Pushing Paper, Popping Pills Part 3

A local man who used to be addicted to prescription drugs says his life is now the best it's been in years. But he cautions that even though he is now in recovery, he's not sure if he'll ever be recovered.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "There is hope, you have to take the first step, you need to reach out your hand and ask for help. Because there are people there who care that want to see you get better."

For Don, taking that first step was just a matter of time after being hooked on prescription pills and then heroin for three and a half years.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "I go to meetings and I hear so many people say 'I was sick and tired of being sick and tired' and every bit of that rang true for me."

The next step was where to go for help. A friend pointed Don towards the Parkersburg Treatment Center, a local methadone clinic.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "That first day I was here they dosed me at 30 milligrams. And I remember that day when I left, on the way home I didn't hurt. You know, it was like, I didn't feel high, I felt normal for the first time that I had in years. I didn't feel the pain of withdrawal, my bones didn't hurt from the inside out."

Now Don is in recovery but he and counselors know he's not recovered.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "You know, I go to my meetings and I admit I'm an addict, I know I'm an addict. I know that this is something I'm going to deal with the rest of my life, and I'll never be recovered until I'm 6 feet under the ground."

David Schaffer, Counseling and Wellness Center says: "Recovery is not about living this white-knuckled sober existence it's about really learning to enjoy life and feel fulfilled so you don't need the substance in your life."

Don finds that fulfillment by following the policy of paying it forward.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "They told us in the program that we keep what we have by giving it away. So we keep our sobriety by helping other people's sobriety, helping them out."

As a patient advocate at the clinic Don helps out those who come in to start treatment. He remains on methadone himself and doesn't plan on going off it any time soon.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "I know eventually if I go back out I'll go back to a doctor and start the whole process all over again."

That whole process is what don is trying to avoid for the rest of his life.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "My life is the best that it's been in 14 years. I actually have a positive relationship with all my family. Again, I have a steady job, I have bank accounts, I have a car, I have a house, you know all the stuff that I never had before."

The Counseling and Wellness Center and the Parkersburg Treatment Center are just a few options for starting the journey from addiction to recovery. Pharmacists and officials agree the best place to start is by talking to your doctor.

We've also posted some resources for seeking help right here on WTAP.com.

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Pushing Paper, Popping Pills Part 2

Many of us never think we'll find ourselves on the path that leads to chemical dependency.

But for many in the Mid-Ohio Valley prescription drug abuse is hitting home.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "You know, I had never gotten in trouble with the law, at most I've gotten a speeding ticket."

In 2002 Don was a regular guy with a full time job working for a technology related company. He says it took one car accident and about six month's of a Vicodin prescription to send him spiraling into addiction.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "A doctor decided I didn't need them anymore, he could move me down to ibuprofen 800's, and by that point it was too late. I slowly watched myself slip away after the accident."

Sadly, many counselors have heard stories similar to Don's.

David Schaffer, Counseling and Wellness Center says: "(We) certainly see people who had no big drug history that got on pain meds and got hooked."

As an addictions counselor, David Schaffer helps patients grappling not only with physical addiction to a drug, but an emotional addiction as well.

David Schaffer, Counseling and Wellness Center says: "The more people use the more their life starts to revolve around them and that's really the idea of chemical dependency. People start to organize their life around the drug."

Don found himself trapped in organized chaos.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "Clock-watching is what I called it. You know, I was constantly watching the clock watching it tick waiting for the dealer to get home, waiting for somebody to call me and tell me they had something. You know, that's no way to live."

After that initial prescription Don turned to the streets to get his fix and soon made the switch from prescription medications to heroin. He was working 2 jobs the whole time.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "I had my own business and I was doing work on the side. And I managed to run that into the ground."

Don says he never turned to theft for money to feed his addiction. Instead he turned to his family.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "Whenever I was bad off and couldn't find any money I could always go to my parents and con them out of something. I never had to steal from them I just had to ask them. As far as they knew their perfect little family was fine. Nothing was going on, well of course what's he going to need the money for he's not going to go out and buy drugs with it. I think that was the biggest shock whenever they found out that I was using."

But the fear of withdrawal was enough to keep him hooked.

Don, Recovering Prescription Drug Addict says: "It feels like your head's on fire and your stomach's on fire. It's nothing that I would wish on anybody."

Don did get help after being hooked on pain pills and heroin for a total of three and a half years. We'll share what spurred him to change his ways and where he turned for help tonight in the final part of our special report: Pushing Paper, Popping Pills.

If you or someone you know is battling a prescription drug addiction we have posted a number of helpful websites on the hotbutton right here at WTAP.com.
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Pushing Paper, Popping Pills Part 1

A recent study found prescription drug overdose deaths in West Virginia surged 550% between 1999 and 2004. Local officials say that trend continues today here in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Mike St. Clair, Wood County Coroner says: "A lot of people think prescription drugs aren't a problem and that is our number 1 drug problem at this point."

St. Clair says last year 25 Wood County residents died from prescription drug overdoses. This year, he's already seen at least five.

Mike St. Clair, Wood County Coroner says: "Steadily this number has been increasing. It's basically, you know for a small community like this it is a pandemic."

The way people are getting hooked may surprise you. For many, the addiction starts with one prescription, then another, and before they know it, it spirals out of control.

Mike St. Clair, Wood County Coroner says: "You can go in with a legitimate injury and end up hooked on prescription medications."

That's exactly the situation the owner of Cox Family Pharmacy has seen firsthand.

Michael Cox, Pharmacist & Owner, Cox Family Pharmacy says: "And they're good people, it's sad to see. You see them start out with a normal relationship with them and then the history goes on and the months and the years go by and its like you see the change in them."

Michael Cox says he and other pharmacists see customers try to "pharmacy shop" on a regular basis.

Michael Cox, Pharmacist & Owner, Cox Family Pharmacy says: "Pharmacists, we all know each other pretty much. If we get an illegal prescription or forged prescription under a certain name, you know, as we talk on the phone throughout the day, because we call daily with different pharmacies about different issues."

Two resources pharmacists have at their fingertips are the West Virginia and Ohio Board of Pharmacy's Narcotics Database. Its a report of every narcotic a patient has had filled, or tried to fill.

Michael Cox, Pharmacist & Owner, Cox Family Pharmacy says: "Patients come in, they say this is cash, they're a new patient, I always run that report on them. And most pharmacies do that because of the problem we've had with illicit drug use."

Police say when the pharmacies turn the addicts away they turn to other means.

Chief Steve Stephens, Vienna Police Chief says: "A lot of times we've had burglaries that have involved prescription drugs. And it just seems that any way they can get their hands on the drugs that's what they're doing."

Vienna Police Chief Steve Stephens says the majority of abused drugs are Hydrocodone-based, the same drug pharmacists are focusing on as well. You might know them better by some brand names: Vicodin, Lortab, and Lorcet.

Chief Steve Stephens, Vienna Police Chief says: "I would say it's two-fold at least over the past couple of years. Maybe even three-fold. It just seems like there's more and more drug abuse going on with the prescription drugs."

Causing more crime and causing more death in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Mike St. Clair, Wood County Coroner says: "Let's get this trade shut down, it's so important to our community."

Local authorities are taking steps to shut down the drug trade. One way is through the newly formed Prescription Narcotics Task Force. The task force will be made up of officials from both the Wood and Washington County Sheriff's Departments, along with the West Virginia State Police and Vienna Police Offices.

And behind every one of these addictions comes a story. We'll share the path one local resident found himself on tonight at 11 in part two of our special report: Pushing Paper, Popping Pills.