BEATING ADDICTION TOUGH JOURNEY

70 Per Cent of Addicts Return to Detox Centre Within a Year

Drugstore junkies require a wide-ranging treatment regimen that places
them on a "journey" to an acceptable level of pain, substance-abuse
specialists say.

Withdrawing from opiate-class drugs cold turkey can be a recipe for
disaster, experts say.

"It is a horrendous feeling and causes a variety of awful symptoms
including bowel cramps and insomnia," said Dr. Jackie Gardner-Nix, a
chronic pain consultant at Sunnybrook and Women's College Health
Science Centre and St. Michael's Hospital pain clinic in Toronto.

"If people are being taken off the drugs they need to be tapered off
under medical supervision. Because of the fear in the medical
profession right now, a lot of people in pain are being left in the
lurch."

In Windsor, the journey to sobriety often begins with the city's detox
centre, which has become jammed with OxyContin addicts.

Painkiller abuse now accounts for 18 per cent of addicts seeking help
from the withdrawal management service, said clinical manager
Catherine Schooley, up from four per cent two years ago

"It's affecting us quite heavily," said Schooley, whose centre
stabilizes abusers before they are referred to a treatment centre.
Waiting lists vary from four to 10 weeks -- longer if out-of-town
treatment is required. The readmission rate is high, with more than 70
per cent returning within a year.

"They're in denial and many come initially because they're pressured
by family or friends or ordered to come by employers," Schooley said.

For those who can't go cold turkey, Dr. Tony Hammer, who works with
addicts, said treatment can include psychologists, physiotherapists,
counsellors, psychiatrists or neurologists. "It consists of guiding
the patient on a journey to a lower level of pain, which still allows
as active a lifestyle as possible."

Prior to entering the withdrawal management program, many spend time
in the Salvation Army's Community Rehabilitation Centre for men.

"We detox them, stress that what they'll be going through is normal
and they're not going insane," said addiction worker Rob Pasqualitto.
"Alumni come in to let them know that they can change their lives and
we give their very unstructured lives some structure."

Over a 90-day stay, clients take part in a well-rounded program, said
Pasqualitto, including learning to eat properly. Meals are mandatory.

About three out of 10 stay clean once they're detoxed. Some return,
others go to Brentwood or elsewhere. Because of funding restrictions,
they must wait six months to one year before being allowed back to the
Salvation Army.

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WHERE TO GET HELP

To get help for an OxyContin addiction contact the House of
Sophrosyne, 252-2711; Brentwood Recovery Home for Alcoholics,
253-2441; Narcotics Anonymous, 977-8063; Windsor Regional Hospital,
254-5577; or the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (formerly the
Addiction Research Foundation), 1-800-463-6273.