12 Steps...Do they Work?

The twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery. Members of the program attend regular meetings. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was the first 12 step group and the method has been adapted to include narcotics, overeaters and many other groups. The process involves “working through the 12 steps,” with a supportive group. Membership in a 12 step group requires regular attendance at meetings, the selection of a personal sponsor to assist with the process, and a belief in the spiritual principles of the 12 steps. Does it work? 

New Suboxone Film

Remember, these?

Those nasty little orange pills? Now, suboxone comes in a new form (a thin strip) that dissolves faster and tastes better. Anyone, tried the new suboxone film/strips, yet? What do you think about them?

Wisconsin Mother Teaches Son How to Use Heroin - Son Overdoses and Dies

According to JournalTimes.com a mother, Patricia Strosina, a 46-year-old woman in Waterford, Wisconsin was charged after she allegedly taught her 16-year-old son Raymond how to shoot heroin, which resulted in his death. During the investigation witnesses, primarily drug users and dealers, told the Sheriff's Department that they saw her buying heroin for herself and her 16 year old son. An autopsy determined Raymond died from respiratory arrest from a mixed drug overdose from heroin and cocaine. Strosina remains in the Racine County Jail on $15,000 cash bond.

Does this make you sick or what?

That Heroin Smell

My daughter and I were in the kitchen making cheese quesadillas. I mentioned that we should take a vitamin and she opened the pantry door and noticed a bottle of B1 vitamins. She said, "who takes these?" I told her the B1 vitamins were her dad's. She opened the top and stuck her nose in the jar and at that very moment all hell broke loose.

She screamed, her face turned red, her eyes started watering and then she started running down the hallway. I didn't know what had happened. I asked her what was wrong. Then she came running back down the hallway into the bathroom. She looked completely sick and I thought she was going to throw up. She was holding a tissue over her mouth saying it smells just like dope....and the smell was going to make her throw up. She just kept saying, "the smell is making me sick." Then she said the smell was stuck in her nose....I didn't really know what to say so I told her to have a soft drink and try to think of something else.

I started spraying air freshener...to get rid of the smell which was really nasty. She said it was such a shock to her system to smell it that it immediately made her sick. The B1 vitamins were capsules from Walgreens....and yea, they did stink. I guess I know what heroin smells like....it kinda makes me want to throw up too!

Needless to say I threw the B1's and the very burned cheese quesadillas in the trash. We made turkey sandwiches instead and we didn't mention vitamins again....

Listen to Your Kids Because Talking to Them About Drugs Doesn't Always Work

We talk to our kids about drugs and it just doesn't seem to have any impact. Why? They have the attitude that they won't get into a car accident if they drive fast, they won't get pregnant if they have sex, they won't get addicted if they use heroin.... This "invincible teen attitude" is part of normal brain development. Their brains or specifically the prefrontal cortex is not developed yet. So, that proves that our teenagers are acting without a brain or at least the front part. The brains front section is responsible for considering risks and it helps us stop doing something if it's too risky. Since, this part of the brain is still developing in teens some of the wiring is not intact...the stop/go wiring. This creates a serious problem for parents but yet also gives of a sense of why teens act the way they do.

Using drugs when we told them how dangerous they are...is not defiance, its not rebellion — its their brain! They do not comprehend the consequences of drug addiction at all!

So what are we as parents supposed to do to keep our children away from drugs — when they're operating without an fully functional brain? Researchers have been trying to find out why ...risk factors such as genetics, mental illness [anxiety, depression or mood illness], early use of drugs, social environment, and childhood trauma seem to be recognized as the main risk factors.

In hindsight, I can identify that "social anxiety" was the main factor in my daughters heroin addiction and it started in middle school. All I can say is listen to your kids....I mean really listen. If they say "I don't want to go to school"...find out why. Ask as many questions as you can to find out what's really bothering them-don't just shrug if off as I did and respond by saying, "schools hard, sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do." Some children don't know how to handle anxiety...and if you don't help them find ways to cope with their feelings then they find ways to cope on their own — and sometimes they find heroin.

So, listen to your kids because talking to them doesn't always work.