Answer Addiction

Tag: addiction treatment

  • The High Financial Cost Of Addiction & Recovery

    The High Financial Cost Of Addiction & Recovery

    A new survey highlights the financial hardships that people with addiction face.

    Addiction and recovery come with huge emotional costs, for the person with substance use disorder and for their family members. Yet, there is also a very real financial cost to both active addiction and recovery — one that can affect family members and people with substance use disorder in the short and long term.

    According to a recent survey by True Link Financial, 82% of family members said their loved one’s finances have been affected by their addiction. People who are addicted need a constant stream of cash to fund their drug purchases.

    Survey respondents also said their loved ones had made irresponsible financial decisions to fund their addiction: 48% said their family member had used savings or retirement money to purchase drugs; 42% had family members who sold assets to fund their addiction; and 11% had family members who had declared bankruptcy in part because of their addiction.

    However, the challenge doesn’t stop when people get sober.

    “Treatment is extraordinarily expensive, and it often takes a couple of tries,” Kai Stinchcombe, True Link’s co-founder and CEO, told Forbes.

    Eighty percent of respondents said that getting on track financially is one of the biggest challenges of recovery for their family members.

    “Being able to make typical day-to-day purchases, like putting gas in your car to get to work, or taking a new friend out for coffee, is critical,” Stinchcombe said. “Having no safe, dignified way to pay for basic items makes it harder to build yourself a new life. Recovery is not just tough physically, mentally, and spiritually. There are financial barriers in place that make it harder to build yourself a new life.”

    True Link is known for making debit cards that have limitations, like only working at certain locations, helping family members guide purchases for adults. Although it’s usually used for adults with disabilities, Stinchcombe said that the cards can be a tool for people in recovery.

    Eric Dresdale, who is in recovery, said he was used to borrowing money when he was addicted, but when he got sober and had access to more money, he began spending recklessly.

    “I realized I could take out money and in about a week I spent $500 on silly things to fill an emotional void,” he said, adding that he was about $7,000 in debt by the time he left a half-way house program. After regaining control of his own finances, Dresdale went on to help develop a prepaid debit card for people with substance use disorder and mental illnesses. He says that cards like this can help family members provide support, without enabling.

    “I’ve worked with families and there’s a fine line between helping and hurting,” he said. “You might think you are saving or protecting someone by giving financial support, but you could be making the problem worse. I believe in providing financial help with boundaries.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New Year's Baby Highlights Mom’s Sober Year

    New Year's Baby Highlights Mom’s Sober Year

    The mother of the child, who is in early recovery, said that her daughter’s birth was the final step in what had been “a life-changing year.”

    Babies born on January 1 are always heralded as symbols of new beginnings, but one New Year’s baby’s arrival was especially powerful, signifying the year that her mom got sober. 

    Ayla Rodriguez, the first baby born in Portage County, Ohio, arrived on Jan. 1 at 12:56AM to Nicole Mansell, according to The Record-Courier.

    Mansell had gone to the hospital because she thought she had the flu, and was surprised when her daughter arrived four weeks early. She said that her daughter’s birth was the final step in what had been “a life-changing year.”

    The mother found out that she was pregnant earlier in 2018, when she was in jail. She said that learning she was expecting prompted her to take her sobriety seriously, although she already had plans to stop using drugs. 

    “The way I looked at it, she was inside me, and I wasn’t going to destroy her,” Mansell told The Record Courier. “Finding out that I was pregnant with her helped me stay on the right track.”

    It was a meaningful challenge in a state that has been hard-hit by the opioid epidemic, although Mansell didn’t elaborate on the specifics of her history of substance abuse. She completed one rehab program after learning about her pregnancy and is now in an after-care program.

    Although she had the option to participate in the county’s drug-court program, she chose not to, saying that the program’s requirements were too much to handle during her pregnancy. Instead, she is on probation from the charges that had her in jail early in the year. 

