by Ingrid Manfredo, LCSW-C, LCADC Today, over 100 million Americans deal with chronic pain conditions. Many people think that if they have chronic pain, their choices are limited to opiate prescriptions, illegal drugs, or simply suffering with it. Our country…
Opiates can be one of the hardest drugs to stop using. People who become addicted to opiates often experience such intense cravings that, despite often experiencing catastrophic consequences, they return to using the drug. When a person starts using opiates…
Misunderstandings create obstacles to treatment When we hear about tragic events involving individuals and their drug or alcohol addiction, there is often a knee-jerk reaction that we rarely say out loud. That’s sad—but they CHOSE that path, so they can’t…
We are Lisa and Todd. We were blessed with four healthy babies during the first 11 years of our marriage and worked hard to ensure one of us would be home every day to raise our children. We had a…
“A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.” – Ogden Nash You may describe the members of your family differently. How you get along with or tolerate each…
Opioids are pain relievers commonly known as OxyCotin, Vicodin, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, etc. (1). In general, prescription opioids are safe to use when used as prescribed, but have highly addictive qualities. They create that happy feeling of euphoria similar to…
The following is a posting from Caressa, whose son has struggled with addiction. My son is 25 years old this year. His addictions started in high school during his senior year in 2009. He is dyslexic and always felt different…
It seems as if there are few, if any, short-term solutions or tools that can aid in addressing the opioid and heroin epidemic threatening Frederick County and areas across the country. Overdoses all too frequently result in severe medical emergencies…