The Opioid Fix by Barbara Andraka-Christou

The Opioid Fix by Barbara Andraka-Christou

Author:Barbara Andraka-Christou
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2020-04-23T16:00:00+00:00


* Note that having a DATA-waivered physician in your county does not mean that buprenorphine is actually accessible, merely that at least one physician is legally able to prescribe it. Whether he or she prescribes it, is accepting new patients, and accepts your insurance are totally different matters.

WHEN CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATORS MAKE MEDICAL DECISIONS

CANDACE SAYS HER RECOVERY STORY “isn’t linear.” I tell her that is okay and, as far as I can tell, really common. In other words, she has been in recovery for years but has had periods of relapse, which are becoming less and less frequent over time. If she compares her life today to her life ten years ago, there is no doubt that she is doing better.

Candace started using opiates when she was eighteen, but that was not her first drug—just her favorite drug, and the one she couldn’t stop no matter how hard she tried. She remembers first wanting to use drugs in the second grade. Her parents had been watching the nightly news, and the news anchor described children sniffing glue in class to get high. The next day, Candace tried it. She tells me over the phone, “I wonder if maybe I was just kind of born a little bit unbalanced.” As a baby, she used to self-harm, which she believes was an indicator of future depression. In fact, throughout her life Candace has had extreme bouts of depression, including suicide attempts. She suspects that drugs may have initially served as a coping mechanism, but even after receiving treatment for depression, the cravings for drugs continued.

At twenty years old, feeling depressed and ashamed that her life’s purpose now consisted of obtaining and using heroin, she began an intensive outpatient program. The IOP she joined consisted of almost daily group counseling and biweekly individual counseling. Despite regular attendance, however, she still spent all day thinking about getting high. The cravings were too intense for the IOP alone to help. She wanted additional help and knew residential rehab wouldn’t cut it. Her parents had once paid for an expensive rehab in the Northeast, consisting entirely of detoxification, twelve-step programming, and counseling; as soon as she left, she had relapsed.

Candace decided to enroll in formal Suboxone treatment, hoping to add it to her IOP regimen. She had previously bought Suboxone on the street to prevent withdrawal symptoms, and she remembered it had helped with cravings too. Additionally, she had once tried heroin shortly after taking Suboxone and the combination made her violently sick. No longer wanting to buy medications off the street, she asked the IOP if they offered Suboxone. They said no. And furthermore, they said if they found out she was utilizing Suboxone, she would not be able to participate in some of the group counseling.

Fortunately, another former drug user suggested that Candace contact a new buprenorphine provider that had just opened a clinic across town. The clinic provided two things: weekly group counseling and weekly buprenorphine prescriptions. The clinic required participation in both treatment modalities simultaneously.



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