Opioid Crisis Friday: Real Life Stories of People Affected by Opioid Usage. The Real Story of Mike Mike grew up in a typical blue-collar family, playing street hockey and pickup football in local parks. He was always a good student and excelled as a three-sport varsity athlete in high school. During his senior year in high school, Mike had surgery to repair a broken wrist due to a hockey injury. Following his surgery, he was prescribed an opioid pain medication. Shortly after this, his wisdom teeth were removed, and he was written another prescription for opioids. Mike believes his use of prescription opioids transitioned to addiction within three to six months after first taking prescription opioids. He did not realize how physically dependent upon opioids his body had become until he became very sick from withdrawal after forgetting to bring his prescription on a vacation. From then on, he continued taking prescription opioids not to treat any pain, but to avoid feeling th...