The Coleman Institute Blog

It was a pretty typical day at the Coleman Institute. Patients were being seen in various stages of recovery: a patient at the beginning of a detox off Opana^®, another a few days into a detox off Xanax^®, a person scheduled to get Vivitrol but who had relapsed on Vicodin^®, a gentleman following up with three months of sobriety off alcohol, a repeat naltrexone implant for a patient now 8 months off heroin, and one patient, Caitlin*, who was on her eighth and final day of an Accelerated Opioid Detox from 130 mg of methadone.

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The sad fact is that there are thousands of overdoses happening in the US every day. For the last year or so, over 120 of these daily overdoses were fatal, but there were many more where the person survived.

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The theme of Connectedness is permeating much of what I am reading and listening to these days…and how disconnection and isolation is such a hallmark of the patients with addiction we treat every day at the Coleman Institute. This powerful isolation-belief can lead to hopelessness and despair.

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My good friend sends me articles she reads that have to do with addiction. This morning she sent me a quick story from the New York Times that describes a woman’s experience of having surgery in Germany: “After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea.”

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When I write blog articles, my inspiration is drawn from the courageous patients who are re-writing the stories of their lives. Usually when I ask for permission to tell someone’s story, changing a few details to keep it confidential, people are willing to share. When I talked to Ben about sharing his story, he offered to write it in his own words. Clearly, I couldn’t have said it any better. (more…)