Question about Pain Meds and Alcoholic/addicted parents
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Join Date: Jul 2010
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Question about Pain Meds and Alcoholic/addicted parents
Hello everyone,
A Question: Can Alcoholics use narcotics for pain? Like Lortab 6 tablets a day?
I had about a year away from my Alcoholic/Addicted dysfunctional mother. I hadn't been to her house for over a year.
Recently, she began being kind (when my mother-in-law passed away). And, I trusted her.
July 2, we gathered there with my brother and his kids, my son, daughter, and husband in order for everyone to see my daughter who was home for a week.
Our power went out for a couple of days (which means no water, too) and it was 10 degrees outside amd 85 in the house. So, I asked my mom if we could all move our gathering to her house. She reluctantly said, "yes."
Anyway, evidently, while cleaning up before we got there, she fell and hurt her foot. My brother took her to the ER. She ended up with a hairline fracture, a boot on her foot, and a rx for pain meds.
During this visit, I learned that my mom has been on an RX for 6 Lortab (hydrocodone with acetominiphen) per day as a treatment for fibromyalgia for years. I was stunned. She had told me she was on Lyrica. I also noticed an empty rx bottle for morphine sulfate in her room. My SIL told me Mom's doc had tried her on that but it didn't work, so put her back on the Hydrocodone/Acetominiphen.
I understand that an alcoholic's tolerance is huge. That medications that would knock a non-addicted person off their feet have different effects on someone like my mother.
However, this really rocked me.
When I was little she had a problem with Valium and ran from doc to doc getting new RXs for it. She later switched to alcohol.
It's weird because the few times I talked to her while we "weren't talking" I could have sworn she was drunk. I know as a ACOA I have a radar detection system for this.
My system tells me now that she's on drugs and is to be feared.
There's been a few incidents this week which are leading me to want more distance and firmer boundaries again. She's doing her passive/aggressive dance with me again.
Have any of you experienced this? An alcoholic parent who is in recovery (although they have dry drunk behavior) and is actively using narcotics for pain?
A Question: Can Alcoholics use narcotics for pain? Like Lortab 6 tablets a day?
I had about a year away from my Alcoholic/Addicted dysfunctional mother. I hadn't been to her house for over a year.
Recently, she began being kind (when my mother-in-law passed away). And, I trusted her.
July 2, we gathered there with my brother and his kids, my son, daughter, and husband in order for everyone to see my daughter who was home for a week.
Our power went out for a couple of days (which means no water, too) and it was 10 degrees outside amd 85 in the house. So, I asked my mom if we could all move our gathering to her house. She reluctantly said, "yes."
Anyway, evidently, while cleaning up before we got there, she fell and hurt her foot. My brother took her to the ER. She ended up with a hairline fracture, a boot on her foot, and a rx for pain meds.
During this visit, I learned that my mom has been on an RX for 6 Lortab (hydrocodone with acetominiphen) per day as a treatment for fibromyalgia for years. I was stunned. She had told me she was on Lyrica. I also noticed an empty rx bottle for morphine sulfate in her room. My SIL told me Mom's doc had tried her on that but it didn't work, so put her back on the Hydrocodone/Acetominiphen.
I understand that an alcoholic's tolerance is huge. That medications that would knock a non-addicted person off their feet have different effects on someone like my mother.
However, this really rocked me.
When I was little she had a problem with Valium and ran from doc to doc getting new RXs for it. She later switched to alcohol.
It's weird because the few times I talked to her while we "weren't talking" I could have sworn she was drunk. I know as a ACOA I have a radar detection system for this.
My system tells me now that she's on drugs and is to be feared.
There's been a few incidents this week which are leading me to want more distance and firmer boundaries again. She's doing her passive/aggressive dance with me again.
Have any of you experienced this? An alcoholic parent who is in recovery (although they have dry drunk behavior) and is actively using narcotics for pain?
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Starting over all over again
Posts: 4,426
Hello there question 
Pain medications are always a problem for people who have other forms of chemical addiction. As they said in the other forum, it really depends on the individual. Some folks become addicted to just one chemical but not to any others. Some people become addicted to _everything_ even in small amounts.
The general "rule of thumb" is to focus on the behavior, and not on the chemical. If a person acts in a manner that is unsafe, like driving erraticaly, then it does _not_ matter what chemical it is. What matters is the behavior.
You mention that there have been some incidents that make you want to establish firmer bnoundaries. What difference would it make if those incidents were caused by alcohol, or pain meds, or no meds at all?
As far as personal experience, my ex-wife was _not_ an addict of any kind. Neither were any of her family. She became very ill over several years and became addicted to pain pills. I have known many people who were in recovery for one addiction and became addicted to other things, and I've known people who used pain pills without a problem in spite of being addicted to other chemicals.
Mike
Moderator, SR
Pain medications are always a problem for people who have other forms of chemical addiction. As they said in the other forum, it really depends on the individual. Some folks become addicted to just one chemical but not to any others. Some people become addicted to _everything_ even in small amounts.
The general "rule of thumb" is to focus on the behavior, and not on the chemical. If a person acts in a manner that is unsafe, like driving erraticaly, then it does _not_ matter what chemical it is. What matters is the behavior.
You mention that there have been some incidents that make you want to establish firmer bnoundaries. What difference would it make if those incidents were caused by alcohol, or pain meds, or no meds at all?
As far as personal experience, my ex-wife was _not_ an addict of any kind. Neither were any of her family. She became very ill over several years and became addicted to pain pills. I have known many people who were in recovery for one addiction and became addicted to other things, and I've known people who used pain pills without a problem in spite of being addicted to other chemicals.
Mike
Moderator, SR
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 12
Originally Posted by DesertEyes 
Hello there question
The general "rule of thumb" is to focus on the behavior, and not on the chemical. If a person acts in a manner that is unsafe, like driving erraticaly, then it does _not_ matter what chemical it is. What matters is the behavior.
You mention that there have been some incidents that make you want to establish firmer bnoundaries. What difference would it make if those incidents were caused by alcohol, or pain meds, or no meds at all?
The general "rule of thumb" is to focus on the behavior, and not on the chemical. If a person acts in a manner that is unsafe, like driving erraticaly, then it does _not_ matter what chemical it is. What matters is the behavior.
You mention that there have been some incidents that make you want to establish firmer bnoundaries. What difference would it make if those incidents were caused by alcohol, or pain meds, or no meds at all?
--Q
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 110
My father has been in recovery from alcoholism for over 20 years and he never takes any pain medication for fear it will mess with his recovery. Not even at the dentist!
But because he never worked on the issues that drove him to drink, I still don't have much contact with him. Like Desert Eyes says it's the behavior that matters
But because he never worked on the issues that drove him to drink, I still don't have much contact with him. Like Desert Eyes says it's the behavior that matters
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