Is it true....?
To Thine Own Self Be True
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: So Cal
Posts: 1,946
Is it true....?
that if someone takes narcotics (oxycontin, vicodin) as prescribed that they can not become addicted?
Also, if someone takes this medication as prescribed, should they seem "normal" or under the influence?
I am a recovering alcoholic and pills are something I have never abused. My sister is a heavy user but it is prescribed by a pain med doctor for back problems. I feel like I am dealing with an addict, all the behaviors, etc., but her claim has always been that even after 20 years, she is not addicted to any of these pain meds.
Can this possible be true?
Also, if someone takes this medication as prescribed, should they seem "normal" or under the influence?
I am a recovering alcoholic and pills are something I have never abused. My sister is a heavy user but it is prescribed by a pain med doctor for back problems. I feel like I am dealing with an addict, all the behaviors, etc., but her claim has always been that even after 20 years, she is not addicted to any of these pain meds.
Can this possible be true?
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: central coast, ca
Posts: 1,652
You can be physically dependant and not be "addicted" with all the emotional/psych/spiritual problems that addiction brings.Example..I took Ambian as prescribed for months..when I went off I had horrible withdrawls..I never once took more than prescribed or took them during the day, or obsessed about them.
Many people on this site HAVE become addicts using their presribed pain meds though..they started taking more than neccissary, asked the Dr.s for progressively higher doses, progressed from use to abuse to addiction.
I usually think when we suspected abuse, we are right most of the time..esp. since you know what addiction looks like.
Many people on this site HAVE become addicts using their presribed pain meds though..they started taking more than neccissary, asked the Dr.s for progressively higher doses, progressed from use to abuse to addiction.
I usually think when we suspected abuse, we are right most of the time..esp. since you know what addiction looks like.
Belgian Sheepdog Adictee
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: In Today
Posts: 6,101
I have been in 'chronic pain' for about 11 years now.
I am on some 'heavy' duty medications to help with it. I take them as prescribed, they give me no 'highs' or 'lows'. The same dosage for all this time.
However, were my pain to disappear all of a sudden I would definitely go through some 'physical' withdrawals as my body is used to them. But as to 'craving' them ..................... nope.
My biggest problem with taking them is if I miss a dose accidentally and the 'blanket' that they keep on the pain starts to leave I do know I have missed a dose. I have an extremely HIGH tolerance for pain, but if that blanket starts to fade, I can literally start screaming in agony.
People who 'abuse' these types of medications are getting a 'high' and become 'numb' to their feelings and their world around them, that is addiction.
Hope that helps to answer your question.
Love and hugs,
I am on some 'heavy' duty medications to help with it. I take them as prescribed, they give me no 'highs' or 'lows'. The same dosage for all this time.
However, were my pain to disappear all of a sudden I would definitely go through some 'physical' withdrawals as my body is used to them. But as to 'craving' them ..................... nope.
My biggest problem with taking them is if I miss a dose accidentally and the 'blanket' that they keep on the pain starts to leave I do know I have missed a dose. I have an extremely HIGH tolerance for pain, but if that blanket starts to fade, I can literally start screaming in agony.
People who 'abuse' these types of medications are getting a 'high' and become 'numb' to their feelings and their world around them, that is addiction.
Hope that helps to answer your question.
Love and hugs,
To Thine Own Self Be True
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: So Cal
Posts: 1,946
So, truly, she is the only one that knows whether she is addicted or not, right?
It is frustrating because I have never had to take any medication for pain and I have no idea what that is like. I feel like there is no way to help her because she can stay in denial about this for...,well...forever I guess.
So...she has had 3-4 back surgeries in the last 20 years. All bad, from the first one. She has been on heavy duty pain meds since then. Lots of incidents, etc but she claims they don't do anything "for" her other than take a bit of the edge off the pain. She believes and says that she is not and could not get addicted to any of these pain meds because of her pain and need for them.
In 2004 she had surgery that was supposed to fix a lot of stuff and she would not need the level of pain med she had been taking. Well, after the surgery she would not back off the dosages saying that her pain was excruciating. So this world renowned surgeon at UCSD says that he can no longer treat her because he does not believe she needs those medications, the surgery went perfect, the MRI is clean, etc, etc.
