The Coleman Institute Blog

I heard from Ken (not his real name) yesterday. Ken completed an Accelerated Opiate Detox with us about 5 weeks ago. The burden lifted from his shoulders is immense, he told me. He wakes up with the freedom of knowing he can be like a “normal” human: drink coffee, take a shower, snuggle his kids, read his mail…with absolutely no need to compromise his integrity or his wallet by buying pills.

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Several months ago a 26-year-old man from Northern Virginia came to the office for an Accelerated Opioid Detox.

He had been using heroin for about two years after being on oxycodone for surgeries he’d had shortly after high school. Jim had graduated from a good HVAC program and was a reliable employee. He loved working with his hands. He was just blowing all his money on heroin. (more…)

A patient called the other evening. He finished his rapid opioid detox about a week ago. He has a very physical job and is the father of a 4-month-old baby, Noah. Noah is the reason he finally decided he had to stop his drug use once and for all. He has been using high dose opiates for over 20 years, with a few small blocks of abstinence thrown in.

He did well through his detox; he was able to stay pretty comfortable getting off the equivalent of somewhere between 300-450 mg of mixed opiates. He was also using heroin but didn’t want his grandmother – who was his support person-to know about that. We never mentioned it to her.

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Patients who have stopped using opiates and gone through the withdrawal process often wonder why their energy is so low and ask about ways they might boost it. After extended use of opioid pain medications such as Oxycontin, Percocet^®, Opana^®, Dilaudid^®, Vicodin^®, etc., stopping is no easy matter. Neither is the first several weeks afterward. Cessation of these opioid medications leaves the brain with a deficit of dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. (more…)

People in recovery deserve a lot of praise. The best gift that you can give someone in recovery is acknowledgment—an acknowledgement of how hard they have worked, how much they have changed, and how proud of them you are. If you didn't know, those in recovery call their recovery dates birthdays, so having that date in your calendar is really thoughtful as well.

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