allforcnm

Hallie,

I think this is a very important consideration when you are talking about prescribed meds. Its the "genuine need" of the medication and if it is used as prescribed, and if the patient is being honest with the doctor who does the prescribing to get the best dosage with the least side effects.

My husband started his addiction on prescribed pain meds. He had a sports injury, had to have multiple surgeries and needed the meds for quite a while. But when the doctor was ready to wean him off, my husband made us both think he was doing as directed, instead he started obtaining the meds through someone he worked with, and then he started using more, other drugs and became addicted. By this point the doctor was out of the picture as far as prescribing the meds.

In my earlier post, I was speaking of your boyfriends situation as I understood it. In one post you said he suffered from anxiety and social situations upset him, so I assumed he had an actual need for Xanax, and is taking it as prescribed. I know a person who take this daily because they need it to function normally due to anxiety. The person I speak of is also in therapy to work on personal issues to try to learn to control the anxiety and hopefully get off the medication eventually. I would never say this person is an addict, even though I think there would have to be a taper, and still the possibility of withdrawal. But it is much different a situation than someone doctor shopping, or lying to he doctor to get a specific medication in order to get a high.

Thanks Pravchaw for emphasizing these points "genuine medical need" and "under the care of a doctor"