Attendees of a recent Lunch & Learn program at Newtown Senior Center went home with a lot of important information. The 30 or so guests also went home with a little bit of swag.

Senior Center/Social Services Director Natalie Griffith, Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert, and Newtown Parent Connection Director Nicole Hampton led the 40-minute program on May 30. The three women took turns speaking about medications, which Culbert said are “pretty much a fact of life for most people.

“We’re concerned not only with everyone using meds properly, but also properly disposing of all medication, especially everyday meds that have expired or you’re not using any more,” she added.

“Support For Seniors When Dealing With A Loved One’s Substance Abuse and How To Dispose of Medication The Safe Way” was presented in one of the larger gathering rooms at the senior center.

Among the lead points the presenters made was nothing should be flushed or poured down drains.

“We don’t want meds to get into the hands of someone they shouldn’t,” Culbert said, adding, “We also don’t want these to get into the environment.”

One of the items attendees were offered at the end of the program were drug disposal pouches. They were also offered locking pill boxes.

In response to one question, Culbert suggested sharps — used needles and other items with sharp edges or points — be put into a sturdy plastic container after their use.

“Use an empty laundry detergent container or something else that’s a hard plastic,” she said. “Fill that, then duct tape it closed, and then throw that into the garbage.

“Not recycling,” she reiterated. “You don’t want that bottle in a recycling bin once it’s been used like this.”

Handouts also included notes on the safe disposal of e-cigarettes, where to take unwanted prescriptions, and sources for those who want help with their own substance abuse or guidance if they are concerned for others.

Hampton cautioned “to the danger of unsecured medications,” saying it can be “easy enough to reach for and grab the wrong medication if you’re not careful.” Pill boxes and lock boxes make it easy to plan ahead, take meds at the correct time, and, with the latter option, make it difficult for the wrong person to have access to prescription medications.

Hampton defined substance misuse — using alcohol prescriptions or drugs in a way that is not intended, prescribed or safe — and clarified the difference between intentional and accidental overdose.

Griffin touched on the risk of possible medical addiction, and “being well counseled by a physician.” She shared the story of someone close to her who had a recent experience with Oxy, who was given no counseling by their doctor or pharmacist when they were prescribed the highly addictive narcotic.

“There was no guidance around the use and possible addiction, nor how to properly dispose of any unused” medication, she said.

“You never plan for an accident, or how quickly you may need medication, and how hard it can be to get off some of them,” she added.

Griffith said she and her contemporaries often see people struggle with how to help a loved one with substance mismanagement.

“There is help available all over the place,” she said. Nodding toward Hampton, whose Newtown Parent Connection headquarters is nearly within eyesight of the senior center, Griffith said there are “really great place just down the road.”

Questions Answered

One of the first to raise their hand after the presentation was a woman who asked about automatic prescription refills.

“They’re coming much faster than they’re needed,” she said. She worries, she said, it was some kind of scam and asked how to get those deliveries stopped.

“If this is happening to others and they’re not conscious of this, they make be stockpiling too much,” the woman said. “You can also get easily confused if you’re supposed to have two containers but you end up with six.”

In response to a question about taking expired drugs, Culbert said people should check with a pharmacist before taking anything outdated.

“They may not be as effective as they once were, or they may react differently to other things you’re taking,” she said.

Another guest asked about the responsibility of pharmacists and doctors. She felt her mother was taking too many prescriptions, she shared.

In response, Culbert said doctors try to respond more to patients and these concerns.

“In recent years there has been a prescription monitoring program that monitors how doctors prescribe,” she said. “Chronic pain can be difficult, but the program shows things are being done more moderately,” she added. “Many doctors are trying to do less Oxy, on shorter terms,” she added.

While she doesn’t know about the full country, Culbert said, all prescriptions in Connecticut are monitored.

Hampton said prescription monitoring that began in earnest “five or six years ago has stopped a lot of people from doctor shopping. Patients can no longer go to multiple doctors or hospitals. Their record and scripts are all tracked, so doctors can now say ‘You just got this a few days ago. You’re not getting more from me.’”

Another woman was concerned, she said, when she told a doctor she couldn’t take certain medications due to being a recovering alcoholic. She didn’t want any access to certain things, she said, “but the doctor said ‘Take the script just in case.’

“I felt that was wrong,” she added.

Culbert said it’s important everyone is careful.

“You need to be safe, and your own personal advocates,” she said.

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.