driftapart

A family member of mine goes to this place, gets 120-pill bottles of every narcotic pill you can think of, once a month.

I don't know what to do about confronting them about it. It's affecting their work, their attitude, my family, and well.... Everything, quite frankly.

The excuse is always "I was prescribed these by my doctor."

How do you fight this?

Ann

I don't know how old your family member is, but sadly, there is nothing you can do to stop her. If she couldn't get them there, she'd probably get them somewhere else.

Perhaps talking to her and perhaps offering family support if she was willing to go to rehab (taking care of her childen or looking after things for her while she was gone) may help or at least let her know you care and support any efforts "she' makes for her recovery, but then let go of any expectations of what her answer may be.

What helped me find my balance again after my son began using drugs, was to find meetings and learn how to set boundaries and take good care of myself, and how to encourage without enabling.

I'm sorry you are going through this. It is painful to watch a loved one self-destruct.

Hugs

Schab33

If she is abusing them you may be able to call her doctors office ...but it is very hard to stop that cycle once it begins ...I tried when the doc kept giving my BF scipts despite the fact he was a diagnosed opiate addict and actually this very same doctor had admitted him to rehab...I called him when Patrick overdosed, I called him when he was court ordered to go to detox yet he still gave him scripts ...when Patrick died I filed a complaint with the state and it went all the way to the federal level ..he wasn't fined but it will remain on his record for 10 years ...I do think these doctors are a big part of the problem but it is just very hard to fight the fact that when people are in pain they have an oath to treat them ..I do have a problem with that to be honest because I do think they also have an obligation to listen to family and friends when their is a problem...it's a big battle to fight

mstrust

i think all you can do is voice your concern as you have. i was told the same thing, among many other things, by my now exboyfriend--they're PRESCRIBED. i have just given up the battle for good today. it hurts more than i can possibly explain, but there was absolutely nothing i could do and the pills won every time. i've turned into a wreck trying to fight when i had no hope of ever winning. maybe since this is a family member and not a romantic partner, you will do better than i at coping with it, but nothing i said, no consequence, no evidence of negative effects has been enough. he will never stop unless he WANTS to. by the nature of the medications, people on them become dependent and it becomes hard to separate dependency from addiction. i wish you the best of luck with your situation.

February13

There are some interesting documentaries on youtube about oxycodone prescriptions in Florida pain clinics. I don't think it will give you any solutions to your situation but it's pretty interesting. It's a huge problem and not only in Florida.

zoso77

I do not want to come across as uncaring when I tell you, you don't fight it. You stay out of the way.

If your family member has a problem, then your family member has to seek a solution, and then find support in the form of therapists and programs like NA. You can't make that person do it.

This is tough to swallow, I know. And please don't think I'm uncaring about this. But there's literally nothing you can do. And if you try make this person see things your way, it's not going to turn out the way you want it do.

So, you detach...with love. And then you post here, with us, and read everyones stories about how they dealt with what you're dealing with.

Be safe, and let us know how you're doing.

Best,
ZoSo

cece1960

My non addict son sees a pain clininc due to cronic kidney stones. He's always in some sort of pain and occassionaly in severe pain.

There are reputable pain clinincs out there. In his case they monitor closely and have perscribed a " near narcotic" for times when the pain is unbearable. These pills can not be crushed or dissolved, making them a poor choice for those who want to abuse them. They also drug test regularly.

I can't imagine a clinic shoveling out the amount you have mentioned and not knowing that they're dealing with an addict, or at the very least, an addict in the making.

There are other options out there, but sadly, unless this person is willing, there's not much you can do.

driftapart

BAM!

You nailed it. My family member's previous cocktail (Loritab, Soma, Ambien, and Xanax BARS) kept her stable enough to work and be DECENT to be around. Functioning addict, if you will.

Guess what the doc just added on top of that? Oxycodone.

Now she has been passed out all day and not getting her full 40 hours in for the past month. On the verge of getting fired from a job she has held for 10 years.

I had a talk with her about it last night and she took heed and skipped the Oxy today and worked her full shift and was pleasant to everyone.

