Recovering From Opioid Addiction: 6 Recovery Stories

Recovering From Opioid Addiction: 6 Recovery Stories

It is absolutely possible to stop using opioids and enjoy recovery. In fact, it is simple. It just may not be easy. Over the years working as a medical professional in the field of Substance Use Disorders (SUD), I have enjoyed poignant and memorable conversations with...
Low Energy After Opioids: What’s to Blame?

Low Energy After Opioids: What’s to Blame?

“Please, Ms. Shepherd,” my patient begged, “please remove this naltrexone implant. I don’t want it anymore…” Evelyn is a 42-year-old high school teacher in New Jersey, and quite frankly, had one hell of a year in 2020. While all teachers deserve medals for Resilience...
Grief and the Genetic Component of Addiction

Grief and the Genetic Component of Addiction

All week long our staff has had the pleasure of working with Juliette who came to us for a dual detox off alcohol and buprenorphine. She couldn’t have chosen a better support person, her Aunt Leila, who is tough, wise, and adores Jules. When I opened the door to get...
5 Scary Things People With Substance Use Disorder Believe

5 Scary Things People With Substance Use Disorder Believe

We had an incredibly busy season at the Coleman Institute for Addiction Medicine. We were challenged to keep staff and patients safe from COVID-19, navigate holiday schedules, and respond as best we can to the tsunami wave of people desperate for help from various...
Restoring Hope: The Gift of Detox

Restoring Hope: The Gift of Detox

It doesn’t happen like this all the time. But it did happen yesterday. Room to room, patient to patient, over and over—I heard one success story after another. Mack, off fentanyl since mid-April. Sleeping well, doing home renovation projects he’d put off for...