Parents, experts discuss dangers of addiction at Opioid Forum
Patty Sykstus, president and co-founder of Not One More Alabama, begins her presentation at the opioid forum Oct. 9. (Record Photo)
Not One More Alabama’s discovery room trailer is set up to mimic an average teenager’s room. While it may seem harmless at first glance, members of NOMA will point out several inconspicuous places where drugs can be hidden. (Record Photo)
A pack of gum is one object that can use a false bottom to conceal drugs. (Record Photo)
Janet Howle of NOMA points out a case of Altoids that teens can use to hold pills that look like ordinary mints. (Record Photo)
MADISON — James Clemens High School PTA and District 1 Councilwoman Maura Wroblewski co-hosted an Opioid Forum Oct. 9 to inform the public on the dangers of drug addiction, how to look for signs that someone might be an addict and what to do in the event that a loved one has become addicted.
The forum, moderated by Kristen Conner of WHNT, featured a panel of 10 parents, experts and a recovering addict to share their knowledge and experiences. Many of the parents on the panel had lost children to overdoses, and some had children in recovery.
MADISON COUNTY AND THE OPIOID CRISIS
Chief Deputy Madison County Coroner Tyler Berryhill was present on the panel to explain how Madison County fits into the opioid epidemic.
Berryhill said Madison County sees a drug-related death about once every five days. Of these deaths, about 70 percent are opioid-related. Over the last three years, Madison County has seen a rise in fentanyl-related deaths, and fentanyl now ranks as “the absolute most prevalent drug” involved in most deaths within Madison County. However, Berryhill said pure fentanyl is no longer the only culprit.
“There’s so many different variants and designers’ versions that have been created overseas and shipped into the country that there’s even things more powerful than the baseline itself,” Berryhill said. One of these is carfentanil, often referred to as an elephant tranquilizer.
According to dea.gov, carfentanil is a synthetic opioid 10,000 times more potent than morphine. It is also 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
“Many times, the users—they may use a certain level of drug that they feel comfortable with, however, this time, unknowing to them, it’s been laced with fentanyl, and it’s extremely more potent than anything they’ve ever had before, and it’s very prone to cause death very quickly,” Berryhill said. “The saddest part is that we can come back on our side and determine the cause of death, the manner, approximate time of death, but we can’t get people’s life back.”
In addition to overdoses, Madison County sees about one suicide death every six days.
Of all homicide cases in Madison County, Berryhill said the vast majority have ties back to drugs. Wendy Reeves, a board member for Partnership for a Drug-Free Community, also said at the forum that at least 98.9 percent of crimes have a connection to drugs, something she learned early in her career as a journalist for “The Huntsville Times.”
Berryhill also noted that substance abuse has affected every area of the county. Kasey Long, whose son Colton Barnett died of a heroin overdose in March 2016, stressed a similar point.
“My son was 20 years old,” Long said. “He was a really good kid. He was very smart. … I don’t care how smart you are, I don’t care how beautiful you are, how athletic you are, how much money you have in the bank, it doesn’t matter. Addiction is all walks of life.”
UNDERSTANDING ADDICTION
Patty Sykstus, president and co-founder of Not One More Alabama, said she helped form NOMA as a way to help families like hers who find out that a loved one is struggling with an addiction.
Sykstus, who lives in Huntsville, is the mother of three sons. She said her family was “devastated” when they were faced with her oldest son’s addiction. Sykstus noted that she began to notice minor differences in her son when he entered middle school, but there was nothing that caused her any major concern.
“Even though I had some little inklings inside that something didn’t feel right, there was enough reinforcement from the outside that this must be normal,” Sykstus recalled.
As things with her son progressively worsened through high school, Sykstus hoped that sending him off to school at Auburn University would change his life’s trajectory. She hoped that the new environment, new car and nice apartment would cause him to change his life out of gratitude and appreciation.
“This is the delusional thinking that comes along as being a family member of somebody who is struggling with addiction,” Sykstus said.
In March 2012, Sykstus’ son called home and came clean about his addiction to OxyContin and resolved to get help. Today, he has been sober for more than six years and is a therapist in Washington, D.C. helping other young people with their addictions.
While Sykstus said she is “very proud of his accomplishments,” she noted the devastation that she and her family felt while her son was in active addiction, and even for a short time after that. The hardest thing, Sykstus said, was feeling isolated in the struggle and not being able to talk about it with others.
“I think fear guides a lot of parents, a lot of families, and I think that one of the fears we had as a family is if we had acknowledged the problem, then the course of the pathway that we had set for our son—to graduate from high school, go to college and graduate and get a degree and go on with his life—would all come crashing down,” Sykstus said.
