Narcan training provides chance to save lives

By: 
Marney Simon
Staff writer

The opioid epidemic continues to prove deadly across the country.

According to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control in March, emergency room visits for opioid overdoses rose 30 percent in all parts of the country from July 2016 through September 2017.

Those overdoses include a 30 percent increase in cases of men, and a 24 percent increase for women. Most states saw overdoses increase by 30 percent on average, but it was a much worse story in the Midwest, with reported cases of overdoses up, on average, 70 percent.

Illinois hails as one of 16 states where more people die of drug overdoses than from car accidents.

In 2018, there have already been a total of 28 opioid deaths in Will County, including a 32-year-old female in Wilmington last month.

While Braidwood managed to avoid any heroin or fentanyl-related deaths in 2017, Will County saw a record-high 85 deaths last year. In 2016, four of the county’s 78 opioid related deaths happened in Braidwood.

On April 28, a dozen people came to Braidwood City Hall to learn how to administer Narcan – the name brand of the drug naloxone HCI, a nasal spray treatment that counteracts the life-threatening effects of opioid overdose.

The session was run by Kathleen Burke, Ph.D., Director of Substance Abuse Initiatives with the Will County Executive Office.

“This is a harm reduction strategy. It’s meant to keep people alive until we can get people into care and get them into recovery,” Burke said, adding that Narcan cannot be abused, and sensitivity or allergic reaction is rare.

Burke noted that there were three waves in the opioid crisis. In the late 1990s, there was a rise in overdose deaths. But by 2010, there was also a rise in heroin deaths, followed by a rise in deaths due to synthetic opioids starting in 2013.

Synthetic fentanyl from China has become a crisis for the county.

“You can make a small amount of fentanyl that’s just as strong as heroin,” Burke said. “Fentanyl is 50 percent stronger than heroin. It’s an extremely dangerous drug. It’s extremely powerful. And now, what’s happening is, on the street, nobody knows what they’re getting.

“They don’t know if their heroin has been mixed with fentanyl, they don’t know how much, fentanyl is now being mixed with cocaine, it’s being mixed with marijuana, it’s being mixed in a lot of places to get people addicted. It’s cheap, it’s easily mailed and sent in because it’s so tiny… The United States is increasing their capacity now to get it into the county, but prior to this, there wasn’t that kind of focus because we were looking at heroin coming in in bulk. This third wave is killing a lot of people.”

Burke said most people who overdose on fentanyl are between the ages of 25 and 45.

Those who struggle with opioid use struggle daily, and the need for opioids negatively affects their lives at every waking moment. The cycle of use and abuse is perpetuated by a desperate attempt to avoid the sickness that comes from withdrawal.

“People who are addicted to opioids spend their entire day trying not to be drug sick,” Burke said. “They get up in the morning, figure out where they’re going to get they money to get the drug, get the drug, in order to take away the sick feelings. So, sometimes we think that people, when they’re in the throws of addiction, are having this great time, partying, getting high and it feels good. But, it’s all about just trying not to be sick. At that point, their body craves it, regardless of the negative consequences, and they have to have it in order to feel well… When you get into addiction, the brain takes over, and it’s been changed.”

Burke noted that addiction can start in several ways. Often, it can start with self-medication for mental illnesses including anxiety, depression, and ADHD. Adverse childhood experiences and environmental factors including modeled behavior at home can also lead to addiction. And often, teens can get ahold of prescription drugs at home.

“It’s just comfortable, and nobody ever talks to anybody about the challenges if someone takes that too far,” Burke said. “Unfortunately, I’ve known a lot of people whose parents turn them on to opiates early on, because there is a medicine cabinet. You go to the doctor, they give you pain pills for some procedure you had… and you take a couple of them and you leave them in your medicine cabinet. When you leave them in your medicine cabinet, it becomes a store for our young folks or anybody who has an addiction.”

Burke said Will County lags behind on available services, but Braidwood and Wilmington have been able to get ahead of the curve with some local resources, including counseling at The Center in Custer Park and the Wilmington Coalition for a Healthy Community office, and the CHANGE program with the Braidwood Police Department.

While Narcan is an effective way to save lives, the only way to treat the opioid epidemic is long term care and management. Narcan works as a barrier to opioids, but the effects last just 30 to 90 minutes.

“Recovery is a long-term process that you need to manage your whole life,” Burke said.

Burke added that Narcan will help save lives in the moment, but in the long term, work needs to be done to bridge the gap between what causes addiction, and how to treat it.

“It’s not easy to get people into care,” Burke said. “Most people who are in pain and sick aren’t their pleasant self. So, remember that when people start picking on people who have addiction… This disconnect between health care and our hospitals and our behavioral health system, our mental health and our substance abuse, has to come back together. Because we need each other. We can both do good things, not separated, but together.”

Those at the training session left armed with information on opioid abuse, as well as two doses of Narcan.

Narcan has been made available for purchase at pharmacies for roughly $80 per two-pack. Those who administer Narcan are covered under the state’s Good Samaritan Law.

More information on opioid abuse and the use of Narcan can be found on the county’s website, www.willcountyillinois.com, under the “Narcan Distribution Program.”