Hubbys painkillers
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Goshen NY
Posts: 40
Hubbys painkillers
My husband is addicted to painkillers which he gets regularly from his dr ... he denies it of course and always runs out before the next rx is due. This month he went to a diff. dr and got more which he didn't tell me about. i found them while snooping and now don't know whether to confront him or not. He won't admit he is an addict yet has been on them for years and eats them like candy.
He says he needs them for pain and to relax and that they aren't hazardous to his health in anyway. Can anyone direct me to where I can find that they are hazardous other than being addictive and should I mention that I know about the extra bottle?
Thanks!
He says he needs them for pain and to relax and that they aren't hazardous to his health in anyway. Can anyone direct me to where I can find that they are hazardous other than being addictive and should I mention that I know about the extra bottle?
Thanks!
Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Wilmington, NC
Posts: 138
My husband too is addicted to pain killers. He just spent a week in a detox unit trying to get off them but he was shooting them up every chance he got and if he didn't have that chance, he would eat them a handful at a time. It's not about his pain (which he does have), it's about the feeling they get from taking them in excess.
He has finally admitted to me that his pain level didn't warrant more than the prescribed amount and that he did eat more than necessary cause he wanted to be high. You know, enough of those taken, especially if taken other than the oral way, is close to a heroin high - both are opiates, both derived from morphine, both will show up in a drug screen exactly the same way and cannot be differentiated.
Until he admits he has a problem, your hands are tied except as to how you react and treat yourself. I also would snoop and try to collect "evidence" to present to him to prove that I knew he was missusing. It did no good. I did, however, call his doctor finally and left a message with the nurse that he was abusing his meds and not to prescribe Oxycodone capsules. The next time he needed a script, the doctor wrote it for Hydrocodone w/tylenol tablets. Fact of the matter is, it's still an opiate and can still be taken in excess and abused.
Stay here. Read and listen to all these wise people. Some are family members, some are ex-junkies, some are wanting to quit and haven't quite gotten there yet but are working toward that goal with lots of support, love and encouragement from the other members. Many success stories and lot's of strength and courage to be taken out of here. You need to share. For me, it was like looking into a crystal ball and knowing what was coming was priceless for me. I don't like surprises and I was tired of feeling like my teeth were getting kicked in each time AH was high from pills.
Hugs!!!
Janet
He has finally admitted to me that his pain level didn't warrant more than the prescribed amount and that he did eat more than necessary cause he wanted to be high. You know, enough of those taken, especially if taken other than the oral way, is close to a heroin high - both are opiates, both derived from morphine, both will show up in a drug screen exactly the same way and cannot be differentiated.
Until he admits he has a problem, your hands are tied except as to how you react and treat yourself. I also would snoop and try to collect "evidence" to present to him to prove that I knew he was missusing. It did no good. I did, however, call his doctor finally and left a message with the nurse that he was abusing his meds and not to prescribe Oxycodone capsules. The next time he needed a script, the doctor wrote it for Hydrocodone w/tylenol tablets. Fact of the matter is, it's still an opiate and can still be taken in excess and abused.
Stay here. Read and listen to all these wise people. Some are family members, some are ex-junkies, some are wanting to quit and haven't quite gotten there yet but are working toward that goal with lots of support, love and encouragement from the other members. Many success stories and lot's of strength and courage to be taken out of here. You need to share. For me, it was like looking into a crystal ball and knowing what was coming was priceless for me. I don't like surprises and I was tired of feeling like my teeth were getting kicked in each time AH was high from pills.
Hugs!!!
Janet
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Goshen NY
Posts: 40
Thanks you guys, it feels good to be able to talk about it. Should I call his doctor or will that force him just to find another one? Why do these drs keep doling out these pills like candy?
Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: twilight zone,usa
Posts: 3,909
there areother alternatives for pain other than pills.my husband goes for a series of shots every 3 months.(referred by his surgeon.) pain pills are like any other drug,very dangerous. your husband will get them no matter who u call or what u do.he has got to want to get off of them.it is only going to get worse. prayers,
Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Wilmington, NC
Posts: 138
I don't know exactly why the doctors dole that stuff out so freely. It is true that if the doc isn't giving it to him, there are other ways, maybe a little more expensive but he can go to the street, go on line find another drug of choice.....
My husband goes to the VA and they would rather cover something up than deal with it (operate and fix the problem, hmmmm).
Many pharmacies are linked together so if there is a pattern, often times they can catch it. If you have a local pharmacy, you may want to alert them too. They can probably note his account and raise some red flags if there is some obvious abuse, different doctors, frequent scripts or refills. Just a thought. If he wants it, he will get it.
