I have a bigger pill problem than I thought

[Flutterby111]

I've kicked the percocet problem...but I've got a bigger overall problem that goes hand in hand with it.  I'm addicted to pills period.  Like my husband says, I have a pill remedy for everything.  In my possession right now I have
Fioricet (I was prescribed 30 on Feb 22nd and I still have 24 left....not bad at all :))
Topamax-50 mg in am and pm -have to take them-my migraines have been so much better
Xanax-anti anxiety
Vistarol-anti anxiety
Naltrexone-haven't taken it yet....the pill rememedy for my pill addiction ???  wtf?
Cymbalta-that's a new one-for my depression-still don't know if I need this one, but I'm taking it....
let's see....
Flexeril-take as needed...but more lately.....
I can't think of anymore right now....but I think I need to stop.  obviously I don't want to stop the topamax since my life is much happier without migraines but this is ridiculous...... I'm obsessive.  I'm leaving for a few hours...hopefully I'll come back to some support,advice, a$$ whooping words.  I really know I look for a pill remedy for everything.  I need to quit.  I think even more so since stopping the percs.  almost as a security blanket.... this took alot to be this honest with you all...please help.

[mr.lucky66]

We all want a drug remedy for our drug problem. Methadone for heroin, sub for methadone etc. I have the tendency too to take antiacids and other similar meds too often. Watch the xanax, that an ugly one. all the best

[Flutterby111]

LMAO!!!  Totally no to the oily discharge...but you see what I mean?  I have a purse full of pills for all of my ailments....my neverending ailments.....ugh.  None of them are getting me high.  PRobably would if I took enough-or just knock me out, but it's the point, that I just rely on these effin Rx's.....I got rid of the percs and tripled the rx's!!!!  sucks.  Thanks everyone...I'm going to RE-read it all...My husband actually read this too....he always just sees me IM'ing....makes fun of me....I think he actually saw what this place is about....Goodnight.

[Mawmaw3]

Okay, I never thought I would actually type this and  put out it out there for the world to see, but here goes...I see nothing wrong with smoking weed. I had a good friend who was going out of her mind with worry because her husband smoked a joint once in a while. I guess it distressed her because she is a Christian and maybe she thought it was a sin. I finally asked her "Kim are you upset that Mike smokes pot because you think it is a sin or because it is illegal?" She thought on that for a minute, and finally admitted that it was because it was illegal. I asked her if she thought it made sense that it was illegal for him to smoke something God Himself created, but NOT illegal for him to take a prescribed drug like Oxycontin, which could actually kill him in the end. She again had to admit it made no sense at all. So all you people who might find a little ease from your wd's or whatever by taking a toke, I say burn 'em if you got 'em!! LOL

[opi]

stay way from the oily discharge pills

[flmagi]

Your right Opi, we are raised with pills from birth. And now every other commercial is about pills for what every ails you.  We have even named our cabinets for this...medicine cabinets. Why don't we have vitamin cabinets? or Herb cabinets?
Boy, we really are the RX generation.

[newmanagment]

phlyon, ditch the pills, puff your weed
Man made pills, God made grass..... who do you trust?

[opi]

society is raised on pills from 1 year old up...baby asperin,,,gripe water,,,the list goes on and on as you get older...i was thinking bout that yesterday...anything wrong?....we got pills to fix it....that's just seems wrong to me

[Flutterby111]

Thank you all for your feedback.....
Anjel, I'm all confused about how Ephedrine got in this topic???  Maybe it's all the pot I've smoked lately LOL, no seriously.....

I know what I have to do .....  just gotta change habits, get back to au naturale you know?  get back to my roots, only keep what I NEED...

too many times.....never worry about the tangent.....I do it ALL the time....please feel free...anytime....  mother's little helpers....aren't they just too convenient of a drug?  we can maintain, keep up, provide for the fam, then crash......ugh.  

[confused456]

Mikeinthesouth:
OMG....loved that comment. How true it really is though. Sad, sad, sad!!!

[Firefaery1023]

Don't worry about going on a tangent.  You are doing fine, I didn't feel good after 3 days either.  The fact that you are here and want to be clean says a lot.  It is tough being a mom.  I am lucky, I was addicted to the pain killers while I was pregnant, I dropped myself down to 15mg a day though.  My son is wonderful, but my addiction got worse because I felt I needed to take them to be able to keep up.  That isn't a good thing to feel.  I wish you the best of luck.

