Health QUOTE of the week

Sticking to a routine is one of the best ways to encourage healthy and consistent habits during recovery. You’ll know what comes next, and your schedule limits unanticipated situations. Whatever plan you follow, ensure it encompasses taking your medication as prescribed or other forms of treatment your doctor recommends to experience the best results.
Source: medmark.com/resources/blog/4-mental-health-tips-while-in-addiction-recovery/

Our story of the week

The paths that lead to accidental fentanyl deaths continue to grow: teens,who think they are taking an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder pill given to them by a peer; die; the homeless who are knowingly taking fentanyl to find some respite from their reality, die; celebrities duped into taking a substance laced with a deadly concoction of fentanyl and a drug that they are already taking, die.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says fentanyl is the most common type of drug involved in overdose deaths in the United States. A bag of fentanyl is usually just a tiny corner of a sandwich bag. Most people can get it for just $100 a day. Two grains, the size of two grains of salt, can be enough to overdose. People can snort fentanyl, take it orally, shoot it like an IV or skin pop it. Skin popping involves injecting the drug under the skin.

Locally, in Charleston County, the Post and Courier reported on December 5, 2023, that cocaine laced with fentanyl and disguised as ADHD medication was found in a bathroom at Lucy Beckham High School in Mount Pleasant. The Charleston County School District said that the problem was not limited to just one high school, but that it was instead a “community problem” and one that many other schools in the area were dealing with as well.

Learn more about the realities of fentanyl deaths and what to do if someone you love is at risk of an accidental overdose.

Words of wisdom

One of the hardest things was learning that I was worth recovery.
 Demi Lovato, American singer and songwriter

SPOTLIGHT

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has launched a program to reduce the number of deaths related to the misuse of opioids by training first responders and caregivers to recognize the signs of an overdose and administer naloxone, a drug that blocks or reverses the effects of opioids, to save lives. The department’s website features a story about the program and offers resources (Fentanyl Test Strips, How to Become a Naloxone Distributor) and statistics.

Learn more about The South Carolina Overdose Prevention Project.

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What is your main strategy to avoid bone loss?

25.0 % said   Up my calcium.
37.5 % said  Do weight-bearing exercises.
12.5% said   Pay attention to what I eat.
25.0 % said   Get scans, tests.

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