By the way, my AH recently detoxed. It wasn't pretty. Painkillers have some pretty nasty withdrawals both physical and psychologically but so far, it's been worth it. I think he's been clean 8 days now.
Although he began self detoxing the Wends. before Thanksgiving and and went all the way to the following Monday, that MOnday morning before going to detox, he stopped by the doctor's office, got a brand new script, filled it and ate 15 before going into detox. Chased em with a couple of beers so he blew 5 days of withdrawals and had to start all over again so I don't count from then - from Monday. It's very hard to understand. I don't understand but I'm learning alot. So much of it is manipulation (especially of us) and everybody else too. They are master con men. They have all of us fooled for a while, employers, doctors, family, friends.... Look at some of Nytepassion's posts. She is a guru and is the voice of much experience and wisdom.
Good luck and keep us posted! Anything you want to know is here. You may not get your answer in one day, but it will show up! All mine have plus more than I ever wanted to know but needed to know.
My husband goes to the VA and they would rather cover something up than deal with it (operate and fix the problem, hmmmm).
Many pharmacies are linked together so if there is a pattern, often times they can catch it. If you have a local pharmacy, you may want to alert them too. They can probably note his account and raise some red flags if there is some obvious abuse, different doctors, frequent scripts or refills. Just a thought. If he wants it, he will get it.
By the way, my AH recently detoxed. It wasn't pretty. Painkillers have some pretty nasty withdrawals both physical and psychologically but so far, it's been worth it. I think he's been clean 8 days now.
Although he began self detoxing the Wends. before Thanksgiving and and went all the way to the following Monday, that MOnday morning before going to detox, he stopped by the doctor's office, got a brand new script, filled it and ate 15 before going into detox. Chased em with a couple of beers so he blew 5 days of withdrawals and had to start all over again so I don't count from then - from Monday. It's very hard to understand. I don't understand but I'm learning alot. So much of it is manipulation (especially of us) and everybody else too. They are master con men. They have all of us fooled for a while, employers, doctors, family, friends.... Look at some of Nytepassion's posts. She is a guru and is the voice of much experience and wisdom.
Good luck and keep us posted! Anything you want to know is here. You may not get your answer in one day, but it will show up! All mine have plus more than I ever wanted to know but needed to know.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Goshen NY
Posts: 40
Thanks again for all the replies. I really appreciate it. As far as the drug stores go, I was thinking of calling both of them and or the dr and other dr that he went to but figured it might backfire on me. He isnt physically violent but can get verbally aggressive and I kinda hate to fight. Prayers appreciated bc it seems no amount of talking will ever get him to admit he has a problem. Even tho its so obvious. He runs out and goes thru withdrawls and then either drinks or finds more pills someplace and is miserable until he can get his rx filled. It's like an obsession. All he thinks about and wants are his pills. Kids are grown and out so its just us 2 at home and mostly he just wants to vege out.. he also has muscle relaxants, anti depressants, sleeping pills and tranquilizers. All from diff. drs. Its like a walking medicine cabinet. I get nervous about all of them. Anyway, thanks for listening!:praying
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Omak WA
Posts: 1,049
Addicted to Pain Medication & other meds...
Hi,
My husband takes Oxycontin, a muscle relaxer, & Neurontin for his Chronic pain + Tyenol PM + Ibuprophen before he goes to bed. If he takes it too soon and sits in the livingroom he falls asleep and I cannot get him awake.
I worried at first because he was having problems with hallucinations and could not understand what I would tell him. I had to call the ambulance three different times and they thought he had pneumonia each time but finally figured out he wasn't getting enough oxygen to his brain due to the medications compromising his breathing. :comfort
It seems better now and he is not taking too many anymore. He does have very severe pain from an old logging accident injury where he had a leg amputated and recently had a bone infection and had to have part of his pelvis removed.
He walks with crutches all of the time now because the prothesis was pulling his back out of place as he walked. His leg is off nearly right at his hip so it was a complicated set up for him to wear the leg to work.
His doc and the hospital is used to him now and all the things that seem to happen but he hasn't had a problem for over a year now other than going so sound asleep.
I fear that some morning he is not going to wake up and that is a distinct possibility his doc told me. He also told me that my husband had told him that if he couldn't have gotten the relief he is able to get much of the time...that he would commit suicide. :praying
I can't judge his pain by my pain but I can tell just by looking at him when he is in unbearable pain. I can't tolerate any kind of narcotic because they make me act mean and crazy and when I had my back surgery a few years back I quit breathing in the middle of the night and woke up in Trauma ICU...I survived but do have some short-term memory problems.
