Her dad was committed to his daughter and stayed in touch, but was fearful of taking the drastic step of of going to the courts to have her committed for treatment against her will before his colleagues. With ongoing dialogue, I convinced him to do so, and Allison entered mandated treatment and then a residential treatment center. Like so many people suffering from opioid use disorder, the cravings struck Allison hard. She called me, crying, afraid she could not get through treatment. Allison wanted to walk. She called me from treatment crying out for help; she was conflicted with leaving treatment due to the physical and mental withdrawal telling me, “I can’t do this.” I supported her and was able to secure her a treatment spot in our methadone program the next day.
Happy endings with OUD take time and family support. Her dad was committed to his daughter and spent the next four years getting up each day and making the 26-mile drive to and from the methadone clinic with his daughter. He called these drives his “quality time with his daughter,” his opportunity “to be a part of her recovery.”
In time, Allison progressed to take-homes all the way to 28 days and into our outpatient setting that was set up as a satellite to the methadone clinic. She made monthly appointments with her assigned nurses and her addictionologist every three months or as needed. I think a key part of her success is that Allison wasn’t treated as an addict, but as a patient with a chronic disease who needed treatment. Following her visits she went to the pharmacy and left with a bottle of medication, treated as every other patient presenting to the pharmacy, facing no stigma.
Allison quickly began to reassess where she was in her treatment and expressed her desire to decrease her dose, which she did under the supervision and support of her team. Allison knew she could contact her providers at any time. It took two years for Allison to complete her methadone taper. During her entire treatment, Allison had five years of full-time employment under her belt, a car loan, a boyfriend, and was a group leader for two Narcotic Anonymous groups. She was also continually connected to a sober community, another critical element to her treatment.
Allison continues to engage in primary care, stays connected and remains in long-term recovery. She often speaks of the importance of the primary care team in her ability to reach her long-term goal, and the value of de-stigmatizing addiction by bringing it to primary care. Every holiday, and on her yearly anniversary, my text message goes off with a note saying Hello and Thanks “for believing in me, and being there when it mattered most.”
by Colleen LaBelle, MSN, RN-BC, CARN
