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My mom was a stripper and my dad was a taxi cab driver. I was none of those things. My parents both used heroin and were HIV positive because of needle use. I lived in a nice house in Summerlin. I never pictured myself like everyone else that used drugs,” said Vanessa, a young and successful Las Vegas woman in recovery.
“When I was 16, my mom passed away from HIV. I began to drink. I would do coke and then speed. I would try anything except heroin. For some reason, I viewed these other drugs differently than heroin,” explains Vanessa.
When she found out she was pregnant, Vanessa stopped using drugs and alcohol. Shortly after giving birth, she found out she needed gallbladder surgery and received pain pills during discharge. “I would never touch pain pills before because I was very conscious of the problems with my parents. I started taking the pain pills after surgery, but of course I didn’t take them as prescribed. Before I knew it, I was doctor shopping,” said Vanessa. “It got to be too hard to obtain pills because the laws got stricter. I had heard that heroin was cheaper. Still I was thinking ‘Well, my parents shot up, but I’m just going to smoke the heroin.’”
While Vanessa was using, she was fully functional. No one knew that she was on heroin. “If you had looked on Facebook, you would have thought I was a soccer mom. I was really good at hiding it and making people think my life was a certain way.”
The only person that knew about her use was her ex-boyfriend. “He completely supported my habit. He was 10 years older and I think he just wanted to control me with drugs, money and the house,” said Vanessa.
The suburbs, like Vanessa’s neighborhood in Summerlin, are not an uncommon place to find drugs these days. While many think it is slowly coming to these areas, Angela LaLuzerne, LSW, LCADC and clinical director at Solutions Recovery, said it has taken over for a while. “Many think it was brought on by prescription pain medication, but I think it was coming regardless.”
In September 2015, Vanessa, now in her early 20’s, went through treatment at Solutions Recovery. She got clean and sober from heroin and opiates. For the first time in her life, she is truly taking care of herself and her five-year-old child. She’s sober,
she’s successful, and she’s happy.
Although Vanessa came to Solutions Recovery to help herself, the main reason she sought treatment was for her son. One night, while trying to leave the home of her abusive ex-boyfriend, he called child protective services and reported her drug use. Once CPS was involved, she knew she needed to get treatment to keep joint custody of her son. She visited other facilities and suffered through multiple detoxes, but nothing worked; she kept going back to heroin.
The night that changed everything ended with Vanessa almost losing her life. “I had a fight with my ex and left his place. I went to see ‘friends’ and they shot me up. My veins were so messed up that I couldn’t even do it myself, so my friend did it for me. My face went blue and everyone flipped out. A friend of mine wanted to call 911 and get help but the others wouldn’t let her. They said they had to get me breathing or they were going to put my body in a dumpster. Thankfully, I began to breathe again but after hearing what my ‘friends’ were going to do, it clicked. I’m losing my kid, I’m too scared to go home and I almost died. That’s when things truly changed for me,” said Vanessa.
The trained specialists and staff at Solutions Recovery see firsthand the impact of heroin addiction and the growing trend among younger generations. Holly Davis, CPC-I, is a clinical therapist at Solutions Recovery. During therapy, when Davis asks when clients first started to use, she’s surprised with how many admit 12 or 13 years of age. “They are lost. They are looking to identify and they are looking for how to feel good in their own skin. If they don’t have parents or guardians that are encouraging them, guiding them, and paying attention to who they are hanging out with,
they are going to explore and look at alternative ways to escape.”
Solutions Recovery treats adults 18 years and older. LaLuzerne mentions that since 2010, at least 50 percent of clients being treated for heroin or opiate addiction have been between the ages 18 to 25 (at her facility). In 2012 and 2015 that percentage has slowly risen.
Vanessa came to Solutions both because of external motivators (CPC case and abusive boyfriend) and internal motivators (realization of her own mortality and son’s well-being). LaLuzerne notes that often times external motivators get clients into treatment, but that does not mean they cannot be helped. Usually clients seek treatment before their legal problems are actually taken to court, like in Vanessa’s case.
Davis mentions that a main problem with this epidemic comes from the health care system, “Patients are not following their prescriptions and locking up their medication. Doctors are over prescribing and not assessing family history.”
This was the situation with Vanessa. Addiction ran in her family and although she socially avoided the drug that destroyed her parent’s lives, it made its way into her life anyway. If the doctor knew of her family’s addiction history, would he or she have prescribed Vanessa opiates? Was the doctor checking in to make sure Vanessa was properly taking her medication? Would any of these precautions have mattered?
Davis warns that taking pain pills is a slippery slope, no matter the reason for the prescription, “Opiates make you feel good and take away pain, so you’re numb. Eventually your body builds up a tolerance, so you’re no longer able to achieve the same high with the amount you’ve been prescribed. You increase the dosage and before you know, it’s escalated into heroin and IV use. It’s scary how quickly pain pill use can spiral out of control.”
Davis mentions that while many are using opiates to deal with physical pain, they actually have emotional wounds that they are trying to heal. “There are a lot of unresolved issues related to prescription drugs in this country. Two of the most prescribed drugs are Xanax and Prozac,” said Davis. “If you have to take a pill because you are experiencing symptoms, then it should go hand
in hand with therapy. You need to be able to address the root cause. If you’re so depressed that you can’t get out of bed or you have to take a pill to feel better, then there are some underlying issues that need to be resolved. You need to find someone to talk to,
not your mom or your coworkers, but real help. Period.”
Solutions Recovery offers multiple forms of therapy, taking a “kitchen sink” approach to treating substance abuse. Cognitive behavioral therapy, one-on-one or group discussions, equine therapy, music therapy, canine therapy, auricular therapy, massage therapy, fitness, diet, etc. are provided. For the more “seasoned” client, the rehabilitation center also offers opioid blockers. “By blocking the receptor in the brain, it takes away the reward, which is why someone is using the substance in the first place. We strongly encourage it as we think medication-assisted treatment can be very useful,” said LaLuzerne.
As for Vanessa, she’s thrilled that she got her life back. “I never thought I would be okay with being sober. I get to actually be with my son, be present and parent him. I have my own apartment and a great job. I’m actually doing it on my own,” said Vanessa. “It’s so rewarding for me.”