In this program, they offer up two men’s homes and one for females. While this program requires 90 days, the clients are welcome to stay longer. The facility works through a level program that starts at level one and continues through level four. The program facility offers a 12-step program that is located on-site. Each occupant is required to do chores and attend all meetings. Once a month, they have a guest speaker who shares their testimony so that residents can see what they can look forward to. Residents are also encouraged to look for a job with the help of the facility.

This specific facility has two specific goals.

• To teach our clients how to get sober.
• To teach our clients how to be financially and emotionally independent.

I reached out to a previous client and asked what they learned by attending addiction rehab.

Per Client:

This facility saved my life. I do not know where I would be had I not stepped through the doors of this inpatient addiction rehab. I learned that all my bad decisions were my fault and not others. I started to see how the cycle of drug abuse kept starting over and getting worse each time. I learned how to make amends for the hurt I have done. I also was able to find God.

Please, if you are looking for help, please find help at an addiction treatment facility. You deserve to live a life free of drugs and alcohol.

Written by: Melissa Pena

Life was a mess during active drinking. The pain and suffering wasn’t going any where even while I was using. I hear a lot of people saying the drink or drug freed them from pain but for me the pain was there just allowed me to do lots of negative things. I never wanted to get sober, it was a painful and fun time while active. There wasn’t anything good happening in life everything was just going down hill. When facing life on life’s terms during my active using I would go and drink until I blackout and get real violent. I didn’t know how to handle life or even myself. Once I became honest and accepted the fact I really had a problem that nobody could help me stay sober the door started opening a little. Being patient was a hard one for me I was that angry little boy running and running my whole life and couldn’t stay still. They say if you willing to go to go to any length to stay sober and once I agreed on that I started having hope. Having someone that believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself open my eyes. The darkness was still there but the digging stopped. I had to change everything. I had to ask for help listen to others that been sober for a few 24 hours and start actually living in the day. Gain some courage to do uncomfortable things to get comfortable in my own skin. The guidance of a sponsor through some work of 12 steps and prayers to a higher power helped me take life serious. I am so Grateful that today one day at a time, prayers, reaching out to people asking for help and staying spiritually fit in my program I have a chance today to stay sober. Being in recovery is something new to me but also is a big part of my life today. I have had a few real tough times in my recovery with deaths in my family. Thankful I have tools today that allow me to do something different instead of picking up that drink or drug. When I lost my step dad it put me in a bad place and all I did was cry and cry. I am so glad I have grew up and learned that I am going to have bad days and good days but I as long as I pray to my higher power and talk to someone in recovery that has been there I can survive the day. That is all I have is 24 hours to stay sober. I have hope today faith and love and as long as I keep it in the day and stay humble I have another chance for the next day. So if you are new to the recovery life prayers meditation asking for help going to meetings and doing some action you have another chance to stay sober. If nobody has told you I believe in you. If I can do it you can do it also. Thank You for allowing me to be apart of recovery and service to you.

Let me say this we can reduce stigma if we change the way we think or the way we respond. Do you remember what I wrote up top? I was called a junkie. A person who is walking through recovery is far from a junkie. You might want to say there goes that addict. You could rephrase that by saying Melissa has a SUD. Another phrase heard a lot is abuse. Melissa was abusing those drugs. Instead, you could have said Melissa is misusing or using. How about the individuals who report and come back to talk to their friends? They possibly had a positive test. Instead of saying you were dirty, you could have tested positive. There are many other phrases we could change, but we also must think and process before responding. I can tell you firsthand that words matter, they are hard to hear, and we already feel bad. We must stop the stigma on drugs and individuals.

Written by: Melissa Pena

I have learned through the years that the holidays are tough on everyone. Next, I might ask if you have a relapse prevention plan, just in case. Having relapse prevention in place could help you from relapsing. I did not have a plan in place, and I relapsed. Here are a few ideas that have helped me this year.

Relapse has three different stages. Relapse begins with emotional, mental, and physical relapses.  Each stage is different, and if we could recognize these stages, we might be able to prevent relapse before it happens. In a mental relapse, a person begins to think about using. This happens because we might choose to hang out with unhealthy people or deal with stress. Other areas can cause a mental relapse. In the next phase, the mental relapse, we begin to be at war with ourselves. Me, I remember thinking back on all the good times. I even thought about how I could quickly lose weight and stop again. In the last stage, we have a physical relapse. By now, we are using drugs or alcohol. Hopefully, we will realize what has happened and stop using it again. We get back on the road to recovery.