    Mansell had been getting extra care during her pregnancy in order to prevent pre-term labor, although she didn’t say if the complication stemmed from her drug abuse. On New Year’s Day, she was ready to start 2019 with her new daughter, in recovery, hoping that the newborn’s quiet streak would continue.  

    “Seriously, she doesn’t cry,” she told the Courier.

    Ayla was born weighing 5 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 18 and three quarters inches long. She was too small to fit in special New Year’s garb that a nurse at the hospital had prepared for the first baby of the year. 

    Mansell has another daughter, Ariana, who is 11. She says that Ariana was a small baby and was born early, just like Ayla. Ayla’s father, Joe Rodriguez, has three other children: brothers Cayden, Kilynn and Carson Rodriguez, ages 6, 5 and 2.

    “I’ve made it known that my children are going to know this child,” Rodriguez said. “She’s their sister.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Experimental Addiction Treatment Program May Soon Lose Funding

    Experimental Addiction Treatment Program May Soon Lose Funding

    The medication-assisted mental health and addiction programs were showing promising results, but are running out of time.

    A federally funded experimental medication-assisted treatment program may be on its last legs, according to The Washington Post. The program, which has shown some promise in combating the opioid crisis in the year it’s been running, could dissolve as soon as March.

    If the program disappears, up to 9,000 patients would suddenly find themselves without a program and around 3,000 clinic personnel would be out of their jobs, according to an analysis by the National Council for Behavioral Health (NCBH). Because the clinics have to give their workers a 60-to-90 day advance notice for termination, the clinics could see staff leaving to seek other jobs as soon as January.

    Combating the opioid crisis has consistently been a bipartisan issue that both Democrats and Republicans have committed to working together on, but funding for the treatment programs was notably absent from Congress’ $8.4 billion budget that was passed in October. Speaking for the NCBH, Rebecca Farley David speculated that Congress got cold feet when they saw the projected cost of funding the treatment package: $520 million.

    “There was a lot of concern in Congress about the overall cost of the package,” she said.

    The program was conceptualized in 2014 through a set of standards, dubbed the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, and was set to receive two years of flexible funding. In its first year of service in 2017, the program served around 381,000 patients according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Now, the program is due to expire in Oklahoma and Oregon in March and Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, and New York in May.

    These states are trying to come up with alternate avenues for funding, including Medicaid waivers or applying for grants to keep paying staff after the federal funds dry up.

    It’s not just the patients and clinic workers that would suffer if these programs end. Law enforcement and the justice system also benefited from the program. If officers pick up intoxicated suspects, they cannot rely on these programs and instead have to take the time to drive the prisoner to an emergency room. Inmates being released from Niagara County jail relied on these programs to automatically continue treatment.

    “When people fail to make that first appointment upon release, we’ve lost them,” said Deputy Chief Daniel Engert. “Their condition deteriorates, they reoffend, and then they end up back in jail, or worse, they end up dead.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New Website Helps People Find Addiction Treatment Services

    New Website Helps People Find Addiction Treatment Services

    The live, online resource helps connect individuals and family members seeking addiction treatment options and related services throughout Pennsylvania.

    A series of simple questions may be a crucial link for Pennsylvania residents struggling with drug dependency.

    The Drug and Alcohol Referral Tool (DART) is a live, online resource that can connect individuals and family members seeking addiction treatment options and related services in their area. Visitors answer 9 yes-or-no questions on age, county, history of dependency on drugs or alcohol, military service and other criteria. Their answers then generate contacts for county-specific treatment or support, which has been an ongoing goal of Governor Tom Wolf’s administration.

    As The Daily Item noted, DART is an extension of Pennsylvania’s Get Help Now Hotline (800-662-HELP), which connects individuals in need with trained professionals. Though the hotline received 35,000 calls over the last two years, Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Jen Smith said, “What we’ve heard was the hotline wasn’t really enough.”