Hope things settle down some. At least I know how much meds he gets because we get them through our Insurance Mail Order Pharmacy because through a regular pharmacy they cost $800 a month and through mail order insurance it costs $10 for a three month supply.
Hope to see you posting some more.
kelsh
My husband takes Oxycontin, a muscle relaxer, & Neurontin for his Chronic pain + Tyenol PM + Ibuprophen before he goes to bed. If he takes it too soon and sits in the livingroom he falls asleep and I cannot get him awake.
I worried at first because he was having problems with hallucinations and could not understand what I would tell him. I had to call the ambulance three different times and they thought he had pneumonia each time but finally figured out he wasn't getting enough oxygen to his brain due to the medications compromising his breathing. :comfort
It seems better now and he is not taking too many anymore. He does have very severe pain from an old logging accident injury where he had a leg amputated and recently had a bone infection and had to have part of his pelvis removed.
He walks with crutches all of the time now because the prothesis was pulling his back out of place as he walked. His leg is off nearly right at his hip so it was a complicated set up for him to wear the leg to work.
His doc and the hospital is used to him now and all the things that seem to happen but he hasn't had a problem for over a year now other than going so sound asleep.
I fear that some morning he is not going to wake up and that is a distinct possibility his doc told me. He also told me that my husband had told him that if he couldn't have gotten the relief he is able to get much of the time...that he would commit suicide. :praying
I can't judge his pain by my pain but I can tell just by looking at him when he is in unbearable pain. I can't tolerate any kind of narcotic because they make me act mean and crazy and when I had my back surgery a few years back I quit breathing in the middle of the night and woke up in Trauma ICU...I survived but do have some short-term memory problems.
Hope things settle down some. At least I know how much meds he gets because we get them through our Insurance Mail Order Pharmacy because through a regular pharmacy they cost $800 a month and through mail order insurance it costs $10 for a three month supply.
Hope to see you posting some more.
kelsh
Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Wilmington, NC
Posts: 138
Wow Kelsh, that's one heck of a story! I don't know how you do it but God bless you for your patience and understanding.
Skeetermag, hang in there honey. He won't admit he has a problem till he's ready and then when he's ready, and often they must hit rock bottom, he will seek treatment.
I don't really know how interventions work but someone here can probably suggest if that's a route you want to look into.
Did you alert the pharmacies?
Skeetermag, hang in there honey. He won't admit he has a problem till he's ready and then when he's ready, and often they must hit rock bottom, he will seek treatment.
I don't really know how interventions work but someone here can probably suggest if that's a route you want to look into.
Did you alert the pharmacies?
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 31,179
Skeetermag -
Honestly, even if you call every pharmacy and Dr. within 100 miles of you, he will STILL be able to get the pills if he really wants them. I am a recovering crack addict, but have friends (several on here) that abused pain pills and most of them were able to get the pills off the street or internet... or he will find something else to get high on. Until HE is ready to accept he has an addiction (which almost always involves facing undesirable consequences), nothing you do will force him to stop.
3 c's - you didn't Cause it, you can't Change it, and you can't Cure him.
I'm not trying to sound harsh, but if you read a lot of these posts, you will find many people who spent YEARS trying to change their addict. The best thing you can do is take care of you - figure out what you want from life, and ways to detach yourself from his addiction. The more you get wrapped up in his life and addiction, the more you lose yourself.
Hugs and prayers!
Amy
Honestly, even if you call every pharmacy and Dr. within 100 miles of you, he will STILL be able to get the pills if he really wants them. I am a recovering crack addict, but have friends (several on here) that abused pain pills and most of them were able to get the pills off the street or internet... or he will find something else to get high on. Until HE is ready to accept he has an addiction (which almost always involves facing undesirable consequences), nothing you do will force him to stop.
3 c's - you didn't Cause it, you can't Change it, and you can't Cure him.
I'm not trying to sound harsh, but if you read a lot of these posts, you will find many people who spent YEARS trying to change their addict. The best thing you can do is take care of you - figure out what you want from life, and ways to detach yourself from his addiction. The more you get wrapped up in his life and addiction, the more you lose yourself.
Hugs and prayers!
Amy
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Goshen NY
Posts: 40
I know what you're all saying is true. I didnt call the pharmacies or the drs, but still considering it. He doesn't use the internet and is a hard worker, so I don't think he would have time to make street connections.... i guess I do have to take care of me tho, bc it's tearing me up inside dealing with all of this.
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