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Al-Anon is for those who are involved in the life of a alcoholic/addict, like a spouse, sibling, etc. It’s a 12-step program, like AA or NA. These 12-step programs have kept people sober and sane. But this person needs to safely detox first.
you're right they do need to detox
and they also need Al Anon.
every addict of any stripe belongs in Al Anon also.
the person posting has not hit bottom yet.
when they hit bottom, then they may get into a 12-step program and actually do the work
I too started with oxycontin after surgery. But once I stopped with the prescriptions and switched to fentanyl I kept doing more and more to get high. I no longer get high I just get not sick. I put victim in quotes because I realize this is all of my doing. I have been trying to taper down. Weighing out my daily dose and slightly lowering it every 4 or 5 days. At the rate I'm going it will take over a year to kick my habit. Was hoping someone knew of a shortcut
Bravo! I admire your courage and honesty to admit it and deal with it. Not easy....
This probably isn’t the best forum for advice on your difficult journey and challenge.
Are there any forums out there specifically for drug addiction help. Perhaps google and find a good community of users who have had success w fentanyl withdrawal.
You won’t feel so alone and can get specifics and advice you will need.
Good luck!! You can do it !!!
Why do some people smoke? It’s so clearly stupid, yet there we are. I took one drag as a kid and my lungs told me all I needed to know. Drugs never attracted me at all, stoners were the lowest form of life to me. My mother was an alcoholic, so that took care of that. Although red wine at gatherings is something I don’t mind.
Some people seem to have natural protection from addiction - they observe the effects and stay the heck away.
Opioid painkillers have a legitimate use! It doesnt make someone any less of a person just because they use them, GEEZ, its getting ridiculous seeing how these drugs are being demonized today, LOL
Havent we learned this lesson from the days of 'Reefer Madness'? In those days, they were demonizing Marijuana, making the public believe that people who used it were dangerous criminals, who were a major threat to public safety! Of course, today we know why they did this, it was an a covert way to control certain races of people...its the same thing today with opioids folks.
Opioid painkillers have a legitimate use! It doesnt make someone any less of a person just because they use them, GEEZ, its getting ridiculous seeing how these drugs are being demonized today, LOL
Havent we learned this lesson from the days of 'Reefer Madness'? In those days, they were demonizing Marijuana, making the public believe that people who used it were dangerous criminals, who were a major threat to public safety! Of course, today we know why they did this, it was an a covert way to control certain races of people...its the same thing today with opioids folks.
I agree. I support the use of any and all narcotics to relieve suffering. Addiction situations can be monitored by my doctor. I favor a free system with no controls. I also submit that we have become an "addiction culture", where bad character is blamed on this external thing called "addiction", to remove blame and responsibility. Sex addiction, gambling addiction, alcohol addiction, food addiction. It's all BS. It's bad character and weakness, not addiction, except in a very few limited cases.
you're right they do need to detox
and they also need Al Anon.
every addict of any stripe belongs in Al Anon also.
the person posting has not hit bottom yet.
when they hit bottom, then they may get into a 12-step program and actually do the work
12 Step groups are great for people who resonate with the Christian based programs - even though they say your higher power can be anything, the basis of the program is rooted in Christianity and it is very paternalistic.
Haven't we learned this lesson from the days of 'Reefer Madness'? In those days, they were demonizing Marijuana, making the public believe that people who used it were dangerous criminals, who were a major threat to public safety! Of course, today we know why they did this, it was an a covert way to control certain races of people...its the same thing today with opioids folks.
"Reefer Madness" was sensationalism and mostly falsehoods. If you took a puff of a joint you'd supposedly end up a hopeless heroin addict. I suppose that for people with addictive body chemistry it was a "gateway drug" but for the rest of us it was a fun diversion. (No, I no longer inhale- the last thing I need is something that makes me sleepy and gives me junk food cravings.)
Have you followed any journalism in the opioid crisis? The BBC has covered this in depth. WV is running out of foster homes for kids whose parents are addicted. Some of the kids include babies born dependent on opioids. With the crackdown of laws severely limiting availability of opioids, people addicted to them are turning to heroin and other street drugs, which are easier and cheaper to get. This is bad stuff.
I agree that opioids should be available to those who need them (and for conditions where they're indicated) and closely monitored but we did create a massive problem in this country by over-prescribing them in the first place.
no different than alcohol really...some people feel they got to have it some people don't.
If I were limited to opioids for just 72 hours after my last laminectomy I would have suffered horrendously, and probably not healed as fast. I needed them for at least 10 days before I tapered off over a week.
Lots of people I know end up back at the hospital (huge cost) just because the docs didn't give them proper adequate pain control...tylenol seems to be their best choice, and proves over and over to be of little use.
Opioids have been the gold standard of pain control for many years...it's ridiculous that post surgical patients are made to suffer because the doc fears retribution, which is really what it all boils down to when they refuse them for you...only a very small percentage of patients prescribed post surgical opioids go on to become addicts.