    To accommodate the need for resources, the department, working in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, launched DART on December 6, 2018. The online questionnaire, which is anonymous and can be translated into more than 100 languages, asks visitors if they are inquiring for themselves or a loved one.

    From there, they are asked to click yes or no to answer nine questions, two of which – age and county – are mandatory. The rest, which cover the individual’s military service, history of drug, alcohol or gambling abuse, and need for legal and/or transportation services, are optional.

    Upon completing the questions, respondents are then provided with a list of resources in their area, based on their answers. These include substance dependency and mental health office phone numbers, links to health and human services programs through the state’s COMPASS network based on income and a map of Drug Take Back boxes, among other options. Eligibility for programs is not assessed by DART, but users can be directed to additional information on qualifications.

    Income, transportation and living situation are included on the questionnaire because the problems are often hand-in-hand. “Substance use disorders often occur when a person experiences other medical and behavioral health concerns, and they may need additional resources to live stable, healthy life in recovery,” said Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller. “Connecting people seeking treatment to comprehensive services that can help meet all of their needs from the start is critical as they work towards recovery.”

    Inclusive tools like DART are a crucial part of Wolf’s plan to aid his state, which as of 2017 had the highest rate of drug overdose mortalities in the United States. DART is just one of several initiatives being rolled out to promote Stop Overdoses in PA: Get Help Now Week, which takes place December 10 through 14, 2018.

    “A common concern that we have heard throughout the commonwealth is that individuals aren’t aware of the services and supports available to them,” said Smith. “[DART] will allow individuals to have critical information on where to go and how to access the services they need.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Inadequate Mental Health Treatment Hinders Massachusetts Residents

    Inadequate Mental Health Treatment Hinders Massachusetts Residents

    Only about 50% of Massachusetts mental health providers accept payment from the state and federal Medicaid program. Private insurance isn’t much better.

    Patients in Massachusetts are struggling to receive adequate mental health care but not because of lack of insurance coverage. 

    The Boston Globe reports that based on a new Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation survey of 2,201 residents, more than half recently sought mental health or substance use disorder treatment but had difficulty receiving such treatment.

    Of those surveyed, 39% went without treatment altogether and about 13% resorted to an emergency room visit even though about half of those admitted that their care was not an emergency. 

    Though insured, the majority of patients struggled to find care because certain providers did not take their insurance or because practices were not accepting new clients at the time. 

    In October, the Globe reported that Massachusetts was home to more mental health care providers per capita than any other US state. It also has more psychiatrists than any other state, with the exception of Washington, DC, and more child psychiatrists than all states but Rhode Island and DC. 

    Even so, residents of the state are struggling. According to The Globe, only about 50% of Massachusetts providers accept payment from the state and federal Medicaid program. And private insurance isn’t much better, as only about half the psychiatrists in the Northeast accept it. 

    Audrey Shelto, president of the foundation that conducted the survey, told The Globe that this was the first time since the survey began a decade ago that it asked about mental health and substance use disorder treatment access.  

    “If change is going to happen at the magnitude that’s needed, it’s going to be necessary that we start building a more solid evidence base,” Shelto said.

    According to Shelto and others in the field, one possible solution would be paying psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers more, because private insurers and Medicaid currently do not pay them enough. Those in the practice also spend a great deal of time on applications for insurance networks as well as paperwork for patient treatment. 

    According to The Globe, Health and Human Services has stated that between 2016 and 2020, Medicaid is increasing fees to mental health providers by $100 million. 

    But Vic DiGravio, president of the Association for Behavioral Healthcare in Natick, told The Globe this isn’t enough to convince more providers to join the program. 

    DiGravio adds that access to prescribers such as psychiatrists are one of the biggest battles being faced currently. 

