How Do I Get My Wife Off Drugs?

Posts Tagged ‘Prescription’

I’ve been using Vicodins at night because I’m nursing an injury, and last night the dreams were bizarre.

One was that my wife was seeing someone else, per an agreement we made to “open” the marriage,” and he and his whole extended family moved into the house, moving beds around and such, and, while I was larger than this guy and felt that I could easily “take him,” I felt powerless to enact any change.

The second was an old girlfriend was in on a meeting with a former female boss and I, and the boss was very aggressive sexually while the old girlfriend was crying. I had to leave on a business call, but when I got back, the old girlfriend was beside herself and felt “raped,” and, again, I was powerless to help. The old boss was very cold, saying to her that going to authorities would cost this former girlfriend her job. I felt really sorry for her.

The third was, at the last second, a student for a university I work for asked me to give an impromptu speech at an awards dinner, introducing her and others. But midway through the speech, I started feeling ill and fumbling names, and had to excuse myself. When I got back, the speeches were over and my coworkers were telling me how unprofessional I was and how my performance could be “career-threatening.” Again, my attitude was that I didn’t have the inner strength to fight back.

Now, in real life, I’m a bulldog, but perhaps the injury and the Vikes and my crazy work schedule are taking their toll?

hi i just want a little information on a pharmacy technician that questions me anytime i want to get my klopopin filled or a pain killer for my arthritits. last night i went to the pharmacy and he was just leaving and of course i got stuck with him i asked for my prescription and my doctor faxed it over and he said she cannot fax over a script for a controlled substance i think he was being a dick head my self but i am a house wife and a mother and the last thing i want to be pinned as is an addict. when i take meds for certain reasons. i don’t think it is anybody’s business. i usually go to stop and shop pharmacy which i do but this particular doctor i am seeing for the first time. and i should of let her known. anyhow the supervisor was on vacation go figure but rest assure his ass is getting repremanded i am going to send a certified letter to the pharmacist which is the supervisor. please give me some input on this.

My husband was in an accident a year and a half ago and since then he has been taking percocet and oxycontin. He gets them prescribed from the doctor but goes through them in less then a month and ends up getting more from friends. I try telling him that I notice he acts different but he keep blaming it on the accident, saying that he didn’t ask to get into an accident and that it wasn’t his fault he got into one. When he doesn’t have them he can’t sleep at night because his body aches and he throws up constantly. Im not sure what to do, our close friends notice the change also. I don’t work and we have three small children, im not sure what to say without sounding like a nagging wife. I need help.

PARENTING PARENTS
As Mary grew up, her parents had a happy marriage, and both held down well-paying jobs. Both parents suffered from alcoholism and smoked, but in most other ways, they were good parents. They always attended school functions and generally provided for a sound education, her good health, and her happiness. In high school, Mary dealt with some anxiety about her parents’ health by attending Al-Anon meetings to help her understand their addiction. She was comforted by her parents’ ability to continue functioning well despite their addiction, and Al-Anon’s suggestions for dealing with their choices.

After Mary left for college, however, she noticed changes in her parents. When she came home winter break from college, she noticed that her parents had new prescriptions for strong narcotic pain medication for “back pain,” which they had never suffered from before. They now used the medication as an additional intoxicant with their alcohol, and often in excess of the recommended dosage, clearly in violation of the warning labels. Mary felt as though her parents were abusing the drugs, and brought this up with them. They replied that there was nothing wrong with the medication, that it was legally prescribed, and that they had no intention of quitting use of the drug.

Over time, she noticed that their prescriptions increased in quantity and potency, and she became increasingly concerned. During summer vacation, she noticed that they would take the medication first thing in the morning, and continue taking it all day long. One morning, her mother forgot to take the medication and was sick by lunchtime. Mary felt certain that this was a side effect of strong addiction, and that something had to be done.

