CC1954

I have one sister and two years ago she lost her left leg due to a knee replacement gone bad! She is using Oxy-Codine daily. I have confronted her once before and felt I had gotten thru to her but she continues to use. Her leg loss is still new and fresh, I get that, but I tried to make her see that using Oxy for escape purposes only adds fuel to the fire. The past few times I've been to her home her hair is dirty and smells and she is unkept. She is a beautiful woman and always took pride in her appearance. Is this a symptom of her addiction. I've been reading and most of the folks on here say that only if they are crushing and snorting they are addicted, is this true? Please help me in some way to getting it across to her she is only harming herself continuing to use. She is NOT in pain. I know that. Her husband has even commented on her use but he ignores it as she just gets pissy and says it helps her cope! What do we do???? HELP!

Butterfly74

Hi,
Opiates were our evil demon too.
60 days clean!

We never snorted nor crushed pills ...and we were full blown addicts. My husband and I were up to $100 a day habit. (roughly 100 mg each per day)

We decided to quit together and leaned on each other through the worst of it. The withdrawls are horrible. Physical and mental. Your sister probably feels terrible when the drug depletes from her system so she takes more.
The muscle cramps and aches during withdrawl were unbearable at times...and extreme fatigue.
She probably lashes out when you bring it up because she doesn't want to admit there is a problem. I know I did.
Good Luck and I hope you find support here!

MIRecovery

See if you can get her to see a professional. There has to be a lot of grief and loss she is experiencing and she is self medicating to ease the emotional pain but in the process is becoming an addict

Who ever said that snorting them ..... is completely full of crap. You could be addicted by putting them where the sun don't shine. It certainly sounds like there is a problem from what you discribed but depression could explain a lot of it.

If she is not in pain she had no business taking Oxy daily. The question is where is she getting them from? Can you talk to her doctor? I will tell you this. If you are responsible for taking away her supply she is going to be one very angry woman so be prepared.

Unfortunately there is likely nothing you can do to make her change but you and her husband should have a heart to heart. I would try Alanon or the NA equivalent. They will be able to give you solid advice

Anna

I hope that your sister decides to stop using the drugs.

Have you considered NarAnon as a support for yourself? There is not much you can do to convince your sister to change.

Taking5

You can be addicted regardless of how you ingest it - orally, snorting, smoking or injecting.

Dee74

Hi and welcome CC1954
I'm sorry for your situation but, as you've seen, there's a lot of support here

I hope you'll also check out our Family and Friends forum too
Friends and Family of Substance Abusers - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

D