A couple of my readers just might notice that I haven't written in a while. The truth is that I am not here to complain about the high cost of medication but rather the outcome of their use and my personal recovery. I am being as honest as I possibly can be in hopes that I might be able to help one person. This might even be your story. I can only speak for myself and wanted to make sure that I waited so that I went through the recovery process and can speak about it with confidence.
In the hospital I was given A LOT of medication. They kept pushing me to take more. I don't blame them for this because I just got out of major surgery and had Lymphoma. What I do blame them for and the medical establishment as a whole is their general lack of advice and knowledge of what the body goes through when those medications are stopped "cold turkey" to coin a phrase. Upon leaving the hospital I was told to go home and "rest" after days of taking hard core Percocet. I went through a withdrawal hell like you cannot fathom. I finally went to my oncologist who prescribed for me a little medication called Methadone. After seeing my wide-eyed response ( after all I wasn't a heroine addict) she told me that it was an even-release pain medication and that I would have no problem since it was such a low dose. Six months later and it is time for me to stop taking pain medication. She was wrong.
I had weaned myself from 10mg to 2.5mg. I was wondering why I felt like a 90 year old woman. The nightmares were full length Steven King epic adventures. I decided to cut the 2.5 all together. Bad Deal. I ended up in a crying heap in my living room with depression and fatigue and a whole host of other glorious side-effects. My husband came home and took one look and told me that we needed to start at square one with the 2.5 and cut down even slower. Who knew that this little pill packed such a wallop! I had become addicted to opiates.
I don't know if you have noticed lately but prescription dependency is on the rise. It is the new high for high school students and young adults. Addiction in America to Vicodin, Oxycodone, and other opiates is out of control. How do I know? Because I have seen and heard the statistics. The truth is that most addicts are just trying to avoid withdrawal by continuing to use. What makes it tougher is that those with real pain issues need these medications to cope. I don't know what the alternative is. I wish there was one. Doctors just seem to pass out the paper and off you go. The fact is that they have never been through withdrawal, I have. I think that if they have been through the experience then they might think about some alternatives. I'm sure the billion dollar prescription drug industry has NOTHING to do with the current status quo.
So what happened to yours truly? Well I was sent by my General Practitioner to a pain management doctor who gave me a choice. Did I want to go on another lesser opiate like Vicodin and wean off? Heck no! I told him that I just wanted to get clean of this crap. He laughed and put me on a blood pressure medication patch that is also used for ADHD children and is a non-narcotic called Clonidine 1mg. I told my husband that due to my ADD, if there was anything he needed to get my attention for, the next couple of weeks is go time! So far it is helping take off the edge and I am 13 days free of Methadone. I also researched like a mad woman and found out that it is the number ONE addictive drug to hit the U.S. It is a synthetic form of heroine and has a longer half-life (stays longer in the body) than the real deal. It is one little monster to get rid of. I also have been attending NA meetings to get info and support. Why? Because dependency is dependency and I need help and accountability from other people going through similar circumstances. I have gotten more helpful info from them than the doctors. The drug treatment center laughed in my face. Apparently they only help people with 100mg a day problems. Don't you think it is sad that we have as a country gotten to that stage? We only acknowledge the "BIG" stuff and not the little guy or girl struggling to do the right thing?
My sincere advice is that if you find yourself in my position GET HELP. Do not try to do it on your own. Get a support system and fight for your life back without the help of substances. Research before you just take anything on a piece of paper. I found out that a lot of the people in meetings started out with legit reasons to take medication. I know I had one but in the end the cost was pretty high. My prayers are with you and if you have any questions, please comment.
For Now, One Day At A Time
