Coming to the Clinic - part 2 of part 6 - get high on life

 Three weeks ago, I shared the objective saga of the prescription drug crisis in America and what is believed to be one of the causes of it. Today, it’s my turn to tell my side of it, the personal side, what I’ve seen in the past and what I see every day at my clinic.

 Thirty years ago, right about this time of year, I was hit in the face with the reality of addiction. Thanks to my first husband, I learned all about twelve step programs, spent an hour every week in an Al-Anon meeting, came to understand what enabling was all about, and fought to accept the fact that this was a disease just like diabetes or cancer. And just like diabetes or cancer, I could get mad at the person with this disease who wasn’t taking care of themselves and getting treatment.

 Everyone’s body and mind react differently to any substance put into it. Most people can give or take alcohol and it’s no big deal, while others can’t put it down. Some of those people could control their alcohol use and some are truly wired to be addicted.

 The same thing goes for street drugs and prescribed drugs. There are factors such as family history and past medical history which can indicate what you are going to do with such drugs, but no system is fail-safe.  

 So, here is the reality I see in the clinic where I work.

 We have patients safely and appropriately taking pain pills like Vicodin and Tramadol, sleeping pills like Ambien, and ADHD meds like Adderall and Vyvanse. These patients are going to sign a contract saying that they will behave and follow our rules; they will give a urine sample when we ask for it; they won’t get early refills and they won’t go to another clinic asking for any other controlled substances.

 Then we have those patients who do not play by any of these rules. They lie to their provider, they lie to their pharmacist, they lie to their families, they manipulate everyone. The medical field has (hopefully) done its best to help these people, but if they aren’t going to help themselves, there is nothing left for us to do except to cut them off.

 The first thing a person learns when they are in AA or any twelve-step program is that they have to admit that they have lost control, that they are powerless over their addiction, that their addiction has taken control of them. The sad part is that if they get to this point, there are fewer and fewer drug addiction centers out there and fewer insurance providers which will cover a 28-day stay in one. If addiction is truly a disease, why aren’t there enough specialists willing to see these people? I think that’s where we are losing this war on the opioid crisis.   

 Of course, the other reality is the world we live in. A society seeking instant gratification, filled with sensory overload, where support systems may be sketchy and tempers are often near the tipping point. I think that people just need to learn to relax, do some meditation, take some deep breaths, turn their lives over to God or whatever healthy higher power they believe in.

 Thirty-four years ago, before I knew any of this, a friend and I were talking about people who smoke marijuana, and he said, “Why get high on drugs? Get high on life instead.”

 Rather corny words, but, oh, how wise. Try it, my friends, look at the good things around you, stop focusing on your pain or your problems, and get high on life.