Because of these difficulties, NOMA seeks to erase the stigma of addiction and help people recognize addiction as a disease.
“It’s not a moral failing on my part as a parent,” Sykstus said. “It’s not a character flaw in [my son]. It’s not a moral failing on his part. It is a brain disease.”
Both Diane House, RN and secretary for NOMA, and Sally Barton, the discovery room coordinator for NOMA, emphasized the same.
“It’s a disease, and it’s nothing to be ashamed about,” House said.
Evan Seale, clinical treatment director for Bradford Health Services’ Madison center and a recovering addict himself, also emphasized that addiction, more officially known as a substance abuse disorder, is a disease. Seale said Bradford recognizes that those who struggle with this disorder usually cannot stop on their own and need individualized professional help.
“Addiction is a terribly complicated disease,” Seale said. “There is no one-size-fits-all kind of treatment.”
Because withdrawal can be painful and life-threatening if not dealt with properly, Seale said many addicts prolong their addiction far beyond what they originally intended. Seale noted that opiates tend to be one of the most lengthy and painful withdrawals to endure.
WHAT PARENTS SHOULD WATCH FOR
“For an addict, the worst thing that can happen to him is you learn about addictions,” said Mike Woods, a recovering addict on the panel. “There’s no way that if everybody looked away that I would have ever stopped.”
Woods said his addiction began when he was 12 and a friend’s father shot heroin into his arm. From there, Woods said he wanted to feel that high all the time because “it made me feel normal.” By 16, he had been kicked out of school and knew plenty of friends who had overdosed, as well as some who had committed suicide under the influence. Joining the military did not end his addiction, and there was a time in Woods’ life that he lived on the streets and could not hold down a job. His desperation led to him to rob various establishments, including banks and the Target on University Drive in Huntsville. He said he was able to get his father to bail him out.
“Addicts are really smooth talkers a lot of the time, and parents—they want to hear it,” Woods said.
Today, Woods has gone from being one of the Tennessee Valley’s most wanted and only “a millimeter away” from a successful suicide in a motel room to getting help and talking about his experiences as an addict at Bradford and events like the opioid forum.
“I sit next to parents who have lost a child, and it’s heartbreaking to see that some make it and some don’t,” Woods said. “The actuality is that a lot of addicts end up in the ground, not in an auditorium speaking to people.”
Barton, who lost her son to a heroin overdose, said parents should pay attention to changes in their children’s mood, sleeping and eating habits. Routinely missing out on things may also indicate that there is a problem, as both Sykstus and another mother, Jean Matthews, on the panel noted.
“I can tell you firsthand as a parent that you need to get involved with your kids whether they’re 10, 12, 16, 20, whatever,” Barton advised. “If you think something’s going on, then your intuition’s probably right.”
Val Miller lost her daughter Kailey to an overdose in December 2017, and her younger daughter is now working to recover from her own addiction. Miller said to watch out for teaspoons and small strips of foil that go missing. Long said the realization that her son was stealing helped her to discover that he was using heroin.
In addition, both Long and Matthews stressed that marijuana is a gateway drug.
“[My son] told me, ‘It quit working, Mom,’” Matthews said. “He was self-medicating with marijuana to feel better because he didn’t feel right. He didn’t feel good. It made him relax. Well, when it quit working, he decided he needed something stronger, so absolutely, [marijuana] is a gateway drug.”
Reeves warned parents about Juuls, which are small, sometimes flavored electronic cigarettes that are popular among youth.
“They have as much nicotine as a whole pack of cigarettes, and kids think there’s nothing wrong with them,” Reeves said.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
There are local organizations to get involved in to raise awareness of the opioid epidemic and help those who are struggling.
Sykstus’ NOMA, for example, is open to anyone who has been affected by addiction, whether personally or through a loved one. While NOMA actively works to educate communities on addictions, what to look for and how to deal with the situation, it also acts as a support system for families that need it. Sykstus said the organization is always looking for volunteers who want to help make a difference.
“[We need volunteers] to be a part of what we’re trying to do in terms of providing that education and getting that knowledge out to people so that they don’t have to start from a place that many of us started from, which was not much,” Sykstus said.
Reeves, of the Partnership for a Drug-Free Community, said the organization is in need of both volunteers and mentors, as well as donations. Partnership, which is in its 30th year, serves Huntsville, Madison and Madison County through various initiatives. One of these is the student organization Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Leaders (TYTL). TYTL involves high school students from every high school in the county who receive training from professionals and put together a community awareness campaign every year.