Opioids have been the gold standard but until pharma has an incentive to R&D other equally effective non-narcotic means of pain control then we will continue to see the carnage of addictioin.
If the doctor continues to prescribe them well after the patient is healed and no longer likely to be suffering pain, then the doctor is contributing to the addiction crisis.
no different than alcohol really...some people feel they got to have it some people don't.
If I were limited to opioids for just 72 hours after my last laminectomy I would have suffered horrendously, and probably not healed as fast. I needed them for at least 10 days before I tapered off over a week.
Lots of people I know end up back at the hospital (huge cost) just because the docs didn't give them proper adequate pain control...tylenol seems to be their best choice, and proves over and over to be of little use.
Opioids have been the gold standard of pain control for many years...it's ridiculous that post surgical patients are made to suffer because the doc fears retribution, which is really what it all boils down to when they refuse them for you...only a very small percentage of patients prescribed post surgical opioids go on to become addicts.
I think that is typically a guideline for acute conditions- like if a person goes to a hospital with an issue and has never been prescribed an opioid before and is then sent home on their way and told to follow up with their primary care physician. If a person has a spinal fusion or knee replacement, no one honestly expects that the pain will subside in 3 days. A friend’s sister fractured her tibia in 3 places and could not get surgery for over a week, and I am sure that would also be an exception because the problem had not resolved in 30 days, but if she had gotten surgery immediately, there would be no need for her to get a 30-day prescription. Doctors can still use judgment to prescribe, but it has to be documented in detail and extra follow up might be required.
To the other poster- Tylenol 3 contains codeine, which is an opioid. It is a schedule III substance. I think drugs with oxycodone and hydrocodone have been schedule II for a while now.
"Reefer Madness" was sensationalism and mostly falsehoods. If you took a puff of a joint you'd supposedly end up a hopeless heroin addict. I suppose that for people with addictive body chemistry it was a "gateway drug" but for the rest of us it was a fun diversion. (No, I no longer inhale- the last thing I need is something that makes me sleepy and gives me junk food cravings.)
Have you followed any journalism in the opioid crisis? The BBC has covered this in depth. WV is running out of foster homes for kids whose parents are addicted. Some of the kids include babies born dependent on opioids. With the crackdown of laws severely limiting availability of opioids, people addicted to them are turning to heroin and other street drugs, which are easier and cheaper to get. This is bad stuff.
I agree that opioids should be available to those who need them (and for conditions where they're indicated) and closely monitored but we did create a massive problem in this country by over-prescribing them in the first place.
Yes I have followed the opioid crisis, Ive also lived it...I was a heroin addict up until 4 years ago, like many other people, I got started on prescription painkillers, but once the govt cracked down on opioid prescription drugs, those who were addicted, just switched to heroin (which was mysteriously available everywhere and VERY cheap at that time).
You do not have to be rocket scientist to recognize prescription opioids are MUCH safer than street heroin! Street heroin could be cut with just about anything, toxins, poisons, elephant tranquilizer!
As an addict I knew many drug dealers in those days, I heard firsthand from them, what they were seeing, ALOT of heroin being pushed on them and to sell it for half price...this was done to hook all the former pill addicts, of course, the price went back up a month later.
Basically what our Govt did, was to criminalize the 'safer' drug and push addicts to the MUCH more dangerous Heroin, which also boosted the drug cartels profits astronomically.
From what Ive seen and experienced, I truly believe the DEA is in collusion with the drug cartels and its main objective is to ensure the drug cartels have the best marketplace possible and to help grow their profits...That is precisely what the prescription drug laws accomplished, thankfully there are some media outlets that are starting to put 2 and 2 together, and see whats really going on with this.
I also want to say, that Law enforcement, should have NO involvement or say in someones medical treatment!
My family doctors office has a big sign in the lobby now, that reads...'NO OPIOID PRESCRIPTIONS WILL BE GIVEN OUT AT THIS OFFICE FOR ANY REASON'. This is because doctors and hospitals are scared of being accused of giving out 'too many' opioids, based on what law enforcement considers to be too many of course! They fear being raided by the DEA and carted off in handcuffs, having their MDs stripped away!!!
So, when you go to the doctor now, the DEA has a say in what kind of treatment you receive (this is absolute nonsense and must not be tolerated).
For one thing, when I filled out paperwork at my doctors, the section that I can choose to authorize other people to know my treatment details (HIPA), I never authorized the DEA to know what medications I receive, or what I am being treated for. Im not sure the public would like the fact the DEA knows their medical and treatment history and details!
The worst thing, ALL this is not being done over health or safety concerns...its too ensure foreign criminal drug cartels maximize their profits!!! (the American public should NOT tolerate or accept this, its criminal what the DEA has done, they are worse than the 9-11 hijackers imo, because of how many 10s of 1000s of lives that have been taken or destroyed due to these laws!)
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