    “For a clinic to have a doctor on staff to see patients on a regular basis, the rates don’t cover their time,” he said.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Michael Bloomberg To Spend $50 Million to Fight Addiction

    Michael Bloomberg To Spend $50 Million to Fight Addiction

    Michael Bloomberg wrote about his intentions to fight the opioid epidemic in the 10 states hit hardest by it in a recent op-ed. 

    Former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg announced that he will spend $50 million to fight the opioid epidemic, focusing on 10 states that are hardest-hit by drug overdoses. 

    “The opioid epidemic is a national health crisis of historic proportion. Yet the federal government is still not tackling it with the urgency it requires,” Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed for USA Today.  “What’s truly needed is a comprehensive strategy that includes the policy changes necessary to stem the epidemic and overcome barriers to treatment. We are not waiting around for the federal government to provide that strategy.”

    Grants will be made through Bloomberg Philanthropies, beginning with a three-year grant to Pennsylvania, which is expected to be about $10 million, according to The Washington Post. Pennsylvania has an overdose rate of about twice the national average but also has an innovative approach to fighting drug addiction, including an Opioid Command Center that meets weekly. The Bloomberg grant will help support that and similar programs aimed at reducing the overdose death rate. 

    “States have already been leading in ways Washington hasn’t, and foundations can offer resources and expertise that can help them accelerate their work now,” Bloomberg wrote. 

    Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said that his state was chosen because they’re already doing good work in fighting the opioid epidemic but still have lots of problems to confront. 

    “I think Bloomberg Philanthropies was looking for a commonwealth or a state that was actually doing something,” Wolf told The Washington Post. “What I would hope is we can use the $10 million as a really generous add-on to the kinds of things we’re already doing.”

    Bloomberg hopes to fund initiatives that can be replicated and help solve the overdose epidemic nationally. 

    “What we think we can do with $50 million is show the way in these 10 states,” Bloomberg said. “If they do things that we think make sense, then we will help fund it.”

    It was not immediately clear which other states would benefit from Bloomberg’s grant money. However, the philanthropist hopes that the funds will make a difference to families across the nation.

    “The pain, suffering, and death from opioid abuse is truly a national emergency. In just the time it took to read this commentary, another child has been removed from his or her parents’ care because of a parent’s opioid use,” he wrote. “Solving this crisis will not be easy. But states have a chance to show the federal government that bolder actions can save lives. And with so many communities crying out for leadership, there is no time to waste.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Opioid Court Aims To Prevent Overdose By Offering Treatment

    Opioid Court Aims To Prevent Overdose By Offering Treatment

    The Rochester-based opioid court offers treatment instead of jail time for minor drug-related offenses.

    A new court program in Rochester, New York aims to save lives by connecting people with opioid use disorder with treatment immediately, lessening their risk of overdose after spending a brief amount of time detoxing in jail. 

    “Their tolerance goes down from their short stay in the jail, and that’s when they use again and fatalities occur,” Monroe County Court Judge John DeMarco, who will oversee the new program, told WHAM.

    Rochester helped lead the national push for drug courts, which offer treatment instead of jail time for minor drug-related offenses. However, the drug court program in Monroe County has a months-long waiting list. Officials noticed that people with opioid use disorder weren’t getting the chance to participate in the program because they often relapsed after being released from jail following their arraignment. 

    To help prevent overdoses, the new program, called Opioid Stabilization Part (OSP), will evaluate people at the time of their arrest and help connect them with immediate treatment. opioid court — as it’s already being called — is meant to serve the people who are most at-risk for overdoses.

    “We have their attention. Having their attention creates maybe the only opportunity that those folks have to commit to get this thing turned around,” DeMarco said. 

    As part of the program, people showing signs of opioid use will be screened at Monroe County Jail the day of their arrest. Those who screen into the program will have their criminal cases put on hold. Instead of waiting for arraignment and being released on bail — oftentimes to return to the community to get high — participants will quickly be seen by a special judge and enrolled into treatment. From there, participants need to check in with the judge daily in person, if they are in an intensive out-patient program. 

