I genuinely believe some people need help in treat...

I genuinely believe some people need help in treating their addiction or dependence. However, I find that Odyssey Houses approach is concerning and that they don t understand the dynamics of addition, dependence, pain, physical or mental health. It turns out I was misdiagnosed in primary care and here.

In my childhood after being in an accident that left me unconscious and killed my father I started to experience painful headaches, sleepiness, presyncope, anxiety, and nausea. For years I was dismissed in care settings as well as by my family because it was just mental health related . As I aged these symptoms became worse and started to effect other systems including urination and defecation issues leading to scrutiny by my peers and therapist which they decided to handle in group settings there.

In my 20 s it finally came to a head when I started to pass out and developed paralysis. It turns out I have ehlers danlos syndrome and when I was in the accident it s quite likely it screwed up my neck and caused a brain bleed. Although, there s no way of knowing when because I did not receive a CT or MRI until my 20 s. 10 years after my stay here and after 15 years of indescribable pain and loneliness with my undiagnosed condition I received an occiptocervical fusion for unstable spinal joints.

Occiptocervical instabilty is serious condition in which your vertebrae (atlas) compresses your most vital organ, the brainstem. It s a miracle I m even alive. It s unfortunate I am physically as damaged as I am as a result of their and many others incompetence. It s even sadder that I had to be treated for treating undertreated pain and that my pain and spinal issue are significant enough now to need opioid therapy resulting in dependence (the issue they tried to prevent in the first place).

Doctors first rule is to do no harm, what I can t understand is why they re hardly ever held responsible for that harm. I would be cautious of this place because whether you have something physical or you truly are addicted it s literally your life that hangs in the balance. Unfortunately, I didn t have much of a say because I was a child then and to everyone except myself I was fine. It turns out I wasn t.