Detox With Compassion and Competence: Fentanyl, Heroin and Methadone

Last week was busy and wonderful at The Coleman Institute’s main office in Richmond, Virginia! We helped a married couple with two children detox off a variety of opioids, most recently heroin, which they had been using for several years. Amazingly, they had kept it a secret from their family, but their lives had turned into a series of exhausting, shame-filled activities centered around getting money for drugs, hiding, and trying to hold things together with a very thin thread. Another great guy came from Oklahoma with his entourage; the whole family was with him. He had a great sense of humor, took a lot of ribbing from his brother and it was a privilege to help him get off the 120mg of methadone he’s been a slave to for seven years. That’s a lot of methadone to get off, and this guy brought an amazing attitude to the whole experience. Finally, a woman who’s been on the maximum doses of fentanyl for back pain for many years, sick of her dependence on medications, tired of the side effects, the lack of energy, the minimal pain relief being provided, bravely went through an Accelerated Opiate Detox. I checked in with her a couple days later. She also works in the medical field and said, “I cannot find one bad thing to say about my experience. Every single one of you were so nice and professional. I told my Mom I want to volunteer at The Coleman Institute.” That feels pretty good because our staff really does love working in this specialized field and are decidedly non-judgmental. We’ve got the right blend of compassion and competence to get people through a tough process. Our founder, Dr. Peter Coleman, is in long term recovery himself and has created a supportive culture throughout our national network of addiction treatment centers. Just a reminder: we are open 365 days a year. Many people choose to detox with us over the holidays to miss the minimum amount of work. Call our staff now if you are looking for professional, competent, compassionate…and actually, fun people to help with your opiate detox. If fear of withdrawal symptoms is what is standing in the way of your recovery, please don’t let that be the barrier. Our medically-supervised withdrawal process is comfortable and fast enough that 98% of patients complete it successfully. Joan R. Shepherd, FNP