My story starts where it ends, I guess you could say. I was taking 60 Norco 10s a day for quite some time.
I had never experienced physical addiction before, but those pills took control of me quickly. It all began with an injury and a prescription for Vicodin to help me get back to work. Soon, I found myself needing more just to feel normal. It escalated quickly—from 20 a day to 30, and then even more. I hated every second of it, but I couldn't stop.
I own a business, so I knew I couldn’t just up and leave for rehab.
One night, my wife caught me taking a handful of pills just to make it through until morning. (Yeah, it had gotten that bad.)
She gave me an ultimatum: either quit or she was leaving. Desperate, I started researching and stumbled across the facebook page for Empower Treatment., an online therapy and MAT treatment center. It seemed like the right fit for my situation, so I decided to make the call and set up an appointment.
Within 24 hours, I received a call back with an appointment to get set up in the program.
My appointment was on December 10th, 2022, and it went really well. The staff were warm, welcoming, and made me feel at ease. At the time, I still had some pills left, so I told myself I’d finish them and give this treatment a try. On December 13th at 11 PM, I took my last Norco. The next morning, I started on Suboxone, and to this day, I haven’t touched another pill. I've been free from all illicit opiates for just over five years now.
I began with 2 strips of 8mg Suboxone daily, but now I’m down to just 1mg a day—only 6 strips a month. The groups and courses have been a huge help, and still are. With the support of my care team, I’m working toward getting off Suboxone completely, though this last phase is proving to be the hardest. I’ve been able to taper down gradually with the community’s support, and I haven’t had a single setback along the way.
I could have never done any of this without Empower—they literally saved my life.
I would highly recommend anyone who is struggling to reach out. If I can do it, anyone can.
~Nick