So she went back to an old pain med doc who continued to give her the Oxycontin (3x80/day), Vicodin ES (break thru), Ambien, and whatever else. So no one really knows what she takes or who she sees, etc. She says that she barely takes anything anymore
She and I currently do not have a relationship because a year ago she had my daughter overnight and long story short, she ran out of pills (doctor wrote wrong date on prescription??) so she drove my daughter, in the middle of the night, while raining, 100 miles to "borrow" pills from my other sister until she could get her prescription straightened out.
She did not ask or tell me. I found out by chance after questioning something my daughter said. Again, long, long, story but she would never take responsibility or apologize for not consulting me regarding this decision. She then spent weeks attacking me for all of my past failings, etc., via text and email.
I have worked through this with my sponsor and my therapist and I am ok with the relationship today. I keep her at way arms length.
So, why am I now coming to this board for help?
Because of what happened the other night…She was hospitalized night before last after her landlord came home to house being torn up and my sister locked in the bathroom crashing around and not responding to anyone. The landlord called 911 and they took her away.
Now we don't know where they took her (hospital I imagine) and have not heard from her. I say "we" because it is my 73 year old mom that is worried, calling me, asking for help, etc. The landlord told my Mom that my sister can not come back to her house and so now there are consequences (oh, fyi, there have been LOTS of consequences in the last 20 years). But because she is an adult (50) the only information that we will get is what she relays. She is not currently married, so no spouse.
If this is anything like past events, we will never know the real story. She will say that it was something else (allergic reaction, vertigo, etc) and that she is fine.
So, I guess, I continue with my status quo? Stay in recovery, keeps eyes on self, and wait for her to be ready??? It is hard and terribly sad. I fear we may lose her before she has the capacity to be honest
It is frustrating because I have never had to take any medication for pain and I have no idea what that is like. I feel like there is no way to help her because she can stay in denial about this for...,well...forever I guess.
So...she has had 3-4 back surgeries in the last 20 years. All bad, from the first one. She has been on heavy duty pain meds since then. Lots of incidents, etc but she claims they don't do anything "for" her other than take a bit of the edge off the pain. She believes and says that she is not and could not get addicted to any of these pain meds because of her pain and need for them.
In 2004 she had surgery that was supposed to fix a lot of stuff and she would not need the level of pain med she had been taking. Well, after the surgery she would not back off the dosages saying that her pain was excruciating. So this world renowned surgeon at UCSD says that he can no longer treat her because he does not believe she needs those medications, the surgery went perfect, the MRI is clean, etc, etc.
So she went back to an old pain med doc who continued to give her the Oxycontin (3x80/day), Vicodin ES (break thru), Ambien, and whatever else. So no one really knows what she takes or who she sees, etc. She says that she barely takes anything anymore
She and I currently do not have a relationship because a year ago she had my daughter overnight and long story short, she ran out of pills (doctor wrote wrong date on prescription??) so she drove my daughter, in the middle of the night, while raining, 100 miles to "borrow" pills from my other sister until she could get her prescription straightened out.
She did not ask or tell me. I found out by chance after questioning something my daughter said. Again, long, long, story but she would never take responsibility or apologize for not consulting me regarding this decision. She then spent weeks attacking me for all of my past failings, etc., via text and email.
I have worked through this with my sponsor and my therapist and I am ok with the relationship today. I keep her at way arms length.
So, why am I now coming to this board for help?
Because of what happened the other night…She was hospitalized night before last after her landlord came home to house being torn up and my sister locked in the bathroom crashing around and not responding to anyone. The landlord called 911 and they took her away.
Now we don't know where they took her (hospital I imagine) and have not heard from her. I say "we" because it is my 73 year old mom that is worried, calling me, asking for help, etc. The landlord told my Mom that my sister can not come back to her house and so now there are consequences (oh, fyi, there have been LOTS of consequences in the last 20 years). But because she is an adult (50) the only information that we will get is what she relays. She is not currently married, so no spouse.
