I’m so grateful that I have 25 years recovery, but I often wonder what my life would be like if I had a safe space to go during my highschool years to get help(if I was willing) and not full of shame!
Why I Care Enough to Climb 12 Flights of Stairs at a High Rise in Evanston on October 6th
Every day, over 100 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids.
How did this happen?
About 30 years ago, healthcare providers began to prescribe opiods at greater rates after pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to them. This led to widespread misuse of these medications.
In 2017, more than 47,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose. That same year, an estimated 1.7 million people in the United States suffered from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers.
What do we know about the opioid crisis?
Roughly 21 to 29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them.
Between 8 and 12 percent develop an opioid use disorder.
An estimated 4 to 6 percent who misuse prescription opioids transition to heroin.
About 80 percent of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids.
Opioid overdoses increased 30 percent from July 2016 through September 2017 in 52 areas in 45 states.
The Midwestern region saw opioid overdoses increase 70 percent from July 2016 through September 2017.
Opioid overdoses in large cities increase by 54 percent in 16 states.