This came to me as I was replying to a post to Sharon.
I sort of feel like a fool for even putting this on here but believe it or not I dont know the difference.
What is the difference between being addicted to PPs
or being dependent on PPs???
molly
IMO the difference is in the mental behaviors....if you are getting high off your meds you are more likely to abuse. Some say it is all just semantics. But there are many people who have taken pain meds for years w/o ever exceeding the dosage and are "addicted"...I prefer in that scenario to say physically dependent. I know when I was an active addict. I Dr. shopped like crazy....had teeth pulled and procedures done for the drugs...so shameful but this is true.....hiding pills, lying and stealing...it is all so typical. You will do anything to chase that high...sad and often fatal. Today I take the pills and hate them. They are not welcome in my mind,,,they keep me from getting sick and feeling pain(sometimes)...not even that anymore. They depress me..I hate them enough to want out. I hope that clarifies it. I don't care if someone calls me an addict. Crap..I spent 20 years abusing...I guess I qualify....eh? Love, big S
Molly,
Ill take a stab at answering your question though Ive always been an addict and was only dependent because of my addiction. My friend took vicodin for a longish while because of a painful hand injury and became dependent had withdrawals, developed increasing tolerance but she never liked the way the pain pills made her feel. She hated the grogginess, nausea, constipation, and the fact that they made her stupid. Once her hand healed, she gladly gave up taking the pills. She never ran out and handed the remainder off to her sister who is dependent due to back pain, but is also, I think, addicted. Her sister always runs out of her pills ahead of schedule, takes them continually, craves them when she doesnt have them. A dependent person will stop taking the pills when the underlying condition is resolved, an addict will take the pills whether there is real physical pain or not.
A person who smokes marijuana to ease nausea from chemo will stop smoking as soon as the nausea goes away. I will smoke till the bag runs out and then obsess about it until I can get more. That is why recreational use of pot is not an option for me. One hit and Im in for the long dirt nap.
Does that make sense?
Heres a link to an article that explains it better than I can:
http://www.cpmission.com/main/addiction.html
Love,
Gina
Hey there, Sharon!
Ill take a stab at answering your question though Ive always been an addict and was only dependent because of my addiction. My friend took vicodin for a longish while because of a painful hand injury and became dependent had withdrawals, developed increasing tolerance but she never liked the way the pain pills made her feel. She hated the grogginess, nausea, constipation, and the fact that they made her stupid. Once her hand healed, she gladly gave up taking the pills. She never ran out and handed the remainder off to her sister who is dependent due to back pain, but is also, I think, addicted. Her sister always runs out of her pills ahead of schedule, takes them continually, craves them when she doesnt have them. A dependent person will stop taking the pills when the underlying condition is resolved, an addict will take the pills whether there is real physical pain or not.
A person who smokes marijuana to ease nausea from chemo will stop smoking as soon as the nausea goes away. I will smoke till the bag runs out and then obsess about it until I can get more. That is why recreational use of pot is not an option for me. One hit and Im in for the long dirt nap.
Does that make sense?
Heres a link to an article that explains it better than I can:
http://www.cpmission.com/main/addiction.html
Love,
Gina
Hey there, Sharon!
MJ-This is my personal spin on it and I want to reiiterate that because it may or may not be based on any scientific studies.
I think one can be dependent and physically addicted without being an addict.
An addict has certain behaviors that define them.Some of those behaviors may look exactly like simple dependence.To get the same effect from opiate drugs one has to keep increasing the dose a bit.That is simply the intrinsic properties of opiates.They have a ceiling effect so even a person who is being prescribed opiates for pain,will have to eventually get stonger doses to tackle the pain.
An addict is trying to get high.The drugs placate some emotional issues or change how they are feeling.They don't like who they are and are uncomfortable in their own skin.It doesn't matter if it's drugs,alcohol,sex,gambling or plethora of other ways to act out.They need something to change how they feel,now.
I guess the hardest senario is those that are addicts and need pain meds.You are constantly having to keep yourself in check.I don't envy them.
I think one can be dependent and physically addicted without being an addict.
An addict has certain behaviors that define them.Some of those behaviors may look exactly like simple dependence.To get the same effect from opiate drugs one has to keep increasing the dose a bit.That is simply the intrinsic properties of opiates.They have a ceiling effect so even a person who is being prescribed opiates for pain,will have to eventually get stonger doses to tackle the pain.
An addict is trying to get high.The drugs placate some emotional issues or change how they are feeling.They don't like who they are and are uncomfortable in their own skin.It doesn't matter if it's drugs,alcohol,sex,gambling or plethora of other ways to act out.They need something to change how they feel,now.
I guess the hardest senario is those that are addicts and need pain meds.You are constantly having to keep yourself in check.I don't envy them.
S & Gina Thank you both
Yes Gina what you wrote makes total sense to me & I must admit I felt silly asking the question but "Hey if I dont know I HAVE to ask right?"
S Like you I still & probaly always feel some amount of shame over the things Ive done to get pills.I went from uppers to downers I didnt care.When I started to have health issues...as sick as it may sound....I was in some sick sick way glad!!! It gave me even more reason to get pills.As I said I will always have to deal with who I was but Ive grown enough to know....thats not who I am today...
Thank you for your input
& PLEASE anyone else who wants to post thier thoughts & such do.
molly
Yes Gina what you wrote makes total sense to me & I must admit I felt silly asking the question but "Hey if I dont know I HAVE to ask right?"
S Like you I still & probaly always feel some amount of shame over the things Ive done to get pills.I went from uppers to downers I didnt care.When I started to have health issues...as sick as it may sound....I was in some sick sick way glad!!! It gave me even more reason to get pills.As I said I will always have to deal with who I was but Ive grown enough to know....thats not who I am today...
Thank you for your input
& PLEASE anyone else who wants to post thier thoughts & such do.
molly
Molly,
I don't think it's a silly question at all, because it's a very complex set of issues -- I only asked if I made sense because it's so tangled, I didn't know if I could make my opinion on the matter understandable. (Even to myself, LOL.)
I agree with Tim, though that the hardest situation of all is to be an addict wishing to quit, but who also has legitimate pain issues -- the situation you and Sharon are in. I wouldn't wish your choices on my worst enemy.
Love,
Gina
I don't think it's a silly question at all, because it's a very complex set of issues -- I only asked if I made sense because it's so tangled, I didn't know if I could make my opinion on the matter understandable. (Even to myself, LOL.)
I agree with Tim, though that the hardest situation of all is to be an addict wishing to quit, but who also has legitimate pain issues -- the situation you and Sharon are in. I wouldn't wish your choices on my worst enemy.
Love,
Gina
ADDICTION
Addiction is a primary, chronic, neurobiologicneurobiological disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving
PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE
Physical dependence is a state of adaptation that often includes tolerance and is manifested by a drug class specific withdrawal syndrome that can be produced by abrupt cessation, rapid dose reduction, decreasing blood level of the drug, and/or administration of an antagonist.
From theAmerican Academy of Addictive Medicine-
--for whats its worth- >http://www.cpmission.com/main/addiction.html
regards,
jack
Addiction is a primary, chronic, neurobiologicneurobiological disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving
PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE
Physical dependence is a state of adaptation that often includes tolerance and is manifested by a drug class specific withdrawal syndrome that can be produced by abrupt cessation, rapid dose reduction, decreasing blood level of the drug, and/or administration of an antagonist.
From theAmerican Academy of Addictive Medicine-
--for whats its worth- >http://www.cpmission.com/main/addiction.html
regards,
jack
The answers above are all good explanations. My daughter is physically dependent, but doesn't get a "kick" out of taking the pills and wishes she could be off them completely, but can't for pain reasons.
