Methadone and my new life 15.01.2016

Drug use prevalence in Northern Shan State is high and used needles and syringes are often abandoned by drug users in bushes and terrain on the outskirts of local towns. Outreach workers participating in harm-reduction activities for drug users, implemented by the Myanmar Anti-Narcotics Association and supported by the Global Fund, regularly collect such needles and syringes during field visits. Kut Kai Township, Northern Shan State. Photo: John Rae/The Global Fund

"My family life and social life became miserable, as I could not care for my family and friends anymore, for I thought only of heroin every day. However, I saw a glimpse of light one day for I came to know a way out of my miseries. I arrived at MANA Yeik Mon in Muse with the help of my friends."

"My name is Eike Pee. I am 28 years old. I grew up in Muse Township in Northern Shan State. Drugs were easily available in my town and in my society as nearly all of my close friends were addicted to some kind of drug. Not being able to resist peer-pressure, I also started using drugs — at a very young age of only 20. In the beginning, I was inhaling heroin just for socializing with friends for fun but gradually even before I could realize, it took hold of me and I had become a heroin addict.

"As a consequence, I could not concentrate on my studies anymore and I quit school without finishing and therefore I had no choice but to earn my living as a manual labourer — a ferry motorcycle driver, which is very tiring and physically demanding work.

"I was so deluded that I tried to overcome the hardships and escape from the tiredness of my daily labour by taking "Yaba" — amphetamine tablets — until it became my daily habit to use Yaba at the start and heroin at the end of the day.

"The longer I used heroin, the more I desired it and worked harder to satisfy my ever increasing craving for it - sometimes I earned enough but sometimes hardly enough - and finally I turned to injecting heroin, to which I quickly became addicted.

"It seemed to me as if I was working just to earn money to buy heroin and my daily income of a mere 5000 to 6000 kyats could no longer meet my needs. My family life and social life became miserable, as I could not care for my family and friends anymore, for I thought only of heroin every day.

"However, I saw a glimpse of light one day for I came to know a way out of my miseries. I arrived at MANA Yeik Mon in Muse with the help of my friends. MANA has been implementing HIV prevention and harm reduction among drug users with support from the Global Fund since 2011.

"The counsellor and staff of MANA Yeik Mon welcomed us with so much warmth and understanding. We gained a wealth of information on the very day we arrived from IEC/BCC Session — harms of drug use, risk of infection with HIV and STIs, methadone as a substitution for heroin (Opioid) — that we ended up spending nearly the whole day there.

"We enjoy dropping by MANA Yeik Mon whenever we have a chance because of the friendly atmosphere with our peers, sincere and caring staff who not only provide us with snacks but also with sterile needles and syringes and even transportation costs so that we can visit there as we wish.

"Every visit to MANA Yeik Mon in Muse is valuable for us as we gain a lot of knowledge from listening to health education on harm reduction. Interactive discussions on HIV transmission, prevention and demonstration of condom use and sterile needle use significantly improve our skills, enabling us to protect ourselves from HIV, STIs and other infections.

"I soon realized the risks of continued use of heroin although I was still using it at that time. With every visit I made to MANA Yeik Mon in Muse, my desire to be freed from the merciless grip of heroin increased. I disclosed my wish to my mother and with the support of MANA, I decided to take Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) at the Muse General Hospital. The psychiatrist was also very kind and supportive to me. It was only with their help that I could be successfully started on MMT.

"My quality of life significantly improved after that — my relationship with friends and family improved, I regained control of myself, my self-esteem and my personality shines again — for I can now enjoy a new life free from the risks of HIV, STIs, Hepatitis, and other blood-borne infections from needle sharing and the potential of committing crimes under the influence of heroin. I won't forget the sincere and dedicated staff from MANA Muse Yeik Mon who have supported me to take methadone regularly.

"I will surely keep on taking methadone for it has brought me to my new life."

Myanmar Anti-Narcotics Association (MANA)has been implementing harm reduction and HIV prevention activities among drug users with support from the Global Fund since 2011.