SAGINAW
508 Shattuck Road
Saginaw, MI 48604
(989) 752-7867
(989) 752-6830 – Fax
Early Dosing: Mon – Fri 6:00 am - 7:15 am
Regular Dosing: Mon - Fri 7:15 am - Noon
Saturday Dosing – 6:00 am – 9:00 am
CLOSED SUNDAY
Must be pre-approved for "Early Dosing"
318689
Methadone seemed like the scariest path to recovery for me, until it wasn’t. I had
spent years struggling with my PTSD and addictions before stepping foot in a clinic. I
had quit “cold turkey” and felt the horrible withdrawals, just to go back to using. Heroin
started taking everything from me. My family pushed away from me, noting that I was
toxic. The only “friends” I had were people I dealt with dealing with drugs, and soon
heroin even tried to claim my life.
Being homeless wasn’t enough to make me want a change; either was losing my
family or employment, not even almost losing my life. If it weren’t for my husband’s
quick thinking when I overdosed, I wouldn’t have had a second chance. Yet, instead of
hitting a “rock bottom” it took a positive for me to start my journey to recovery.
When I found I was pregnant with my son I tried to quit cold turkey again. I
almost lost my son and my doctor told me I needed maintenance program of either
methadone or Suboxone to safely stop using opiates. I started a program in the Detroit
area and things were going okay at first. I was able to stop using and had a healthy baby
boy. Within a year I started going downhill, and was back in active addiction by the time
my son was a year old. My husband and I decided to move from the Detroit area to the
Saginaw area and we transferred to a new path.
At first I was shocked by Victory, it was nothing like the previous clinic I had
gone to. The first thing I noticed that was different was they allowed us to bring children.
We didn’t just have to stand in a line, like before at the other clinic. We sat in what feels
like a regular waiting room, with a friendly staff that took the time to learn my son’s likes
and dislikes. They would even play Thomas videos to keep him calm while I was in the
back dosing. When they felt one counselor was not working for me, they moved me to
another one. They kept working with me, even when I wasn’t trying my best. They
understood that recovery isn’t a “one size fits all” and each person has different needs.
I started to utilize the tools my counselor helped me find and soon I found myself
tapering out of the clinic. I had employment again, stable housing, and most importantly
to me, I was able to read that extra book at bedtime to my son – instead of rushing
through the routine to get a fix. I was scared through the process of tapering. I heard that
getting off of methadone was harder than heroin. They worked with my very anxious
mind and found the best way for me to taper. I ended up choosing a blind taper method
(which meant I wouldn’t know what milligram my dose was at or how much I was going
down each time.) I also signed a form that allowed them to placebo dose me when I
reached the end of my doses to help with my anxiety towards possible withdrawal. When
my counselor gave me the news I was done tapering, I had already been taking a placebo
dose for 3 weeks! The storm that others had promised had never come!
It has now been over 2 years since the last day I dosed. I am still clean, employed
and looking forward to what the future will bring! I can honestly say without the help of
Victory I would not be where I am today. I am forever grateful to the people who worked
with me during my lowest points to help bring me to my best!
Copyright 2016 VICTORY CLINICAL SERVICES