    People who do not have insurance will be able to access treatment thanks to a $1.8 million federal grant for the program. 

    Law enforcement said that the people who will use opioid court are often more of a danger to themselves than to others. 

    “We recognize they’re at high risk,” said Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter. “That’s exactly what we’re trying to we[a]n out of the jail and put them where they belong, into a bed and treatment program.”

    District Attorney Sandra Doorley said the people in opioid court do not represent a danger to the community. In fact, she said that these people would normally be released from jail, just with less supervision than the opioid court program will provide. 

    “They’re usually given bail, so they’re released (into the community) anyway,” Doorley said. “At this point we’re not allowing violent felons to get into the program.”

    A similar program that launched in Buffalo, New York last year has not lost a single participant to overdose. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • West African Clinic Offers Free Methadone, Clean Needles & More

    West African Clinic Offers Free Methadone, Clean Needles & More

    The goal of Senegal’s free program is not only to rehabilitate, but also to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS among drug users.

    A clinic in West Africa is doing its part to mitigate the region’s opioid crisis.

    People line up at the Center for the Integrated Management of Addictions (known locally as CEPIAD) in Senegal to receive a daily dose of methadone and counseling. Some travel hours for treatment.

    “You get here, you have your methadone and you are not thinking about taking drugs. You are thinking about moving your life forwards,” says Moustapha Mbodj, who is in recovery from more than 30 years of heroin use.

    A new CNN report highlights CEPIAD’s efforts. Established by the Senegalese government in 2014, the clinic is the first in West Africa to provide free opioid substitution treatment. CEPIAD offers methadone, clean syringes and condoms, as well as skills workshops and help with reintegrating into family networks, according to CNN. It has helped more than 700 people since it opened.

    The goal of the free program is not only to rehabilitate drug users, but to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS among drug users. Over 10% of injecting drug users in Senegal live with HIV, according to United Nations estimates. Among the general population, this number is less than 1%.

    An estimated 1,300 injecting drug users were counted in Dakar (Senegal’s capital) in 2011, according to a voluntary survey by the French National Agency for Research on AIDS.

    In response to the survey, Senegal’s government turned to a harm reduction approach. In a two-year period, public health workers distributed 18,614 clean syringes and 17,564 condoms to the public at no cost.

    The need for such services is rising.

    Senegal is among a handful of African nations that offer this type of free service. According to a 2017 report, out of 37 African nations reporting drug use data to the UN, just eight offer harm reduction approaches, including Senegal, Tanzania, Kenya and Mauritius.

    Pierre Lapaque, a representative with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for West and Central Africa, explained that the market for drugs is growing in a region that previously served only as a transit point for drug traffickers.

    Lapaque says traffickers used a “smart approach” to introduce drugs to a “region where there was absolutely no market ten years ago.”

    “Often what the traffickers are doing is they are paying their support staff not only in cash but in drugs,” said Lapaque.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • "Dopesick Nation" Shows Reality of Treatment Professionals Who Struggle with Addiction

    "Dopesick Nation" Shows Reality of Treatment Professionals Who Struggle with Addiction

    Dopesick Nation explores addiction treatment and the thin line between interventionist and client, recovery and relapse.

    Note: This piece contains spoilers for Dopesick Nation

    As a former social worker in recovery from addiction, I was initially skeptical of the VICELAND Series Dopesick Nation because I thought it would follow the familiar formula of A&E’s Intervention and TLC’s Addicted. I was wrong. Dopesick Nation is different from these other shows for many reasons, but it’s especially good at illuminating the unique difficulties of being a recovering addict while also working with and helping other people struggling with addiction. Dopesick Nation explores the thin line between interventionist and client, recovery and relapse. This is a common struggle, as 37 to 57% of professionals in the addiction field are in recovery themselves. Due to stigma, there is sparse data on how often people working in this field relapse, but I found a preliminary study that found 14.7% of addiction treatment professionals relapse over their career lifespan. I can relate: I’ve relapsed twice while working in the field.

