Help for my sister

I hope all of you do not mind my posting but I have found many of your stories very helpful to my situation.  My sister is struggling with her sobriety of alcohol and oxy.  I know she has not been honest with me in her sober living but I don't know what more to do in supporting her.  It's a very long and complicated situation involving our parents and her young son but I have some questions that I feel if I had answers to, might make my approach more effective in helping her.  She has been vomiting almost daily for over a year now.  She has had severe stomach pains that has even forced her to go to the ER once but they found nothing wrong with her.  Aside from some other signs of addiction / withdraw such as depression, deep sleeping and mood changes, I fear the vomiting is a side effect of withdrawal.  I have asked her over and over again about the vomiting and she swears it has nothing to do with her drug use because she wasn't "using" during that time. She said that she has gone to the Doctor about the vomiting and stomach pains and she said that they told her to quite smoking.  I do not think that smoking has anything to do with these symptoms.  My questions are as follows: How long does the vomiting / stomach pains last after stopping the drug?  Because she has been vomiting for so long, do you suspect that she is binging on the drug and or alcohol?  Does the vomiting and stomach pains occur with both oxy and alcohol abuse or is it just the oxy?  Based on these symptoms, is there a possibility of overdose.  If you have any suggestions on what I can do to help her get help, I am open for anything.  She used to attend AA meetings but has not been in a while.  I cannot afford a rehab facility but I fear that she is killing herself.  Thanks to you all for taking the time to read my post and I wish you the best of luck in your sobriety.  

[ali3674]

could she have an eating disorder along with addiction?  She could also have Pancreatitis from prolonged alcohol abuse, but she would need to have her stomach scanned and go to the hospital for that diagnosis.  Throwing up for a year has nothing to do with smoking unless she is that sensitive to cigarettes, which is rare...Now smoking while U are high, can definitely make u vomit.

[worried878]

second post read my mind!
Unless she is shooting heroin or tons of oxy etc//it is unlikely that she would be vomiting to the extent u describe..it is really unlikely that she would vomit at all from most narcotic wd///anxiety can cause stomach upset and is part of wd.....but vomiting for more than a few days//less than a week anyway///would be highly unusualy even wd-ing from heroin

Often people self-medicate by using substances such as alcohol, narcotics or benzos..it is also true that is she binge drinks this could be affecting her stomach lining etc...but u said nuttin was found?
My next door neighbor is anorexic/100 lbs and 5 6"..rarely bullemic but they usually cross over/have noticed laxative issues too///she stays sick///costipated or opposite///vomits on occasion too but not daily//i approsached her with the laxative issue but she denied it//it is like she has a tummy virus all of the time!..she was hosptialized for taking insulin to lose weight and she took too much//she is not a diabetic and took it from a overnight friend of her hubbys who put it in her frig////insulin is measured in units and not Mls and she took 600 units or more by mistake..ended up in the ER/now institutionalized for a while as they think she tried suicide////i do not think so....this disease is almost//or more misunderstood than addiction...i know her well and she has been happy as of late....i do not think it was a suicide attempt...but a solution to eating alot of chocolate cake and not absorb the caloriesl
  Hard to know for sure...but if all physical issues have been ruled out...then  we gotta look deeper

keep me posted