The Coleman Institute Blog

Rebecca now realizes that this is no longer a joke. While she used to kid around calling herself a “functioning alcoholic,” that all changed when, after many attempts at cutting back, stopping drinking for a period of time, or setting limits, she suddenly lost her job of 10 years. She made an error that cost her company thousands of dollars and they fired her.

This was not her first mistake at work. Although the mistake was not attributed to alcohol use, it was serous enough to result in termination. Deep down in her heart, she questioned whether her nightly alcohol use had contributed but she then remembered that she is functioning just fine in all other areas of her life so she discounted these thoughts.

Looking at my schedule a few weeks ago, I saw that a new patient was coming in for a consultation to learn more about our Accelerated Opioid Detox (AOD).

Detox means different things to different people.

This was the call I received from a woman who was desperate to get off her opioid pain medication. To protect her privacy, her name has been changed for the purpose of this post.

Janine is a 52-year-old woman who had her first surgery in her late twenties for a gastric by-pass. She did fairly well and lost about eighty pounds, which she was able to keep off for several years. In her mid-thirties, she had complications with the surgery and for the next eleven years, she had a series of operations to repair, revisit, or revise the original surgery. These were difficult years and Janine experienced almost constant pain, even when she was months beyond the actual procedures.

At the Coleman Institute for Addiction Medicine, we work with people of all ages to safely get off addictive substances like alcohol, Oxycontin®, Percocet®, Roxicodone®, Dilaudid®, fentanyl, heroin, or methadone. Our patients tend to be highly motivated and ready to do the inner work required when the grip on a substance is loosened.

The answer to this question depends on whom you ask.

There are those who define recovery as the complete abstinence from any mind-altering drugs. And Suboxone®, a medication that combines the opioid buprenorphine with the blocker naloxone, does activate opioid receptors but it produces a smaller response.

It relieves drug cravings without the high or dangerous side effects caused by other opioids. Regular use can lead to physical dependence. So, can it really be considered recovery if I'm taking it?

Perhaps this is not the right question to be breaching. The more relevant question may be: What beliefs and behaviors can best support your recovery, to live a life in the service of what you value According to Richard Rohr, founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, "Bill Willson saw 'emotional sobriety" as the final culmination of the Twelve Steps.