Mary was worried about how her possible actions might affect her relationship with her parents. She was concerned about the effects on her older brother, his wife, and two children. She knew that her parents were active in the community and at church, and she didn’t want to damage their reputations. She also wondered whether her parents’ doctor would even discuss their health with her given current privacy laws and doctor-patient privilege. Additionally, Mary was concerned that, if her parents lost a legal source for the medication, given the addiction she suspected they suffered from, they might seek similar drugs on the street which would be more costly and much more dangerous.

What should Mary do about her parents’ apparent abuse of and addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol?

I have been lving with an alcoholic & prescription drug user. She is also severly depressed. She has always has to “rescue” others in her life, but she wont rescue her own. She is a very intelligent person, but I can’t live with this any more. We have so many issues between us, home (moving), intimacy, job issues, children. It has been so overwhelming. I caught her in several lies today and totally denied them all. I want and have tried to help, but I can’t rescue her. She has to rescue herself from this addiction. She never follows through with suggestions, always begs me to not leave, yet is trying to “fix”me. We have to move and I dont know if I want to move with her. She keeps telling me that she is worth it, but this has gone on since we got married 9 months ago. I want her to get the help that she needs. My ex wife does not know about this issue and I’m afraid of losing my kids/ I have threatened to leave but havent. She said if we seperate to work on us, we’re done
I did not know that she was like this when we got married. She blames wanting to rescue people since she supposeldy had a tramatic experience when she was young. We knew each other on and off for years before we got together. She has never drank in front of the children when they are here, but now my youngest is living here with us temporarily because of issues at his mom’s home. He doesnt understand because of his disabilities, just when she is “sleeping”. When she is sober, she is wonderful with them.
I do belong to alanon, and they have helped me to understand that I didnt cause it, I cant cure it and that I cant control it. I wouldnt have made it this far without them. I do love her, but I cant live with this.

My wife and I are arguing about whether or not insurance companies will refuse to cover drugs administered in a doctor’s office if you do not have prescription coverage. She says that prescriptions and drugs given by a doctor (e.g. anesthetics, steroids, etc.) are two separate things and insurance companies could not refuse to cover the latter based on lack of coverage for the former. I say that insurance companies will do anything to make a buck even if it defies rational explanation. Does anyone know which of us is correct?

My wife is also able to get her medications through, Public Health Serices- Indian Health Services

She has trouble walking up stairs, getting up from a chair, and getting started walking after standing up.
I first noticed her problem 2.5 yrs. ago. She practically had to crawl upstairs. The 18 mos. ago she broke her rt. shoulder requiring metal socket replacement operation. Her strength and balance got worse. She stopped phy. therapy because it hurt. The she was diagnosed with diabetes 2. All of this has piled on 12 prescription pills known by our family doctor. Can a WebMD medical specialist help us, please?
Here’s the drugs she’s taking: Lotrel, Toprol, Farosemide, Aromasin, Starlix, Temazepan, Lexapro, Fosamax, Allopurinol, Levothyroxine, Baby Asprin, Neurotin

My wife has overdosed and abused prescription medication multiple times. Our 14 month old baby boy isn’t safe at home with her. How do I protect him legally from her???

I did not know this until a few minutes ago.

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu.NMpLxH9yMBoT1XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE4a3I0cDE3BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0RGUjVfNzcEbANXUzE-/SIG=13frkfru2/EXP=1203631564/**http%3a//www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3295472.ece

I am taking trazodone and strattera (spelling?), the first one is for depression and the second one is for ADHD, but my wife and I are thinking of having a child. Could it cause any kinds of birth defects with the baby if I were to get my wife pregnant while I am on these drugs or should I see about not taking them for awhile?

