Prescription Pain Killers Addiction
Posted on March 8, 2010
Filed Under Family |
There was a time when my Mother was completely free of pain killers. She was the most vibrant and powerful woman I have ever known. She was active and excited about life and was the first to suggest activity. Then one year all of that changed. My Mother had a severe back problem and TMJ and had surgery to correct them both. For a short time, everything seemed okay. Then one day her back began to hurt badly and the doctors could not find the cause. Pain pills were prescribed for the pain in the form of OxyContin. That is how the addiction began….
When the pain began after her surgery, the doctors tried a number of different things to figure out what was going on. With no luck, the doctors simply continued to prescribe the pain pills, and I watched my Mother become addicted. In the beginning it was hard to notice. Mom was still active to a degree, but much slower and careful. Over time, my Mother became almost a recluse in her own home. She was having to take more and more of the pills to numb the pain and the doctors kept giving them to her.
During this time, I found out later that my Mother was getting pills from friends as well. My Father and I had no idea this was happening and so assumed that she was taking the pills as prescribed. By the time we figured out that she was not, it was too late to fix the situation. My Mother began to take the pills in secret and we had no idea that it was so serious.
One night my wife and I was sitting in our apartment watching television and a friend from work came knocking at the door. They said that something had happened with my Mother and that we should get there immediately. We rushed over there unable to get anyone on the phone and there were people everywhere. My Father was out of town on business.
As I climbed the steps I felt a chill on the air and I knew what had happened. Something in my gut told me that she was gone. Sure enough, my Mother had accidentally woke up in the middle of the night and taken her pills twice in her confusion. My Mother was dead at 56 years old due to OxyContin poisoning. She was my everything in life and was loved by so many people.
Looking back on those days, we all knew she had a problem. We made the mistake of not stepping in and trying to solve the problem. We did not push the envelope hard enough. We did not take the uncomfortable steps necessary to show her the addiction. People think they are completely oblivious to death until it sneaks in and takes them. I saw my Mother as Superwoman.
Addiction and pain pills go hand in hand. My Mother was no drug addict. She was a good woman that got sick. The pain was so powerful that she used the only tool that would make it stop. She paid for it with her life.
If you know someone that is suffering with pain pill addiction, or any addiction for that matter, take the time to help. You can only do so much, but I certainly wish I would have pushed a little harder on those times where we tried to step in. There is nothing I would not do to bring her back to me.
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3 Responses to “Prescription Pain Killers Addiction”
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Really dangerous thing:
they mix highly addictive opioid drugs with paracetamol to prevent people from taking them excessively.
However, an addict will take risks to get their high & escape the comedown, opiates are habit forming & build tolerance fast.
Hence, the drug is mixed with poison, a fatal trap worse than addiction, which addiction may over ride. Mixing an addictive drug with a poison to moderate its use is a stupid idea, it doesn’t solve or mitigate the addiction issues.
Selling these drugs is highly profitable, it’s a pharmaceutical trap. Myself I’d just handle the pain, or if necessary use acupuncture to switch off the offending screaming nerves.
BTW this is a terrible story. My condolences.
This story hit close to home I have struggled with addiction for 15 years.I am in recovery I have been sober for 9 months by the grace of God I have lost family&friends I lost everything to my addiction.The Doctor’s are the one’s that get people addicted.my Doctor also gave me Oxcycontin and thats how I became addicted but by the grace of God I am clean and sober.