Bartlett Regional | House Calls | Summer 2018

By Katie Bausler, Community Relations Director, Bartlett Regional Hospital Brandon is proud of his newly furnished apartment—with a flat screen TV, expansive couch and sparkling kitchen. “This is the time when I’m building my life,” he says. Born and raised in Juneau, Brandon spent the later half of his life addicted to opiates and alcohol. He started using OxyContin (oxycodone) as a freshman in high school, and by 16, he was using heroin. At 21, he was well into a years- long struggle to get clean. “I would go to rehab for three months, get out and get high. But now I’m clean,” Brandon says. “What does it feel like? It feels amazing. I have a beautiful girlfriend. I rent an apartment. I’m working.” Finding help: the MAT program In September 2017, Brandon applied for the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program at Bartlett Outpatient Psychiatric Services (BOPS). In this program, patients work on recovery without admission to an inpatient facility. He was accepted and prescribed Suboxone along with a treatment plan, which includes appointments with a psychiatrist and a counselor. “We treat it as a medical condition overseen by medical staff,” says Bradley Grigg, Chief Behavioral Health Officer. Suboxone is the brand name for buprenorphine, an opioid drug. But unlike other opiates, buprenorphine has properties that block the neuroreceptors in the brain and prevent the experience of a drug high. Suboxone also took away Brandon’s craving for alcohol. “I was drinking a lot too. I was waking up 20 times a night, puking every morning,” he says. “Now I don’t drink. I don’t do heroin.” Grigg says the MAT program can make a huge difference in a patient’s life when they commit to the process. “As long as they don’t divert to using other street drugs and alcohol while they are in the program, we’re seeing success. We’re seeing people able to hold jobs. Patients have been able to maintain employment; successfully manage case plans where children are at risk of being removed from the home by child welfare; find and maintain housing; and maintain sobriety from other substances.” Successful recovery from addiction To those who have an opioid addiction, Brandon can’t recommend Bartlett’s MAT program enough. But he acknowledges that making the commitment is up to the individual. “They just have to get hit rock bottom to get on it,” he says. The clinical goal is for outpatients like Brandon to eventually taper off the Suboxone medication. He anticipates the process may take several years. But he’s OK with that. He’s well aware that withdrawal from opiates brings on sickness, depression and anxiety. “There’s this restlessness, and you can’t sit still,” he says. “I’ve never felt that restless feeling except from opioid withdrawals. And that is the worst feeling in the world.” “Patients call that ‘dope sick,’” says outpatient counselor Miriam Jensen. “It’s like having the flu times a thousand.” 8 House Calls Summer 2018 OVERCOMING OPIOID ADDICTION Brandon’s story A NEW START Bradley Grigg, Chief Behavioral Health Officer Miriam Jensen, MAT Counselor