TAMPA, Fla. — The stresses of the holiday season can be especially difficult when you’re in recovery from addiction.
As part of our series Overdosed, we don’t just want to tell you about problems. We’re looking at solutions.
Monthly shots are helping Tampa Bay area people who are in long-term recovery from addiction get back to their normal lives.
“I mean, you lose everything. Everything,” said Lauren Barone, who’s been getting monthly Sublocade injections for years. “I was really bad on heroin. And I just had enough. Enough was enough, and I knew I needed help.”
Going through withdrawal from opiates is excruciating in the short term.
But what people who haven’t been through it might not realize is it doesn’t end there; there are long-term withdrawal symptoms, too.
“We have a condition called post-acute withdrawal syndrome, where various centers in the brain are affected. The mood centers that control sleep, that control appetite, that control mood, depression and anxiety, that control even sexual drive,” said Dr. Lawrence Wilson, Medical Director for 7 Summit Pathways in Tampa.
“And this can go on for months if not years. And what we know is, if we can quiet that down with medication, it gives the patient a better chance of staying sober and clean.”
Dr. Wilson knows where his patients are coming from because he’s been there himself.
“I’m in recovery for now close to 20 years,” he said.
He uses Sublocade and Vivitrol to help treat patients in long-term recovery. They’re extended-release shots that can be given monthly, instead of a daily treatment like methadone or Suboxone.
“Before I started receiving medication-assisted therapy, I felt irritable. It was hard for me to focus on all the things that I was supposed to be doing in my recovery. And when I started receiving this therapy, it was just like, I don’t know, it’s like, I had this itch that stopped needing to be scratched,” said Mark Selby.
Before Sublocade, Barone took Suboxone twice a day. Now that she’s a mom, her monthly Sublocade injection helps her stay on track and stay present for her son.
“Just know that it is possible. And you can do anything that you want to as long as you’re in the right mindset and you know that you’re done. You’re totally done,” said Barone.
These injectable treatments are just part of addiction recovery. Experts say medication-assisted treatment is most effective when it’s a joint effort of medication and counseling.
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, you can find resources here.