6026-1

Vila Health: Health Challenges in Different Populations

 Intro  Was this media helpful?  Transcript

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

I was admitted to St. Anthony Medical Center when I came into the emergency room a total mess. I was sick to my stomach, had really bad muscle cramps, kept throwing up, had to go to the bathroom all the time. I tried to tell them it was the flu at first… but they saw through that pretty fast and got it out of me that it was withdrawal, and that I was trying to get off of Oxycontin cold turkey.

I'm taking another stab at detox. I don't know. I don't really expect it to help much, since it hasn't before. But I don't know what else to do. I don't have a choice. I can't keep doing this or I'm not going to live to be 40.

I got my leg shredded by an IED in Iraq in ’07, and the army doctors were really worried about pain management. And that meant Oxycontin. It was supposed to be temporary, but it wasn’t. And it’s just been downhill since then, especially after my medical discharge. I just kind of slid after that. I had trouble getting used to life out of the army, and my leg was messed up, and I was medicated pretty heavily all the time. Oxycontin, usually, but I couldn’t always get it and sometimes I was out on the street trying to buy the next best thing. That always scares me… but not enough to keep me from doing it.

People were good about favoring vets for job openings, but I had trouble staying in them— aside from my leg and all the medication, I just wasn't in a very good place in my head then. Or now. I have a job now, doing security at a warehouse, but I think I'm on pretty thin ice with them. I try not to come into work high, or take anything when I'm there, but you know how it goes.

My wife left a couple of months ago. I know I’ve got to stop this or I’m just done.

I wish I could get into one of the VA rehab programs, but they’re the VA, they’re useless. The waiting list is months. If I waited months, I’d be out on the street. Or just dead. I don’t have any choice but to just try to white- knuckle my way through stopping on my own.

Carl Alomar Urban Veteran

Carl Alomar, 36, was admitted with signs of acute opiate withdrawal.

Now that you've read Carl's story, you may have some thoughts.

 Do you think Carl's situation is one you would be interested in investigating further for this course? Think about what other considerations you would have to keep in mind if you were trying to help other veterans living in urban areas.

Enter your answer here…

Submit your Answers 

INTRO KEVIN MILLARD DELIA JENSEN CONCLUSIONCARL ALOMAR