Pubdate: Fri, 18 Sep 2009
Source: Burlington Post (CN ON)
Copyright: 2009 Burlington Post
Contact:  http://www.burlingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1528
Author: Jason Misner

DRUG EASES SENIOR'S PAIN

Pain Management / Dependency Clinic Divides A Community

Gary and Janet Coates are frustrated and angry at how some in the 
community are portraying methadone users.

The Coates have been following the news about the Wellbeings pain 
management and dependency clinic proposed to open in Aldershot at 444 
Plains Rd. E. at the end of October. Methadone is to be one of its 
treatment options.

The couple was ecstatic to hear such a clinic would be opening in 
their city. Gary, 73, has been using methadone for the last two 
months, in combination with Oxycontin, to treat the painful nerve 
condition neuralgia he developed last year.

The couple has also been reading comments of residents who are 
fearful of the kind of clientele that will frequent the clinic 
located a stone's throw from Maplehurst Public School.

The Coateses say candidly it's time people get educated about who 
methadone users truly are - 'regular' citizens who need help in 
dealing with chronic pain, not strung out drug addicts who pose a 
danger to people as some in the city may think.

After reading about people's fears the clinic might ruin the area, 
enough was enough for Janet. She contacted the Post determined to 
break the stigma and stereotype of a methadone user.

"(Methadone) is just a pain killer that is long acting and gives 
(Gary) relief of the pain so he can enjoy a quality of life without 
being heavily medicated on opiates," said Janet. "We do our homework, 
we educate ourselves and then we show our children the proper way to 
address this issue; (the) not-in-my-backyard (mindset) is not acceptable."

Said Gary: "Ignorance is not bliss. (Community reaction) makes me 
angry is what it does."

Gary is retired, having been the one-time president of Atlas Van 
Lines. Janet, 58, owned a national property management group that 
represented some 3,000 properties but sold it to have more time to 
help her husband.

He has battled various forms of cancer over the past 15 years, with 
the most recent fight involving terminal blood cancer. Last December, 
he developed shingles, which turned into neuralgia. Through the pain 
management clinic at Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital, Gary has 
been ingesting methadone in pill form for two months.

He said it has helped dull some of the pain and for that he is 
thankful. He never thought of methadone being used to treat chronic 
pain. He's glad he's taking it.

"When I found out what they were going to be able to do for me with 
it, (it) changed my opinion of (methadone) totally," Gary said.

'I'm a citizen, the same as them'

Janet said methadone - which is "very, very regulated" - has been 
effective for her husband of 21 years.

"Methadone has given me back his personality," she said.

Upon hearing about the new clinic, Janet said it was a "true 
blessing" because treatment could be closer to home. It would 
eliminate the Coates's need to drive to Toronto twice a month for a 
day-long visit and having to battle GTA rush-hour traffic, paying for 
parking and placing their dog, Trooper, in a kennel while attending 
Princess Margaret.

The couple would also prefer to be seen in a more intimate setting 
rather than in a hospital.

The Coateses have grown irritated by the perception some in the 
community have of methadone users.

"I'm a citizen, the same as them; I live in a very good 
neighbourhood, I contribute to the community whenever I can," Gary said.

Janet wants people to learn about the uses of methadone. Gesturing to 
Gary, she said: "This is not someone who is a danger or a detriment 
to the community. All of the people in the community should be like Gary..."

Janet thinks the clinic's closeness to the school could prove to be 
positive. She envisions a situation in which the clinic and the 
school could partner in some capacity to teach the dangers of drug use.

"This could be a great thing for the community, not a bad thing."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart