The pain addiction brings..a past some can not shake off

[worried878]

In February of 08, i stopped hydros after 4 yrs of use...a friend and I stopped together..but in reality she never stopped..I wondered why my wds were worse than hers..then later found out she was on trams the whole time

I just left the ER..went to pick up her up to go to the gym..I did not call first cos I knew she would say no....she went yesterday with me and was a first in months. She is a heavy user and was an alcoholic//fellow nurse and we used to work together...she came from a hard life/she is her own worst enemy and after becoming clean I still do not understand why i remain friends with her/it is a one way friendship/guess cos i know deep down she is a good person..and also the fact she has vitually no one to support her/mentally i mean/nor monetarily...her dad was shot in a bar/her mom died of alcoholism/..

She hurt her back lifting a patient and has not worked since/causing her to get her first taste of narcotics. and being an alcoholic altho clean/sober for yrs///the pills took hold of her..BAD...she is in the midst of packing cos she is losing her house..her x husband has been there/the 2nd x but was gone today when i pulled up///i have not judged her bout him being there..he has been helping her pack and move heavy furniture/no one else was...she lost her kids due to this guy she as the story goes/i only met him a month ago...she was married for 15 yrs/got a dui and went to AA//met this guy/married him and sposedly abuse began including the kids..he left last night as i saw the missed calls on the phone from him today/I was trying to figure out how long she laid there havng seizures...she spoke with her younger dtr at 11 pm
She is very ALONE.. VERY alone..
He called back a bit ago after i called him and cleared things up...I can tell he cares..not sure what the past was but her older dtr had called last night and said "choose" at 10 pm last night..so she sent the 2nd x husband packing and told him she could not choose him..he says the kids never liked leaving their home with their true dad and he was the scape goat..he can not go to the hospital cos her estranged brother is letting her move into a camper trailer in the backyard/and he also hates this person/the 2nd x husband/ as he was good friends with her first x husband...dunno..just worried my friend is going to die

Family dynamics can be very complicated

I knocked on her door and she was yelling/incoherent but wailing..i could not get in as her door and climbed the fence to get to the backyard..stood on the AC unit and i couldnt see her but knew she was on the floor beside the bed cos the dogs were hovering over her.
I knew she and this guy 2 houses over had sumpin recently goin on so walked over for help..didnt know his name..3 guys there..none would help me get in the house//she and I called him carpet dude) cos he has a carpet steamer business//said he did not want to get involved
She is now on the ventilator and no one knows what she took....after she was safely in the ER, her daughter and I returned to her house to figure it out...she has taken 90 trams since 11-19..but she has always taken 10-12 plus a day/90 still left as she was rx-ed 180 a month/always ran out tho.. and then CT-ed when she runs out monthly which i have told her this is dangerous numerous times/but she still had 90 left so tram wd wasnt it...30 ambien since 11-19 and 60 baclofen since 11-19...I have no idea what happened..and she is unable to say as she is now on the ventilator

shook me up....and it was by chance that I even stopped by/I didnt call first cos i knew if i asked her to go to the gym she woulda said no. but i rarely go to someones home without calling...but knew if i showed up she would go to the gym..glad I did..she lives alone and woulda laid there for much longer perhaps..she coulda possibly been on the floor for many hours..I am worried she will not live

was a wake up call..even thos she is my friend she is not honest with me about her drug use..nor is she with her dtr either..so we were at a loss to say what she took..and she has been dwelling on suicide as of late......they think it was an SSRI overdose as she had zoloft...but there were still some left..she is a nurse and often ssris will not kill u only make u a vegetable..ans since they do not make u high i just dont see her taking a whole bunch/ of those/plus if suicide was the point..she woulda took all of them

please pray for her tonite

[dominosarah]

I am also relieved.  Will she be going to some sort of rehab when she is out of ICU?  She is lucky to have you as a friend.......sara

[10356]

I'm relieved she is coming around worried. I agree you are a very good friend...

[Holliee]

I am so sorry for your friend and I hope she gets better an gets the help she needs. Your a wonderful friend and I am glad that the Lord sent you by her house. I will keep you and her in my prayers... keep us posted.. Thanks for all info on SSRI    Hollie

[worried878]

She is better today!  still in 4 point restraint..arms and legs..still moaning and jerking..carpet burns/well sheet burns on her elbows from all of this movement..they say she sleeps/catnaps maybe 5 minutes and starts back up with constant motion...I know she may hurt herself without restraint..she is in icu so visiting is 30 minutes 4 x a day...but she did open her eyes/half way

I was talking to her and she stopped the motion...it looked like it was a tough struggle but she got her eyes open half way...she looked at me and i asked her sumpin..she nodded yes....then i asked he sumpin else and she said "I dont know" not perfect but understandable..then she became agitated and went back off into her continuous motion again...she also responded to the dtr for a 30 seconds or so..and the nurse said she responded to her earlier..it is a good sign

If i was not toally with the program and could not open my eyes..and could not move my arms and legs either..i would be in a panic..even if i was totally conscious i would be..I told her to quit fighting so she could get out of restraint.."Please just be still for a few hours and maybe they will untie ur feet"  dunno..will check on her tomorrow when i get a brak from work

thanx for ur prayers u guys!  It is helping

[dominosarah]

Make sure you let us know how she is when you can.......sara

[worried878]

yes zoloft is a ssri..meaning a drug which boosts seratonin by blocking the re-absorption of seratonin..so it hangs around longer

Prozac and effexor are among the stronger of the ssris..actually prozac is a SNRI..meaning it blocks re-uptake of norepinephrine and seratonin...effexor is a snri..so it blox re-absorption of norepinephrine and seratonin...all of these andtidepressants are involved in increasing seratonin...even wellbutrin which is primarily a dopamine enhancer affects seratonin as well...cymbalta affects NE, Seratonin and Dopamine

, SSRIs
Celexa (citalopram)
Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate)
Luvox (fluvoxamine)
Paxil (paroxetine)
Prozac (fluoxetine)
Zoloft (sertraline)



SNRIs
Cymbalta (duloxetine)
Effexor (venlafaxine)
Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)

MAOIs/these are particularly dangerous but nor often RX-ed unless depression is severe
Nardil (phenelzine)
Parnate (tranylcypromine)

Signs and Symptoms...can be mild to severe..11% mortality rate..usually resolves in 24 hours
-Cognitive effects: mental confusion, hypomania, agitation, headache, coma.
-Autonomic effects: shivering, sweating, fever, hypertension, tachycardia, nausea, diarrhea.
-Somatic effects: myoclonus/clonus, hyperreflexia, tremor. (muscle rigidity and jerking movements) which can appear like seizures but are not seizures.  but seizures can also occur
-Sleep disturbances, itching and hives may also be reported.


There are lots of other stuff that affects seratonin levels...destromethorphan HBR that is in nyquil and many cough suppressants affects seratonin levels
Also, diet pills or any amphetamine...a case was sited where a college student on Effexor and also on phentermine died of Seratonin Syndrome.  MDMA causes an increase as well...narcotics also affects seratonin levels and is why we feel so happy when we r on them/in the beginning I mean/but tramdol/Ultram have a more strong AD quality than most narcotics......it is narcotic like but affects the same receptors narcotics do/and is a weak pain reliever and potentiall addicting..but the AD effect of tram is what usually hooks people as it increases seratonin levels much more than most narcotics...so it is addictive in 2 ways..the AD quality causing bad depression with wd and the narcotic aspect of the drug...Being it is a weak pain reliever...to me i stay away from it..even when I was using..didnt know bout all this when i took it yrs ago..just never liked it cos i got no pain relief

off to see her now...hoping for the best