The GREAT debate! Addiction or dependence????

o.k. everyone.  My husband is a doctor and my best friend is a psychologist.  I KNOW I am a recovering addict, but they both say it's 'dependency'.  If any of you have read my posts (I'm the psycho that flushed the 42 1/2 hydros cause I couldn't taper...lol) you would have a pretty clear idea that I am a recovering addict.
But, between my husband and my friend, we have a disagreement on the DIFFERENCE between addiction and dependency.
We are all at different stages of our drug use.  PLEASE give me feedback on what you think the difference between the two is.
Thank you so much.
Kelley

[badsneakers]

hmmm...interesting...hmmm...

I say this...six or a half dozen?  A rose is still a rose, even if you call it by a different name?  

kind of vague?

[kelley43]

yeah, ya gotta give me some ammo here....lol

funny that i'm trying to CONVINCE them i'm a recovering ADDICT.  Life just gets weirder and weirder.
But I am really enjoying the 29 thing.  I love you for that, and my husband says he's enjoying being 40....lol
thanks badsneakers.  happy sleeping

[avisg]

Did you ever abuse your meds in any way .Take them when you didn't have pain ?Take them for the high? Take them when you were having a bad day and wanted to be numb if so that is abuse .I never took more then what I was prescribed for a day.
However I took them to get high and to numb myself when I didn't have pain .It my mind thats abuse  of my meads .
Dependent is more when your are taking them as prescribed and you body becomes dependant on them to function.

[cathy5841]

dependent is someone prescribed meds for a legit reason and takes them as prescribed dont abuse, but the body is dependent from use.

addict is one that  takes akk their meds before time and/or buys off street and takes for the high.

hope that helps.

[GA Guy]

You can be addicted and dependent. But, as long as you're dependent, the addiction argument is moot. Put it this way, a diabetic is dependent on insulin. Is he addicted? Who knows or cares? It's allowing him to live. I believe the problem comes when addiction blows into abuse. An opiate dependent chronic pain sufferer is no different than an insulin dependent diabetic. Find a cure for the pain, the pain patient is no longer dependent, he will then become an addict (in most cases), and then it can be dealt with. The point I'm driving home is that addiction isn't a consequence as long as the person is dependent on the meds to live. Now...abuse is a different category. Abuse can be caused by chasing a high or the medication at a low enough level not to relieve the pain. Alas, that's another debate for another day.

[badsneakers]

however you look at it you become addicted to the meds and dependent on them...

[kelley43]

so, is the word ABUSE the difference between dependent and addicted?

Someone takes meds for pain, but when the pain is gone, they taper off and it's done.
if they ABUSE the meds after the pain is gone, they are now addicted?

Yes, there are alot of gray issues in there, but does that make sense?

[badsneakers]

that makes sense...ABUSE and intention to abuse...that certainly makes me an addict...

[kelley43]

yep, I think my husband and I actually agree.  I'm waiting to have the debate with my friend from Michigan tomorrow, the psychologist.  Who has never had an addiction problem.  I'm gonna let him give me his doctor blah blah, then i'm gonna nail him.  He just found out a week ago that I was going thru detox, he didn't even know I had a problem. (duh, like I would tell).  He and my hubby talked, and when my friend sent me an email, he made a point of saying I was DEPENDENT.  I left him a voice mail earlier today, telling him I wanted to debate the issue.
I'm ready.  These silly doctors think they know everything.....lol

[GA Guy]

This is how it makes sense to me. A person presents with a herniated disc. They have moderate to severe pain and is prescribed Tylenol 3 to help them cope with the pain and still function day to day. It works for a while, but tolerance reaers it's ugly head and they escalate to Darvocet. Next is Hydrocodone and then Oxycodone. Throughout this, they have taken all meds as prescribed and had legit pain issues. But, a funny thing happens. They get a couple of steroidal epidurals and notice the pain goes away. No pain equals no need for the meds. But, they find that they must take them to stave away withdrawal symptoms and to feel normal. They are now addicts and are abusing their medication. Now, many people abuse pain meds even when taking them for legit reasons. Some people take an extra couple on Saturday nights to help them relax and party. Some chew their Oxy instead of ingesting them. They all can have gray areas, but this is how I rationalize it in my head.

[badsneakers]

you keep getting younger...beat his bum with some strong words...which would you consider yourself?

[nurseone]

Dependent on a drug is when a doc gives them to you for a procedure and you take them for long enough that your body rebels when you quit..but you do quit when enough is enough...addiction is when you take them to clean your house or start your day with them and you cant taper......at least in my opinion :)

I think to some people addiction is an uncomfortable word so they would rather say that you are dependent because then it means you dont have anything wrong with you......

That is my opinion as I am having this same conversation with one of my best friends.....

