Dr. T compared addicts to diabetes patients; put a gun to a diabetic patient's head and tell him/her to lower his/her blood sugar at that instant. Doesn't seem reasonable does it? Addiction is truly a disease.
[Side Note: Dr. T is not under the chains of insurance companies and therefore, he can spend as much time as needed with his patients]
The first patient was a young looking strong man with a stern face. His urine test had proven to be positive for methadone, which is essentially a narcotic, and Dr. T was very upset. In the past, this patient's urine had been positive for various drugs (6 times to be exact). The patient pleaded that he had no idea that methadone was a narcotic and said that his friend just gave it to him (rigggght). Dr. T threatened not to see him again if his urine test was positive for narcotics or any other drugs. He called it, "tough love". Dr. T explained how most addicted patients are pathological liars and that he assumes all of his patients lie to him about how and why they take drugs. This is not because he dislikes them, it's the only way that he can effectively treat them without having himself be manipulated. He definitely knows how the addicted mind works.
The second patient was a 22 year old woman who was pursuing a nursing degree but had been out of school for almost a year and a half. Since she was 12, she had been on various pain medications for her supposed lime disease and uneven hip placement. She later found that she had a vitamin D deficiency and was taking meds for depression and pain management. She had a family history of addicts and her uncle had recently died due to alcohol poisoning. Dr. T assured her that he would be able to help her but not cure her addiction to narcotics for pain relief. [She had been using for over 10 years and addiction to opioids is NOT curable, only treatable]. Dr. T finally prescribed her oxycodone and told her that the time of intake didn't matter because it essentially had the same effect if taken in the morning or night. She asked about pregnancy and the effect of the medication on the fetus. At this moment she became extremely teary eyed and realized that her use of opioid inhibitors would cause the baby to be addicted from birth. Dr. T informed her that yes, her baby would be born addicted but a week's worth of detoxification would help the baby live a completely normal life. I get to see her again next week for her weekly followup.
Finally, the third patient was an old female patient from 2007 who had relapsed and started self medicating from a friend who was giving her oxycodone. Dr. T was intrigued as to how his patients were obtaining so much oxycodone (as much as thirty tablets) from "the streets". She needed to increase her dose and needed more tablets. Also, she told the doctor about her husband's renal failure and how she wanted to give him her kidney. Dr. T focused on her addiction issue, he provided her with enough oxycodone to last her a couple of days because, due to the economy, she was unemployed and was not going to receive her unemployment check until a week later. She was asked about the cause behind her relapse and her recent medical history. She had both of her knees replaced through surgery.
I definitely had a GREAT time with Dr. T and will keep you informed of all my happenings with him. He gave me his book to read on addiction and it's amazing how there is so much brain chemistry associated with it that previously was disregarded. My perception of addiction and addicts have completely changed and I'm glad that I was able to have this experience. =D
