Personal Narrative: My Own Substance Abuse Clinic

At twenty-two years old my younger-self had previously pictured me in an entirely different place. I never imagined living in Texas, I’m originally from Chicago, and that’s where I thought I would reside. I thought I’d be graduated from college already, but fate had a different plan. And never in a million years did I think I would become a drug addict; but I am, and you know what? It’s been the best thing that has ever happened to me, it’s something I’m truly thankful for now. See, all the things listed above may seem like negative things if you look at them from an outside perspective; however to me, they’ve changed me in ways I never thought possible just six months ago. Multiple circumstances have led me to this point, but a few stick

The topic of Narcan is a relatively new concept, since it has only been easily obtainable in the past few years. The major debate on Narcan use is will it become a bigger issue the it fixes. Governor Tom Wolf in April made it public that all state police cars will have doses of the life-saving drug; Narcan (Murrysville). Supports, of this drug look at the fact that is has been credited with saving around one thousand people across the state (Murrysville). Furthermore, that there have been more than two thousand overdoses deaths, in Allegheny County since 2008; and that Narcan would have given those people a better chance to live. Equally important, is the negative-side of Narcan. Tom Wolf in February, made it public knowledge that free doses of Narcan, will be given to schools that want it. Those who believe Narcan will become detrimental to the fight against this epidemic have good reason to. Such as, comments from Dr. Neil Capretto who is the medical director at Gateway Rehabilitation Center; has talked before about his teenaged patients, that would use heroin or other opioids in the middle of school (Pennsylvania). If Narcan, is so accessible like in schools, police cars, and can be bought for personal use, this could allow people to push the limits on using these drugs. Also, by allowing it to used whenever is going to be like adding gasoline to a flame, it will speed the

I question are we saving lives with Naloxone or just prolonging it enough until they get a stronger version of heroin or one laced with fentanyl or carfentanyl. Thus, far the effectiveness that Naloxone have on the amount of opioid related overdoses has shown ineffective. The amount of lives saved from Naloxone has increased, however the number of overdoses and deaths have increased in the state of Maryland, since Naloxone has increased on the streets. My audience is for those who set the guidelines for the administration for Naloxone in the State of Maryland. Currently, in Maryland a person does not have to be trained to administer Naloxone. Anyone can go to their local pharmacy to get Naloxone at no cost. There should be more stringent guidelines on how Naloxone is distributed to the community. There should be an increase of education and not a decrease. This is important because educating the community has proven to be an effective intervention for drug use. Administering Naloxone without treatment is keeping people temporarily alive and addicted with the increase of overdoses and deaths in the long-term. Naloxone is reactive and without treatment have been proven ineffective. Naloxone is a short-term solution to

This is only one of the many sad stories of a promising teenager who has fallen into the grasp of opioid addiction in the state of Maine in the last decade. “In 2015 Maine saw a total of 272 deaths due to overdoses” (Ricker, 2016). The leading cause of these deaths are opioid overdoses. Opioid abuse is becoming an epidemic in this country, a raging fire that is sweeping across the nation, leaving many dead in its wake. Lawmakers and pharmaceutical companies believe that they have found the answer; naloxone being made available as an over the counter (OTC) drug. Naloxone, better known by its brand name, Narcan, is an antagonist of the opioids, meaning that it is used to temporarily block the effects of opioids for 30-40 minutes. It is designed to give someone who has overdosed the

I attended drug court at 4:00 p.m., December 6th, 2016 in courtroom 2C. Judge Leavitt had called the meeting to order. Judge Leavitt called on a woman whose name was Crystal she said that she had been doing really well. She also had said that her son Clay was now in daycare and that she was really hopeful for things to come.

The Medicare, economic and social costs of addiction in the United States are over five-hundred billion dollars a year. Treatment for addicts is very expensive and difficult to obtain for many. Health insurance only provides minimal coverage of care. Overdose from drug addiction is killing people everyday. Recently, the development and use of Narcan has been introduced to Emergency personnel, first responders and EMT's. Narcan reverses opioids sensors in the brain. If a person has stopped breathing due to the use of opioids, including, heroin, morphine, methamphetamine, or other drugs, Narcan can be given to remove the high and reverse the symptoms. There is a growing ethical concern about the use of Narcan and the accessibility of it. Many drug add it's become angry when their "high" is reserved; to them it is a loss of the pleasurable feeling they need to function (CDC). The impact of drug addiction sets a foundation for generations to repeat this behavior as

It was my senior year in high school when my mom told me that my cousin, Mayra, had given birth to a baby girl. However, child protective services decided that Mayra wasn’t adequate to take care of the child; due to her drug abuse. Child protective services from Mexico were trying to place the baby with close relatives. Sadly, there was only three choices, her grandma, my aunt Gloria, and myself. The choices were few and the family small.