Here are some tools to help you set up relapse prevention. Many of us might think we can handle things alone; I’m afraid that’s not right. We must be okay with asking for help. We must take care of ourselves; it is okay to be selfish. Find self-care that will work for you. I like taking a walk, especially with a friend in recovery. Another thing that I began to do was write out a list of people I could reach out to. This meant seeing the list, and when I struggled, I started at the top of the list and worked my way down until someone answered. This has come to work a lot in my recovery. Another thing I did was found me a sponsor that worked for me. Lastly, I started spending time with God. I will pray, read the bible, and listen to worship music. There is something about worship music that makes you feel better.

Written by: Melissa Pena

When I started self-care, I did not understand what it meant, and after some research and meetings, I learned what self-care was. Self-care is a primary value that we need in recovery. It teaches us to prioritize our own needs. I knew I needed to find tools and resources beneficial to my physical and emotional well-being. 

Here are some helpful ideas to help you start some self-care.

I found new activities to help promote my wellness. I started eating healthier, walking with new sober friends, and even trying yoga. Anything that can benefit my well-being helps me to feel better about myself. We all know that getting sober, we usually gain weight. This is okay because were now living a life without drugs and are not self-medicating anymore. 

Furthermore, I found out I wanted to try new things. I started painting rocks and hiding them around my community. I learned that I liked reading and what better way than to sit down and enjoy quiet time? I sat and watched healthy TV shows while petting my cat. I began journaling and being honest about my feelings, triggers, and struggles. Seeing these written down helped me to stay away from the things that could cause relapse. I started attending meetings and being around other recovering addicts. I realized I was not alone in this walk. I started attending domestic violence because I was a victim and needed to learn tools to help me stay away from abusers. Lastly, I prioritized myself. I set boundaries, I learned to say no, and I learned to ask for help. 

Recovery is not easy, and it is not something to rush through. Recovery is an everyday process. We will have ups and downs. So, where can you start in addressing self-care for yourself? 

Written by: Melissa Pena

Good day to all the people across the world. I found this topic Interesting to me because all this can bring and outcomes. Well for being my first time in recovery it feels weird not to be in a relationship. Some days it feels so alone I want to go back to my old days. Prayers kept me focusing on myself. What I have seen in my early stage is that people come into programs and want these girls but then girls a find someone new and then they out of luck. It is not easy when you have few months sober. There are a lot of people that feel they need a relationship whether it is to use that person, because they actually care or for the pleasure. I have been there and done that’s and witnessed all these things. It’s misery to the self and others that are trying to stay focused. people chase women and then they regret it. Relationships are hard too and headache’s in the beginning. Isolation to not knowing what to do and to not be alone we need that caring person in our lives. First year in sobriety was not too hard because my recovery came first, but also didn’t have women problems. We as human beings we Injure people when we jump into relationships because now we forget about our recovery and life. It’s all about her, or him that the focus goes into. I have seen lots go back out and use because of quick breakups or lose friendship relationships because some people care about their life and don’t want to go backwards to the old self. I needed to gain some courage, be honest and aware that the feelings from the other person were mutual and that they were willing to wait which showed me that they were serious. My suggestion to anybody who is ready or think they are ready to be in a relationship early in their recovery to think before acting and ask for help what you should do. I believe in you and you are worthy as long as you happy and pray things will work out for how they work out. Thank you everybody for taking the time to read.

Fentanyl is a pharmaceutical drug that is used for pain management. This drug is known to be 50-100 times stronger than morphine. Furthermore, this drug seems familiar to adolescents and has been known to cause many deaths. Many adolescents are unaware that this drug only takes a few milligrams to cause an overdose. 

Number of deaths

From 2019 to 2020, the number of deaths in adolescents tripled. The average range for adolescents using Fentanyl is from age 10 to 14. The record number of overdoses in 12 months went to 104,288. The part of Fentanyl that grabs adolescents’ attention is how their bodies react. 

Side effects of fentanyl

Today there are more and more adolescents who are experimenting with drugs. These adolescents enjoy the side effects. Fentanyl has been known to cause complete body relaxation, pain relief, and sedation. Then there is confusion, and they lose the idea of where they are. Adolescents become nauseous, vomit, and have respiratory distress. 

What happens now?

Adolescents tend to fall asleep and what seems like a peaceful sleep is far worse. Most adolescents think their friends are sleeping because they are snoring. What happens is that these friends leave their friends, and their breathing gets shallow; they turn blue and have a drug overdose. 

Parents need to be familiar with Naloxone; this medication can save your child’s life or even the next adolescent who has a drug overdose. This medication comes in spray or injectable. It is easy to use and can be picked up from most pharmacies. Some areas will have training on how to use Naloxone. Both you and your child should know how to use this medication. You never know when you might need it. Help educate your children about all drugs, especially ones that are silent killers. 

