GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - There is a growing epidemic in Wisconsin. Its name is heroin and it's infected every corner of the state, crossing all age, race, gender, and socio-economic barriers.
It's no longer someone else's problem; it's everyone's problem.
Dr. Ken Johnson is the Chief Physician Executive and ER doctor at Hospital Sisters Health System- Eastern Wisconsin Division. He serves on the frontline and says the shame associated with this drug has to be removed.
"Heroin is a community wide problem and we need to shed the shame that goes with this. These are not people who are somehow weak or bad. We need to start having open, honest dialogue if we're going to get past it."
Johnson has witnessed firsthand the destructiveness of heroin.
"In 2013 we averaged 4.7 cases a month. In 2014 that grew to 5.2. In 2015 it has now grown to 5.8."
One of the reasons for the up-tick in abuse is the better supply of cheap heroin. Johnson says the price of black tar heroin has depreciated and it's easier to get than it was a decade ago.
In part, he also blames the medical community.
"The last decade we spent a lot of time and effort trying to make certain that we managed pain which was a good thing. In some extent, we went too far with it and used opiates a lot to try and manage pain, says Johnson."
The path to heroin addiction can come through prescription pain medication and many times those medications are not prescribed to the individual using them.
NARCAN is a drug that's become invaluable when it comes to saving lives in the ER.
"If the problem with the overdose is that they're not breathing, this will make them start breathing and wake them up very dramatically, usually within 30 seconds to a minute, Johnson states."
It blocks the ability of heroin to bind to nerves that causes unconsciousness and lack of breathing. When administered it prevents the patient from overdosing but it also puts the patient in immediate withdrawal.
"The patient who gets the drug, although you will save their life, it is somewhat miserable for them because they do get a lot of the symptoms of cramping, diarrhea, etc. that go with withdrawal, because you essentially you have gotten rid of all the effects very quickly."
After the withdrawal process is over, what do patients do next? Tom Ritchie is an AODA Manager at Libertas in Green Bay.
He says a client centered approach tends to work best, since every person's recovery is personal. It's important for the patient to be involved- as much as possible with the assessment and treatment.
"There's different levels of care and we generally want to start with the least restrictive treatment that will work for the person, says Ritchie."
Triggers, like people places and things, can get in the way and create setbacks and relapse.
"You know there are internal triggers and external triggers. Internal triggers we know a big one is stress for people. Anger may be another internal trigger for people. And then we have those external triggers, you know being around people that are using, sights, sounds, smells."
Ritchie says recovery is a life-long process.
"It's a health issue and people that are afflicted with the disease of addiction, which will affect them mentally, emotionally, and physically."
For more information on heroin abuse and rehab, please visit www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose and www.libertasgb.org.
