I was stunned to see this story about the town of Brattleboro, a town in Vermont with a name famous for the rats that grew up there.
As an aside, my PhD thesis involved working with vasopressin receptors in the brain, and that is why I’m familiar with Brattleboro rats– a species of rat that spontaneously mutated and lost the ability to make vasopressin.
One would think that inhabitants of a town made famous over a rat would be on their best behavior. But they behaved worse than their namesakes at a meeting intended to get the OK for a clinic to treat people using Suboxone. I’ll let you read the article, while I get back to what I was doing when I stumbled across the article. What a bunch of…
Ah, forget it.
Acute Pain
VA Gets it Right and Wrong on Buprenorphine
The Veterans Administration recently released guidelines for chronic pain that recommend using buprenorphine if opioids are indicated. That idea has some validity, but the VA, and commenters, get much of the issue wrong. Buprenorphine is Read more…
3 Comments
SmittenKitten · December 23, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Hello Doctor. I found your site via your YouTube page. In regards to this particular story, it just goes to show how people really see addicts. How sad that people don’t understand the disease of addiction. It, like cancer, or even the flu, can affect anyone; and it DOES affect someone from every walk of life. Those coming in for something like Suboxone are trying, probably quite desperately, to throw off the chains for something resembling a “normal” life.
I am an addict, and my only drug of choice is hydrocodone. I have never done anything other than taking the pills (never snorted or “shot” them, or anything else that can be done), but I was a RAGING addict nonetheless. I was well aware of my parents’ alcohol addictions, and stayed far away from all sorts of alcohol, but was ensnared by the delightful little pills after my wisdom teeth were removed. I was on pain killers for approximately one months, and afterwards, all I thought about were those little blue (they were 10mg) things. They took away all the depression I had, made work pass by with ease, and made things at home much more pleasant. It was not hard to get more prescribed by doctors, and soon I was physically and mentally addicted. I’ve tried over the past ten years to stop, and had a little success for about three years, but relapsed after having a c-section.
I had been keeping up-to-date about Suboxone, and thought I might give it a try. It is not hyperbole when I say it has been a miracle FOR ME. I do not THINK about the pills, and I can have a normal day, every day, without hydrocodone. I am also involved in intense counseling, because I DO NOT want to ever go back to that “lifestyle.” I wanted to post this because I do hope I change at least one person’s perspective about addicts. We are your sisters, brothers, children, parents, etc., and we all HATE being addicts. Have you ever heard of an addict saying, “Gee, what a totally terrific life this is!! I cannot WAIT to wake up tomorrow to the pain it will bring!!” Not a single one of us likes our addictions, but we are so totally trapped that it feels like there is no way out. We also have learned the only way to cope with ANYTHING is our drug or drugs or choice.
If you are not an addict, try this idea on for a moment: say you have a gangrenous, rotting limb that has to be removed in order for you to survive. How hard would it be to cut this limb off yourself, with, say, a hacksaw? Sure it’ll hurt, but you’ll be getting rid of a diseased appendage. Oh yeah, and you’ll also be missing that limb forever. Say you have a doctor who will help you with this limb. It will still be a great loss in your life, but it will be less physically painful, and you will learn, with the help of your doctor, to survive without it, and you’ll be a healthier person. I know this isn’t a direct analogy, but I’m telling you, to be without that drug feels just like you’re going to have to get rid of a body part, and when you try yourself, the pain is insurmountable. Thankfully we have great doctors, scientists and medications in our age that can help ease the transition to a healthier, happier life for us all, no matter who we are or what our problem/ailment is.
Sorry to be so long-winded.
Laura
SuboxDoc · January 2, 2012 at 12:45 pm
Thanks for your comments, Laura!
finallyachance · January 1, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Well I did read the article and I understand your frustrations. I hate that I am shadowboxing a whole State of people, (I am not criticizing them at all) but Vermontarians are noted for their Homeopathic approaches and if the Doctor could get with a few homeopathic partners such as offer an array of herbal remedies or a Smoothie/Vegetarian Cafe of sorts in said clinic maybe he would become more appreciated. (Just a thought) As we all know, almost every town when hit with the idea of a suboxone or methadone clinic, the townspeople’s’ hair rise on the back of their necks. I live in a very small town in Western North Carolina and I drive to Asheville (an hour away) for MMT. I know methadone clinics are viewed even harsher than suboxone clinics and if suboxone really worked for me I would choose it, but nonetheless, I get help for the same disease suboxone clients do. I understand this Doctors rationale in why maybe he said one thing that left me questioning him so to say but his comment “Those who wish to use the clinic will have to undergo a rigorous screening process, which will include a criminal background check” seems to be writing a check his butt can’t cash, unless of course, he is going to treat only school teachers and police officers. I mean really I am on his side. I think that these people are crazy for not already having a local clinic so to say. Opiate Abuse is climbing statistical heights at a rapid pace. But…If he wants to use the best advantage point a “wanna be a clinic owner” uses i.e. Opening a clinic cuts the criminal activity down in the town and surrounding areas, then he might want to rethink saying he will be screening (criminal backgrounds) and making admissions accordingly. Otherwise I say Hats off to the Doctor and I hope his clinic plans are a success