Life After Opioid Addiction – Avoiding Relapse
Life After Opioid Addiction – Avoiding RelapseRecovering from an Opioid addiction can be difficult – but with the right treatment plan and support, things canbe a bit easier. Recovery also means making some major changes to your life. Jake Jansen knows thatfirsthand.“They say in recovery, there’s only one thing that you have to change that one thing is everything. Andthat was certainly true for my life.”Jake has been in recovery for several years for an Opioid addiction. He started abusing prescriptionmedications and then moved to Heroin because it was easier to get. After finishing an inpatient treatmentprogram, he had to work to avoid the people, places and things that could trigger a relapse.“I had to give myself the best opportunity to remove as many triggers as possible and that meantchanging my phone number, changing my housing, you know changing my circle of friends.”For Robyn Ellis, those triggers are emotions.“Holidays and birthdays and anniversaries. Those are hard for me because that’s the internal thingthat sets off, it’s like I’m going to feel down today. And I think that’s the one thing for me as an addictthat I want to run from is my feelings.”She struggled with opioids for several years. Both of her parents had problems with drugs and alcohol. Shelost both at an early age. After trying several treatment options, Robyn found a plan and support system thatworked for her.“I call my sponsor and she reminds me that like how amazing it is that I get to be on the journey that I’mon today and I get to be sober and I get to be a mom to my daughter. So, reaching out to people whounderstand again is a big thing for me.”Long term treatment can also include the use of Opioid Replacement medications – such as Methadone andBuprenorphine. These drugs protect certain receptors in your brain that opioids attach to, to give you thosefeelings of euphoria. The opioid replacement drugs can help curb cravings and wean you off opioids.“I encourage all of my patients with opioid addiction to consider medication and to not walk out of mytreatment facility with their opioid receptors empty and available for heroin or something else.”Your healthcare provider will work with you to figure out what therapies or medications should be in yourtreatment plan. This will lower your risk of relapse, but it doesn’t guarantee it.“Addiction is a chronic disease. There is no cure for addiction.”And relapses can happen. But relapsing doesn’t mean you’ve failed.“The misunderstanding and stigma is when people come back for more service with addiction, they’reconsidered to be a failure. They’re weak or they’re not doing it the right way, or the treatment wasn’tcorrect, or it never was appropriate in the first place. And we don’t say that about relapse as with otherchronic conditions.”Recovery is a journey. It requires a constant commitment to stay clean and healthy, and with the righttreatment plan, you can get there.“I have to continue to work at my recovery and build on the person that I’m becoming and not slip.”This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG53198B EN LifeAfterOpioidAddictionAvoidingRelapse.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 1
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