Teen has life back on track

Amid life’s roller coaster, Tara Tovey has found her plateau point.
The former drug addict has taken the bumps in strides over the past year-and-a-half as she’s had to straighten out her life.
“I’ve been up, and down, and all over in the past, but I can see straight and feel normal now,” the 19-year-old said.
In March, 2007, Tovey began a methadone maintenance program to help her cope with the withdrawal symptoms after beating an opioid addiction to OxyContin.
Now she’s taking her rehabilitation to the next step by working to kick methadone. “I feel I’m ready to be free of it and normal again,” she said.
Initially, she was prescribed 140 mg of methadone to supplement the cravings, and help her to function. After six months of a stable lifestyle, Tovey and her doctor decided to begin reducing her treatment.
Gradually, but with difficulty, she has eased her daily dosage down to 7.5 mg.
“About every two weeks I’ve dropped 2.5 mg, it may not seem like a lot, but it can really mess up my body for a while,” she explained. “Sometimes the smallest drop could keep me in bed for a week.”
There even were a lot of days where her mother, Kathy, thought she was having deja vu.
“There were a lot of points I’d thought we’d long past, especially the continual vomiting, and she’d be at that point time and time again,” she said. “I guess because I’d never experienced anything like this before, I assumed the recovery process would be quicker.
“However, that was silly because the problem doesn’t just happen overnight, so therefore it can’t be fixed overnight,” she reasoned.
In fact, because methadone is a supplementary narcotic to help an individual re-build a healthy lifestyle, Jeff Tilbury at Riverside Community Counselling Services said withdrawal is very normal.
“People can be all over the map, so to speak, when they first start reducing their dosages,” he noted. “Every individual reacts differently, as well, some may not experience any withdrawal symptoms until halfway through the removal of the methadone whereas others may experience it at the start, or end.”
Increased moodiness, decreased energy, drug cravings, and depression can also be linked to the removal of methadone in one’s system.
“It’s normal to take a long time to put a life back together after a significant event—it’s the nature of being a human being,” Tilbury said.
Although the ride’s been rough, and there has been times where it has seemed easier to give in, it’s all worth it once you find your strength
again, Tara Tovey said.
“It was expected that I’d have some setbacks and I did,” she added.“ It even feels as if this whole year was kind of a write-off, but I tried not to let them get me down.
“I focused on things to aspire to, and getting my health back.
“I continually tell her that her health is the most important thing, the rest will come,” her mom said.
On Sept. 6, Tovey officially will have officially completed her methadone program—and finally be able to focus on future plans.
“I’m counting the days to freedom, and normality,” she said. “I’m a little scared to be off it [methadone] but since quitting drugs, I’ve not had any cravings and I know I’m strong enough now to deal with life.
“I’m not concerned about her having a problem after completing the methadone program because I trust her, and I know she knows what she has
to lose—her life,” Kathy Tovey said.
Patients who ease themselves off methadone are likely to succeed because they’ve taken the necessary steps, and counselling, to help them cope with life, Tilbury said.
“A doctor wouldn’t allow a patient to reduce their methadone unless they were positive they’ve taken the adequate steps to stabilize their lives,”
he assured. “They’d have to show their doctor that they’re moving forward, and positive changes are taking place, such as cutting off their connections
with negative social groups.”
It’s important for a recovering addict to find something positive to focus on, which can help to speed up one’s recovery process, Tilbury added.
For Tovey, that meant she needed to reflect back on her childhood, where she rediscovered how getting all dolled up and wearing fancy dresses
makes her feel.
“I’ve always said as a kid I want to be a model, so now I’m going for it,” Tovey said.
“I think modelling is good for her because it will help her gain back her self-confidence, and it allows her to show off her beautiful smile, which
disappeared for a long time,” her mom said.
Tovey recently travelled to Toronto to do some photo shoots, and appeared in Sun Media newspapers across the country on July 14 as the
SUNshine girl.