I have a lot of sober friends on social media, I am also a part of a few groups that help people get into treatment who don’t have quality insurance or the resources to pay for a decent level of care. It has always been a thorn in my side when someone who wants to get help cannot find a place that will take them because of either a lack of money or no insurance. There should be equitable access to
treatment resources for all here in the U.S. and I hope that becomes a reality, it hasn’t happened yet. (more…)

Being newly sober is weird. I can vividly remember being in a state of discomfort on a constant basis. For several months during the detox period which for me seemed to last forever, that was the source of my discomfort. As time moved along and the pains of getting physically sober minimized, I found other things to get uncomfortable about. (more…)

In late 2006 I was experiencing loss of speech patterns, tremors, often not having the ability to speak in complete sentences. My primary care physician knew I was sick, and drug addicted, suggesting I go to rehab immediately. He also wanted me to get my brain scanned at a place called the Amen Clinic in Orange County. I went ahead and did it, not having a clue what the point was in getting such a thing done.

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I am often asked, “Why did you not sleep for 44 days and how did you deal with that?” This requires a two-part answer and a great deal of elaboration. The “why” of it is not so much a mystery as it was a complete f’ing nightmare. I will illustrate the contributing factors, for one, I was addicted to opioid painkillers for about 17 years, many years addicted to the synthetic opioids Oxycontin and Fentanyl. Prior to checking into rehab on 2/16/07 I also snorted a truckload of cocaine, for a little over a hundred days straight all while taking the painkillers.

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