A ‘time out’ for recovery Lima UMADAOP client looks back with gratitude The opiate epidemic that has gripped America has produced some startling statistics. But numbers don’t really tell the whole story. It’s the story of people like Reggie Gant, a recovering heroin addict and graduate of the Lima UMADAOP treatment program. As for many addicts, Gant’s path to addiction started with prescription painkillers. In 2012, Gant was working out at a Columbus health club when he tore his rotator cuff and pectoral muscle. After undergoing surgery to repair the injury, Gant was prescribed percocet to help cope with the pain, which led to a serious addiction. It only took a few months for an addiction to develop, and when Gant’s prescription expired, he started to experience the unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal. At the time, Gant was a production supervisor for an optical manufacturing facility in Columbus. “One guy who worked for me had similar issues,” Gant recalls. “He introduced me to heroin.” After getting the drug through his co- worker for a while, Gant realized that for addicts, “the name of the game is building connections. If one dealer isn’t available, you need to have other people you can go to.”Within a few months, he had developed his own connections. “One guy who worked for me had similar issues. He introduced me to heroin.”
Needing more & more He also developed a tolerance which led to needing more of the drug. At first, a half-gram of heroin would last two or three days. Eventually he needed about .75 per gram per day.The father of two daughters and a son, Gant made an effort to hide the habit from his family and appear fully functional. He lost his optical job in 2013, but continued to work at odd jobs every day. By December, 2015, “I had hit rock bottom.” Gant’s insurance company referred him to a short-term detox program in Columbus.Then he completed a month of inpatient treatment at Ridgeview Behavioral Center in Lima. Physical relief was provided by monthly suboxone strips, which prevented withdrawal effects and reduced cravings. (Gant is gradually tapering off the suboxone, and expects to be finished with it this summer).
-Reggie Gant , client Lima UMADAOP
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