DevastatedJP

Hi there. As you know, my husband had a round with Heroin a couple of weeks ago after being clean for 10 years. He's not done Heroin in a couple of weeks now but since then, he's been in a car accident and the doctor's are prescribing him Oxycodone and now, Soma. Neither of these prescriptions last more that 3 days and he's getting 30 at a time. What is the deal with Soma? He sleeps all the time and when he's a awake, he's a zombie or nods off sitting straight up. It is scaring me. He didn't work but for a couple of hours last week so between the money he spent buying dope, we are not bouncing back financially because now the money is going to prescribed drugs and he's not working! Has he traded one addiction for another? Is he going to get addicted to Soma? He already has a love for Oxycodone which as I understand it, is pretty close to heroin (or at least it shows up on a **** test as an opiate just like heroin). Does anybody else have experience specifically with Soma? Should I call his doctor and tell him he's a fool for not knowing his drug abuse/addiction history?

Help!! :wtf2

Barbara52

I found this about Soma:

"SOMA (carisoprodol) is approved for the relief of discomfort associated with acute, painful musculoskeletal conditions such as backache. SOMA should be used for short periods (up to two to three weeks). It has not been shown to work when taken for longer periods.

Most common side effects of SOMA include drowsiness, dizziness, and headache.

Since SOMA may cause drowsiness and/or dizziness in some patients, make sure you know how you respond to SOMA before engaging in potentially hazardous tasks, like driving an automobile or operating machinery."

Oxycodone is also a pain killer, often leading to addiction for those with those tendencies.

I do wonder if the doctor knows about you AHs addictions. Whether it is your place to call the doc is a tough one. Technicaly the doc shouldn't talk to you about your AH's treatment without specific permission from you AH due to the privacy laws.

Janitw

(((((((((((((DevistatedJP))))))))))))

I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to prescription drugs but it doesn't sound good to me from the way you are describing what he's doing. But if I were in your shoes I would call the Doctor and speak only with the Doctor and let him know the effects that the meds he prescribed are having on your husband and what its doing to his home life. Then if you want to let the cat out of the bag while you are on the phone then so be it. The Doctor doesn't have to tell you why he prescribed it or anything else but at least he will know how his patients wife feels and more importantly what she's seeing in his patient. Couldn't hurt to try anyway.

fff

My AW used to take those--both with and without alcohol. They mostly just made her pass out.

St_Kurt

Soma is a very bad drug to get addicted to in my experience.

Soma and later Soma mixed with alcohol became my mother's "high of choice" after she "quit drinking". When her disease is active, ambulances are regular visitors to the house each time my father finds her comatose with blue lips. All the ICU's at all the local hospitals know her by name. My father, the king of denial, for years thought that "surely it couldn't be a drug/alcohol problem, she needs those pils for her backpain!" He has recently attended his first Al-Anon meeting after she relapsed despite writing to him a noterized letter "promising never to use again". (Apparently now that he's discovered that even the power of a notary can't overcome her powerlessness over drugs and alcohol, he's trying a different approach. )

In the 36 years I've known her she's been clean/sober about 7 - 8 months combined. She has spent most of my life sleeping/comatose and from watching her struggle with this, I'm not sure why Soma is not a scheduled drug. It is freely available through internet pharmacies and doctors are also fairly unconcerned when prescribing it. They don't need a DEA # to do so. It seems that the health profession is unaware of its addictive potential and will regularly prescribe it to people with professed drug and alcohol problems. Because of its easily availability and relatively low cost, I'd say my mother takes between 30 - 40 pills a day when actively using.

I don't know your husband, but I do know that if he is someone who likes the "oblivian high" of opiates, then Soma is going to be very very very attractive to him.

Also - here is a note about opiate drugs. Opiate drugs are basically all the same drug, just with different potencies and a couple of physiologic differences in regards to what receptor in the brain are being used. That said, you might as well just consider all opiates to be the SAME DRUG in the hands of an abuser.

Oxycodone (percocet or oxycontin) or hydrocodone (vicoden) or butorphenol or any other prescribed opiate do EXACTLY the same thing heroin does; consider it "prescription herion". He has not "traded" on addiction for another - only found a new "dealer" for the same drug he was using before.

I'm not sure it's your job to call your husband's doctor. It is your job to take care of yourself though. I would suggest educating yourself on addiction and seeking out Al-Anon.

I wish you both well,
~SK