When a parent enters treatment for opioid addiction and begins methadone dosing, hopefully that person embraces the recovery process and the resumption of certain responsibilities that may have been neglected during addiction.

Many parents in addiction live with a sense of regret and shame over not always being there for their children. Opiate addiction is particularly brutal and can derail a person’s priorities for extended periods of time. Families can suffer, and their bonds strained to the limit for years because of drug addiction.

When a parent begins to find true recovery and is able to take an honest look at their life, they recognize how their mistakes affected others – most often their families and particularly their children.

Effective parenting requires a notable combination of talents & abilities – obviously love mixed with patience, availability, consistency, and attention. These qualities suffer and are diminished for a majority of addicted parents when drugs are in control. As the years roll … Read more

The State of Massachusetts is experiencing dramatic levels of opioid abuse and their Governor, Deval Patrick, is sharply focused on addressing the problem. A compelling Boston Globe article has highlighted the growing problem with heroin and other opiates across the state noting that 185 people died of heron overdose between November 2013 and February 2014.

Also mentioned in the article was the state’s plan to increase funding for drug treatment by $20 million and to prohibit the sale of Zohydro, a highly potent prescription painkiller that has drawn much attention and criticism due to its ability to potentially worsen the opioid epidemic in America.

Governor Patrick has declared the opioid abuse problem a public health emergency and is taking active measures to increase the availability of naloxone to Massachusetts public workers so that they can intervene to save the lives of those experiencing an opiate overdose. Naloxone is a powerful opioid antagonist that reverses the effects of opioid overdose within … Read more

Receiving increased attention across the country are concerns about prescription pain medication and to what extent prescribers are using caution and due diligence in administering them.

In addition to opioid addiction treatment centers that often employ methadone, pain management clinics also utilize methadone as well as other beneficial but potentially addictive opioid medications such as hydrocodone for breakthrough pain. Often, in addition to painkiller prescriptions, pain management physicians will prescribe powerful benzodiazepines like Xanax and Klonopin to manage patients’ stress and anxiety symptoms.

The potential problems which can emerge from these medication combinations is fairly extensive. First, uninformed patients can develop a rapid physical dependency on pain meds if not properly educated. Patients also run the risk of accidental overdose when combining powerful drugs like methadone, oxycodone, and xanax. There is a serious risk to the community when a physician overprescribes because powerful pain medications and benzodiazepines have a premium “street value”, and are often diverted and sold to naive, … Read more

People in recovery from addiction face very substantial stresses. The stress of trying to cope with cravings & urges, the stress of facing life and trying to resolve problems, and the common pressure of trying to make ends meet when finances are not in good shape.

While many addicted individuals find that they are more resilient than perhaps they ever believed, loss can sometimes be a particularly crippling experience. People from all walks of life suffer and struggle with losses – divorce, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, income, security, or health.

A recent New York Times article briefly profiled a young woman released from prison who was trying to stay clean from heroin. She really missed her child who had been removed from her custody. While she loved her baby, she also recognized she was not yet ready to resume the pressures and responsibilities of parenting until she got herself on more solid, sober … Read more

An interesting post was made on the DrugFree.org website related to a recent survey which found that the primary drug of abuse among “affluent” addicted women was prescription opioids or heroin.

The definition of affluent included those whose annual family income exceeded $100,000. Of those who entered treatment for their addiction, 61% of them identified prescription opioids as their predominant addiction problem. 

The survey found that 70% of those who developed an addiction reported that their initial use was related to a prescription of legal medications for the treatment of pain or emotional problems.

The opioid epidemic has shown how universal addiction problems actually are by transcending all types of assumed barriers and biases. Opioid addiction is a very clear brain disease and poses risk, even in prescribed legitimate uses, to those individuals with no prior addiction-related problems or high risk behaviors.

For individuals receiving prescription pain medication, it is imperative that they have a thoughtful and candid discussion with … Read more

Zohydro ER (extended release) is a new opioid-based pain medication just recently approved by the FDA and scheduled to be released for use in March of 2014. More than 40 healthcare organizations, advocacy groups, and physicians have come forward in a desperate appeal to the FDA to revoke the approval of Zohydro ER.

The medication is touted to be many times more potent than standard dosage hydrocodone, and the mounting fear is that Zohydro could lead to immediate abuse and overdose deaths across the country. This concern is in part stemming from the recent explosion in heroin use in the United States and the steady increase in opioid overdose fatalities that has emerged in the last five years.

One characteristic of Zohydro that presents increased risk is that it can be easily crushed and then snorted or injected. The medication was designed specifically for special pain management scenarios in which standard pain management interventions are not effective.

The manufacturers of … Read more