The Coleman Institute Blog

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 her started on the last day of her 8-day accelerated opioid detox off Suboxone®, Juliette and her aunt were quietly listening to a song on her phone. Their eyes were moist. I sat down and Juliette began to fill in her story for me.

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 addictive substances. If holidays and COVID-19 weren’t enough to add to people’s vulnerability to using opioids, benzos, and alcohol, the relative ease of finding these drugs has made a bad problem much, much worse.

Addiction is a difficult disease. It can be isolating, lonely, and painful. Unlike many other diseases, addiction is often paired with secrets and lies. It is hard to picture a life without addiction when you don’t know what treatment solutions are out there.

Here are 3 addictions solutions that can turn your life around.

We see it almost daily. A patient comes in for a detox with us stating that they are buying pills, like opiates or benzodiazepines, on the street. They say their dealer is “trustworthy” and that the pills are “legit.” When we test their urine for substances, more often than not, there is no oxycodone, there are no benzos, but what is present is Fentanyl.

I was recently invited to speak to a class of student nurses and discuss how 12-Step Recovery programs like AA can help someone struggling with bipolar disorder and substance use disorder.