[toomanytimes]

i know i am addicted to taking a pill for everything too.  i am starting with the vics and the oxy-i'm on the 3rd day off of them-wish i could say as MsTickles did and that i feel real good too.  I feel very fortunate that i have found a psychiatrist that is also a naturopathic physician.  She is helping soooooo much.  i can feel her genuine concern.   After i'm done with this mess i'm going to start working on the other ones.  I wonder what it feels like to really be me.  i am on adderall also as after i got off meth 4 years ago (after doing that for about a year) i was totally zapped with no motivation, i could not do anything.  it helped me so much till i went and got hooked on percs and vics etc.  i am almost 50 years old and my god i don't want to die like this- i want to live a healthy life for the rest of my days.  i had my children late-they are 9 and 11 now, i wanted to make sure i was "stable" (whatever the **** that is) before i had them. i was clean from everything once for 10 years- it was the best. i got married, went to nursing school and had my children.  Divorced now, although i don't think thats a bad thing, and so so very lucky i have primary custody of my children and he has visitation.  I need to be my best for them, and i thought, at first of course, that the opiates gave me that extra boost to do everything that i needed to do to be a successful single mother. Of course, i was wrong, i've been separated for 3 years and divorced for one and i still have not gone back to take my nursing refresher course to go back to being a nurse.  Addiction keeps us trapped.
I think i just went off on a tangent there..sorry about that but felt good to say it all..  : )

[MsTickles]

Good luck dear... I'm 3 days clean from vics. I feel real good. I've taken floricet for migranes, it's not as serious of a med then some of the others.

If you know you don't have the self control to stop then why don't you have someone close to you hold your meds... That way, when you actually really need something, you will ask. If you don't need it, you may be too imbarrased to ask. Just a little sugestion... Good luck.

[Sael]

Hi! That was a very honest post. Kudos for telling your deepest feelings. I also have a friend who is addicted to pills, any kind, for anything. She refuses to deal with life and has a pill for everything. The side effects of these pills give her an excuse not to have a life.

She is in therapy now but the pills continue. Your story reminded me so much of her. Maybe counseling would help you with this challenge. Sometimes people need counseling to bring forth what is holding them in their particular life situation. I'd definitely recommend it.

If you really want to get off these pills, I would suggest you look at the ones you really don't think you need, and ask your doctor how to taper off them successfully. This is the biggest key to your success. Doing a proper taper is the only good way to come off medication.

You still may need to take some meds. What are the reasons behind the pills? Only you know the true answer to that. Sometimes pills are good and help people have a fully functional life. Is your functioning impaired by the use of these pills? If so, then you should consider the pros and cons of each medication. Taper slowly and do it one pill at a time ONLY.

Some people try to come off all pills at the same time and fail and then wonder why they couldn't do it. It's too much change for your body.

Hang in there and involve your physician with your choices and consider counseling.

Many Blessings

[anjel75]

If that is true, pot is an herb that is grown from God's Earth. I think the things we lack in our diet, we seek at the health food store. It still feeds that "I want to take a pill", thing. Don't get me wrong, herbs are great, BUT we do forget about the Ephedrine things that was showing up in Maou Houng, an herb that imitates it. The problem is, when it is made in a controlled setting it is much safer than what you could get at the herb store. They don't know the amount of Ephedrine that particular herb would have in it. If it was well taken care of, you are looking at twice, maybe 3 times the amount in that one single herb. At least when they were extracting it and putting it in diet pills, you knew the amount you were getting.

So to the poster of the question. I was like this too and they tried to label me bipolar. I kept saying that there was no way since I was just manic and was never depressed. Oh, I cried, but that was in the middle of mania. Got new insurance, got another doc and he got to the root of what has been wrong all along. I have ADHD well controlled with Adderall.

[Shotrock]

Lose the pills, stick with the Erb. LOL

[wait2long]

i am on cymbalta, works pretty good, it helps with pain also...but mary is sooo right...a 1/2 hour walk would do more for you than the cymbalta, it is a fact...but its so hard when your depressed to make yourself do it...
i am going to go back to my walking routine as soon as the snow has cleared enough to find the sidewalks...LOL!
but some of the meds may be medically necessary for you...the xanax and vistorel - do you take them on a regular basis?  if so, plan on a long taper with them hun, dont ever go cold turkey off a benzo (is vistorel a benzo?) it can be dangerous.
if you are taking these meds to change the way you would normaly feel (other than the cymbalta that is a medically necessary drug IMO) then yes hun, its time to unload them..but 1 at a time, and gradually.
as far as pot goes, your talking to someone who thinks pot is harmless, i dont smoke anymore but i used to everyday, and had no problems stopping, its not addictive and not dangerous (other than the way it can harm your lungs), so i dont see a problem with it, but if you do think its an issue, then you should stop smoking that too.
the first one i would get rid of is the fiorcet, you dont take it often, but it is addictive, it has a barbituate in it and could be a problem.
good luck hun...you have done great IMO!!!

