Available Help

ave already discussed suspecting your loved one of drug abuse; finding evidence of their drug addiction; confronting your loved one effectively and the starting point for most medical assistance: your family G.P. In chapter 2 (Are They or Aren’t They Part 2) we also briefly discussed the best known medications to help your loved one to detox from heroin. In this chapter, we will speak more about these available treatments and why Subutex or Suboxone would be a preferable treatment than say, methadone.

I am not a doctor and I do not have any medical experience whatsoever, except my own past medical ailments, so I will not profess to know everything about these treatments. However, having been an addict of heroin for about seven years I had always known other addicts who spoke of their scripts (prescriptions) for methadone. I had even seen addicts sell their methadone for cash to buy heroin (yes, the mind boggles!) This was years before I was ready to quit and years before I had heard of any other treatment except methadone. To be quite honest I had thought very early-on how pointless this methadone seemed. Because here were people who had gone to their G.P’s or local drug clinics for help with their addiction and now that they were being given help, were totally abusing it. Who wasn’t selling their methadone was continuing to use heroin as well as their prescribed methadone. This notion stayed with me until I became ready to quit and when I was told by my drug worker of the then two available treatments: methadone and Subutex, I opted immediately for Subutex because as far as I was aware, I wouldn’t be able to use heroin on top of it, or alongside it. I had been told of the way in which Subutex has an ingredient that blocks the effect of heroin if you try to take it,  but I had to be sure, so after about a week of treatment where I had only used Subutex, I attempted to smoke heroin. Indeed I did smoke the heroin, but the effect that I am  used to getting from heroin completely evaded me on this occasion and on every occasion since where I have tested the virtues of this blocker I was pleased to find that the rumours were true and planned my escape from heroin addiction with the assistance of Subutex.

The dose of treatment and the length of your treatment depends entirely upon the amount of heroin yourself or your love-one had been consuming prior to finding a way out. If your drug worker decides that you would benefit from taking 16mg of Subutex, it would not be the case that you collect 16mg on your first visit to the pharmacy. The usual practice is to start patients off with 4mg on the first day and then increase the dose over the first few days until the patient is taking the recommended dose. My own drug worker decided that i should start on 20mg of Subutex, so on the first day I attended the pharmacy, I collected 4mg; the following day, it was 8mg; the day after 14mg and by my fourth day of treatment, I was taking the dose recommended by my drug worker.

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Treatment in London

In London, where I reside, you can find heroin addicts almost everywhere. The most obvious addicts are the homeless/shop doorway type, or the ones selling copies of the Big Issue magazine near to train stations or in shopping malls. Because of the large amount of drug addicts my city has, many agencies in London exist that specifically aim at getting drug addicts the help that they need.

There are many drop-in centres and treatment agencies all over London, but since I received my treatment in South London, I will concentrate primarily on providing links for the services that exist there. As my page progresses, I will provide links to services in other areas of London, and then other major cities in the UK.

South London boasts a dedicated substance misuse team that come under the collective umbrella term SLAM which stands for SOUTH LONDON AND MAUDSLEY. This is an NHS service and can be found by typing www.slam.nhs into your Internet browser.

SLAM are a team dedicated to the treatment of Mental Health and  Substance Misuse and operate from a range of premises in the South London area. Maudsley Hospital, situated on Denmark Hill opposite Kings College Hospital, lends its name to this NHS team and therefore treats patients with mental health and substance misuse issues in it’s clinics. Visit Maudsley Hospital on-line.

Another partner under the SLAM umbrella is Lorraine Hewitt House, situated on Brighton Terrace in Brixton, South West London. Brighton Terrace is the first left after the McDonald’s in Brixton. Lorraine Hewitt was a radical campaigner for the rights of drug addicted persons in South London and she founded the Stockwell Project and the UK Harm Reduction Alliance. She was also a member on the advisory council on the misuse of drugs. She died of cancer aged 56 in 2001 and to celebrate her life and to continue the great work she had started, the NHS dedicated Lorraine Hewitt House, which houses the Lambeth Drug and Alcohol Team, to her name.