My take on America's growing opiate addiction problem! Heroin, Methadone, and pain pills!

I have lived here in the Everett region for over 16 years. I previously lived in Waco, Texas, Jacksonville, Texas, and Syracuse , New York. There are drugs from coast to coast in the United States, and in every state there is a different way of dealing with the problems in the regions. I , of coarse , have a completely different idea of what should be done . I hope to gain support, for my ideas, with this blog.

In every state across the country heroin is illegal. Certainly a drug that powerful and addictive has its drawbacks. There was a time in history when the addicts that were hooked on heroin , came to be addicts by using the drug illicitly. Heroin is a popular choice among people that have damaged themselves.

A much newer method that guides our addicts to the use of heroin would almost seem innocent. Many of today's pain killers are derived from the opium plant, just as heroin is.Vicodin, Percocet, and Oxycontin are three very fine examples of often prescribed opiates that have similar effects of heroin when used excessively. I have to admit that doctors are slowing the offerings made to patients, albeit about a decade or two too late. The effects of over prescribing these drugs has made its mark on society.

A serious injury can lead to a person having to leave the workforce for some seriously extended periods of time. Although the pain tends to come and go along side the amount of exertion expelled by an individual; A doctor is likely to write a prescription for 30 to 60 Vicodin a month, needed or not. A patient is already suffering from time lost at work and workman's compensation often leaves a guy trying to make money in other places. Often times a missed doctor's appointment could lead to the freezing of benefits for a period of time, and a patient ends up selling the prescription at $1.00 per milligram on the street.

Vicodin is typically not the worst subject to deal with while Oxycontin ends up being prescribed to cancer patients due to the extreme pain that they face. Typically I have seen a vast array of said patients that prefer not to take the pain killer due to nausea or another serious dislike of the side effects. These patients often find that a small amount of Marijuana better suits their needs. It is only a matter of time before theses patients learn that the 21 pills they got for the week hold a street value of near $1600.00 and it becomes a no brain-er for them to sell them to people they know willing to move them.

Methadone clinics were a system designed in the 70s to help heroin addicts kick heroin. I am rather amazed at what people will do to get a needle full of heroin in order to postpone their withdrawal symptoms. Heroin is an anxiety maker . The symptoms of withdrawal nearly insane. From what I understand, there is not a realistic expectation of death due to withdrawal alone. In fact moth opiate based deaths come from overdose, or a cocktail such as heroin and benzodizepine. Heroin has an effect of not allowing people to sleep well, and they tend to try and benzo themselves to sleep. An overdose of heroin often hitting an addict comes from purchasing a depleted quality of a street cut heroin and believing that is what they are always going to get. Consistently trying to bring their "high" to the same level as always, they inject what they believe is the needed amount. With their being no standard or precise way of knowing how much of their product is real, or cut eventually they get a batch of some "pure" heroin and inject an amount that usually worked because it was diluted. The unadulterated batch then being entirely too much, sending them directly to overdose. The belief of the rehabilitation world being the clinically provided methadone could be consistent, controlled, and managed. This would allow for a stabilization of the addict, and then a process of rehabilitation could be approached.

I never knew a methadone clinic existed until the 34th year of my life. I guess one might say I lacked a little common knowledge in the world, and that might be exactly why I write these articles. Maybe even why I show my children every needle I find, every addict I suspect. I do not do it to be little the town, or the person. I do it to save my children the hardships I have endured, if possible. I also do it in an attempt to prevent any disease that might be spread by a contaminated needle stick.

Methadone clinics do have their place. They charge their customers about $450.00 a month to keep a consistent flow of drugs in the body of the addict. They also prevent the addict from stealing on the streets in order to pay for the rising cost of Oxycontin and like substances. The system had a righteous plan, but I can think of at least two of them here in the Everett, Washington area that do not see the value in slowing the consumption by the user. Upon intake at the facility the intake doctor will ask you leading questions. With enough intellect you can figure out what answers you need to have in order to become eligible for the program. The actual use of a methadone clinic is considered medical treatment, therefore the program can be picked up by state medical. This means Fathers and Mothers that would be forced into a treatment program for using Heroin or Vicodin can enroll in this program and be allowed a fix every morning for a year. Initially that sounds all well and good. Shortly after arriving and beginning your treatment, the Councillor will explain to you that the state requires they are removed from the program within six months, and then explain the loopholes that allow them the rest of their natural born life on the system. The rehabilitation program has now became a maintenance program.

