Parents

The Puritans of Sobertown

A Call From A Rehab I got a call from a patient at a residential drug treatment center today. He had been using Opana pretty heavily, and decided to go to rehab to get his life back on track. He had broken up with his girlfriend, and his little girl was staying with his mother. They’ve been giving me a ... Read More

Naloxone: The Cheap, Harmless Drug That Can Reverse A Heroin Overdose In Progress (Get Yours Now!)

Naloxone is an inexpensive medication (about $1 per dose) that can be safely administered by anybody who is present when somebody is experiencing an overdose caused by taking too much heroin or prescription pain pills. Naloxone blocks the opiate receptor sites in the brain and reverses the overdose. Watch this video to learn more:

Parents Of Addicts Faced With Tough Choices, Over And Over

In Powerlessness Most Dangerous Form of Parental Denial, I suggested that even more dangerous than a parent’s denial about the fact that their child has an addiction, is a parent’s denial that there is something they can do about it. “Exhausted, confused, sad, angry, hurting and grieving parents of addicts often come to feel powerless,” I wrote. “It’s no wonder that ... Read More

Reality Slap!

I got a new comment on my Hitting Rock Bottom page here at Recovery Helpdesk today. “This is what I have been fighting my family about with my son,” the reader wrote. ” I do not believe the homelessness or incarceration will be the reality slap necessary.” Part of what I question is the idea that a reality slap is necessary at ... Read More

HIV Infection Linked To High Drug Overdose Risk

Drug users who are infected with HIV are 74 percent more likely to experience drug overdose, a recent study suggests. Researcher Traci Green, Ph.D. says factors contributing to the increased risk may include poorer physical health, poverty and poor access to medication-assisted therapy to treat opioid dependence. Green points out that drug treatment with methadone or buprenorphine (Suboxone) has been shown to protect against fatal ... Read More

Happiness 101: Random Acts of Kindness

You may have heard about the benefits of committing random acts of kindness. The benefits are very real and very concrete. This works for people who are currently using, people who are in early recovery, people who are in long term recovery, and family members. So try it yourself and suggest it to those who are close to you. Helping others ... Read More

Mom Wonders: Is My Son’s Arrest A Good Thing?

Will your son’s arrest ultimately turn out to be a good thing? Not likely. I certainly understand how a mother could feel a sense of relief when her son is arrested. Even her son may feel a certain sense of relief. Finally something might actually derail the runaway train. But what about the train wreck that follows? For the last ... Read More

Typical (Non-) Addict Thinking That Makes Me Sick

Spending time every day working in the community with people who are living with opiate addiction, I see a lot and hear a lot. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard everyone from probation officers to drug treatment providers to doctors refer to “typical addicts” and so-called “typical addict thinking.” Talk like that reveals to me that the speaker ... Read More

Devil’s Dictionary

In the world of addiction and recovery, words matter. Sometimes, people literally live or die because of the power of words. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the power of words in the lives of people living with addiction. And over time, I’ve developed what I call The Devil’s Dictionary of Addiction & Recovery Terms. These are words or ... Read More

Tough Love Delays Recovery For Heroin Addicts

Tough love delays recovery for people living with addiction to heroin or prescription pain killers like Vicodin or OxyContin. Tough Love Defined Tough love is a term used to describe dysfunctional behaviors by parents that are intended to help the addicted son or daughter, but instead cause harm by perpetuating the addiction. I realize that this is not the standard definition ... Read More

50 Surveys Now Complete, Thank You Moms!

We’ve reached our target number of 50 surveys completed in the Recovery Moms Survey 2011. I’ll be crunching the numbers and sharing the survey results with you later this month. Thank you Moms! Tom

Calling All Recovery Moms: I Need Your Opinion!

