The NIH reported last year, 16 million people worldwide are dealing with opioid use disorder, including 2.1 million living in the United States.
INDIANAPOLIS — An exclusive Washington Post report claims some people were concerned about a doctor’s willingness to prescribe Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay opioid pills with hydrocodone and oxycodone, rather than other medications commonly used in addiction treatment.
Substance abuse is an addiction millions are battling. The NIH reported last year, 16 million people worldwide are dealing with opioid use disorder, including 2.1 million living in the United States.
Jim Ryser has been fighting addiction his whole life. He’ll mark 26 years sober on Sept. 11. It led to a career in addiction counseling. He specialized in chronic pain and chemical dependency before retiring.
“When I started my practice, you know, 20 some years ago, it was like a sin to say that you could get addicted if you were treating pain,” Ryser said. “And that was not my experience, both personally and professionally.”
When it comes to treating addiction, Ryser described his opinion as “an old school of thought,” where less medication is better.
“But that doesn’t apply to everybody, and I’m not naïve enough to believe that,” he said. “But I think strong accountability is a very important thing. Pill counts, getting urine, drug screens, making sure that family members are involved, especially with some of these really, really addictive drugs like ketamine.”
In fiscal year 2025, Meridian Health treated more than 3,300 people for addiction in Indiana. It added up to more than 44,000 appointments.
“It’s a lifelong journey, because relapse can always occur,” said Lisa Suttle, the regional vice president of clinical services. She’s also a registered nurse of 30 years.
Meridian Health focuses on therapy, peer support and teaching coping skills. It also does provide some medication-assisted treatment, such as Vivitrol, Sublocade and Suboxone. Suttle emphasized the importance of having support to go along with any medication therapy.
“Vivitrol was used for a long time for alcohol addiction, but has changed to where it can be used for other addictions, too,” she said. “It’s a once-a-month injection. So, the person gets the injection in a medical office, we watch them for a little while just to make sure everything’s okay.”
Meridian Health does not give patients ketamine, the drug a doctor was allegedly giving Irsay.
Ketamine has FDA approval to be used as a general anesthetic, while recent research suggests it could be a treatment for depression.
“It always has to be monitored very closely,” Suttle said. “We work in outpatient settings, so that’s a big reason why we don’t.”
Ryser believes using it as an anesthetic should be the only use.
“Using a drug like that unmonitored? It would be malpractice,” he said.