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My Battle With Oxycontin June 21, 2008

Posted by Bob Aronson in alcohol and drugs.
1 comment so far

Author’s note.  This is the first time I have written a blog and posted it on both of my blogsites.  I did so because this topic is like an iceberg, most of the scope of the problem lies hidden under fathoms of lies, deception and incredible suffering by patients, families and friends.  For more information on addiction generally log in to my favorite treatment center in Minnesota, www.hazelden.org

 

 

When writing blogs I always make an attempt to personalize them often I cannot.  For example, I have written three blogs on how drugs and alcohol may have a negative effect on human organs.  I wrote them because I am a recovering alcoholic (July 17, 1982) and may have ruined my heart due to extremely heavy drinking (up to two quarts of vodka a day).  This destructive behavior may have led to the dilated cardiomyopathy I suffered and the subsequent heart transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida on August 21, 2007.

 

Today’s blog will in some way I hope, help others who are substance abusers or are concerned about family members and/or friends who may be.  This missive will only address abuse of prescription medication but let me be perfectly clear.  I am not opposed to drug use made necessary by a medical condition or to social drinking.  My purpose is to offer some information that might help people know when they have crossed the line from “need” to “want,” admit it to someone else and seek and accept help.

 

Just a bit of background.  When the medical team positions a patient on the table for a transplant, they place your left arm above you and at an awkward and unnatural angle.  Many patients suffer some post operative, but temporary discomfort (that’s what the docs call it, I call it screaming pain).

 

So here’s my story and I’m sticking to it!  Since my transplant, I’ve experienced “discomfort” in my left arm, pneumonia in both lungs, torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders and carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists.  After trying several different painkillers, only Oxycontin offered me some relief.  I knew when Oxycontin was prescribed for the intense pain I was suffering that I was at risk, but all other pain relievers had failed and, believe me, the pain was almost unbearable.  There were times when it was so bad I screamed and cried and even then, I fought the urge to take yet another Oxycontin.  In the end, though, the Oxycontin won.  While the pain had ended, the physical need only got stronger.  I knew almost immediately that I had become dependant on Oxycontin.  As Roseanne, Roseanna Danna used to say on Saturday night live, “It’s always something.”

 

I’ve experienced “cold turkey detox” several times in the past and while not as wild as Frank Sinatra’s scene in “The Man With The Golden Arm” It is not far off the mark.  Nausea, diarrhea, hot and cold flashes, heavy perspiration, hallucinations well, the list of symptoms is quite long.  I was not looking forward to doing it again but I knew I had to get “off the Oxycontin.”

 

I did some on-line research and called some friends for advice and recommendations.  Many of them gave me the same name – a clinic in Jacksonville, Florida that specialized in pain medicine, detox and related issues.  I saw a Doctor there Thursday, and began my Suboxone outpatient treatment yesterday.  As of this moment, I am at over 48 hours Oxycontin free, feeling very good and show none of the symptoms of detox I had experienced so many times in the past.  I am well aware that Suboxone can create problems as well as solve some, but with the help of my AA and NA friends the physicians at my clinic and my wonderful wife Robin, I will recover from this as I did from Alcohol.  You see if I don’t recover from it, I will most certainly die from it and there is no greater disrespect I can show my donor family than to let Oxycontin run, ruin and end my life. 

 

So if you are hooked on prescription painkillers you must do three things, 1) admit that the substance has taken control of your life, 2) Tell someone close to you about your “problem.” and 3) seek and find help, accept it and follow the program. For information on 12 step programs see  http://www.alcoholicsanonymous.com/ or http://www.na.org/index.htm.

Most family physicians are not qualified or licensed to prescribe some of the drugs (like Suboxone) that can help you.  Only a specialist can truly offer the right kind of help and monitoring.  They are not easy to find.  Some may want you to go through treatment; others will help you on an outpatient basis.  That decision can only be made by you and your doctor.

 

The Clinic I use is: NEXSTEP INTEGRATED PAIN CARE, INC.  904-288-8311, their website address is http://www.nexsteppain.com/  they might be of direct help if you are in or near Jacksonville.  If you are in a more distant city, they might be able to direct you to experts in your area.  In the interest of full disclosure, I have not been compensated, nor will I be compensated by NEXSTEP or anyone else.  My blogs are for public usage and not copyright protected and I accept no compensation or consideration of any kind for any of the blogs I write.

 

This has not been an easy trip but it certainly has opened my eyes once again as to my character flaws and strengths. Thank you to my friends, family and my wonderful wife Robin for your unfaltering support.  And — readers, if you are so inclined put in a word for me when you talk to “him.”