    Let me start by saying that I commend all people working in addiction and recovery treatment. While I have mixed feelings about Intervention and Addicted, I have deep respect for the interventionists who have made it their mission to help people with addiction while also navigating the daily struggles of their own recovery. The traditional interventionists of Addicted and Intervention appear so stable; each of their stories follow a typical trajectory from drug addict to helper. On the opening montage of Addicted, interventionist Kristina Wandzilak says: “By the time I was 15, I was addicted to drugs and alcohol. I robbed homes, I sold my body, I dug in dumpsters to pay for my habit. Today I am an interventionist…”

    Yes, Wandzilak and the other interventionists’ stories are all inspiring to people like me in recovery, but the reality is that many of us relate more to Dopesick Nation’s leads, Allie and Frankie. Both are candid about the difficulty of working in the field and later Frankie is open about his relapse. But we’ll come back to that.

    Addiction Treatment on TV: Intervention, Addicted, and Dopesick Nation

    One of the first stark differences between these shows is the more relatable, down-to-earth way that Allie and Frankie approach their clients. From my experience as a social worker with eight years of experience in the field, I know that the first step is building rapport and earning the trust of vulnerable people who are skeptical of helping professionals. Allie wears yoga pants and hoop earrings, Frankie is covered in tattoos and wears a backwards black hat and a t-shirt with the logo of his nonprofit, “FUCK HEROIN FOUNDATION.”

    This may seem surface level, but first impressions matter. Trust should be earned, not expected. I had a client who refused to open the door to staff for weeks, in part because she felt social workers were elitist and unrelatable. When she finally let me in, she said, “You’re not one of those preppy ass bitches.” My boss joked that all the staff should get tattoos, a lip ring, and blue hair like me even though technically it was against dress code policy.

    In Addicted and Intervention, the interventions are staged in the carefully controlled environments of beige hotel conference rooms. Wearing business casual clothes, neatly ironed polos and chinos, the interventionists sit on comfy chairs in a U-shaped circle, then conduct a carefully orchestrated, seemingly scripted intervention.

    In Dopesick Nation, Allie and Frankie meet their clients where they are, which is a foundation for building a helping relationship. The show takes place in sunny, touristy Florida, where glimmering sandy beaches are dotted with tourists in Hawaiian shirts playing shuffleboard next to the swirling tides of the turquoise ocean. But Allie and Frankie don’t meet on the beach. Instead, they talk to clients on park benches, and curbsides in bad neighborhoods, braving torrential downpours and scorching heat. This method of “meeting people where they are at” is supported by years of social science research and was a cornerstone of my work as part of an outreach team to help people with severe mental illness and addiction. We left our office bubble, braving blizzards and arctic cold, because we knew clients were more likely to go to detox or another facility after a course of meetings in their homes.

    Fast forward to Frankie admitting he’s relapsed and is taking Suboxone, a medication to deal with opioid cravings. Wringing his hands, itching his sweat-glazed skin, Frankie tells his sponsor Gary: “90 to 95% of my day helping other people find their recovery. Sometimes I’m not taking care of my own recovery. And how am I gonna help other people get something that I don’t have? A lot of people rely on me, that pressure weighs on me.”

    Gary encourages Frankie to go to detox. “When you’re working in treatment, you’re around sickness all day long and you’re absorbing it… You need to work a righteous program.”

    Treatment Professionals Who Relapse

    I want to tell Gary that even though Suboxone is sometimes shunned by the recovery community, many studies support its efficacy. Suboxone is a valid form of recovery. I want to reach across the screen, hug Frankie and tell him he deserves the same care and compassion that he gives to clients, that it’s okay to take a break from the field to take care of himself. I want to tell him that I admire him even more because he let his guard down and was honest. I want to tell him that more of us relapse than he may realize and assure him that he is not a hypocrite for relapsing and taking Suboxone. I want to tell him my story.

