Although there are many treatment options available, there are unfortunately not many QUALITY options out there.
A program also should be chosen based on your location as well as your individual needs. This will vary from person to person.
If you call one of our treatment advisors at 412-487-0900, they can help guide you to a quality treatment program in your area.
Battling opiate addiction is difficult, but nobody should have to do it alone. We are here to help you in any way that we can. Please do not hesitate to reach out.
Dr. Brophy and several other members of the Advisory board will be attending the following upcoming events. Please check back frequently for updates.
Feb 23, 2017
Butler County Coalition on Opiates, Town Hall Meeting, Slippery Rock University, Thursday 2/23/17, 7-9pm
April 20, 2017
Shaler Area High School Townhall Meeting; Opiates and the Devastating Epidemic, Thursday 4/20/17, 6-9pm
June 15, 2017
Brentwood Area Townhall Meeting; Opiates on the Streets and our Plan to Combat the Epidemic, Thursday 6/15/17, 6-9pm
January 18, 2018
Hampton Community Opioid Partnership Summit
Hampton Community Center, 1/18/18, 6-9pm
March 19, 2018
North Hills & West View Opioid Summit
North Hills High School, 6p-9p
April 12th, 2018
Hampton Community Opioid Partnership
Hampton Community Center, 4/12/18, 6p-9p
April 19th, 2018
Shaler Area High School Opioid Townhall
Shaler HS Auditorium, 4/19/18, 6p-9p
May 2nd, 2018
Baldwin High School Opioid Summit
Baldwin HS Auditorium 6p-9p
September 20th, 2018
Charters Valley Opioid Summit
Charters Middle School Commons Room 6pm-8pm
October 9th, 2018
Pine Richland Opioid Education
PRHS Auditorium 6:30pm
Below you will find links to the videos posted by Dr. Brophy for his blog series on Opiate Addiction.
If you would like to subscribe to the videos on YouTube we encourage you to do so, and future videos will arrive to you via email.
We thank you for your support!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RTX5bwrRYI&feature=youtu.be
KDKA RADIO INTERVIEWS WITH DR. TOM BROPHY
(Executive Director and CEO of The Opiate Reform Initiative)
https://omny.fm/shows/kdka-afternoon-news/the-opioid-declaration
https://omny.fm/shows/kdka-afternoon-news/dr-tom-brophy-explains-kratom
What drugs are considered "opiates"?
Opiate and Opioids are terms that are often used interchangeably. Both terms refer to any drug that comes from the poppy plant, and is derived from the "goo" inside the bulb of the plant. Opiate drugs have been around for centuries (opium), but over the last 100 years they have been refined into pharmaceutical drugs such as morphine, dilaudid, heroin, demerol, fentanyl, codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and several other derivatives.
Why do people die when they take opiates?
All of the drugs in the opiate family work in similar fashion, though some are more potent than others. The drugs occupy a receptor known as the Mu Opiate receptor. This provides analgesia (pain control), but unfortunately it also causes respiratory depression. When these receptors are flooded with the opiate molecules, and respirations are suppressed to a degree where low blood oxygenation results, the heart and the brain will suffer damage as both require high oxygen levels to survive.
Why does taking opiates often lead to heroin use?
When a person takes opiates for pain control, even when taking as appropriately prescribed, the body develops something called "tolerance". This means that over time, the receptors in the body adjust, or get used to the presence of the drug. Because of this, what may be achieved with 5mg today, may require 10mg in just a few weeks.
Because of this tolerance, people using opiates for pain control, or using them recreationally, often find that higher and higher doses are needed over time for the same desired effect.
Opiates on the street today are bought and sold for roughly $1 per 1 mg. Someone consuming pharmaceutical opiates is likely to only have a $15/day habit, but over the next few months to few years, that will likely end up being a $150/day habit.
Heroin provides a much cheaper alternative to those people. They soon realize that by switching to heroin they can return to $15/day, and may only choose to snort it as they find this "less dirty" than injecting.
However, tolerance will continue to develop, and eventually the hard line of "never injecting" falls by the wayside, as many addicts will attest.
The one thing we must remember, is that nobody picks up that first vicodin or percocet with any inkling of an idea of the devastation that visit themselves and their families. Addicts do not want to be addicts (most at least). We need to set aside the stigma, and help get people into quality treatment programs.
What is Narcan?
Narcan, or naloxone, is a medication that is known as an "antagonist". This means that it occupies the same receptor as opiates, but it is inactive. It has a high affinity (or magnetism) for those receptors. Therefore, when receptors are saturated with opiates, and a person may not be breathing adequately, giving the person narcan will knock the opiates off of the receptors and the person will wake up abruptly. However, if organ damage has already occurred from a prolonged state of low oxygenation, it may be too late.
Narcan can be given via the nose (intranasally), via a shot in the arm/leg (intramuscularly), or by injection into the vein (intravenously /IV). All of those forms of dosing are effective.
Narcan is frequently used by first responders including EMS, Firemen, and Police Officers. The use of narcan has prevented the necessary deaths of many of our nations young people who have made mistakes in their lives that led to opiate abuse. Everyone makes mistakes, and despite harsh feelings at times, every life is worth saving.