When people ask you, what do you want to be when you grow up? What do you answer? Most people would say they want to be a professional athlete, working in the sports industry, police officers, doctor, lawyer, working in the business industry, president, and a movie star. However, that’s not what Blake Landry wanted to do. Landry, who was a promising soccer player decided she was going to be a heroin addict for the rest of her life and that’s they it is. That is just one case out of hundreds of case where drugs and especially heroin can ruin someone life. Currently there is an epidemic of a heroin addiction going on in the world today.

I decided to write about a current issue involving the usage of Naloxone. There has been a debate going on for quite some time, about if all recue responders should carry Naloxone and administer it to people who have overdosed. Naloxone is described as a drug like morphine or fentanyl, that can cause an opposite effect of an opiate. It is either given by an injection or it can be done by a nasal spray. People debate that by administering this drug to someone who has overdosed is allowing them to go the extremes of usage and that nothing is being done about treating the individual’s addiction. DRUGABUSE.COM reported that there is an estimated 78 deaths a day, caused by the opioid epidemic. Which has led President Trump to recognize the severity of this epidemic, and push for more usage of the Naloxone. In hopes

Growing up, I dealt with a mother who struggled with addiction; to be unambiguous, she was an alcoholic. She drowned in her alcoholism as it pulled her down an alarming road. She was dreadfully depressed and believed that alcohol was the only way to make her feel better, addiction blinded her from what a great life she could have ahead of her. Not a single member of our family knew how to help her comprehend how much happier she would be if she could stop drinking her sorrows away. When it came to family events, my mom would try to conform to how others were acting and act “sober” even though she was already countless drinks deep in to drinking. Nevertheless, my mother just wanted others to like her which would lead her to change her outward

Unbeknownst to the everyday individual, there is a raging issue going on within our nation that involves the rising surge of narcotic misuse and overdose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from 1999 to 2014, more than 165,000 people have died in the United States from overdoses related to prescription opioids. In 2014, almost 2 billion people either abused or overdosed on prescription opioids, and of which 14,000 were fatal. Today, the heartbreaking statistics indicate to us that at least half of all overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid. (CDC, 2016) Thus, this information leads us all to wonder where these addictions are sparked and where the prescriptions are being administered. One extremely popular route, involves our Emergency Departments (ED) all across the nation. For the remainder of this paper, we will discuss the clinical portion of this issue, and the interventions that all medical professionals can put into place to help lower the numbers of these statistics.

Every day thousands of people overdose on heroin and or opioids, in which they revived with narcan (naloxone). Many people believe it is a blessing because it carries no health risk nor can it be abused. It is to save lives. At least 78 people overdose every day, with that being said narcan is now more accessible to not just people in the medical field but

Throughout my life I have experienced many trials and tribulations, this has all influenced me and made me who I am it has made me a better person. I am interested in obtaining a degree in psychology that way I am able to become a substance abuse councilor. In high school I had a passion for baseball, scouts had watched me play and were interested in having me play for them on a college level. After graduating high school I had the chance to attend college through baseball but during that time in my life I had stirred from the path I should have been on. I was too caught up in being young a reckless teenager, I was caught up in partying. I was in a situation a point of throwing caution to the wind, a point as to where I did not think about what was

The goal is to reduce the rate of drug overdose deaths in the city of Huntington, West Virginia. A nursing diagnosis regarding this health issues is as follows: Increased risk of mortality among Huntington’s substance abuse population related to an increase in drug abuse/misuse, especially heroin, lack of knowledge regarding the risks of death with drug use and multi-drug use, lack of access to drug abuse counseling and resources, lack of access to naloxone, lack of employment opportunities for persons with criminal records and history of drug use, as demonstrated in the drug overdose rates in the city, poverty rates, crime rates related to theft to support their drug addiction, median household income below the national median, and inability to stop drug trafficking to the

In view of my honest admiration of the staff and the overall experience at the Reading Hospital Drug and Alcohol Center (DAC), I found it hard to find an example for this assignment. However, upon entering my internship, I was apprehensive about working with a certain staff member, who I know from when I was thirteen years old. It is safe to say that seeing this person does not evoke warm memories for me, and I fear that something unprofessional may occur on my part, such as an off-color remark. In fact, my strong feelings of repulsion of this person almost kept me from accepting the challenge of interning at this site despite the knowledge of it being an enormous opportunity for experience and learning.