Suggested Reading
Prescription
Drug Abuse
Synopsis:
Colvin was motivated to write this book when his brother died
after several years of abusing prescribed tranquilizers and sedatives.
He defines the problem, gives reasons for it, lists the most frequently
abused substances, and relates anecdotes describing unwitting addicts.
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I originally got hooked on Oxy's cause they were always there but then
one day they dried up. A friend says try heroin it will help till you
quit.
Started sniffing and that helped, but then I made the biggest mistake
of my life, I shot it. Oh the feeling! But after a week or so I needed to
use it just to feel normal.
I want it out of my life for good but every time I stop, I get realsick and jump back on the wagon. I have heard of clinics
and or doctors that can help. I am in the south jersey area and wanted
to know if you could help?
THANKS
Sender: Joshua
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Dear Joshua,
I have detoxified 100's of patients from opiates of
all kinds. Currently the two most comfortable ways are either the method of
anesthesia assisted opiate detoxification.
In that method, the patient
is comfortably asleep for 2 hours while they detox. They awaken irritable
and jittery, however, medications are given to control this.
The patient is observed overnight and then sent home.
It is best to follow detox with a recovery program to stay clean and sober.
AA and NA do help, but, the additional help of a knowledgeable substance abuse counselor, social worker or physician are important. Sometimes people need to be on
antidepressants for a while post detox. Another way to comfortably detoxify is to be prescribed Buprenorphine. Currently in the United States it can be used for pain relief only so
as an addiction specialist, I use it to treat the pain associated with
withdrawal. It is given by injection (intramuscularly) over a 3 day period. You can
detox comfortably with this. We hope in August 2002, the FDA will give
its approval for Buprenorphine in tablet form so that one will not have to
inject it intramuscularly. One will be able to take it as a sublingual
pill for 3 days.
I hope this helps. For more information or to schedule an appointment,
please call me at the Addiction Recovery Institute in New York, NY.
212-223-3600.
Sincerely,
Joel Nathan, MD
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