Janell Santana-Sims is no stranger to substance abuse, both in her family and profession as a social worker. But it hit her family even harder when her sister Joy, suffering from lupus, developed an opioid addiction.
“So she was fighting one ailment, which was the lupus,” Santana-Sims said of her sister, Joy, “and then she started fighting another monster, which was the disease of addiction.”
It was a battle that nearly took Joy’s life.
“Her daughters went in the room, they called me immediately, not calling 911,” Santana-Sims said. “They called me and they said, ‘Titi, Titi Janell, my mom is not breathing.’”
After getting revived with Narcan, Santana-Sims said the support of her family and a variety of mental and physical health professionals has kept her sister going today.
It’s a struggle common to New Yorkers everywhere.
“When you start reliving things and then it’s actually happening, (it’s) vicarious trauma,” she said. “Now, you’re traumatized once again.”
But there is good news. A new report by the New York State Department of Health found opioid prescriptions decreased 42.1% from 2013 to 2022. The department’s commissioner said the state has made a concerted effort to get people off opioids and onto other methods of treatment.
“When you think about a prescription opioid, it doesn’t treat the underlying cause,” said DOH Commissioner Dr. James McDonald. “It covers up the pain. And so it’s important for you and your doctor to find the underlying cause of your pain and treat that. And a lot of times, it’s an anti-inflammatory medicine or it’s rest.”
This change in medical prescriptions has received positive feedback from doctors. Dr. Jerome Cohen, president of the Medical Society of the State of New York, said it’s also come with unintended consequences that need to be worked through.
“A lot of these prescriptions are most effective when used quickly and acutely for the acute pain and for patients who wait for several days, or even weeks, to get authorization for a prescription that they need the pain, and they need the pain medicines right now,” he said. “That’s a barrier for the patients and for physicians.”
Santana-Sims is glad to see the positive trend, but knows that work on the ground must continue to be done for those who are suffering, like her sister, to be connected with the support they need.
“Just say no, as many, many people know with this opioid epidemic, you can’t just say no,” she said. “There’s more to it as in, when they’re ready, what can be done to help them.”
