Finding Fixes

This episode, we look at the idea of harm reduction and focus specifically on needle exchanges. Those are hundreds of places across the US that hand out clean equipment, the overdose reversal medicine Narcan ,and other help to people addicted to heroin and other drugs. But needle exchanges are still controversial in many parts of the country, including Tacoma, Washington, where Finding Fixes contributor, Amber Cortes, brings us the story of the oldest needle exchange in the United States.

Addiction is a family disease and family members of people with addiction need help, too. We look at an approach that is more effective than an intervention or Al-anon. A book group turns into a support group. The members turn away from "tough love" and, without knowing it, stumble on evidence-based ways to help addicted family members access treatment. Also, we have an update on the chronic pain patient at the mini boot camp for pain, Kimberly. We check up with her a month after the program ended.

Emergency rooms are the last safety net for the sickest, most marginalized people. On this episode we hear how emergency rooms can become the gateway for people with addiction to access evidence-based drug treatment and other help they may need. And how an accident with a broken hypodermic needle in her neck led to one woman's recovery from heroin.

Trauma and pain and addiction are tightly woven together. But, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is treatable and treating the wounds of trauma can help treat pain and addiction, too. We must pay attention to the toxic effects of trauma if we really want to help people stay away from drugs and feel better from chronic pain. In this episode, we hear personal stories of trauma, pain and addiction, as well as post-traumatic growth.

Medical marijuana is now legal in dozens of states. Some chronic pain patients now rely on it in place of opioid painkillers. But, in the absence of formal medical guidance, many patients are going it on their own, with informal guidance from their peers. Some experts are not convinced though. They caution against potentially harmful side effects. Reporter and Finding Fixes contributor, Anne Hoffman brings us this intimate look at medical marijuana. 

What's the appropriate role of opioids in treating chronic pain? On this episode we zoom out and get a more complete picture of chronic pain, so we can understand where opioids fit in. We find out about one solution that helps people feel better while voluntarily scaling back on opioid painkillers. Doctors, nurses, and therapists are working to give their patients with chronic pain a whole new set of tools.

The more opioids you get after surgery, the more likely you are to be dependent on them down the road. We follow a mother through her c-section to see how she deals with the pain after her daughter is born and avoids opioid painkillers.

The best ways to prevent young people from getting addicted aren't what you think. Also, we find out how a rural community is making a dent in youth drug and alcohol use.

Our team is hard at work on Season Two, which drops fall 2019, but in the meantime we wanted to answer a question a lot of people ask us: Why are we making this podcast? Why make a podcast about solutions to the opioid epidemic? On this bonus episode, we bring you excerpts from interviews producers and co-hosts Anna Boiko-Weyrauch and Kye Norris did in October 2018 at KUOW with producer, Brie Ripley. 

BONUS: How Shannon got off drugs

SOLUTION: Make incarceration an opportunity to get help and start healing. Make detox easier, get people with addiction drug treatment behind bars, and connect them to help as soon as they’re released. STORY: Opioid withdrawal is like the worst flu you’ve ever had. Now, imagine you’re responsible for dozens of people as sick as can be. What do you do? We tour the Snohomish County jail, where inmates used to die from lack of medical care. The jail has turned things around.

SOLUTION: Create teams of social workers and police officers who help homeless people with addiction get drug treatment and housing. Break the cycle of drug use, crime, and jail time by reaching out to people on the streets and in the woods, and asking them what help they need. STORY: Marshmallows in Kevlar and a foul-mouthed social worker. Coffee dates, mac n’ cheese, and body wash. The county reimagines police work and helps hundreds of people get into detox, drug treatment, and stable housing.

SOLUTION: Get government to work more effectively. Use a disaster response playbook to organize county government around the opioid epidemic. Approach addicted people with compassion, as you’d approach a person with any other medical condition. STORY: Addiction hits home for the top dog of a disaster-prone county. An old-school cop gets a wake-up call and learns “handcuffs and a trip to jail” just won’t cut it anymore. Also, we learn what a landslide can teach us about tackling the opioid epidemi

Instructions on how to spot and stop an overdose

SOLUTION: Get the overdose reversal drug, naloxone (aka Narcan) into the hands of everyone who needs it, and train them how to use it. Family, friends and people with addiction themselves can play a big role in stopping overdose death. STORY: A life lost, a life saved. The main character of this episode isn’t a person. It’s a nasal spray. Naloxone (aka Narcan) saves lives from opioid overdoses (heroin, painkillers, fentanyl). We walk you through how to save a life using the overdose antidote.