i am 65 and have no coverage except medicare,she has no ins

My wife stopped taking a multitude of prescription drugs cold turkey 2 weeks ago as advised by her doctor. She was taking xanax, fiorocet, and effexor (not positive) on a daily basis along with god knows what else. I found a box slam full of pill bottles so who knows what she was taking and she’s too wacked out to even know now. I had a sort of intervention where i kicked her out and sent her to her parents until she could get her act together. She had gotten to the point where she was slurring her speech in broad daylight but was still 99% there. Well after quitting she spent 3 days vomiting. Then insomnia set in. It’s been 2 weeks and now she is having severe hallucinations, talking really fast, sleeping maybe 2 hours a day, having sleep walking episodes and conversations out loud in her sleep when she does sleep. She is completely disconnected from reality. She confuses things she saw on tv with actual life. I had to spend 5 minutes convincing her I knew nothing about some “party dog” i later found out is something from desperate housewives. Her parents took her to a sleep study and they sent her to the emergency room! (of course the ER said they couldnt help) Now she is at Life Management center where she will be going under a psychiatric evaluation. My question is: Has anyone ever witnessed people act completely and uterly looney bin crazy after stopping drugs? I’m hoping this is something that will wear off after the drugs have purged but it’s so bad I’m starting to worry that I might be a single dad soon.
Thanks for your answers I feel a little better already. To answer some of your speculations: yes, she took zolpidem regularly (ambien right?) and also zanaflex. and no she is not overweight. In fact, she has lost about 40 ounds in the last 6 months and is scary skinny. I busted her with 1000 xanax bars and 100s of fiorocet that she ordered from china. Thats why i gave her the boot. Her doctor is not very respected in the medical community and is known for turning his patients into junkies. She originally went to him for chronic migraines and a few years later was prescribed a multitude of anti-depressants, muscle relaxers, etc. Seemed odd to me that he would suggest cold turkey when everything i read about these drugs warns otherwise.

She will not seek counseling and is putting her children in danger by having undesirable characters at her house.

Prescription drug abuse, which I term medical drug addiction, like all addictions including alcoholism, (addiction to ethyl alcohol), though more widely recognized nowadays, is still not widely understood. And of course, combining the abuse of prescription drugs, (obtained legally or not), with “street drugs”, maybe adding alcohol to the mix, though highly dangerous is commonplace too. My substance abuse Professor, James Crossen Ph/D, coined the generic term “Drugoholism” to cover all Chemical Dependency Issues, because though they have surface differences, most of the underlying downward spiraling progression process, towards ultimate destruction and death, is the same. Poly-substance Abuse is the technical term.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, nearly 7 million Americans are abusing prescription drugs, more than the numbers who are abusing cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and ecstasy combined. The DEA says the number of painkiller addicts has nearly doubled from 2000, when 3.8 million Americans were hooked, Prescription and illegal drug overdose is the second leading cause of accidental death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. “Nearly all poisoning deaths in the United States are attributed to drugs,” according to the CDC, “and most drug poisonings result from the abuse of prescription and illegal drugs.” Prescription drug overdoses now kill more people than homicide.

How do we reconcile these facts with the continued over-prescription of these drugs, and the continuing high profile celebrity deaths, only the more visible tip of this massive iceberg? Compare the two following statements. “He was rocketed to stardom, but unable to handle the pressures of money and fame, he turned to drugs.” Or, “His career was going downhill, and unable to handle the pain of failure, he turned to drugs.” As a young man stated on the phone to me as a “hotline” counselor, “I only drink when I have problems.” I replied, “It seems to me that life is full of problems, so that means you will always be drinking!” Appalled silence on the other end, then a small voice, “I never thought about it like that.” Really!!

Similarly, “He is drinking because his wife died.” What about the majority whose wives have died, who are not? Mistaking effects for causes, and vice-versa, in the self-feeding reciprocating cycles of Drugoholism, is usual rather than an exception. “Often what happens is someone experiences discomfort, anxiety, or pain. They start being treated with medicine, and need more,” said Dr. Steven Juergens, an assistant clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Washington and a private addiction specialist in Bellevue, Washington. “They feel better when using the medication and often feel like “they need it,””  “I’m not an addict, I never took a drug to get high,” maintained Michael Jackson. Dr. Paul, another Psychiatrist, reports in his hilarious history of personal Drugoholism, titled “Doctor, Addict, Alcoholic,” “I never took a pill I didn’t have the symptom for.” From the book, “Alcoholics Anonymous.” Anyone who is in the position of refuting that they have a problem usually has one. By the time any question comes up, some kind of difficulty has usually begun. When was the last time your Sunday Church going, one sherry at Christmas Great Aunt Maude, had to disprove ideas she has might have a problem?

