Mental addiction to opiates

[jennifer]

Hello, I am a 31 year old wife and mother to four.  I started taking vicoden almost two years ago after oral surgery, and felt after years of feeling worthless that I finally found something that made me feel good.  After about a year and a half of taking 7 vicoden es a day i realised i had a problem, no longer did they just make my problems seem not so bad, it also made me very lazy and sick.  Just as I was trying to seek help, through a phycatrist (?) who told me to get another script to wean off of them, and then perscribed me several other drugs for depression and anxiety, I got in trouble with the law for adding refills to many scrits.  At that point i knew i needed to get my life back, if not for me, for my children.  I went to drug counseling, and lied to her that i had stopped taking meds, and was lying to myself also.  I stopped seeing her and continued to get my meds, by visiting diff dentists, er's, doc's.  My whole life was centered on how I was gonna get more pills.  All the while my life was falling apart, I addmitted to everyone close in my life of my problem.  but unless you live with addiction, i don't think anyone can totally understand.  I have gone through withdrawl from these meds many times on my own, cold turkey, I got so sick from withdrawl all those times, you would think that would be enough to stop, but no.  When i couldn't get my pills, i turn to alcohol.  My husband suffers from kidney stones and last night he went to the er and was perscribed percocet.  When he got home, all i wanted was a pill.....and he refused, i got so made, went into a rage, said really hurtfull things to him, and my rage continued into this morning.  He finally gave in and gave me a pill, but he is so......  mad at me, and i am so mad at myself.  why can't i have control???  i've been off of the pills for weeks now, but just to have them in the house drives me batty.  How will i ever be able to control that urge??  will it ever end or will i end up killing myself and destroying my family all cause of my addictions??  Will this mental addiction ever go away??
Sorry to make this so long, but after reading posts here, i don't see much about the mental addiction after the withdrawl is over. Now i feel i've developed an alcohol problem on top of the pills, will i ever get my life back??

[BillyBazool]

Terri,  
  After 2 pain/drug programs I finally tried Neuraad ( they have a web site:www.neuraad.com) and I have to say I am clean and sober.  I was taking Tylenol#4 and fiorinal for almost 25 yeaars for migraines and it got out of hand. I began to take pills almost like wine or scotch after work, during work and before work.  I WAS TAKING 100 PILLS PER MONTH!!
I feel great and had only several days of abdominal cramps, sleep disturbances, dull low grade headaches, weakness and feeling tired. But now I feel like my old (pre-drug) self.
Look over the web site and see if this is for you.  Good Luck.

[dave]

terri:

i went through th a rapid detox. in jan of 99' at a local hosp.
in Chicago. at a cost of 6000.00. i felt terrible for approx a week.(i.e. weak, cramps, ect.) unfortunely i relapsed a couple
of months later and i'm back where i started! I keep saying to myself...why did I go back to that doctor? (oxycondone, long acting and short(oxyir."same as percodan").

i have made numerous attempts to reach out for some help from my community to no avail! I am a white male professional in a very senisitive job and must have complete confidentiality! however this,i find hard why i'm on the net today trying to find some help.    good luck to you....i'll need it because  its really starting to hurt my wife and children too!!

anyone have any advice?

[dave]

terri:

i went through th a rapid detox. in jan of 99' at a local hosp.
in Chicago. at a cost of 6000.00. i felt terrible for approx a week.(i.e. weak, cramps, ect.) unfortunely i relapsed a couple
of months later and i'm back where i started! I keep saying to myself...why did I go back to that doctor? (oxycondone, long acting and short(oxyir."same as percodan").

i have made numerous attempts to reach out for some help from my community to no avail! I am a white male professional in a very senisitive job and must have complete confidentiality! however this,i find hard why i'm on the net today trying to find some help.    good luck to you....i'll need it because  its really starting to hurt my wife and children too!!

anyone have any advice?

[Kathy]

Teri,
I am not the Doc here, and he does  a wonderful job from what I can see in these pages, but what type of Opiod detox are you on?...you didn't say your drug, unles I missed it of choice, yes I am very active in the opiate withdrawl program if it is the same you are inquiring about. Not me personally that has not been my drug of choices over the years, but so many I help and support and stand by, and listen to, Maybe I can give some help, maybe not,......be alittle more specific, unles the Doc jumps in, as I said before is work is damn good on this, and at first 2 nights ago, I didn't think so, ( my first time on site) so  you are in a real good place in life with questions to get good answers,from here, by Dr Steve ( mine are more personal hand on hand) his are more professional, I will give my advice if you choose to list which ones, and if "doc" jumps in....bless his heart and yours........your for reaching out,and him for having the avaiblities to be able to aloow us to ask these questions, and then for him to send us on our way....
Wish you luck,
KAthyH

[teri]

I AM LOOKING FOR ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN THROUGH THE RAPID OPIOID DETOX PROGRAM??WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE, WOULD YOUR RECOMMED IT TO OTHERS.  WHAT WAS THE DOWNSIDE AND WHAT WAS THE UPSIDE.  ALSO DID YOU HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THE DRUG NALTREXONE TO KEEP YOU CLEAN AFTER YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH DETOX.  PLEASE SEND INFORMATION IF YOU CAN.  ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRCIATED.

[katy]

I was prescribed vicoden after knee surgery over a year ago. I recently went to a doctor for help.  He has prescribed 8  60 mg tablets of morphine a day to help me.  This seems like a lot to me.  

Any advise or has anyone else taken morphine to get off of vicoden?

***@****

[bob]

There is a 12 step program that will address this issue. Look in the phone book....find Narcotics Anonymous. Call....find a meeting....sit in the back and listen....if you don't hear your story then you're not listening. You are not unique. There are thousands of us that can and do recover from this dibilitating mental process.

Good Luck!!

Bob C.
Vancouver, WA