If you are the mother of a son or daughter who is addicted to heroin or prescription pain killers, then I need your opinion! Please take the Recovery Moms Survey 2011 It’s only 5 questions and it’s anonymous. Please check back here for survey results, and learn what’s on the minds of your fellow recovery moms. Thank you so much for your help and support. ... Read More

Powerlessness Most Dangerous Form of Parental Denial

Parents often find themselves reacting in response to one crisis after another. Reacting to each crisis as it arises, without any kind of a recovery plan, is not effective and only results in emotional exhaustion. “Parents often come to feel powerless. The myth of powerlessness is the most dangerous form of denial of all.” Exhausted, confused, sad, angry, hurting and grieving parents of ... Read More

Suboxone Doctor Mandates NA Meetings, Creates Relapse Risk

Q. A mother writes: My daughter has had many attempts at recovery including inpatient and outpatient treatment. She is now prescribed Suboxone. It’s been 5 weeks, and I’m thrilled that I’m slowly seeing my real daughter again. She has enormous fear/ anxiety about attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings. In the past she got caught up with people she met at the meetings and ended up relapsing. ... Read More

Probuphine: Buprenorphine Implant On The Way

I am watching the progress of Probuphine, the buprenorphine implant, as it clears each new hurdle in the drug approval process with a lot of interest. This new medication could really upgrade our options for treating opiate dependence. Probuphine is a new form of buprenorphine currently in phase 3 clinical trials in the United States and Europe. Probuphine is a small, ... Read More

Overdose Deaths Soar Among Military Troops

About once every five days an active-duty service member is found dead of an accidental drug overdose, the Army Times reported. This number roughly tripled since 2001. And the number is more than twice as high if you add in intentional (suicide-related) overdoses. Read more at: Rx for Death: Troop Deaths Soar with Prescriptions for War Wounded Military doctors often prescribe both opioids ... Read More

How Common is Abuse of Prescription Drugs like OxyContin in US High Schools?

Fifteen percent (15%) of high school freshmen in the U.S. say they have taken OxyContin, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin or Xanax without a doctor’s prescription. This according to the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. By the time they are seniors, that number has grown to 26%, or more than one in four. Note that the survey ... Read More

Prescribed Heroin Used to Treat Heroin Addiction

(I’m dedicating this post to Bill, the Dad at the blog Dad on Fire. Keep up the good work Bill, and peace and safety to you and your family.) Settlers of the American west learned that their best weapon against fire was fire itself. Today, scientific researchers are studying the effectiveness of fighting heroin addiction by prescribing heroin. What they are finding: ... Read More

Parents of Addicts Question Expert Advice to Allow Harm

The headline of this post is a mixture of fact and wishful thinking on my part. Sure, many parents do question advice from so-called experts who tell them they should allow their daughter or son to suffer serious harm in order to allow them to hit rock bottom and stop using drugs. But what surprises me is how many parents ... Read More

Dr. Drew Pinsky Suggests Father Plant Drugs in Lindsay Lohan’s Car

Celebrity rehab doctor Drew Pinsky recently suggested that actress Lindsay Lohan’s father plant drugs in her car and call the police as a way to get his daughter arrested and into drug treatment. After he was widely criticized, he wrote a letter published on the Huffington Post seeking to clarify his position -without really changing his position, or apologizing for ... Read More

Mom Asks: Should I Pay Rent for My Addicted, Mentally Ill Daughter?

Anna, the mom at the blog Let Go, Hang On wondered in a recent post whether or not she should rent a room in a rooming house so that her mentally ill and addicted daughter would have a safer place to live. This, of course, resulted in a flurry of comments warning her about the dangers of enabling. Here is my take on the ... Read More

How Many Chances Do You Give Someone?

