Addicted

We used to have game nights. He bought this big, dark blue Lazy Boy chair that could fit both of us perfectly. I’d climb into the cozy chair and he’d always say, “So Sarah, want to pick the game tonight?” He taught me how to play a multitude of card games, but we always ended up playing Yahtzee.

When I grew up too much to snuggle with my daddy, we played on the floor. He’d make soft pretzels and bring out mustard to dip them with. Every night we played, he’d always complain that there wasn’t enough salt on the pretzels, and I would immediately go get the salt shaker -- like clockwork. If we were still hungry, there would always be a secret dessert of waffles and ice cream after mom went to bed. Yahtzee and food every game night — that’s just the way it always was.

I haven’t played that game since I grew out of my sixteen year old body — really, since the man I knew disappeared right in front of me.

I found him brushing his teeth in his bedroom one night yelling that the toothpaste wasn’t coming out of the tube. He was holding socks. Mom found him incoherently talking to walls some nights. Just carrying a forever one-sided conversation to the surrounding world, but in his mind, that was clarity. Nothing was scarier than the night the smoke detector went off at 4 a.m. He tried to make soft pretzels in the microwave, but left the packaging on.

Maybe somewhere in the depths of his old brain he was trying to communicate to me, to let me know he was still there.

I could never bring myself to make soft pretzels again.

Experts believe that more than 8.5 million Americans abuse prescription drugs, according to WebMD, and my dad was one of them. People who are addicted to other substances are more at risk — for him it was alcohol. People with childhood trauma are at a higher risk — for him it was losing a parent. People with mental health problems present a higher risk — for him it was anxiety and depression. And after his back surgery, once he started taking opioids, he didn’t stop, not for a long time.

On February 2, 2016, President Obama proposed a $1.1 billion bill for funding to address prescription opioid abuse and heroin use epidemic in America. Money will be allocated to states to fund treatments, to National Health Service Corps and to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs.

“This investment, combined with other efforts underway to reduce barriers to treatment for substance use disorders, will help ensure that every American who wants treatment can access it and get the help they need,” a press release from the White House said.

For my dad, it was the combination of opioids. Prescriptions were provided to ease the pain, but the withdrawal process became painful and when doctors prescribed more drugs. Then the depression set in and more drugs were prescribed. Drugs interacted with drugs which led to him trying to brush his teeth out of his sock drawer. It was the dangerous cocktail of medicine prescribed by doctors -- by the professionals -- that was almost fatal.

The United States wants to solve the drug problem with more drugs — for my dad that solution was almost deadly and was socially damning. He lost his relationship with his wife and daughters for years, he lost friends and he lost his job. Six years later, he is still recovering — bouncing from doctor to doctor.

The 8.5 million Americans -- and their families, loved ones and acquaintances -- should never have to potentially live through that experience when other methods of medicine are available. While this method of prescribing medications does work for some people, people who are at risk of addiction or who do not have the proper medical team should seek alternative methods.

There are rising clinics and models suggesting integrative medicine is a healthier and more productive pain management and treatment. Programs such as Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy (PAINS) promotes public policy and research on nonpharmacologic methods.

In an open letter, John Weeks, publisher, editor and involved with PAINS, said, “The exception might seem to be when a person is in initial recovery from a major operation. Yet even in such cases, research is emerging that mindfulness practices, even in the form of listening to a simple meditative CD, can help limit drug needs and healing times. These low-cost approaches can reduce the need for addictive medications. Let’s ramp up the use of these therapies.”

These different types of therapies are steps away from the drug-induced society we live in -- steps in the right direction. If one doctor would have just said “no” to prescribing more drugs -- specifically more opioids -- my dad could have become the man he wanted to be, the father, the husband, the manager that he wanted to be.

Instead, he’s recovering from drug addiction still with more drugs.

Sarah Litz