What is missing in most media reportage on celebrity addiction is that THE PERSON is the addict, and more specifically, the person’s choices have become dominated by addictive thinking. All chosen behavior is the result of thinking, so addiction is in the addict’s head, not in the pill or bottle in their hand. Recently I read on the web another hypnotherapist’s statement, “After twenty five years of practice, my observation is that addiction is 10% physical and 90% psychological.” Otherwise those leaving incarceration, rehabs, or hospital detoxification units, who are physically sober, would never relapse! Right! One client I was counseling, an early stage milder case, could not “get it” until I said, “You are dependent on changing your mood with a chemical to get through the day.” His eyes focused and lit up. “That’s me,” he exclaimed, and his resistance to recognizing his alcohol abuse evaporated. This was despite being comfortable with the concept of addiction, as applied to his intermittent cocaine binges. A facet of the times perhaps, or it’s relative undeniability in his case, as he hated the effects of his cocaine use, while still clinging to the far slower destructive direction of his alcohol consumption.

So the persons chosen response to inner and outer “stress” is the missing link, this is what creates a drugoholic. An addiction to the “quick fix”, to the easy way out, ensues. This, apart from any other factors, becomes an ingrained increasing habitual response, including response the real or imaginary stress created by the addiction itself. One of the many self-feeding cycles of addiction, independent of the “host” personality. Part of the cognitive, (thought), behavioral habit apparatus, known as psychological habituation in Drugoholism. And the alterations of cognitive processes and perceptions produced by ongoing use, whether physical, due to chemical toxicity in the brain, or psychological, from the addictive process itself, continues to actually create and additionally amplify perceived stress, as the condition, (the dis-ease) progresses. So there is an increasing reliance on chemicals for stress relief, and increasing amounts of stress, real or created mentally, to relieve. This process underlies the confusion created by focusing on any combination of chemicals, or circumstances, at any given time.

All of this mentality applies to the withdrawal physiology of the body, when a drugoholic initially attempts to “clean up”. So this becomes a major source of the drugoholic’s terror at the idea of, or results of withdrawals, rather than the withdrawals themselves. This is irrespective of the fact that with severe physical, (metabolic) dependencies, that may be both physically and psychologically horrendous. The problem is not the initial withdrawals, for a true drugoholic, insurmountable as they might seem. The problem is learning to live a life on an ongoing daily basis without resorting to chemicals to escape/recoil/retreat from inner and outer reality in any way.

How much of Michael Jackson’s “weirdness” and reports of him being a “complicated” person, were not due to his personality, but were in fact his response to medical drug addiction I wonder? And the degeneration into, histrionic emotionalism and other forms of narcissistic immaturity, that so often accompanies the overall deterioration of Drugoholism, as exhibited by Anna Nicole Smith too. Even worse, many categories of psychiatric drugs can cause potentially horrendous reactions. Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, Xanax, Lithium, Zyprexa and other psychiatric medications may spellbind patients into believing they are improved, when too often they are becoming worse, without the individuals realizing that their medications are semi-permanently deforming their way of thinking and feeling.

There are many reasons for this confusion around Drugoholism. Myth, misinformation, misunderstanding and ignorance, using a true meaning of the word which is, “lacking information”, abound. In “The First Session with Substance Abusers.” Nicholas A. Cummings, Ph/D, quotes studies that show MD’s identify .05% of alcohol/drug problems in those who cross their door, while those well trained in Chemical Dependency identify 100%! Two hundred times more! Psychologists and other allied professions fare not much better in my experience and opinion. The psychology of addiction is a specialized field. Though MD’s and clinical psychologists are highly respected and often quoted authorities, unless they have this specialized education, it is more likely to be a case of the blind leading the blind.