In 2010, Partnership began their “Take Back” events. Citizens are able to bring old and unused prescription medication to drop-off locations in order to be properly disposed. These events seek to decrease prescription medication addictions, particularly among youth. A mother on the panel named Denise said she appreciates these events, as her son’s addiction began early with prescription opiates and eventually led to his death. Madison City Hall will act as a drop-off location this month.
Partnership also offers free and anonymous drug testing kits. To schedule a time to pick up a kit, call 256-539-7339.
Seale, of Bradford Health Services, urged everyone to educate themselves on addiction and recovery, get involved and advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves.
Denise said everyone should talk about the problem now.
“Don’t wait until they’re gone,” she said.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE
NOMA and Partnership do not offer clinical treatment, but each can provide a wealth of information and resources. Reeves said Partnership has a referral list to help point people to places they can receive professional help.
Bradford Health Services has two main centers in Alabama: Warrior and Madison. Seale said Bradford provides extensive consultations to determine the level of treatment each patient needs. These consultations are available on-site 24/7 for free. From there, Bradford provides individualized treatment and has adult, adolescent and emerging adult programs tailored to the age group. Adolescents, for example, are in their own wing of the facility and still receive regular schooling and test prep during their inpatient treatment. When patients complete outpatient treatment, Bradford provides the option of free “Continuing Care” for two more years.
“For one night a week for about an hour, they get to come back to one of our regional offices, meet with a group of their peers still working through some of those challenges of sobriety and recovery,” Seale said.
Kyle Lewter, a research scientist at CFD Research Corporation on the HudsonAlpha campus who attended the forum, told the panel and audience about apps they are working to develop to help prevent overdoses.
“We’re working with the FDA to deliver new drug delivery and opioid addiction apps whereby we’re taking body parameters and the different medicines you’re on and put that into an app and see at what level you’re operating in a safe range for your dosing and what that fatal level is,” Lewter said.
Police officers were available in the lobby after the forum to answer questions and share more information.
Outside the auditorium, members of NOMA stood by to talk to attendees and share resources for them to use. They also had their discovery room trailer set up for attendees to tour and get an inside look at some obvious and not-so-obvious hiding places teenagers might use for drugs in their bedrooms.
Board member Janet Howle explained these hiding places and showed parents what to look for in their child’s room. Some objects as unassuming as a water bottle and a Pringles can, as Howle explained, could hide drugs using a false bottom. A scale to weigh drugs could be disguised as a computer mouse. House showed how drugs can be hidden in the battery compartments of electronics.
House noted that there are resources out there to educate parents on the warning signs and how to deal with an addiction in the family. One of these resources is a book called “The Parent’s 20 Minute Guide to Change,” which is available on Amazon.
Both House and board member Melissa Neumann noted that there are more resources than most people know about. NOMA hopes to make the community more aware of these resources.
“There’s a lot of resources out there that people just don’t know about,” Neumann said. “I didn’t know about them until I needed to know about them.”
Wroblewski said Madison hopes to have more forums on the opioid epidemic, at least two per year. The plan is to have a fall forum at James Clemens and a spring forum at Bob Jones.
“We want to bring awareness to this epidemic that is impacting every group in our city,” Wroblewski said. “Black, white, rich, poor, young, old—there is no demographic that is spared.”
Woods urged everyone to stop perceiving addicts as “worthless.” For addicts, Woods encouraged them to fight for a better life.
“If you’re struggling for addictions, hang on,” Woods said. “It can be better if you want it. It will never be better if you don’t.”
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, the following is a brief list of resources available. More resources are also available through many of the websites.
- Partnership for a Drug-Free Community: partnershipforadrug-freecommunity.org, 256-539-7339
- Not One More Alabama: notonemorealabama.org, 256-384-5055, mail@notonemorealabama.org
- Bradford Health Services – Madison: 256-461-7272, 1600 Browns Ferry Rd. In Madison; bradfordhealth.com
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): samhsa.gov
- Al-Anon: al-anon.org, 757-563-1600, wso@al-anon.org
- Nar-Anon: nar-anon.org
- Families Anonymous: familiesanonymous.org, 800-736-9805 (US), 847-294-5877 (International)
- Celebrate Recovery: celebraterecovery.com
“My big message to anybody out there who’s struggling with addiction, who’s fighting it every day, continue to fight on because every chance that you get to spend with somebody else here is absolutely worth it because you are important and you are loved,” Berryhill said. “There’s somebody that would give anything in the world just to be able to give you a hug or call you, text you, talk to you, so it’s absolutely worth it, and your life does matter.”