She has seen families torn apart because of opioids. Now a Sudbury woman is digging deeper into the crisis in her new book, ‘Opioids: Burying the Truth One Person at a Time.’ Reggie Caverson, who worked in the addictions field for almost 30 years, said that as she moved from one career into another, she didn’t see any changes. “This book has been an itch that I had to scratch,” Caverson said. “I was there when the crisis started, worked with police right across Canada, and I need to tell the story how it started.” One of her goals in writing the book is dispelling some myths. “Most of our talk is about fentanyl on the street, but right now, we don’t know how many people have become addicted as a result of prescribed opioids by your doctor, by the hospital after an injury or surgery,” Caverson said. According to the Mayo Clinic, she said that just five days after using opioids -- including hydromorphone, OxyContin, oxycodone, and other kinds of drugs -- you can become tolerant to the drugs and need more of them for the same effect. “People forget it has the same quality as heroin,” she said. “I often ask people, would you take heroin? Likely not!” Withdrawal is difficult, lengthy process Caverson said opioid addiction destroys individuals and tears families apart. “I don’t know if you can describe it,” she said. “Every family’s situation is different. Opioids are not easy to withdraw from. They latch onto certain receptors in the brain and the withdrawal is horrendous.” Caverson added that people have told her that opioid withdrawal is 100 times worse than the worst flu you ever have had -- and lasts for weeks. “Our treatments are not very good,” she said. “We treat it with another opioid, methadone. The focus is not on rehabilitation or recovery -- it is on keeping people stable.” Society has not focused enough on treatment or harm reduction, she said, adding that a wide spectrum of people should read her book. “Anyone who has been in the addictions field, families of victims, emergency responders, police officers, and so many more.” Caverson said she has also sent a request to medical schools across the country to include her book in their curriculum.