If this is anything like past events, we will never know the real story. She will say that it was something else (allergic reaction, vertigo, etc) and that she is fine.
So, I guess, I continue with my status quo? Stay in recovery, keeps eyes on self, and wait for her to be ready??? It is hard and terribly sad. I fear we may lose her before she has the capacity to be honest
Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In a good place
Posts: 4,482
Congratulations on your sobriety! If you live nearby, maybe you could take your mom to an Alanon meeting? You're shouldering a load between your own recovery and your mom's anxiety.
I learned to accept my RAD 'as is' one day at a time, even when deep in addiction. What we are, where we're at, and what we're doing -- it is our individual truth at that moment. It's just that when it comes to addiction, truth is consistently flexible and ever changing.
I learned to accept my RAD 'as is' one day at a time, even when deep in addiction. What we are, where we're at, and what we're doing -- it is our individual truth at that moment. It's just that when it comes to addiction, truth is consistently flexible and ever changing.
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: central coast, ca
Posts: 1,652
Well driving that far,running out early, and this latest thing all don't sound kosher to me..but you are right..keep working your recovery, get to alanon, eyes on self is a relly good idea!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 457
my ah pain med dosage increased and increased over the years, his behavior changed with it. yet his injury is miner neck pain. I think his tolerance built up and he likes the "feeling great".
the reason I started seeing addiction it was because of his behaviors, his mental state changed, his emotions changed, his whole thinking process changed and he kept needing more and more.
he states he didnt abuse his meds, yet kept needing more and more, driving to the hospital etc etc..
I think some get addicted emotionally/physically.
for me, having had cancer 2 times and had no choice but needed pain meds, I hated the meds (side affects), but will be honest to say I could have easily gotten addicted because I did feel great on them,however then I would crash. so I can understand that for some they dont mind that. for me, it was awful.
just focus on yourself and work on your recovery, go with you gut feeling and let go if her behavior is bothersome to you or your family and interfering with your lives.
the reason I started seeing addiction it was because of his behaviors, his mental state changed, his emotions changed, his whole thinking process changed and he kept needing more and more.
he states he didnt abuse his meds, yet kept needing more and more, driving to the hospital etc etc..
I think some get addicted emotionally/physically.
for me, having had cancer 2 times and had no choice but needed pain meds, I hated the meds (side affects), but will be honest to say I could have easily gotten addicted because I did feel great on them,however then I would crash. so I can understand that for some they dont mind that. for me, it was awful.
just focus on yourself and work on your recovery, go with you gut feeling and let go if her behavior is bothersome to you or your family and interfering with your lives.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: the moon, milky way
Posts: 1,250
I had some major bone surgery years back and was on pain pills for a good while. My body had a dependence upon them yes but I weaned off of them (so as not to get too ill) and never took them for anything other than pain.
I didn't like the side effects of the meds so I wanted to stop them but did it slowly.
The problem with pain meds and pain is that if you let the pain return (not maintain a therapeutic dose as prescribed) then it is harder to manage the pain so you want to take more pills to compensate. It can become a vicious cycle because you then want to feel completetly numb to ANY physical discomfort.
Chronic pain can also create depression or make depression worse. So now on top of physical numbing, you have emotional numbing. It is a slippery slope for some towards addiction if they have serious enough pain but never learn to properly manage it.
I didn't like the side effects of the meds so I wanted to stop them but did it slowly.
The problem with pain meds and pain is that if you let the pain return (not maintain a therapeutic dose as prescribed) then it is harder to manage the pain so you want to take more pills to compensate. It can become a vicious cycle because you then want to feel completetly numb to ANY physical discomfort.
Chronic pain can also create depression or make depression worse. So now on top of physical numbing, you have emotional numbing. It is a slippery slope for some towards addiction if they have serious enough pain but never learn to properly manage it.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 244
Sorry, I responded to soon, I did not read the long explanation, she def has a problem you should be able to go one night without your meds, a hundred miles thats crazy. I hope she comes around, but you take care of yourself and your daughter thats the best you can do.
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