But I know those Oxy's will not get flushed down the toilet and I know she will get the script filled next time she goes for her next appointment.

driftapart

She's technically not abusing them. She's taking them as prescribed. Highest MG doses of Loritab, Xanax bars, Ambien, Soma, and now Oxycodone. The Oxy is the straw that broke the camel's back.

I know there's no stopping her from taking her original cocktail, and I'm content with her sticking to that until she decides she has a problem. BUT the Oxy has totally effed her life up in the past month.

I wish I could call the doctor and simply tell him to stop giving her Oxy, because she honestly did not need that added on. She doesn't have a chronic pain problem that the Loritab and Soma alone won't fix.

I don't know what to do.

Sasha4

The most serious difference that I notice between the UK and the states is that here in the UK the oxy's, fentanyls, morphines, long acting and short acting opioids are reserved for terminal patients, usually with cancer who are dying.

THIS IS BECAUSE THEY ARE ADDICTIVE.

However I also know as I an addict myself, I can be very manipulative and put on great acts worthy of an osacr to convince a doctor of my 'agonising pain'.
mt doctor is probably not equipped to deal with this behaviour. He probably mostly deals with honest patients who have legitimate pain.

So I think a lot of this is done to me. I have to take rsponsibility. I have to be honest with myself.
Because the fact is that if that doctor will not prescribe I will find another or use the internet.

Wish you the best xxxx

mstrust

WTF is that doctor's problem???? i just read the list of prescribed meds. holy god. if you don't mind me asking, what is the chronic pain problem that she is dealing with??

driftapart

She has no chronic pain problem. She tells the doctor "her back hurts" and things like that for the pain meds and "she's really stressed out" (because her friend died recently) so the doc bumped her from 1mg Xanax to bars.

She's not formally diagnosed with any type of disorder or illness.

These pain management doctors are drug dealers, really.

I've come to accept her as an addict years ago, but this Oxycodone has really taken it to the next level.

mstrust

i would file a complaint about the doctor. seriously. that is totally ridiculous and i was literally just sitting here with my mouth hanging open. i am angry for you. and bewildered. and i want to punch the doctor in the face. it's her choices, of course, but to have someone so willingly providing all the means to develop and continue a severe addiction???? criminal.

driftapart

Sure is. She's actually referred a few of her friends there to get whatever pills they want. It's not like a deep conversation or anything; you just go in, pay them $100, take a drug test, and tell them what's "wrong" and they hand you the scripts. It's insane!

Idk if I can file a complaint though. It scares me to think what she'd do if all of her pills suddenly stopped. I can picture her going to various lengths to get her fix. She's been on this stuff for years.

I just want the Oxy gone.

mstrust

the rest of it is horrible too... xanax bars?? soma?? lortabs??? even ambien in combination with all that? it's scary. the oxy is like frosting on a pharmaceutical cake. have you talked to her at all about this? just talked to her and voiced your concerns? has anyone??

dollydo

"She's technically not abusing them."

Huh? She is using a large quantity of pills that she does not need..to me, that's abuse, because she has a pill doctor who prescribes drugs she doesn't need, means she is abusing them.

driftapart

Yeah, I talked to her and stressed the fact that she's going to get fired and ruin her life if she doesn't *at least* wait until after 6PM to take that Oxycodone.

So she stopped taking it during the day, for the past 2 days. But she's still taking it at night none-the-less.

I'm just going to have to threaten her that if she doesn't tell the doctor she doesn't need the Oxys anymore, then I'm going to take action. Hopefully that works.

You're totally right. I don't know why I said that.

mstrust

sounds to me like this person is trying to avoid every single normal feeling any person could have by medicating all of them at once. those are pretty much all physically addictive medications and they're all changing who she is. that combination of meds is plain dangerous... i know a woman just like you're describing. my ex was actually given a bottle stuffed full of pills by her--soma, anti-nausea, clonidine, oxy, robaxin, xanax, valium, percocet, codeine--and he also had his own dilaudid and ambien...then went and got some ativan to top it all off. this person falls asleep in her cereal. falls around her house. constantly slurs her words and looks wasted all the time. around her kids, no less.

i guess my short point is i would be worried about more than just the oxy.