[Mawmaw3]

You know, when I started posting here a few weeks ago, my posts were about my formerly oxy-addicted daughter. I think I even said in one post that I have never been addicted to anything, but Flutterby, your post triggered a memory in me, and maybe I WAS addicted to otc drugs. At the barest hint of a headache, aching legs or back, I would pop a Tylenol or 2, when I was gassy (sorry, but it happens to everyone...LOL) I would pop a couple Gas-X pills, when I had heartburn I would run for the Tagamet or Pepcid, when my allergies bothered me I would get out the nasal spray or Benedril (I KNOW that isn't spelled right), and when I felt nauseated I would seek out the Pepto or even take a prescription  promethazine pill, prescribed when hubby had a stomach bug.

Then 4 years ago, after I had suffered for more than 20 years with an undiagnosed stomach ailment, I asked my doc to perform a test on me for h.Pylori. He didn't want to do it, as it is an expensive test, and the triple-antibiotic treatment VERY expensive, he didn't think it was causing my illness, and I had no insurance. I told him to let ME worry about the expense, and just do the test. Sure enough, I tested positive and started the antibiotic regimen. Today, I am happy, healthy, and I haven't touched otc or prescription drugs since my 'cure' 4 years ago.

What I HAVE done is research to find homeopathic and herbal remedies for whatever ails me. Someone here posted about soap under the sheets as relief from rls...it works for me (Lever 2000 soap). When I have a sore throat...a gargle of cayenne pepper, honey and water. A headache? Sniffing the fumes of vinegar and water as it boils. A nagging cough at night? Vicks Vaporub smeared on the bottoms of my feet, socks...a restful nights sleep. I am 55 and in the midst of menopause, so I have suffered some wicked hot flashes. Wild Yam root capsules from the health food store...cool as a cucumber.

Anyways... I guess my point is that there ARE alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs when it comes to treating what ails us. It could be that some of the relief I find in natural and herbal remedies is purely placebo. But I want to quote something from a book called the Apocrypha, a book that holds some of the non-canonized (not included in the Bible) books. "The Lord has created medicines out of the earth, And a sensible man will not refuse them". Today, I trust the Lord  instead of flesh people, and I had rather search out what He has created for medicines than stuff cooked up in a lab by humans. I believe even the existance of a board such as this bears the truth that man DOES NOT have the best interests of his fellowman at heart when he creates drugs that destroy so many lives.

I pray everyone here will find their individual path out of addiction. It's difficult to read what you all have gone through and continue to go through, because you give me a much clearer picture of what my own daughter suffered, and in some ways, continues to suffer (I had no idea there was anything called PAWS, until I read about it here. Now I know why there are times when she is deeply depressed or overly emotional, even 2 years clean). I also pray all of you will keep doing what you are doing to escape the grip that drugs have had on you...and your families.

mawmaw3

[Mikeinthesouth]

Yeah the docs like them lil pads they scribble on. What you got a headache I have something for it oh you don't feel like moving I gotta pill for that how ur sex life what u slowed down and ur not sexin all day I gotta pill for that ooohhh you think you take to many pills here take this pill itll help you stop feelin that too. Feelings are not normal you should not feel anything you'd have to be human to feel feelings. like we need to do that in the year were in that is so primative to feel things. LOL

[candy74]

Maybe you could start by trying to eliminate one @ a time...especially the ones you're not sure you really need. You may find you don't need all those meds. I'd stay w/the topomax though if its working for you.

[allaboutmary]

You are not alone in this.  I think many of us addicts look to those pill bottles for quick fixes.  It's part of our addictive behavior.  Some doctors don't help this and are quick to whip out the perscription pad.  
Interesting fact I read.........a half hour walk helps reduce depression as much as an antidepressant.  
Don't get me wrong, I am not against taking anti-depressants.  I've had to take them myself and they made a world of difference in my mother. I just think we should try a few other things before taking a pill.  
I also don't always practice what I preach. LOL  (so please tell me to get off this forum and go for a walk)  
Now that you have admitted this , you will think twice about running for the pill bottle.
Hugs   Mary

[Firefaery1023]

Yeah, you are still getting high off of something.  You should watch all of the things that you are taking.

[Mikeinthesouth]

get addicted to vitamins those are pills.

[Flutterby111]

and I should add I've been smoking pot for the past few day and I've felt GREAT!!!!!  The best and more normal I've felt the whole time I've kicked the percs.  I've felt so medicated with these anti depressants and topamax, the weed actually made me feel normal, cleaner, I felt my sex drive returning, hungrier (which WILL be a problem if I continue)....but I don't want to be a daily smoker...I've been a pothead for 15 years, except while pregnant...and I just don't want to do it regularly....I like it...but it makes me dumb, and fat. LOL.... but I've been craving a buzz....most of you know....and I found one....  that's truth.

[Firefaery1023]

I would try the Cymbalta if I was u for a little while.  A friend of mine is on that and she had some severe depression that she didn't get out of bed somedays.  It takes awhile to kick in like SSRI's, I don't know a lot about the other medications, but it does sound like you are taking way too much.  Someone will advice you on the other medications.