use was 24 days during the entire 6-month period. The overall frequency of opioid use was reduced from an average of 2.4 (using the 0-3 frequency scale) before Naltrexone implantation to 0.9 after 6 months of treatment. Heroin was the most commonly used opioid among the 60

“Amid Opioid Crisis, Insurers Restrict Pricey, Less Addictive Painkillers” by Katie Thomas & Charles Ornstein

Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is a chronic and potentially life-threatening disease, and the main feature of which is addictive and compulsive opioid use (Drugs & Crime, 2010). Opioid drugs include some of the prescribed pain relievers as well as illicit drugs, such as heroin, codeine, oxycodone, etc. In the United States, about 9.5 million adults use pain relievers for nonmedical purpose, 1.6 million adults meet diagnostic criteria of pain reliever use disorders, and 0.56 million have heroin use disorder (Hedden, 2015), at a huge social and financial cost (Alan G. White et al., 2011). Furthermore, the relapse rate of OUD patients in treatment is high (Davstad et al., 2007).

Opiate addiction is an intricate part of the history here in the United States and globally. It is a cycle of abuse, misinformation, medical discovery, pain, and death that spans generations. While many naively believe that this type of addiction is unique to the late 20th and 21st century, it is one that our ancestors battled. Among laymen and physicians, there is a mixture of misunderstanding about what this type of addiction is and how it, not only, stems from the nature of opiates but the psychological factors behind this type of disease. Opioid and Heroin addiction are treatable with a combination of chemical treatment and counseling. Having worked in a Methadone clinic that specialized in this specific combination treatment that required

I believe The Pain of Painkillers and The Hell of Heroin can be helpful in your time of need. This book is a distillation of what I have learned as a physician treating addiction for more than thirty years. Take advantage of what I have to offer.

These group models can be broken down into specific groups, such as early recovery, relapse prevention, 12-step psychoeducational, to name a few (SAMHSA, 2005). However, the search for literature on the efficacy of treatment groups for substance abuse disorders resulted in limited results. In one study by Gamble and Lawrence (2016), the researchers examined the current state of the 12-Step program and its long-term efficacy. They discovered in their literature review that studies surrounding 12-Step and other forms of treatment are scattered and not generalized for a diverse population (Gamble & Lawrence,

In result of his death are relationship failed to exist, however my mother concluded his alcohol consumption elevated after war attendance. Due to dramatic war background he attempted to reduce his pain with alcohol and isolated himself from people. Dr. Gabor Mates specialist in treatment of addiction “confirms that all addictions are attempts to sooth the pain.” In addition individuals more often than not seek stimulants that decrease pain temporarily. Depending on the individual, distracting stimulants are commonly establish in shopping, drugs, alcohol and sex. In place of utilizing stimulants as an escape goat, pursuing comfort from loved ones is a respectable method to prevent addiction. Dr. Gabor Mates concludes addicted people need a compassionate present which will permit them to experience their pain without having to run away from it.” In response to Mates claim, confronting pain with supportive individuals can help avoid bondages that produce deeper issues to accrue. Furthermore it is soothing when a person obtains compassionate assistance from another individual during hardship, rather than exploiting stimulants for

Chester Jones, 46, of Killeen, served for 24 years in the U.S. Army and often in pain.