    Three years ago, I was working at a day center with people who had struggled with homelessness and addiction. I remember one day when a client who was an IV heroin and meth user told me about his struggles to get clean. My years of experience taught me the art of self-disclosure, specifically if and when it was appropriate to disclose to clients that I too was in recovery. Since I’d known him seven months and even been trusted to store his dead cat’s ashes (a story for another day), I told him about my addiction as though it was in the past tense, although it was very much in the present tense. Steeped in denial, I told myself that my nighttime and weekend benders wouldn’t bleed into daytime. Looking back, I feel ashamed, but I know that denial is also a powerful drug. For a while, I thought I juggled my work life and secret life well. I thrived at my job, until, surprise— the benders bled into my work days.

    One day this client told me he was worried about me. He’d noticed my weight loss, blue circles under my darkened eyes, and change in personality. That’s when I knew I needed help. It was time to take a break from being a social worker. I went to detox for five days, then resigned and decided to move home. Like Frankie in Dopesick Nation, I realized that I couldn’t take care of others until I took care of myself.

    Eighteen months later, I miss social work and helping people. I hope to one day return to the profession, but in the meantime I’m using writing as a means to fight the stigma of addiction and shame of relapse. The reality is that relapse rates vary between 50 to 90%, and even treatment professionals are not immune to the realities of addiction. My hope is that one day more helping professionals like me can come out about their relapses and be commended for our honesty.

    What are your thoughts on Dopesick Nation and Frankie and Allie? How should people who work in addiction treatment make sure they’re taking care of their own recovery? Let us know in the comments.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Artie Lange: I'm 18 Days Clean And Fighting Hard

    Artie Lange: I'm 18 Days Clean And Fighting Hard

    Comedian Artie Lange took to Twitter to gush about his current recovery program and how many days he’s been clean.

    The comedian stepped out of rehab to perform a show and took the time to send off a series of appreciative tweets.

    Comedian Artie Lange tweeted Wednesday that he’s been clean for 18 days. Lange performed a show before returning to his rehab in time for Thanksgiving on Thursday.

    “Guess who’s clean?!! Been clean 18 days! The rehab I’m at let me use my phone to check things. I still have more time here but I’m doing great,” he wrote on Twitter. “I’m humble. Not bragging. Just feel well. Tons of work ahead. Sunrise detox in Sterling, NJ helped save my life!!!  They’re great!!”

    The comedian has struggled with substance use disorder for years, but on Wednesday his treatment center allowed him to take a break from his program to perform. He gushed about his current recovery program on Twitter.

    “I’m at The Retreat by Lancaster PA. This place is a Godsend! They’re not payin me. No free stay. They do it right. I’m so grateful to them. The nurses are Angels,” he tweeted. “I’m not saying I will never relapse. I pray every day!! Just happy to be alive. I ain’t checkin out yet! I love u all!”

    He topped off his tweets with the serenity prayer.

    “God. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to Change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference,” he wrote on Twitter.

    Lange had recently announced his intention to get clean on the Steve Trevelise Show. 

    “I’m about to go into drug treatment and commit to a full rehab, in-patient,” he said in the interview on the show. “I don’t know. I’m a very humble guy at this point. And I think I’m ready to go and do what I gotta do. It’s been long enough.”

    Soon after arriving at the rehab center after finishing his show, Lange sent out one last tweet before relinquishing his phone to thank his fans.

    “On way back to rehab. Did show.  Stayed clean.  On way back.  Another Thanksgiving inside someplace.  Last one was jail.  But I just killed for a huge crowd who felt like family,” his last tweet read. “I’m fighting hard.  Don’t count Artie Lange out. Love u. Be back by end of month.  I’m smiling. Thx”

     

    View the original article at thefix.com