Rod Courtney

Opinion contributor

This is the story of two addictions — two addictions with very different endings.

One, by all accounts, was almost inevitable. The other, I truly believe, could have been prevented.

I was born in 1954 and have spent nearly my entire life in Iowa. For most of my youth, the Vietnam War raged on and the world was facing great challenges. Mental health issues and substance use disorders were weaknesses, so I buried mine and never spoke of them. With nowhere to turn, I self-medicated for over a decade, mostly with alcohol. Today, I am a certified recovery coach, helping others understand that seeking help is not a weakness. I have been in recovery for 36 years.

My son, Chad, had similar demons. He spent 22 of his 38 years of life battling substance use disorder and, with help, counseling and love, Chad eventually stopped using. He was 35, married and had two beautiful children. He was a carpenter who was providing for his young family.

Then, one day, while on the job, he sustained a serious shoulder injury. He was prescribed an opioid, despite his history of substance abuse. This was the beginning of the end of Chad’s story.

There are non-opioid options

I often ask myself if things would have been different had Chad known there are effective non-opioid pain medications available. He missed the opportunity to ask for an alternative. He took the prescribed opioids, despite knowing this was a bad idea for him.

I applaud the steps our government has taken to support those seeking treatment. But I do not think enough has been done to help the health care system prevent addiction in the first place. I cannot understand how opioids are still the first choice, especially for someone in recovery. It is well established that opioids are dangerous and addictive — it is not as widely known that they are often unnecessary.

Stop overdoses:Week one of college, my son fatally overdosed. Schools must try to stop similar tragedies.

In fact, there are a range of non-addictive, non-opioid options to treat pain. Common medications include oral and intravenous (IV) acetaminophen (Tylenol), oral and IV NSAIDs (ibuprofen) and long-acting local anesthetics (such as liposomal bupivacaine). Pain can also be managed through acupuncture, massage and physical therapy, spinal manipulation and psychological therapies. Patients and practitioners in Iowa and across the country must be educated about the full range of these options.

My son died of an opioid overdose 32 months ago. Thirty-two months his children haven’t had their father. Thirty-two months his wife has mourned her husband. And 32 months I've been without my son.

Today, as the executive director of a community-based group called CRUSH, I have become an active supporter of Voices for Non-Opioid Choices, a coalition dedicated to preventing opioid addiction before it starts. There is so much we need to do, but this is one common-sense solution. As a proud Iowan, increasing education and access to effective, non-opioid options for pain control is imperative. It’s just that simple.

Rod Courtney is the executive director of Crush the Stigma, an Iowa-based addiction organization. This column originally appeared in the Des Moines Register.