TONYTEXAS

What Do The People Who Have Been Addicted To Opiates But Need Them For Pain Do? Do They Have To Weigh The Options Of Being Addict Without That Pain Or Being Clean With Pain? Is There Really Any Non-narcotic Pain Meds That Work? What About Surgery?

Sorry For All The Questions, But These Things Are Scary. Thnking If You Get In An Accident And You Cant Take The Meds For The Pain. Any Insights Are Appreciated. Have A Great Day!

Gooch

Hi Tony.

Yes it's pretty scary.

I have chronc arthritus after abusing my body all these years.

I had it when I was using and thought I needed to catch a buzz to deal with teh pain. When the chore of getting and using and finding ways and means to get more coupled with the dysfunctionality of being loaded neary 24/7 got to be a worse scenario that my fear of dealing with the pain w/o drugs, I couldn't go on anymore with the status quo of addiction.

I got clean Groudhawgs day of 1991' ( when I went to jail) and haven't had to self medicate since.

I'd love to say it was my frirst and only clean date, but I had lts of attempts with and without the program before that. I know I was throuroughly beaten the day I got out of jail in 91' and I had 4 months of abstinace so I figured why screw up a good thing and I went to an NA meeting that noon.

After a couple of surgeries and accidents, I took prescribed pain killers to get me through the worst of it. I went to meetings and let my friends know I was holding a legit script that I needed. I also let them know I needed some extra phone calls, and additional support and encouragement to taper off them and face the pain unloaded as soon as possible.

I manage pain with hot showers, heating pads, icepacks, stretching exercizes, and over the counters. ( and the over the counters are often a nearly last result, or to get me through the work day when I have to).

I've seen a whole lot of walking moracles since I came to NA.

And i'm not alone here. I'm sure there will be other members that will come along and add their experience, strength, and hope.

Sugah

I can agree and relate to all Gooch said. I have several chronic pain disorders that keep me at a certain level of pain all the time. When more than one is flaring at a time, it gets difficult (wrote about it in my blog, if you care to hear more), however, with chronic pain, I've found my HP gives me what I need to get through. The best thing I ever did was pay attention to the "prayer and meditation" talked about in the rooms - and really learned about it. There are different forms of meditation that do even better than opiates for me to alleviate pain. I also had to take opiates - strong ones - when I crushed my lower leg 3 months clean. I was scared, but I used the phone, surrounded myself with program folks, and prayed my a** off. I got through and didn't succumb to the dragon.

That being said, what I read in your question was "what do I do if I ever have to take opiates for pain?"

We can only do this one day at a time. Stay in today, brother, and deal with what you have in front of you. If I start feeding the squirrels of the future, I'll never learn to quiet down the ones of today. We're taught not to project - not to take on potential problems. We all have enough right here, right now, to keep us plenty busy.

Hang in there.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

TONYTEXAS

thanks alot for your posts. They make alot of sense, projecting into the future creates uneeded anxiety. So it sounds like in those time periods of major accidents you guys were able to take opiates as prescribed with the support of people. Thats good to hear though because the feeling Ive gotten is that if you were to take the medicines you needed that were prescribed to you, you were unclean and needed to start over.

Sugah

"To thine own self, be true"

If I had taken a pill, not for pain, but for the buzz I was expecting, even if it was a legitimate prescription, I would know I was unclean. If I had taken two when the bottle said to take one, I would know I was unclean. Neither of those two things happened, so I did not have to "start over."

When you know, you know. Honesty is the first part of H.O.W. (honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness).

Keep posting! Welcome to the family.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

Dawn10

Tony,
First and foremost, you need to be honest with all the doctors treating you. That should have already happened. It pays to be proactive.
Then if and when there is a legitimate need for pain meds, this is what I would do. I would entrust someone close to me ( who is not addicted) to hold the meds and give them to me at the perscribed time, and then only if really needed. As an addict my brain may tell me that " I can handle it" but I have learned that I can't trust myself when it comes to pills and therefor I have to place my trust in someone else.
Do you have a sponsor? Start on a plan NOW and then when and if it is ever needed, you won't have to worry.