Pubdate: Wed, 19 May 1999
Source: Illawarra Mercury (Australia)
Copyright: Illawarra Newspapers
Contact:  http://mercury.illnews.com.au/
Author: Lisa Carty

NALTREXONE WAS KEY TO ADDICT'S METHADONE TRAP

Former heroin and methadone addict Chris Oldfield swears by the
treatment she received at Liverpool's Rapid Detox Centre.

The 36-year-old Sydney woman and her partner were cleansed of drugs in
three hours of intensive therapy just over five months ago.

Now her partner is holding down two jobs, but according to Chris the
most remarkable change has been in her two children.

Her boy, 11, and girl, 16, have had a weight lifted off their
shoulders - a weight Chris did not even realise was there.

``I didn't think they knew what was going on (when she was on drugs)
but kids see and hear everything and they know what's going on,'' she
said.

``I have done damage to my kids and now I have got to make up for
it.

``The kids are so much happier already. My daughter and I are doing
things together. My son used to give me cheek, but now he is happy all
the time.''

Chris used heroin for a year before going on to methadone to break the
habit.

What she found was that one habit replaced the other.

``Methadone is a hundred times more addictive than heroin,'' she
said.

``I tried quite a few times to get off it - I got down to 1.5ml a day,
which is a drop - but I couldn't stop.

``Someone's making money out of methadone ... the government should
put its money into the detox' clinics instead.''

Chris first tried heroin when she moved back to Sydney after a stint
on the North Coast.

``I came back to Sydney and it seemed everyone was using heroin ... I
went to a party and when I saw people going into the kitchen I thought
they were going for a joint (marijuana).

``I followed them in and here they all were with belts around their
arms.

``Curiosity killed the cat and I was hooked.''

Now that she's had the $6900 detoxification and follow-up treatment
from Dr Siva Navaratnam, her life is ``completely different''.

``I'll know I'll never go back.

``I have even given up smoking cigarettes.''

Chris's story is just one of many heard by Federal Member for Hughes
Danna Vale, who is now a staunch supporter of the clinic and the man
people call ``Dr Siva''.

``Naltrexone works,'' she said simply.

``If you have people on methadone for the rest of their lives there is
a continuing demand.

``You have to look carefully at the motives of people who do not want
to look at alternatives to methadone.''
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