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South Jersey Magazine profiles a Seabrook House patient
Addicted Women
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Julie Walsh
http://www.sjmagazine.net/articles.aspx?aid=557
Addicted Women
By Julie Walsh
From posh suburbs to gritty streets, thousands of women across SJ abuse drugs or alcohol. They’re often hit harder than men - yet sometimes that’s what saves them.
Just a few years ago, Michele D.* was a high-school honor student. But what started as "experimental" drinking quickly led to a life consumed by drugs, as Michele - eventually a high-school dropout - loaded up on everything from prescription painkillers to crack cocaine.
"My brain was addicted to any drug I could get my hands on," says the 22-year-old Lindenwold native, who admits to stealing to satisfy her craving. "I started doing anything to get another high."
Michele, who’s now in recovery from her addictions, isn’t alone, experts say.
About 15 million girls and women abuse illegal or prescription drugs, and six million females misuse or are addicted to alcohol, according to the National Women’s Health Resource Center. And these numbers are climbing, most dramatically for prescription medications, which females often combine with alcohol or other drugs, states the center.
"I have women patients who live in $800,000 homes in Cherry Hill and Voorhees," says Therese Benyola, who runs a women’s substance-abuse program at Center for Family Services, a Camden-based nonprofit. "We have a lot of professional women; women with RNs and master’s degrees. This could be your sister or neighbor."
The results can be devastating, not only to addicted women but to their children.
While recovery is possible, it can be hindered by many factors, including the chronic nature of addiction itself and a shortage of treatment programs. In fact, more than 40,000 of New Jersey’s 96,000 adults who sought treatment in 2003 were unable to access it due to limited capacity, reports the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence - New Jersey (NCADD-NJ).
Moreover, women face unique challenges: their brains and bodies are more vulnerable to substances’ ill effects, the causes of their addictions can be tougher to address, and they encounter more social stigma for substance abuse than men do.
Addicted mothers face an especially dreaded threat: they can lose custody and even the right to contact their children.
That blow, however, also can motivate some women to conquer their addictions. Such was the case with Michele, who gave birth to a baby girl in November.
Alexis is a cherubic infant with chubby cheeks, bright blue eyes and a head full of blonde peach fuzz. But at birth, the baby tested positive for cocaine - and state officials placed the little girl directly into foster care.
"I didn’t have the desire to stop using until the baby was born and taken from me," recalls the first-time mom, now reunited with Alexis. "She saved my life."
Impact on women, families
Substance abuse is more prevalent in men, yet women generally pay a higher toll, says psychiatrist Jim Rogers, DO, medical director for Kennedy Health System’s substance-abuse services.
"The adverse effects hit women harder and earlier," says the doctor, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Osteopathic Medicine.
"Women become addicted faster, and they develop liver disease, digestive problems, brain and heart damage more quickly than men." (This is due to biological differences between males and females, Dr. Rogers notes. Women’s bodies contain less water to dilute substances, and the enzyme that breaks down alcohol doesn’t work as efficiently in women, he explains.)
And when a woman’s addiction is untreated, the impact of her substance abuse can reverberate for generations. Children whose mothers drink while pregnant can be born with a host of lifelong problems, from facial abnormalities to learning disabilities to mental retardation. Babies of cocaine-using mothers are often born malnourished. (However, withdrawal from heroin during pregnancy can actually do more harm to the fetus, notes Dr. Rogers, unless the woman takes methadone, a medication used to help addicts quit.)
Addicted, pregnant women also don’t usually seek prenatal care, so any problems with the developing fetus won’t be caught early and may therefore have a greater impact, says psychologist Susan Gordon, PhD, of MatriArk at Seabrook House, a residential program for mothers and their children in Bridgeton.
And, of course, children of addicts can face dangers from neglect or irresponsible behavior.
"She doesn’t deserve a using, drug-addicted mother," Michele - who plans to apply to nursing schools next year - says of her baby. "I want to get a good job and create a bright future."
Hidden causes
Men and women usually come to addiction "from different paths," says Gordon. Men typically drink or take drugs "to have a good time," while women do it "to feel better," she explains. "Women usually have a pre-existing condition such as depression or anxiety."
Bipolar disorder is especially linked with addiction, notes Dr. Rogers, as the illness carries an almost 70-percent likelihood of substance abuse (other than nicotine).
Such was the case for Melanie G., a former stay-at-home mom who has bipolar disorder and low self esteem.
"I drank almost a gallon of vodka a day," says the outgoing 44-year-old, whose addictions led to divorce, homelessness, and loss of custody of her two elementary school-age children.
The former Florence resident - now in treatment at MatriArk at Seabrook House - also used crack and other drugs to numb her emotional pain.
In the majority of cases - about 95 percent in her program, estimates Benyola - addicted women have a history of physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Such abuse can cause post-traumatic stress disorder, leading women to seek relief in drugs or alcohol, notes Dr. Rogers.
"For our clients, substance abuse has been their survival technique," says Benyola, who oversees programs in both Gloucester and Camden counties.
Other types of stress can also lead to drug use or addiction, says Gordon - including the current economic recession. Center for Family Services, for instance, has seen a 10- to 15-percent spike in calls to its substance-abuse hotline over the last six months. The agency attributes the jump to SJ residents’ using drugs or alcohol to cope with job loss, home loss and other economic woes.
Genetics play a role, as well. "Multiple genes are being looked at, that make someone unable to stop," Gordon notes. "It’s similar to type II diabetes," in that a combination of vulnerability and environment cause the disorder.
Challenges
Despite addiction’s harrowing impact, more than 90 percent of women don’t get treatment for their alcohol and drug problems, reports the National Women’s Health Resource Center.
"Fewer women enter substance-abuse treatment centers than men," notes Dr. Rogers. The reasons are "environmental and social...They don’t want to lose custody of their children. There’s a bigger stigma on a woman alcoholic or drug user than a male." Plus, women may have no one they can leave with their children while in treatment.
"We have guys come in because their wife or partner says, ‘Go in’," the psychiatrist adds. On the other hand, it’s unusual for the man to push the woman to get help, because he’s usually the one bringing the drugs to the relationship. "It’s rare for the female to introduce drugs to the male."
The economy is also having an impact on programs, says addictions expert Tony Comito of the Center for Family Services. "A lot of resources to meet these needs are being depleted sooner," notes the agency executive. "Just because you’re ready for treatment doesn’t mean there’s a chair. It’s a national and statewide problem."
NCADD-NJ is proposing a tax on beer to fund more treatment programs. The five-cent-per-gallon tax would generate $7.5 million for treatment through the Alcohol Education Rehabilitation and Enforcement Fund, whose allocation has remained flat at $11 million since 1992, according to the nonprofit group. If the tax were passed directly to the consumer, it would amount to 11 cents per case, states NCADD-NJ. Yet greater access to treatment would save the state billions in healthcare and criminal-justice costs, advocates say.
Effective treatment
Women who seek treatment have several options, including residential or outpatient programs. (Some patients don’t get a choice, such as women placed in treatment by the courts or child-welfare system.)
Four facilities statewide - including MatriArk - enable young children to live with their mothers during treatment.
"It’s a relief that your kids are OK, that they’re with you," says Melanie G., who lives at MatriArk with her 1-year-old daughter, Isabella. "If I’d found this program four years ago, I probably wouldn’t have lost my husband and older kids."
However, such programs impose age restrictions on children, and spaces are limited. MatriArk, for instance - the sole program of its kind in SJ - only accepts children under 13, and serves a maximum of 48 moms and 80 kids.
Outpatient treatment, on the other hand, can be less disruptive to families and may enable the woman to continue working while she gets help. And programs like Center for Family Services provide on-site childcare and transportation, as well as training in parenting, relationships, and other daily living skills.
"You have to look at the whole person - the social and psychological issues - and not just treat the addiction," says Gordon, whose MatriArk program also teaches parenting and job skills. "We want her to be able to make it in the world.
"If a woman has a lot of stressors - she can’t control her kids, she can’t find a job or a place to live - it will be harder to stay in recovery."
The most effective treatment for the addiction itself is 12-step programs like those of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, experts say.
But patients must do more than simply listen to these programs, advises Gordon. "If you become active at meetings, if you become a sponsor, that seems to be a curative aspect of 12 steps."
Further inroads
Recent pharmaceutical advances are also helping many patients, according to Dr. Rogers, who oversees both residential and outpatient substance-abuse programs at Kennedy.
"It’s an exciting time because there are new medical treatments."
For instance, Vivitrol (naltrexone) - which prevents a "high" from alcohol - is now available as a monthly injection, rather than a daily pill. The medication has the same effect with heroin, although it’s awaiting FDA approval for that use.
Campral, developed several years ago, reduces the urge to drink alcohol.
And Suboxone, introduced in 2004, can be used instead of methadone to help people stay off heroin. "It’s much safer than methadone" and can be prescribed monthly by specially licensed physicians, Dr. Rogers explains. Still, "there’s no magic pill," says Dr. Rogers.
Despite that challenging outlook, some addicts once lost in despair find ways to look ahead with hope.
That’s the case with Melanie, who came to MatriArk after five stints in short-term rehabs and a suicide attempt. She now can stay for up to a year, receiving help with her addiction and mental-health issues.
Says the mom of three: "I’m finally getting what I need."
*The patients interviewed for this story declined to use their full names, in order to protect their privacy.
The addiction epidemic
• Addiction affects one in 10 Americans.
• 800,000 New Jerseyans have an alcohol or drug problem, but just seven percent get treatment.
• About 8 million children (12 percent) live with at least one parent who is dependent on or abuses alcohol or drugs.
Sources: National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence - New Jersey; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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