Introduction
Addiction can be extremely difficult to overcome. Drugs can alter the chemical make up in one’s brain making it crave the drug. Sometimes an intervention is needed for an individual to get their life back on track. Addiction is not only hard on the addict, but difficult on the family as well. Interventions can help an individual realize how the addiction is affecting everyone in their lives and gives them the opportunity to go to rehab and get sober.
Tiffany
Tiffany is a 32-year-old mother and wife. She has a cosmetology degree and a graphic design and animation degree. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband Wesley, mother, and 14-month-old son Noah in her mother’s condo. Tiffany is a wonderful mom, but her heroin addiction is getting in the way of taking care of her son. Her mother and husband are very involved in her life. Tiffany’s mother pays for everything Tiffany and her husband need. Her mother is beginning to feel strained because she is supporting three extra people and Tiffany is spending the money on drugs. Tiffany’s husband is afraid to get a job because he does not want to leave Tiffany alone. Wesley takes care of Tiffany and says at times he feels like he has two children. When Tiffany is high, she has seizures and stops breathing. Wesley and Tiffany’s mother stay up and watch her sleep when she is high to make sure she is still breathing. She has lost custody of three of her children to her ex-husband because of her addiction to heroin. Tiffany is also on four different probations in four different counties. When Tiffany gave birth to her first son she had to get 57 stitches and she was prescribed oxycodone. It took her three months to heal and was taking oxycodone the whole time. After the three months were up her doctor quit prescribing oxycodone and she started buying it off the streets because she was addicted. Tiffany almost put her ex-husband and her in bankruptcy because she spent all their money on pills. After her second child was born she started using the oxycodone again. She then found out she was pregnant with her third born. Her doctor put her on methadone, but Tiffany did not realize that methadone would addict her baby. Her daughter was in the NICU for a month while she was weaned off the methadone with morphine. Tiffany had 3 children in four years and suffered severe postpartum depression. She was introduced to heroin after her ex-husband cued her for custody. Tiffany spent time in jail and was court ordered to rehab. She met her husband Wesley in recovery and a month after they started dating she became pregnant. This time Tiffany’s postpartum was worse than ever. Wesley walked in on Tiffany trying to shoot up heroin in the bathroom. Tiffany is on methadone, but has not stopped using heroin because she loves the process of shooting up heroin. Heroin Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine. Morphine is a natural substance from the seed pod of the Asian opium poppy plant. Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. Heroin can be injected, snorted, or smoked. Heroin enters the brain extremely quickly and changes back into morphine. It binds to opioid receptors in many areas of the brain, it especially binds to those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure. There are also opioid receptors in the brain stem, that controls important processes, such as blood pressure, arousal, and …show more content…
I plan to use this new knowledge as a nurse in multiple ways. I will be much more aware of what heroin use looks like, as well as heroin overdose. I will be able to care for patients using heroin now that I know how heroin works in the body. I will be able to provide education to patients and family members regarding addiction. After doing this assignment, I believe I will be less judgmental of the decisions addicts make regarding their loved ones, I now understand that the addiction can turn an individual into someone completely different than they once were. I thoroughly enjoyed this exercise. I watch A&E intervention frequently so it was nice to be able to add it to an assignment and think a little more critically about
Addiction can be extremely difficult to overcome. Drugs can alter the chemical make up in one’s brain making it crave the drug. Sometimes an intervention is needed for an individual to get their life back on track. Addiction is not only hard on the addict, but difficult on the family as well. Interventions can help an individual realize how the addiction is affecting everyone in their lives and gives them the opportunity to go to rehab and get sober.
Tiffany
Tiffany is a 32-year-old mother and wife. She has a cosmetology degree and a graphic design and animation degree. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband Wesley, mother, and 14-month-old son Noah in her mother’s condo. Tiffany is a wonderful mom, but her heroin addiction is getting in the way of taking care of her son. Her mother and husband are very involved in her life. Tiffany’s mother pays for everything Tiffany and her husband need. Her mother is beginning to feel strained because she is supporting three extra people and Tiffany is spending the money on drugs. Tiffany’s husband is afraid to get a job because he does not want to leave Tiffany alone. Wesley takes care of Tiffany and says at times he feels like he has two children. When Tiffany is high, she has seizures and stops breathing. Wesley and Tiffany’s mother stay up and watch her sleep when she is high to make sure she is still breathing. She has lost custody of three of her children to her ex-husband because of her addiction to heroin. Tiffany is also on four different probations in four different counties. When Tiffany gave birth to her first son she had to get 57 stitches and she was prescribed oxycodone. It took her three months to heal and was taking oxycodone the whole time. After the three months were up her doctor quit prescribing oxycodone and she started buying it off the streets because she was addicted. Tiffany almost put her ex-husband and her in bankruptcy because she spent all their money on pills. After her second child was born she started using the oxycodone again. She then found out she was pregnant with her third born. Her doctor put her on methadone, but Tiffany did not realize that methadone would addict her baby. Her daughter was in the NICU for a month while she was weaned off the methadone with morphine. Tiffany had 3 children in four years and suffered severe postpartum depression. She was introduced to heroin after her ex-husband cued her for custody. Tiffany spent time in jail and was court ordered to rehab. She met her husband Wesley in recovery and a month after they started dating she became pregnant. This time Tiffany’s postpartum was worse than ever. Wesley walked in on Tiffany trying to shoot up heroin in the bathroom. Tiffany is on methadone, but has not stopped using heroin because she loves the process of shooting up heroin. Heroin Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine. Morphine is a natural substance from the seed pod of the Asian opium poppy plant. Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. Heroin can be injected, snorted, or smoked. Heroin enters the brain extremely quickly and changes back into morphine. It binds to opioid receptors in many areas of the brain, it especially binds to those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure. There are also opioid receptors in the brain stem, that controls important processes, such as blood pressure, arousal, and …show more content…
I plan to use this new knowledge as a nurse in multiple ways. I will be much more aware of what heroin use looks like, as well as heroin overdose. I will be able to care for patients using heroin now that I know how heroin works in the body. I will be able to provide education to patients and family members regarding addiction. After doing this assignment, I believe I will be less judgmental of the decisions addicts make regarding their loved ones, I now understand that the addiction can turn an individual into someone completely different than they once were. I thoroughly enjoyed this exercise. I watch A&E intervention frequently so it was nice to be able to add it to an assignment and think a little more critically about