The Coleman Institute Blog

One of the most troubling aspects of my job as a medical addiction professional reared its head last week as I entered the exam room for a follow-up visit with Gordon.*

Gordon has had a very successful career in banking. He is the 64-year old divorced father of three grown children who adore him. He is very witty, personable, and engaging.

My patients, the struggles they have endured, and the efforts they have made to achieve sobriety inspire many of my blogs. But yesterday at work, I have to say, I was moved so much by my coworkers.

I had the pleasure of seeing my patient Isabel (not her real name, but I love this name) in the office for her regular monthly Vivitrol injection.

Vivitrol is a long-acting, injectable form of naltrexone. Naltrexone is an opiate blocker, also called an opiate antagonist. When naltrexone is present in the system, there is “no room at the inn” for opioids.

When patients come to the Coleman Institute for Addiction Medicine to detox off various addictive substances such as heroin, fentanyl, Percocet®, Dilaudid®, Roxicet®, or any other derivatives of morphine, they aren’t feeling their best.

These are the words I heard from a middle-aged patient who came into the office a few weeks ago. He said to me: "I hate it. Every 3 days I have to re-apply my Fentanyl patch and I can’t stand the fact that I am a slave to it. All of my doctors tell me that I should just stay on this medicine, but I just don't want to live this way anymore. I feel like I am living my life in some kind of a shadow."