When my boyfriend arrived at FCI Florence he was already taking testosterone for low hormone levels, as prescribed previously. The doctors and/or nurses at SeaTac, where he was housed before Florence, determined he needed the medication to balance his hormone levels out, although the levels were on the higher side of low. He was taken off testosterone when he got to Florence by the medical staff. When he told them he was approved to take it, they told him they would re-draw his blood in six months and check his levels, to see if he really needed it. Stopping his testosterone like this puts him at risk for serious emotional and cognitive changes, including being moody and irritable, depression, anxiety, and impaired memory and concentration. Sleep disturbances have already happened. He’s already going down rabbit holes (thinking in circles).
In addition, he had been taking suboxone, which is even more important to his well-being. Daniel was diagnosed with OUD well before he became an inmate and a ward of the federal BOP. OUD is a disability, and he came into the system already taking this medication. FCI Florence has stated they are going to taper him off suboxone because they are short staffed and do not have the manpower to sit there and wait for the strip to dissolve. Stopping suboxone can cause serious harm. He risks acting out and getting into trouble, relapsing in prison and thus searching for a replacement to make him feel better, which puts him at risk for Hepatitis C, amongst other diseases. Not to mention the physical issues such as withdrawals, hot and cold flashes, fatigue, muscle pains, nausea, appetite loss, sleeping disturbances, anxiety, depression, irritability and suicidal thoughts.
Why should Daniel have to pay for something he has no control of? His 8th Amendment right states the government cannot use inhumane or excessively harsh punishments that can be deemed cruel or unusual. Although Daniel is incarcerated, he is still entitled to human decency and adequate health care. That does not mean being taken off a medication he is legally allowed to be on based on the ADA definition of a disability and the fact that this medication is being used to treat his OUD. It was also stated in the Crews vs Sawyer case #19-2541jwb that he can stay on the medication because he came into the federal BOP already on it. He wasn’t prescribed it from a doctor there. This illness was already established before his incarceration.
I believe without the treatment of suboxone Daniel might not be alive today. This treatment has given him a renewed lease on life and quite literally saved his life. Without suboxone, I’m sure that he would have overdosed and possibly died while incarcerated, and that is my greatest fear. Unfortunately, Daniel is not the only one going through this at FCI Florence. Many other inmates have had their medications taken from them due to the carelessness of staff decisions. I know of 40 other individuals who have been taken off their medication already and countless others whose medications are in jeopardy of being taken from them.