Hello from Michigan

Hello all! My name is Ashley Collings and i am from a tiny town at the tip of Michigan's thumb. I'll be 25 this March and i've been addicted to opiates since i was 14. This past May i had CPS start checking in on me because my mom and i had an argument turn physical (it was over my behavior and poor parenting). I didn't want to lose my 2year old daughter OR my unborn daughter so i looked for some kind of treatment to enroll in. After calling god knows how many places i was finally referred to a methadone clinic. I never knew it was dangerous to stop using opiates when you're pregnant until i went there. Where i live, there isn't any form of substance abuse treatment other than counciling and NA or AA, so i have to drive an hour and 45minutes there and back. its close to a 4hour trip. i leave my house around 4:15am so i can be there by 6 and make it home in time to take a nap before my husband has to go to work.
Its been worth it. As of today i have 224days of sobriety. I couldn't be more proud of myself! I had my second child 9/19/11 (I had to have a c-section), and i managed my pain using only ibuprofen and tylenol (and methadone of course).
I love my clinic. I get along great with my counciler, doctor, and the rest of the staff. They're very helpful, and its obvious that they genuinely care about the clients and they're not just there for a paycheck.

Happy Holidays!!!

How refreshing to hear of a clinic where the client is happy. Hang on to it there Because it is hard to find a good clinic. Congrats on your 224 days I am proud of you to because I know how hard it is to get each one of those days when youre an opiate addict. Were you and your Mom able to patch things up? I hope so and does your family support your type of treatment being Methadone I am 48 years old and my Mom would and will be very mad if she were to find out thats what I am doing.

Finallyachance,
Thanks for your reply. You can call me Ashley if you like.I have a wonderful support system. My husband has never touched a drug in his life, so i feel like he got more than he bargained for when he married me. he didn't know the full extent of my problems. My mom and i patched things up immediatly. We live together so we don't hold grudges (LOL). she actually gave my husband the money needed to get me out of jail when we had our fight (She had me arrested). It was with the understanding that i would seek treatment- actual treatment and not just counciling. I didn't want to sit in jail. its not pleasant at anytime, but sleeping on a cold slab when your pregnant really bites. so i called a lot of places looking for some sort of in patient care but no one would take me because i was pregnant. My call finally got transferred to Victory Clinical Services, and they wanted me there at 6am the next morning for intake. I wasnt sure that methadone would be the best option for me because i was addicted to pain meds and ive abused methadone quite a bit. But i didn't say anything because ive tried every thing else. Long story short, i quickly learned that if you use methadone PROPERLY its very effective in keeping those nasty withdrawl symptoms away. It also keeps me from wanting to take anything else. My family is SO proud of me and constantly praising me for how well im doing. On my 100th day clean, mom got me a new cell phone because mine was really beat up. Shortly after, her and my grandmother paid off my driver responsibility fees i owed to the state so i could get my liscense back(i haven't been able to legally drive since i was 18). Every other thursday my mom watches my 2 kids while my husband and I go out for dinner and a movie to celebrate another 2 weeks clean for me. I was really happy to have my drivers liscense back. I would have never got it if i had kept using.
Going to this clinic hasn't JUST helped me get my life back. Its shown me what a good life i've been given. When i was going to group (Its manditory for a while) i saw how lucky i am. The women in my group didn't have supportive families, they didn't have any friends, most of them had lost their children, they were single moms, and a few of them didn't even have a permanent home to live in. They were in shelters or something like that. I have a wonderful man who loves me unconditionally. Hes stuck by me through everything. I have 2 beautiful (and thank god) Healthy children that i've never had taken from me and never will. I have my mom, who probably should have kicked me out a long time ago but didn't because she knew her little girl was still there somewhere. She said even though she was pretty well fed up with me she couldn't turn her back on me because she knows how addiction works (My aunt died from alcoholism) and that i was sick and needed help. I have my grandma (Who's 89). Shes always there for me and tells me that she's so happy she got to live to see me raise a family and get off the drugs. I don't have many close friends, but i have Teia. We've been best friends since we were 6. She has a son thats only 2months younger than my oldest daughter (we didn't plan that but it sure works out well). She still lives just two blocks away from me and we get together for a few hours everyday while our husbands are at work. Its wonderful because it gives our kids a chance to learn things like sharing and lets them play with someone their age. It also gives us a chance to have adult conversations and keeps my mind away from negative things because i'm not sitting at home alone.
Does your mom know you have a drug problem? If she knows about your drug problem i don't understand why she would be upset about your using methadone to help you fight your addiction. If anything she should be happy and proud that you want to get well and don't want to continue on the same path you were headed down. I don't know you but I'm proud of you because i know how hard it is to do this. I hope you have support from someone. No one should have to go through this alone.
I'm sorry to see so many people unhappy with their clinics, but it happens everywhere. The state keeps a close eye on methadone clinics and theres a lot of rules and regulations that they have to follow so they don't lose their liscense. The people at my clinic complain too. I've found that if you follow all the rules, respect everyone, and don't fail your drug screens, you won't have any problems at my clinic. The people that complain there are the ones that have had dirty urine screens, missed appointments, had their take home privlidges revoked, and other things. I don't fall into that category of people. I value my treatment a great deal. i live two hours away from my clinic (and thats the closest one to me) and i have to go 4days a week. December27 i'll be moved to phase three and i'll only have to go 3days a week. Thats still a lot of gas money every month though. I don't want to lose my take home privlidges so i make sure that i follow ALL their rules, go to ALL my appointments, and pass ALL my random drug screens.
Whats your clinic like? i'd like to hear all about it.
Lotsa Luck,
Ashley

Hi Ashley and welcome to the forum.
As finallyachance said, it is good to hear a good experience about a clinic. The one I attended was also one of the good ones. I'm sure though there are some patients that wouldn't agree with me though as we did have some that complained non stop. Mostly they complained about taking Methadone and how they wish they never would have started.
Me, I am grateful for the chance it gave me to get myself back together. It taught me that we can recover as long as we have the right resources and support system in place. I wish more than anything that I had my mom here with me. I lost her when I was 17. I hate it that she isn't here to know that I have made it.
I hope that you will continue to post here on the forum. If you have any questions about anything please don't hesitate to ask. RuthAnn is our moderator, she has been out lately because she is moving and hasn't had the time to check in as often as she likes.
Again, Welcome and congratulations on your recovery
Dee