ajarlson

I have a half brother that I don't know well, my mom raised him and stayed sober for 10 years to do it. I lived with them for a few years as a teen and had to babysit him (he is 12 years younger than I am). I moved out as soon as I could so we don't have much contact. Got a text from him this weekend, saying "how's mommy" (ok first - ew and weird from a 30+ year old). I figure she must have called him telling him she couldn't get ahold of me, and immediately felt that squeeze of anxiety. But I told him how it was, that I had told her I wasn't going to watch her destroy herself with pills and booze. Only answer I got was "are they prescription drugs?". Said yeah and others, plus booze, but the DUI she got with my 14 year old daughter in the car was the beginning of the end for me. I did say I was sorry I hadn't told him any of this stuff, he lives on the other coast than we do. He never answered anything else, but I figure if he wants someone to take care of her he should fly out and do it himself. Glad he didn't ask about that LOL. And glad I pushed through the anxiety and answered him straight on and truthfully. No more pushing things under the rug!!

tromboneliness

The implication being that if they're prescription drugs, it must be OK. Well, prescription drugs can be some of the worst! When my Mom was in the early stages of her 11-month death spiral (hospital, rehab, skilled nursing, fall, back to hospital, back to rehab, fall, repeat ad libitum), she got horribly addicted to painkillers, mostly Oxycontin but also various other narcotics. It got to be comical, how she'd behave. I'd be visiting her in the hospital and staying there for like 3-4 hours at a time, and we'd be talking pleasantly enough -- but as soon as there was a shift change, or she saw a nurse come in who she hadn't seen before, all of a sudden she would be in intense pain -- 10 on a scale of 1-10, as they'd always be asking -- and oh dear, we just had to have another Oxy, preferably crunched up in some apple sauce. The pain and agony would go on and on until the nurse shrugged and brought her one... After downing it, she'd be fine again... until she needed another fix. It got to the point where she was so hooked that she would intentionally fall out of bed, just so she could ask for more pills. This was a major contributor to her being unable to do physical therapy, and eventually just not being able to recover.

I get irritated by the whole legalized-pot crowd, with all their rationalizations, talk about how it's no worse than alcohol, blah-blah -- but strictly looking at it as a pain remedy, it can't be worse than the legal stuff they give you in the hospital!

T

ardy

so many have died from the legal and street forms.. my hubby and I go around for hours .. and he knows he will never win .. for he will not die of that stuff legal or otherwise on my Watch.. no Sir.... love to you all and stay with the good fight.. ardy..

ajarlson

She's hooked on anything that will get her high. She complains about pain for muscle relaxers, anxiety for xanax, coughing for codeine cough syrup. She's been on a codeine pill for over 10 years for arthritis, then puts tizandine, vicadin, codeine cough syrup etc on top of it. All while drinking of course. She fell out of bed a couple years ago after drinking an entire bottle of codeine cough syrup and broke her hip. She was in the hospital for a month with pancreatitis. She refuses to go to rehab or long term care because of course they won't give her the booze or drugs she wants. If she runs out of pills (which she does frequently because she takes too much at once) she buys oxycotin from the lady down the street. She has vodka and OJ for breakfast and bloody mary's in the afternoon. She doesn't want to manage pain, she wants to be obliterated. And if she's going to do that, and fall down and get sick and everything that accompanies that, I'm not going to get sucked into that craziness again. Didn't even realize how crazy it was until I pulled myself out. For her sake I wish her happiness, but if her happiness is at the bottom of a bottle I won't be a part of it.