A MedMark employee reveals his story of overcoming opioid addiction.
We feel it is vital to share this real-life success story of medication-assisted treatment from someone close to our treatment center. Not only because this person overcame incredible hardships but also because he now works to help others do the same. He knows firsthand how opioid treatment programs change lives. He also shares incredible advice for those looking to become success stories in opioid treatment programs.
Questions and Answers
Q: When did you first begin experimenting with drugs?
A: I loved using drugs from the first time I tried them. I started with marijuana, pills and alcohol when I was 12. I escalated to IV drug use by the time I was 16 years old. I was living in a rough neighborhood in El Paso, TX. I had already become immune to the fear of trying something new or getting in trouble.
While I was out party-hopping in search of marijuana one night, we ran into my friend’s sister. She was an IV drug user and was doing it right in front of us. My friend said he wanted to try it and wanted me to do it with him. I said OK, and that was the first time I shot heroin. It was just that easy.
Q: What was your home life like at the time?
A: Things were not positive in my life. I had issues at home with my family. My parents, who were making bad choices for themselves, caused lots of stress and chaos for me. My girlfriend at the time had attempted suicide shortly before the first time I used.
Any of these would have made understandable excuses for trying heroin if there were any excusable reasons. But honestly, I tried it simply because it was there. Unfortunately for me, experience any negative symptoms that first time. It was amazing, and I loved it. That was the beginning of an almost 30-year battle with opioid use disorder.
Q: When did you realize you needed help for drug addiction?
A: Early on, it was difficult for me to admit or even understand that I was becoming addicted. I had always excelled in school, which did not change even with my use. Although I left home at 17 and lived on the streets for almost two years, I graduated high school with honors.
Several Ivy League universities accepted me. Unable to afford those schools, I began to attend a local community college in El Paso. Attending an Ivy League school was just a pipe dream. Around this time was my first visit to an inpatient rehab facility. I completed my first 28-day program in El Paso. However, I continued to use immediately after my release, as so many opiate users do.
Q: When was your next attempt at addiction recovery?
A: In 1990, I began working with my father’s business and experienced my first period of recovery. Lasting almost two years, I was doing well, and for no particular reason, I began to use again. That is what opiates, or really any drug can do. You stop using, you are doing well, and then they suck you back in again with no rhyme or reason.
Q: At what point did you consider MAT programs?
A: My sister was moving overseas with her husband. She invited me to go with her, and I accepted, looking for a change of scenery. While there, every drug I could possibly want, and some I had never tried, was cheap and easy to get. It was a drug user’s paradise, and I took full advantage.
I was working and got injured at my job, making me unable to continue working. In 1995, I came home, injured, addicted and right back where I started. Working with my father again, I met a girl and decided to try medication-assisted treatment (MAT) again in 1997. I had tried it before with no success, mostly because I was not ready to stop using.
Q: How did the methadone treatment work for you?
A: The medication-assisted treatment began to work, and I experienced a feeling I had not had in a long time…HOPE. I started to attend school again, attaining my bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and Chemistry from the University of El Paso. My mother became very ill as I was finishing my degree. MAT allowed me to care for her while going to school. I was so proud to be able to give something back to my family for the first time in so long.
I began to receive offers of internships, and fear took hold. I feared that methadone would show up in my pre-employment drug tests. It would cause me to lose opportunities I had worked so hard to attain. I made the decision to quit MAT and do an ultra-rapid detox.
I was left feeling empty. I began to smoke cigarettes and drink and felt myself headed down the same roads I had been down before. I was in the same place where I grew up, like nothing had changed.
Q: Did you seek out other opioid addiction treatment options?
A: My hard work resulted in my receiving an internship at a premier federal research center in Chicago, where I found a methadone clinic. Back in medication-assisted treatment, I began to feel good again. For the first time, I realized I was able to keep up with the Ivy League graduates I was working with. My work was published for the first time as well.
Over the next few years, I received many opportunities to advance in my career. All while continuing to experience success in MAT programs. I received early acceptance into one of the top medical and biomedical research institutions in the country based in New York. There, I received my Ph.D. in Biomedical/Neurosciences.
Q: Would you consider yourself a MAT success story?
A: I once thought this was only a pipe dream, living on the streets at 18. Through hard work, determination and my MAT program support, I was able to accomplish the seemingly impossible. A doctor took me under his wing and allowed me to do rounds with him at a local hospital known for their expertise in behavioral health and addiction medicine. There, my story spread to countless individuals as a prime example of the possibilities of success with methadone. I became the poster child for long-term recovery with MAT.
Q: What do you feel when you look back at your old self before your opioid recovery journey?
A: When I began using drugs, I felt numb. My tolerance grew leaps and bounds, and I chased that feeling of numbness with opiates, cocaine and Xanax. I would get up and then need to come down. It turned into a never-ending cycle of panic attacks, hospital visits and consequences I never expected at 16 years old. I thought I was Superman until it was too late.
Back in El Paso, I am now caring for my father, who is ill, and teaching at a local community college. It is tough being in the place where it all started, and I do not plan to stay here forever. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present in the lives of those I care about. Family is the most important thing to me right now.
Q: What would you say to someone with substance use disorder who is reading this interview?
A: I would tell anyone considering medication-assisted treatment to do their research. Understand how it works, commit to the process, and take it seriously. But most importantly, do it! I’ve been through it all – high-end inpatient facilities, state-run hospitals and everything in between—and I can say with conviction that MAT saved my life.
I am something of a “welcome wagon” to new patients in my home clinic, MedMark Treatment Centers El Paso. I always try to make clear two points: (1) do not use, and (2) if you do, ask for help.
Those are the most critical things. If treatment is going to work, it is up to you, so take advantage of the available resources. Counseling and MAT for addiction recovery are invaluable tools for addition recovery. They really do help, even if they have not all used like I used or even taken drugs at all. Addiction and dependency are human problems.
Q: What are your future plans after overcoming addiction with methadone?
A: I do not know if I will ever be entirely off methadone. Still, I am tapering down and working with a psychologist, and for now, that is working for me.
The Importance of Reading This Real-Life Success Story of Medication-Assisted Treatment
Many people who are deep in their addiction are not aware of the possibilities available to them. There are thousands of people finding hope through medication-assisted recovery every day. By publishing testimonials from trusted sources, we hope to showcase that recovery is possible for everyone. In fact, most people do recover, especially if they have the proper support systems for opioid addiction recovery.
We hope to provide a real-life success story of mediation-assisted treatment every so often to remind people they are not alone. Many, just like our colleague, achieved things in their lives they never thought possible, thanks to MAT. Stay tuned for more entries.
Become a Real-Life Success Story of Medication-Assisted Treatment with MedMark
MedMark Treatment Centers provide life-saving addiction recovery programs for people from all walks of life. Whether it is your first or tenth time trying to stop using drugs, we can help. Our specialized medical providers and nursing staff are ready to design a personalized treatment plan.
You can be the next MedMark success story, but you must take the first step today. Give us a call or send us a message to learn more about our MAT programs and substance use counseling. Do not wait another day to make your dreams come true; recovery is within reach. Contact us today.
