Diabetes. HIV. Aids. Flu. Opioids?
Do opioids really fit the criteria for epidemic? People only do opioids when they are weak. Or when they are good for nothing. They are just drug addicts. They don't want better for themselves. Just homeless people that refuse to work. Right?!?
WRONG! Did you know that the opioid epidemic truly began in the 90's with the over-prescribing of opioids to manage physical pain (CDC). Nationwide, one million Americans have died from overdoses since 1999. Opioid overdoses account for 7/10 overdose deaths. So yes, this is an epidemic. An epidemic - that is, a widespread occurrence within a particular community - is easily observed right here in New Hanover County. Need to see the numbers before you take me seriously? Look no further.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, New Hanover County Emergency Rooms serviced 7 opioid overdose visits this January (2023). The same data showed that in the last 12 months, New Hanover County has seen the most opioid overdose visits by those between the ages of 25-34. While this data is only for one month, and we are now only in April, we should also look at the numbers from last year; In the first six months of 2022, 299 people overdosed, 36 opioid related deaths, and 15 suicides in NHC alone (Starnews) . NHC has set up a strategic plan to help combat Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and mental health; these steps include education and outreach, access to services and treatment, and sustainable recovery and wellbeing. While NHC has made a thoughtful effort, are their efforts bearing fruit? I think that depends on who you ask.
Vastly used for medication assisted therapy, many treatment centers use methadone to assist in treating opioid addiction. So what is methadone? Methadone is an opioid. I'm still scratching my head and trying to make sense of how we can treat opioid dependence with opioids. Maybe we should treat diabetes with sugar? I digress. Risks associated with this type of medication assisted therapy include irregular heartbeat, depressed respiratory function, seizures, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, hallucinations and insomnia. Some of the guidelines in place for this treatment include daily trips to a clinic to receive the medication, random drug tests, and regularly speaking with a counselor (insert NHC's strategic plan of education and outreach, access to services and treatment, sustainable recovery and wellbeing).
In my recent experience with a local treatment center, my eyes could not ignore the number of individuals I saw receiving methadone treatment, only to gather in the parking lot, exchange various illicit drugs, and go on to pass out on the next street corner. While helping a client, I was met with barrier after barrier in helping my client (1) attempt to lower their methadone dose and (2) get a referral to another mental health and SUD specialist that was not employed by the treatment center. While there, my client failed a drug test, and had apparently missed meetings with their counselor, to no consequence. When my client refused to take a methadone dose at a medical detox facility (because they wanted to get off of methadone completely) my client was supposedly told that they were not able to quit taking the dose, it was too dangerous - they had to continue going to an outside provider to have the dose lowered incrementally. I understand the reasoning behind this, but, are we giving coke to the coke addict in incremental doses while they go through detox? I'm not so sure we are. If someone is at a medical facility, shouldn't they be supported and observed while making healthy choices for their recovery? It seems the current process is all about boosting numbers to maintain state funding of a regulated narcotic - and don't let that revolving door hit you on the way out!
The hoops I had to jump through as a well educated, sober individual were enough to make me lose my sanity - please explain to me how we can expect someone going through withdrawal to cross these barriers and advocate for themselves?
New Hanover County took a step in the right direction with the recent opening of The Healing Place, which aims to treat addiction through an abstinence based program. Jay Davidson, Executive Chairman, stated "just walking through this facility, you’re going to feel the presence and the spirit of a higher power. I can’t say enough about it" (WECT). NHC recently acquired just over $19 million from an opioid related lawsuit. Unfortunately, because The Healing Place does not offer MAT, it cannot receive any of that money to assist the local population. Reporter Zach Solon of WECT revealed the mayor's thoughts - quoting
“The most important thing is the recovery process, and what’s the best way forward recovery, and I agree with Attorney General on this. This is a whole new process and a whole new treatment option that the Healing Place is going to
be using,” Saffo said. “So, there’s a lot of questions being asked. Is this the right
direction to go? And I think it just needs to be evaluated, because I do agree
with the Attorney General, that the treatment option with the medication
(MAT), I think is much more powerful.”
Solon also writes that MAT is a method where early-stage recovery patients are given medications like suboxone or methadone to ease withdrawal symptoms and then are to be slowly weened off those medicines with the help from other behavioral therapies. As stated previously, this simply hasn't been my experience.
Juxtaposed to MAT, there is faith based recovery. In 2019, Dr. Brian Grim, a sociologist at Baylor University, published a study examining the connection between faith and preventing and recovering from SUD. Key takeaways from this study show that (1) congregations provide $316 billion in savings to the US economy via their support of recovery programs, saving an estimated 20,600 lives (2) Americans are simultaneously identifying with religion less, and suffering from SUD more - this decline specifically shows that the decline in religious affiliation
presents a growing national health concern because the growth of disaffiliation is concentrated among millennials and young adults, who are also the highest percentage of any age group to have SUD (3) faith based organizations are uniquely capable of providing the tools, care, and community necessary for long term recovery. Overall, faith based recovery programs have a 60% higher success rate of long term recovery versus standard treatment alone.
I normally avoid numbers, but here, numbers don't lie. If you had been diagnosed with a fatal illness and the doctor told you he had a pill that would increase your odds of survival by 60%, would you take it? I am proud of the efforts of those I know, and happy to be able to support and embrace those in recovery. If you or anyone you know needs help on their recovery journey, please reach out.
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