References

Christensen, J., CNN (2022). Middle-school children fall prey to fentanyl overdoses. CNN News. https://cnn.com/2022/02/18/health/fentanyl-fatal-overdose-middle-schoolers/index.html

Written by: Melissa Pena

Written by: Dwayne Myers

When my father died of alcoholic liver disease in 2016, I wanted to understand how this condition happened. As a former nurse, I should have known that he was sick, but the truth is we didn’t. Liver disease can be sneaky, and liver failure, especially from alcoholism, can happen quicker than you think.

However, I know my father’s medications also contributed to his rapidly failing liver because he mixed alcohol with liver-toxic medications. In the hospital, the doctors told us that doing so caused his liver disease to accelerate.

Indeed, according to research, mixing hepatotoxic medications with alcohol is highly dangerous for the liver. However, not all medications are toxic to the liver, but most people don’t realize which ones are toxic and which ones are not. Hepatotoxic drugs are metabolized in the liver and can put a lot of stress on the functions of the liver. Alcohol is also hepatotoxic, which adds even more pressure on the liver.

Medication safety warnings usually point to avoidance of alcohol when taking that specific medication but don’t explain why. Some medicines can make you more dizzy or drowsy when mixed with alcohol, but some warnings are due to the hepatotoxic nature of the medicine. But since these warnings don’t provide details, it’s hard for people to know why the warnings are there.

In writing these educational posts, my goal is to help people understand the information that is not often explained well to the general public. If people have the appropriate education, they can make better choices about their alcohol and medication use.

The following common medications are hepatotoxic, which means they put stress on the liver and shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol.

Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen is metabolized through the liver and can be hard on liver functions. An overdose of acetaminophen, however, can cause liver failure. Taking some Tylenol with alcohol is likely not going to cause liver failure. However, if Tylenol is mixed repeatedly with alcohol over a long period of time, it can contribute to worsening liver issues.

Narcotics

Similar to Tylenol, narcotics are toxic for the liver. Repeated use of narcotics can be hard on the liver, but it becomes a double-whammy when mixed with alcohol. For people who already have liver disease, mixing narcotics and alcohol can rapidly accelerate liver problems. This is what happened to my father — he had chronic pain from diabetes, and he used narcotic medication while drinking a lot of alcohol. Unfortunately, this combo was deadly for him.

Antibiotics and Antifungals

These are common medications that are used for bacterial and fungal infections. These medications can be very hard on the liver and digestive tract. Using alcohol with these medications can make a person quite sick, particularly for antifungal medications. Fortunately, these medications are only used periodically and not long-term.

However, people with alcohol abuse issues are sometimes prone to repeated infections because their immune system has been lowered by heavy alcohol use. This means that antibiotics or antifungals may be used more frequently in this population.

Anticonvulsants

Anticonvulsants are used to treat seizures and epilepsy. However, the medications taken to treat these conditions are hard on the liver. Medications like Valproic acid (anticonvulsant but also used for bipolar disorder and migraines) can sometimes raise liver enzymes even when taken alone. However, when used with alcohol, it can put a lot of stress on the liver and increase the potential for liver damage.

Antipsychotics

Some antipsychotic medications can be difficult for the liver. Medications like chlorpromazine are metabolized through the liver and should not be mixed with alcohol. Other medications include quetiapine, seroquel, and clozapine, to name a few. Unfortunately, many people with mental illnesses like psychotic disorders also struggle with alcohol use disorder. This makes liver issues a high potential for this group of people.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs

Medications like atorvastatin and simvastatin can cause problems with the liver and, as such, shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol. However, 85.6% of US citizens consume alcohol, and 25.8% binge drink. Also, 94 million US adults have high cholesterol and may require the use of medications to lower cholesterol levels.

Diabetes medicine

Insulin and metformin are both used for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Both these medications can be hard on the liver and therefore shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol. Interestingly, over 34.2 million people have diabetes in the US making it a relatively common condition. As such, many people with diabetes are taking medication to control their blood sugars and possibly mixing these medications with alcohol. Again, this is also what happened to my father. He had type 2 diabetes and also took medication to control his blood sugars. Unfortunately, he mixed several medications with alcohol which caused his liver disease to rapidly worsen.

These are the most commonly used medications that people may mix with alcohol. All of these medications can be toxic to the liver on their own, and when combined with alcohol, can accelerate liver disease. People who take these medications should exercise caution when drinking alcohol.

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Former nurse turned writer — empowering change. Let’s talk about mental health, addictions, trauma, and wellness. Join Medium: https://gillianmay.ca/membership

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