 

Please read and comment on my World Wide Issues  blogs on http://blogsbybob.wordpress.com.   Also…visit my Facebook site, Organ Transplant Patients, Friends and You at  http://tinyurl.com/225cfh  OR — my Facebook home page  http://www.facebook.com/home.php

 

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Don’t Just Support Donation — Do Something! June 16, 2008

Posted by Bob Aronson in Organ Donation.
7 comments

I’ve been blogging now for about seven months.  During that time, I have written forty-one blogs about organ donation, transplantation or both. While there seems to be interest in the blogs, comments are few and far between.

 

My goal when I started the Facebook site and Bob’s Newheart was to get people talking, to stir interest and hopefully, increase the number of organ donors so fewer people would die waiting.  I sense, though, that while there is interest in the subject, there doesn’t seem to be a burning interest.  I have asked repeatedly for people to comment, to send suggestions on subjects I should write about —  the response has been almost negligible.  But, I never give up, never.  I’m going to ask you again to help us solve this horrible organ shortage.  Please join in the discussion, read the blogs, offer new ideas to explore and I’ll follow your lead.  Just being interested is not enough.  You have to do something to help increase organ donation.  Talk, write, email, cajole, opine, assert, make your feelings known.  Help make sure everyone understands that organ donation is a life and death issue.

 

WordPress keeps a running summary of reader “hits” on blogs.  I think we are doing OK as the following summary will show, but I sure would like some reader input, some sense that you really give a damn.  More than that, I would appreciate it if you would spread the word about the Facebook site and Bob’s Newheart blogs.  Ask your friends to join in, ask them to comment, ask them to make a huge fuss about the organ shortage.  Every one of you could be faced with the need for an organ sometime, please don’t wait till the last minute to become active.  Do it Now!  I am alive because someone “did it now.”  There are thousands of others out there just like me that need your help NOW!

 

Here’s a brief summary of the six top blog hits in the past few months.  Where I have written more than one blog on a subject I have combined them into one category.  Get with the excitement.  Pump up your friends, let’s make a difference together.

 

  1. Alcohol’s effect on organs                                          287
  2. UNOS’ Failure in Increasing donation                        265
  3. Mandatory organ donation                                          219
  4. LifeSharers                                                                 190
  5. Presumed Consent                                                    135
  6. Cellular Memory                                                          101

 

Hit a homer — be a donor!

 

Please read and comment on my World Wide Issues  blogs on http://blogsbybob.wordpress.com.   Also…visit my Facebook site, Organ Transplant Patients, Friends and You at  http://tinyurl.com/225cfh  OR — my Facebook home page  http://www.facebook.com/home.php

 

23% of Donors Can’t Pay For A Transplant June 10, 2008

Posted by Bob Aronson in Universal Health Care.
6 comments

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I have written before about the inequality of the organ transplant system but the following information caused me and I hope you, too, to consider the topic again.  It is particularly important now because it is an election year and now is the time to put pressure on candidates to make changes in the current health care system.  Here is but another short chapter. 

 

According to a study by Southern Methodist University, http://www.smu.edu/newsinfo/excerpts/cardiac-donation-ethics.html)

“Twenty three (23) percent of organ donors are uninsured.”  That means that despite being donors, they would not be eligible for transplants because they could not afford the cost of the procedure. The study goes on to say, “Financing an organ transplant out-of-pocket is prohibitive for all but the wealthiest of Americans. The estimated costs for a heart transplant during the first post-operative year is $478,900, according to the health-care consulting firm Milliman USA. Liver transplant patients typically incur about $393,000 in expenses during the first year”  (Important note…There is no cost associated with being a donor, the recipient’s insurance pays for all charges.  The recipient, though, must have the financial resources to pay for the procedure or he/she will likely be denied a new organ).

 

As an aside, this information makes LifeSharers claims of equity even more absurd, unless LifeSharers will pay the cost of a transplant for the approximately 23 percent of its  11,000 plus members (2,530 people) who presumably lack the finances to afford a transplant..

 

One approach that would make the system more equitable is a national healthcare system that would provide funding for those people who otherwise would fall through the cracks.  At this point, the United States is the only industrialized western nation that does not provide the kind of health care of which I speak.

Additionally, under a national or universal health care system we might be able to address the following sorry statistics: (http://cthealth.server101.com/the_case_for_universal_health_care_in_the_united_states.htm) 

  • The United States ranks 23rd in infant mortality, down from 12th in 1960 and 21st in 1990
  • The United States ranks 20 in life expectancy for women down from 1 in 1945 and 13 in 1960
  •  The United States ranks 21 in life expectancy for men down from 1st in 1945 and 17 in 1960.

If you really care about an equitable health plan in the U.S. write to your Congressperson or Senator now.  Election years are about the only time elected officials really listen…well, kind of.

Please read and comment on my World Wide Issues  blogs on http://blogsbybob.wordpress.com.   Also…visit my Facebook site, Organ Transplant Patients, Friends and You at  http://tinyurl.com/225cfh  OR — my Facebook home page  http://www.facebook.com/home.php