Then there is the amount of dosage they allow. In your initial visit they will allow you 35 mg of Methadose. At 130 lbs a friend of mine was able to get up to 85 mg, and their significant other was able to receive 100 mg .Methadose is a liquid form that is potentially safer for the client. The clinic will claim that it will stay steadily constant in your system, although it tends to make most of the people nod off and seem delirious, in the early morning after dosing. The Methadose does have some serious negative side effects that include liver damage and something to do with the bones of the patient. Then there are the even furthering dependency factors. It is very hard for a mother to get a job that might risk her losing her medical coverage if she feels she might get removed from the clinic. The patient will literally fear the loss of ability to dose. The withdrawals from Methadose are painful enough that prisoners of the Snohomish County Jail are able to dose within the facility, even though the state medical is to be discontinued upon entering the facility.

Then there are the unfortunate ones that do get cut off in the jail system. I can only compare the instant withdrawals of Methadose to the pain one must endure when being driven over by a truck. Nothing has ever been harder to come off from ever. Oxycontin is rough, and heroin is tough as well. Heroin and opiate derived pain medications have their addictive qualities, and they hurt to come off. The constant diarrhea, the stomach cramps, muscle aches, constantly feeling cold, sweating and over all sense of confusion in the head are all good solid indicators that you are detoxing from a rather serious opiate withdrawal. The symptoms can be expected to carry on for three to seven days , physically and several years mentally. The same side effects can be compiled three fold on the side of the Methadose. Even people I know that have had their doses weened down to 12 mg before dropping off completely, complained for weeks that they just felt like trash, every day.

With the newest pain medications leading people towards the Methadone clinics, I would really like to see the people heading there think twice about going in. The pain endured from the cut off of Methadose will most likely lead to a relapse of your original drug of choice. I believe this is only because doing so will be the only relief you might find , from the even more intense pain you could have avoided by simply lowering your original consumption to begin with. There is a chance that someone might need the Methadone clinic. In the event that they do, the intention is to prevent detox, not insure a regular high.

Allowing the patient to answer leading questions also leaves room for the patient to continue to abuse the opiate. The decision to cap the rising of the dose is decided by a doctor and a counselor. The decisions that are made are based on their training and the verbal input fed to them by a patient with an addictive personality, and a methadone clinic handbook. Addicts are typically resourceful,assertive, determined, and educated when it comes to meeting their needs. The addict is capable of reading a hand book and deciding what needs will be fulfilled by the clinics staff. Since the pain, cramps, diarrhea and mental state can only be taken by verbal acknowledgement, the addict ends up having a piece of the puzzle in their control. The runny nose, goose bumps, and clammy hands are fairly easy to play off as well.
The ability for a patient to effect the outcome of their dosage cap is really large. It does happen, and it does not help the patient at all.

In the event you have a loved one entering a clinic you should know that the clinic will repeatedly tell them that it is their recovery. Only the patient can decide when they are ready. This is true, however keep in mind, going to the clinic is designed to be the first step in a long list of steps. The steps leave room for error, and are expected to take time. The best thing a patient can do for themselves is apply honesty. Do they really nee 100 mg? Are they asking the doctor to get them through the day, or are they more so looking to be high? The answer can be as simple as paying attention to your body. Daily vomiting shortly after dosing is most likely a sign of overdose. When taken orally the body has a chance to expel the containment that the body has decided to be dangerous. Just as an overly intoxicated drunk might expel the last drink he pounded, an overdose of methadone can provoke the body to "save" itself from further damage by inducing vomiting. Falling asleep in mid conversation, or dream talking in groups would be another sure sign that you are abusing your rehab tools.

When I finally became honest with myself I realized I was going nowhere fast on the wings of some corrupt doctors. The corporation that was keeping me high wanted me to stay high for as many years as they could. I made that company 450.00 a month and in the two hours a day the facility was open I believe they had three hundred clients. $135000 a month was brought in by two mobile classrooms on Indian tribal land. The legalized heroin dealers, justified their profit margins, and shareholders dividends, sold their heroin to the addicts on the street and let the tax payers write the checks. It took me a couple years to write this post, because of my own shame. It only took me three months to see my shame, and pull myself out of that cycle. It took me years to come to terms with it so I could share my story. So if you get a need to use this program, use honesty to join in. In all honesty, I never was eligible for the program, due to the short duration of my street use, but they led the question right, and I was suddenly answering with what they needed for the program instead of what I needed for my rehabilitation.