By Dani Anguiano<\/p>\n
Sonja Radtke, 30, a recovering heroin addict, says experiencing heroin withdrawal feels a lot like going through hell, but it is much worse in jail where treatment is limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike, I throw up blood and have seizures when I get sick, but [jail staff] really don\u2019t do anything,\u201d Radtke said of her withdrawal experience while incarcerated in an Illinois jail.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Chenel Jones said the pain that she experienced while withdrawing from heroin was so intense that she became delusional.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it\u2019s hell,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI just asked God to take my life. I had gave up \u2013 it\u2019s so painful and it\u2019s so sickening.\u201d<\/p>\n
The jails where Radtke and Jones experienced withdrawal are among the more than 5,000 jails and prisons across the United States, many of which lack the resources to provide treatment for heroin withdrawal and detoxification. The National Commission on Correctional Health Care <\/a>says methadone-based treatment is highly effective for opiate addiction, but only a handful of facilities have a methadone program, such as Rikers Island\u2019s Key Extended Entry Program. Heroin use has reportedly skyrocketed across the country in recent years leaving more and more facilities ill-equipped to offer treatment.<\/p>\n Neither Radtke nor Jones received methadone treatment while incarcerated.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s Tylenol and Tums for about a week and Pepto if it\u2019s real bad,\u201d Radtke said.<\/p>\n