Dr. Lyn Raible: Opioid addiction is real, deadly and destructive, but help is available

Re “We can’t let opioid treatment for poor die with Obamacare” (Page 2D, Dec. 4): I want to thank The Modesto Bee for the editorial regarding opioid use disorder, treatment and the potential consequences to those with this medical disorder if they lose insurance coverage. In the U.S., one person dies of an opioid overdose every 20 minutes. These individuals are our mothers, brothers, police officers, clergy, friends, neighbors.

At the Aegis Treatment Center in Modesto, of our 850 patients, 94.5 percent have housing, 5 percent are veterans, the majority have high school diplomas, and 14 percent have done at least some college coursework. They are not homeless, destitute people often envisioned when thinking of an opioid “addict.” Of our patients, 21 percent are employed full time, 18 percent part time, and 24 percent are retired or disabled (24.5 percent of our patients are 52 or older).

Despite efforts at many levels, most people are unaware that addiction is a medical problem with genetic and neurobiological elements. Approximately 70 percent of the risk for opioid addiction is genetic. Individuals with these genetics (found in less than 50 percent of the population), when exposed to opioids, have brain changes that occur and are very difficult to reverse. These neural changes are responsible for behavior changes that can turn our loved one into someone we hardly recognize.

Opioid use disorder is a medical disorder with a medical treatment that saves lives and money. For more information, see http://store.samhsa.gov or http://store.samhsa.gov.product/ and the recently released report from the Surgeon General.

This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Dr. Lyn Raible: Opioid addiction is real, deadly and destructive, but help is available."