[kelley43]

My husband and I are sitting here together, STILL talking about this issue.  you EXACTLY said what we are saying.
A person starts pain meds for legit pain.  When the pain is better, their body may be dependent, so they taper off, and they are done.
An ADDICT, will not taper, they will realize they like the emotional feeling of the drug and continue.  That is where the abuse starts.
So dependent is more of a physical issue, the addiction is physical AND mental.

Ga Guy, when a patient takes pain meds for a legit reason, then, like you said, maybe gets an epidural and doesn't have pain, they continue to take the meds to keep away the physical withdraws, a DEPENDENT person would talk to their doctor about helping with tapering.  an ADDICT will just continue to seek.
And only because i'm a bit into detail....darvocet is weaker then tylenol 3....sorry.  

[GA Guy]

To some Darvocet is stronger. Tylenol 3's opiate properties comes from codeine. It's converted in the liver to morphine by an enzyme named G6PD (glucose-6-dehydrogenase). Some people have ample amounts of it. Others don't. Depends on the person. I must be deficient in G6PD because I never got any relief from codeine. Nothing at all. So, your absolute statement that Tylenol 3 is stronger than Darvocet is only absolute for some people. I was giving my particular progression through the drug realm above. Darvocet gave me relief where Tylenol 3 did not.

[Tuck24]

Ga Guy.....Very well articulated, I think you hit the nail on the head. To me, Darvocet is much much stronger than Tylenol 3's.

A patient being treated with pain medication can become dependent, but with controlled and appropriate use of the medication, the patient can return to some level of normal living and normal activities. Physical dependence on a drug indicates that sudden stopping of the drug may result in negative consequences.

Addiction is both a biological and psychological condition whereby a person exhibits compulsive behavior to satisfy their craving for pain medication even when there are negative consequences associated with taking the drug. An opioid-dependent pain patient has improved function with the use of the drug while an opioid-addicted patient does not.

[allaboutmary]

I wish I was dependent and not addicted.  My mother became dependent after a long stay in the hospital.  When they stopped the pain medication she came down with a bad flu (withdrawal).  The funny thing is the nurses and doctors didn't put 2 and 2 together. It was her 3 addicted daughters that knew what her flu symptoms were from. She was not mentally addicted , just physically dependant.  I think sometimes it's best not to know. If she knew she could take a pill and the flu would go away, she probably would have. (maybe the nurses and doctors did know)lol.

[10356]

I'm a addict no doubt about it... My husband became dependent.. He was using 1 pain med a day to help with knee pain he was prescribed more but did not feel the need to take more.. after his replacement they had him on heavier drugs he took as prescribed and then started not taking them at scheduled times but when the pain would get to much.. 6 weeks he stopped all drugs as he felt motrin would handle the pain.. We stopped together this time.. My mental was so much worse where he was no big deal except being more emotional.. I'm here on a forum fighting everyday to be clean and he has put them behind him.. I think that is the difference...

[kelley43]

Thank you to all of you that responded.  It seems we all come to the same conclusion, just spoken differently.  
A week ago my husband would not admit I was an addict.  Today, he admits I am a recovering addict.  Although he has been with me through every step of detox, I really needed him to understand the depth.  I couldn't even put it into words to make him 'get it'.  All of your responses have been wonderful.

So many interesting life lessons are coming from this experience of coming off drugs.

But the greatest gift of all is having my husband be so much more aware of the narcotics he prescribes others after surgery, he will pay closer attention to his patients with pain control, he won't ever treat writing  another script for pain meds lightly.

thank you everyone.  One less pill pushing doctor on the streets!!!! lol

[dominosarah]

All i know is that i am a recovering addict.  I abused my meds for my own personal gratification........my brain became dependant on that high feeling.......today i am 251 days clean!!!!         sara

Am glad to see your husband is involved with your recovery and will be more aware of the narcotics that he prescribes.

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

Its all semantics as far as I am concerned........and the thin line is also different for about every patient. Seems to me that by the time you need to ask that question you are already living your answer.

[mtgoat911]

there is a chapter in the na basic text "who is an addict"
you can read this
then look op the definaition of dependent
see how the 2 are different
then present the information to your husband
note that you are not obligated to explain your addiction to anyone
finding people that could relate to me, was indeed theraputic
my family has never really accepted the disease concept
at first they questioned meetings, and the steps
then i started to change, my life kept getting better
perceptions  started to change
my family now understands me a little
but the only people who will ever get where i am coming from are in na meetings
xo

[kelley43]

Congrats on being clean for 251 days!  Awesome!

[j34]

I was dependent on my addiction. I did not know how to live life without. My drugs were my all. I was so friging dependent on any mood altering substance , I mentally and physically became ill without my drugs of choice.  Now off the drugs I am not dependent I am free!