Fresh Start 10th Anniversary, Wilmington, DE

Join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of Gaudenzia Fresh Start's 10 years of providing drug and alcohol addiction treatment services to Delaware. Recognition will be made to graduates, parents, staff, and community members who contributed to the success of Fresh Start.  Business casual attire please.

6:00 - Registration and Light Dinner
7:00 - Remarks
8:00 - Entertainment

Please click here to register

For questions or more information please contact: 302-738-0619 or freshstart@meetingsbydesign.net

Date(s):	September 28, 2013
Time(s):	6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Location:	Barclays 125 South West Street Wilmington, DE 19801

Baltimore Recovery Day and Fun Fair

Baltimore Recovery Day and Fun Fair, hosted by Gaudenzia, the Park Heights Renaissance and NCADD Maryland, will celebrate National Recovery Month in Baltimore by breaking ground on Gaudenzia's newest addition to the continuum of care for pregnant and parenting women, the Park Heights Family Center.  Join greater Baltimore community for a block party and health fair with live entertainment from local performers. 

For more information, please contact Andrew Keimig, Chesapeake Region Community Affairs Manager, at 410-367-5501 ext. 8206 or akeimig@gaudenzia.org.

Date(s):	September 7, 2013
Time(s):	11:00 a.m - 3:00 p.m.
Location:	4600 Block of Park Heights Avenue Baltimore, MD 21215

Stephen Lloyd, MD,The Partnership at Drugfree.org

Dear Joseph 

I am a doctor, and I am in recovery from prescription medicine abuse.

Some might be surprised to hear that, but the truth is that my profession did not make me immune to the painkiller addiction that started the way many others do — I abused medicine hoping it would help me cope with stress. I had some leftover pain medication after a dental procedure, and I took it in an effort to relax. At first, I thought I had found the perfect solution for my anxiety issues. I felt better.

I started taking more and more prescription pain relievers to feed what became an addiction.

Before I knew it, I had a real problem. My biggest secret? When one of my favorite professors became terminally ill and chose me to be his doctor, I stole and abused his opiates. I had hit an all-time low.

I began isolating myself. I lost interest in the things I loved to do, like coaching my son and daughter in their sports. I lost interest in my life in general.

Eventually, my family intervened, and I checked into a treatment center.

I was skeptical about treatment, even though I was entering a center that specifically treated doctors. We hadn't learned anything about medicine addiction, abuse or treatment in medical school. I just didn't think there was anyone who could help me.

Once I got clean, I made it my mission to make sure every graduate of my medical school would have a basic understanding about addiction, addictive disease and prescribing narcotics. I now dedicate my life to this goal. Perhaps if I had learned more about the nature and treatment of this disease, I would have been able to avoid my own medicine addiction.

It's important to talk to your doctor about the dangers of misusing and abusing the medicine he or she prescribes to you or your children. If your doctor hasn't yet brought this up with you, it may be time to bring it up yourself.

My dream is that one day, all doctors will know more about addiction and play a role in preventing medicine abuse. You can help by starting the conversation.

Stephen Loyd, MD, FACP

Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Quillen College of Medicine and East Tennessee State University

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Conquering Grounds Music Fest September 14, 2013

Buy Tickets Here To raise money for the CLPRM Scholarship Fund, Helping those struggling with Addiction
On the Campus of Christian Life Center, 3100 Galloway Rd., Bensalem, PA 19020
Bring a Lawn Chair or Blanket
Rain or Shine Event
12 noon to 7 pm

there is hope - dave pettigrew

Ethical Issues Surround Rise in Doctors’ Use of Urine Drug Testing to Prevent Abuse

By Join Together Staff | August 2, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Healthcare, Prescription Drugs & Prevention

As a growing number of doctors use urine drug tests in an effort to detect prescription drug abuse in their patients, they face ethical questions about the tests, according to The New York Times.
These questions include how accurate the tests are, what doctors should do with the results, and whether doctors are benefitting financially from the tests. This year, sales at diagnostic testing labs that offer urine drug tests are expected to reach $2 billion.
Urine tests indicate many pain patients are not taking their prescribed painkillers, or are taking substances not prescribed to them by a doctor. If patients are not taking a prescribed medication, it could mean they simply stopped using it, or it could mean they are selling it.
Dr. Roger Chou, who helped develop urine-screening guidelines for the American Pain Society, says that while he believes the tests are valuable, he is concerned doctors may use the results as an excuse to drop patients, instead of sending them to addiction treatment or other pain management programs.
There are two basic types of urine drug tests. A patient taking a qualitative test leaves a urine sample in a cup that is imbedded with strips designed to detect drugs such as opioids, cocaine, amphetamines and barbiturates. These tests have both high false-positive and false-negative rates, meaning they often indicate a drug is present when it is not, or they fail to detect a drug that is present in a person’s urine. The tests detect methadone but not oxycodone, the article notes.
Qualitative tests are being used in states that have passed laws requiring welfare recipients to undergo drug screening.
A more sophisticated and expensive urine drug test used in pain patients is called quantitative analysis. A patient can beat the test by taking their prescription medicine for a day or two, and selling the rest.