The current usual attitude to prescription drugs blinds MD’s to what is happening. How many times is a new wonder drug trumpeted abroad? Sleep aids, Barbiturates etc., (Mebaral and Nembutal). Stimulants, (“uppers” such as Dexedrine, Adderall, Ritalin and Concerta). Tranquilizers, (Benzodiazepines such as Valium and Xanax). Painkillers from Oxycontin type opioids on down? These are now the source of endless drug problems. I never tire of reminding people, “The first medical use for Heroin was as a cure for Morphine addiction.” So when medical people proclaim the latest painkiller or anti-anxiety medication as non-addictive or non-habit forming, I retort, “Except for those persons with chronic long-term anxiety, or chronic long-term pain.” This is in respect of any combination of these factors, plus those induced by the medications themselves, addictive, real or imagined of course.

As Drugoholism is stigmatized, people are loath to attribute a bad “character flaw” to another, especially those idolized and celebrated for other genuine talents. And the ongoing mental, emotional and physical deterioration/degeneration process of Drugoholism is attributed to other sources to excuse the addicts again, in order to avoid personally “denigrating” them. This goes hand-in-hand with the addicts blaming defences. In actuality, the vulnerability to addiction in recent, (2009) studies increasingly reveals a 50% genetic/biochemical basis. There is also another additional constellation of factors that are outside the person’s current will power or control, from pre-verbal cellular level infantile trauma, to role modeling from early childhood onwards. And there are many others too. Current psychic pain, “His wife died…” is the last and perhaps least factor, as is blaming it on childhood pain. Again, there are many with severe childhood pain that display no addictive tendencies whatsoever.

Another source of confusion is the actual disinformation put out by the psychiatric-medical-pharmaceutical complex. This has been rigorously documented by the psychiatrist Peter Breggin, MD., dealing with the medical bureaucracy at its highest levels. He reports how the drug manufacturer Eli Lilly was taken to court for offences tantamount to criminal fraud in this regard. In the mid 1990’s, his “Toxic Psychiatry.” outlined the growing problem of medical addiction. “The commonest drug addict in America is a female in her mid forties, addicted to barbiturates and a benzodiazapine,” he stated at the time. The description of negative aspects of commonly prescribed psychiatric medications above, is taken from his website, http:www.breggin.com. He exposes the growing propaganda infused into the medical community, including the FDA, which diminishes, sidesteps or flat out denies the negative effects of commonly prescribed psychoactive drugs. 

This is partly responsible for the idea that medical drugs are not as harmful as other drugs, and are legitimate, so those hooked on them are not real addicts. Also a convenient denial for the drugoholic themselves. In fact, being 100% pure, it needs to be stressed they can be worse. Oxycontin from the Doctor is as bad, IF NOT WORSE, than heroin from the dealer. It is similar to the confusion around alcohol, another socially acceptable drug. Many can drink with enjoyment and impunity. But once the ominous earmarks of the addictive process begin to appear, a trained counselor can identify the condition years before the final accelerating deteriorative spiral.

Due to the subconscious nature of much denial, and the stigma and ignorance surrounding this process, those close to the addict are often the most totally blind to the malady. The fact that Elvis Presley obtained FIVE THOUSAND pills from Doctors in his last months was invisible to his personal staff. The obvious obscuring corrupting interlinked interpersonal influences of fame, power, status and money, as the deteriorating celebrity surrounds themselves with yes men, are a special factor for the wealthy and those in the public eye. But how many alcoholics leave a complaining spouse to later marry someone with fewer objections, often an alcoholic themselves.

So now I hope it becomes more evident that addictive processes include prescription drugs in exactly the same way as with illicit ones, and that celebrities are not exempt from the identical states of mind and body that occur in these circumstances. Specific drugs may have different results, but the inexorable addictive process will take its toll in similar ways for the rich and famous, just as the scythe of Drugoholism cuts down the ill-educated poverty stricken ghetto street addict. If this article helps one person, I deem it a success, though I do of course hope for more.

Brian Green, c. 2009.   http.www.mindmagic123.com