stan76

I'm a recovering addict alcoholic. I severely broke my ankle
and I'm taking pain pills as prescribed by doctor.
Wife is furious and thinks that I have relapsed. I am new to this site not sure how it works I apologize if this was already posted. Does anyone have any advice

Turtle82

This may go against the thinking of many here but I've never seen the need for any prescribed medications as a threat to my sobriety as long as I maintain my willingness to live a sober and serene life. About 15 years into my sobriety I herniated a disk in my neck. The pain was excruciating without exaggeration and left me with permanent nerve damage that weakened my arm and left me with a couple of numb fingers. The neurosurgeon at a nationally renowned neurological center gave me the option of surgery which would include me living with a cadaver bone in my neck or taking a regimen of pain pills and muscle relaxers (and more... a cocktail really) for nine weeks to see it it would heal on its own. I told him I was a RA and feared addiction to them with that long a course of treatment. He, most bluntly, said that of course the danger of that was very real but that if I was determined against it then it wouldn't happen or could if I took everything only as prescribed then physical addiction would not occur. He said that if I took them differently then it could occur. I didn't really understand what he meant at the time but feared surgery due to age and other medical problems plus the thought of someone's bone in my neck creeped me out and something about him made me trust his experience. So I took the pills offered for relief of pain. I can most definitely see how people do get addicted to what I took and must admit there were a few occasions when I was emotionally stressed that I was tempted to take them for reasons other than pain but the point is that it was a choice and I chose not to. I also, as directed, decreased the frequency of taking them as the pain lessened. I'm trying to say that long before physical addiction a choice is made to risk that. So each person has to look hard in the mirror making these decisions. No one else can really say if they should or shouldn't take any prescribed controlled-substance.

IOAA2

Hi.

My advice is be honest with yourself and your doctor and only take as prescribed. If you end or lessen them quickly all the better.

Did I mention be honest with yourself?

BE WELL

downtown3

toss em and take advil. Thats what i would do personally. As i am now I avoid any unnatural high especially those brought on by pills drugs and of course booze. This is up to you though.

SoberLeigh

As long as you are taking the pills exactly as prescribed and only for so long as the pain is intolerable (and incapable of being relieved by something like advil), I don't see a problem with taking the prescribed medication.

Hope your ankle heals quickly.

brynn

As has already been said....be honest with yourself. If you think there is even a remote chance that this is/will be a problem, then flush them.
I struggled with this a few weeks ago...I had an awful migraine and tried rationalizing using some pain pills 'just this once'....but in the end, I knew I was fooling myself and I knew a part of me just wanted to take the pills. I've since flushed my stash so as not to tempt fate.

You already know how your wife feels about it, now be truthful with yourself. If there's any hesitation, then you already know what to do.

MelindaFlowers

I have had two minor surgeries since sobriety and I have had no problem taking thespian medication as prescribed for a few days.

heartcore

Melinda - does thespian medication heal bad acting skills?

heartcore

On a more serious note, I believe that in recovery it is fine to take medications prescribed by a doctor if you have openly revealed a history of addiction/alcoholism and honor the dosage recommendations. In my experience in 12 step programs, the majority of folks (and the literature) concur.

It is that delicate moment when you "just sort of hurt" but take the medication anyway that you are watching for.

Also - our tendency to hoard any good drugs. If you only used one for the pain and weeks have passed and you have the bottle safely tucked in the back of your sock drawer (for emergencies...), then you are behaving like an addict.

Once, many years ago, I had been clean and sober for years and years. My husband at the time had a surgery and chose not to use the associated pain pills (because they made him feel "yucky" - not an addict, this man). I happened upon him preparing to throw them into the toilet. I actually physically intervened - grabbing frantically at the bottle - to stop him.

"Someone might need these someday!" I yelled, as we tussled in the small bathroom. "You're wasting them!!!!"

Mind you, this is fully clean and sober for a LONG time AND pain pills aren't my thing - I was a cocaine addict. But the addict in me couldn't BEAR to witness his "wasting" of drugs.

He won that little battle and flushed the medicine, and afterward I felt awkward and ashamed. Where did that come from?? Our AV is a desperate being. My AV has convinced me many times that I need to "hold onto" the remains of a prescription pain killer "for my emergency kit." It's true that I'm a wilderness camper type of person, and actually do have an "emergency kit," but I also know that voice, and it is not of my competent camper self. It is my addict, and she will fight for ANYTHING to get loaded, even if it is not a drug she enjoys.

So, flushing things is a powerful exercise. As soon as you are out of SEVERE pain, do the flushing. It is a physical symbolic act that reinforces your sobriety. It feels awkward and panicky, and helps you realize that you really are fighting a powerful force within!

bigsombrero

I had this come up almost a year ago with my doctor. I was undergoing anxiety treatment and before she prescribed any drugs, I told her I was an alcoholic. I almost had to FORCE the words out, because the alcoholic inside me wanted klonipin or xanax sooooo badly.

As soon as she heard I was an alcoholic, those types of pills were off the table. Did you tell your doctor you're a recovering alcoholic before he prescribed these pills? If so, I would think you're doing all you can. If not...why didn't you? It's all about being honest with yourself, as everyone has said. Good luck!!!

zjw

I'd say if pain pills where your poison of choice at one time maybe she has some justification? Otherwise given your past history of alcohol issues its probably something to just be mindful of.

I did my fair share of pain pills in the day but never had any kind of issue with them. I did other things never had issues either. Booze was my poison of choice and the main culprit that caused me issues. This is just my expiereince tho I cant speak for yours.

zjw

double post

zjw

triple post>!?!

MelindaFlowers

Oh my!!!!! I should proofread what I write next time. Phone screen is too small!

Gottalife

This is very much a personal matter. Some alcoholics and addicts are absolutely against pain killers for themselves. My sponsor, an alcoholic, who died of cancer, even refused the usual morphine in his last hours.

For myself, I have no problem using such a drug to relieve physical pain. I might have a problem if I started using it to "prevent" potential future pain.

I also found that, since I stopped drinking, the basic off the shelf asprin or disprin work much better than they used to. For tooth ache I was amazed that a couple of disprins would significantly reduce the pain.

SarahB60

double!!!

SarahB60

In my opinion as long as your Dr has knowledge of your history and he/she feels comfortable with prescribing the medication, I say go with the Dr's orders.

I have xanax and ativan to take as needed and my Dr is well aware of my alcohol issues. I'm prone to getting occasional panic attacks (35 yrs + and they're not going away) from hell that can only be stopped with a benzo. My Dr can see how much I'm taking by the refill requests. The quantity I take right now is far less in sobriety then when I was actively drinking.

markz

Addict = Alcoholic
They are not different!

Just so long as your doctor knows about ALL your issues, you hiding nothing from him.

advbike

Please don't FLUSH medications down the toilet. They get into the waste stream and end up in the rivers and oceans where levels of painkillers and antibiotics are clearly detectable and ingested by fish, invertebrates and birds that eat them.

There are collection locations such as pharmacies that can take them.

Dee74

I'm on a regular programme of several medications, prescribed by a Dr who knows my past and taken as directed.

I don't consider my sobriety is compromised or imperiled.

How are you doing Stan?

D