Definition of a RELAPSE

[worried878]

I read a couple of posts recently and thought about this...If someone screws up and takes a few pills, or even takes pills for a few days and then quits again quickly, is that a real relapse?  Or is it just a bump in the road?  Is a relapse more like when u go off the deep end again and go "back to the using life" for a period of time...just wondering what the general consensus was on this?

[toxictome]

I was told in AA it's not how much you drink or how often you drink...it's why you drink.

So as a recovering alcoholic...if i drink to be social......that's ok???
                      but .. If i drink to numb my feelings or get drunk...that's not???

I think you could replace DOC in the blank....i guess it really isn't cut and dried...but it's great to keep an open mind and explore all the different views!!

but agian..I say relapse!!!  :D    Put that in ya pipe and smoke it!!  LOL  sorry!

[mr.lucky66]

Some things are not so black and white. I know I was a junkie (dope &rx), so I could never miss a few days with a narcotic script  . If I take something strong and it's not percribed for severe pain and administered by medical people, I'm not doing the right thing weather you call it relapse or not. If I'm clean from narcotics and smoke pot or drink then I'm not doing the right thing for me either and you can call it relapse if you want. Happy Easter.

[worried878]

If you are not trying to quit I do not think you can relapse...if you really are trying to quit and keep doing that...then u r relapsing...if you simply run out of pills and dont take them for a while til u get some more..that is not really quitting...be careful tho...it can catch up with you and u will find yourself getting them somewhere else during the dry spells....keep posting

[The_Sandman]

....I'm taking NORCO again after maybe 8 months...actually I had a script about two months ago, took the whole thing in about 2 weeks.

Then nothing for about 2 months.

Went to see the doctor about something unrelated earlier this week and she asked me if I needed refills and bam.....I asked for more. (I had been prescribed for migraines so there was a legit reason in the beginning- I just overused)

So my take on this: I just don't feel like a relapse.

I actually went two days without and took some this morning. I expect the script will not last 3 weeks.....but I will NOT GO BACK FOR MORE......well, anytime soon that is.

am I an addict still?

am I in relapse?

perhaps.

What LONG TERM implications are there as a result of my recent actions?

ADDICT?

I won't label myself one....but denial may be involved here too.

No answers here - just feedback :)

Sandman

[cathy5841]

eagle, i suspect the answer to your question is  very few.  that is why the RELAPSE rate for addicts in recovery is overwhelming

all,.  whethter you take 1 pill or 1000 if you take them when not medically mandated it is in MHO relapse.  just take the candy coating off and face it.  it will help with your next attempt at recovery.

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

Reality being what it is, I suppose a strict outlook would say relapse.....but having lived  both the addict and clean life - I say "speed bump"  - how many people on this forum quit the first time they tried or thought about it?

[toxictome]

Yes...that means NO oxys.....

, I suspect....If you could do them only once in a while and not every day..you wouldn't be on this forum to begin with

[gorman]

wow good questions, i was wondering the same thing. i'm goin CT and am on dat 5. I was wondering if this means i can never do OCs again. even just once and awhile as long as i don't do them every day

[mr.lucky66]

It's a personal choice as to weather it's a relapse or not. Some people here say they have been mostly clean with a slip or 2 or kicked a habit and still smoke pot and were never really clean. It all depends on whay you can live with because your the only one that really knows. all the best

[newgirl2708]

1. Take a pill to go to the grocery, relapse.
2. Take a pill for broken arm, necessary.

My two cents.

[J_friend]

My take on it is this:  the answer is in the question itself.  I had a relapse last night - I was clean for 18 days and took some pills.  If you have to ask people on a forum if you "slipped", don't you think you already KNOW the answer in your heart.

With that said, it really doesn't matter.  If you fall down, no need to ask others if you really fell ... just pick yourself up and move on.  I don't mean to sound harsh, by the way, but in my opinion, there are MANY poor choices we've already made BEFORE we swallow that first pill again.  For me, the key is to not get to the point where the pill is in my hand ... because if it is in my hand, well, it's going to be swallowed.

[ByeByePills]

We are all here for the same reason.  We LIKE to get high. No relapses, no triggers, no HALT etc., we will all face the decision to use or not.  Plain and simple.  Think about it.  We will use when we are happy, sad, rich, poor, stressed, tired, etc.  It's all the same.  Our brain will use whatever excuse it can to get its precious stuff.  It doesn't care if you lie, steal, cheat, and it will eventually consume you or kill you.  I am not being melodramatic, these are the facts that we face.  It comes down to CHOICE.

[lonote]

I want to clairify my statment back up there.  With the exeptionn script. meds taken as directed. Those aren't slips after surgery and such when necessary. Again, just my opinion.

[lonote]

uk to the term bump in the road?? or the gay people?? Watch what you say out here. You could offend someone. I'm not even gay and was a bit offended. I know you didn't mean anything by it.    Cathy

[hurtinunit]

The hardest part of quitting pain pills is the voice in your head to take a pill and all will be fine.Who doesn't want to relieve pain,physical and mental?Problem is we like em too much.Its a strong voice and doesn't easily go away.My point is everytime we take a pill we turn the volume up on that voice.Some people might remember me,yeah I'm still playing this game.We need to skip the volume knob and turn this thing off,easier said than done-John

[jim811]

one is too much much and a 1000 is never enough...

if you use to get a buzz - relapse
if you use responsibly for a med condition - short while and are in control - no

just my opinion...

nick

[persnick38]

As we became addicts, we became pros at trying to rationalize our behavior to ourselves and to others. If you take one pill or 50 for a legitimate medical reason, that is not relapse - it's like a medical hiatus. Once you stop taking that pill for the prescribed reason (once the pain is tolerable without it) and start down the slippery slope of "what can one hurt?" it is a relapse.
Once you give yourself permission to have only a few or a day off from recovery, you have lost sight of the goal to be clean and that is relapse.

[wait2long]

if taking for a legit reason, as prescribed, i say not a relapse...but this is only my opinion, not fact...

[NautyOne]

I don't like the terms  " bump in the road "  nothing against gay people, but when I went to a male gay bar.....they used that term a lot.........yuck!......lol

[lonote]

Very interesting thoughts ideas about relapse. Nice to be able to agree to disagree. I've not been on for a month or so. The tower to the pewter was screwed up. Okay I had a million viruses from looking up a naughty site. It had been sooo long,,, I forgot what happens to the old computer. Live and learn and a couple hundred bucks. I've missed you guys!!!!   Cathy

[cathy5841]

candycoat it is a good way to put it.  if we go with the idea one is not a relapse, we could theoretically take one every thursday and still not relapse?????  

[GoingToMakeIt]

So did missy relapse? I think not. Did avis relapse, Again no. Pain pills were designed for pain. If I am in an accident, I may well choose to take them, but I will hold out for other options first and I will be careful because I have already proven my addictive nature.

[avisg]

well i had surgery. i have used pills as directed ,should i consider that A relapse .....i don't think sooooooooo

[toxictome]

ok...can't plead any longer...if you take a pill for the result of altering your state of mind...you have relapsed...otherwise...there would be no incentive to stay clean..if you havee to start back at Day 1....it makes you think twice about taking that pill.....

and i know how painful that is...i went from 17 yrs. sober (alcohol) to 2 mos.clean.
i never even took a drink...but took a pill for the purpose of "altering the way i felt".

so i decided to tell people..."I'm 2 mos. clean but i haven't had a drink for 17 yrs"
                                                                                                                     LOL