How many chances do you give someone? Barbara from the blog Recovery Happens recently asked this question in the new forum at “When do you stop hoping that an addict will stop for good? How many rehabs? How many broken promises or lies? How many incarcerations?” Here’s my response: My first instinct is to say, “you give people as many chances as ... Read More

New TV Series “Addicted” Begins

TLC will begin airing a new TV series this week called “Addicted.” The series begins Wednesday, March 17 at 10/9c. Read about it here. Please join us for a chat discussion about the first episode on Thursday, March 19 at 8/7c in the chat room at ! When I first wrote about the planned series here, Peggy from the blog Helplessly Hoping left an interesting comment ... Read More

Addiction, Lies, Consequences and Recovery

The blogger at Her Big Sad posted a response to my recent post Parent of an Addict Asks: When Does the Lying End? Here’s my comment in reply in the hopes of doing some clarifying and continuing a good conversation: Thanks for reading my blog, commenting on my blog, thinking about what I wrote, and being so kind and gentle in your sharing of a ... Read More

Parent of an Addict Asks: When Does the Lying End?

Kelli, the mom at the blog Hearts Broken/Mom of a Drug Addict recently asked her readers: “When does the lying stop? Should a parent try to detect all the lies?” I agree with Barbara, the mom at the blog Recovery Happens, who commented: “I think that would drive you nuts and cause more frustration than it’s worth.” Here’s the way I see it. ... Read More

Young UK Heroin Users in Acclaimed Online Documentary (Swansea Love Story)

Swansea Love Story is a new UK documentary about the lives of young heroin addicts living in the city of South Wales. Part One of the six-part film was released today. It runs a little under seven minutes, and is available to view online here. The other episodes will be released over the next seven days. “I wanted to make this film ... Read More

Syringe Exchange: What Would Jesus Do?

Catholic Charities recently started providing syringe exchange services in New York (see post here). I am a life-long Catholic. I went to Catholic school grades 1-8, and then asked my parents to send me to a Catholic high school. I approach my work with people who are opiate dependent in moral terms. It’s just who I am. So when I tell ... Read More

Government Ignores Hep C, Millions Infected

The Institute of Medicine, a branch of the US National Academy of Sciences, is calling for increased resources and focus on viral hepatitis. According to a new Institute of Medicine report, 3 million to 5 million people in the United States are chronically infected with hepatitis B and hepatitis C (HCV), a number far greater than those carrying the HIV ... Read More

Catholic Charities Begins Syringe Exchange

Catholic Charities began providing syringe exchange today in Albany, New York. “I strongly believe in this. It will save lives,” said Sister Maureen Joyce, CEO of Catholic Charities. The syringe exchange program will operate with the blessing of the bishop of the local Catholic diocese. And with the support of local police, prosecutors, and public health officials. The Albany Times ... Read More

The Devil’s Dictionary: “Hitting Bottom”

Addiction and recovery are serious business. Lives are literally at stake. It’s a world where words and the concepts they describe have enormous potential to do good, or harm. Over time, I’ve developed what I call The Devil’s Dictionary of Recovery Terms. These are words or phrases which I have come to believe do more harm than good. Ron at the ... Read More

Proven Effective, Syringe Exchange Banned in Florida

Syringe exchange is proven effective at reducing transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C, and in linking people who inject to drug treatment and other services. The federal government recently lifted the ban on federal funding for syringe access programs. But lack of political leadership, and state statutes are barriers to implementation of syringe exchange in many places including Florida. Florida ... Read More

Teen Girl Raped by Drug Dealer While Dad Waits in Car

A 16-year-old girl who says she had her dad drive her to buy heroin says she was raped by the dealer, while her dad waited outside in the car. The girl told police she had asked her dad to give her a ride to a “friend’s house.” Here dad was suspicious and told her “if she wasn’t out in one ... Read More

Feds Lift Ban on Federal Funding for Syringe Exchange

The decades old ban on federal funding for syringe access programs for injection drug users has finally been lifted. Syringe exchange has been shown to reduce the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C without increasing drug use, injection drug use, or improper disposal of used syringes. Syringe exchange programs also function as a bridge to treatment. Syringe access programs are ... Read More

Focus on Safety

“Whether or not you use today, your focus should be on safety.” For most people, recovery means abstinence from the use of alcohol or other drugs. I think this is true of most drug treatment providers. And I think it is true of most family members and friends of people who have a history of opiate use. It is even ... Read More