I Need Help

i am addicted to perscription drugs and pain pills i want to stop but i do not have a support system and it's my dark secret
LMN, you have come to the right place. The best way to quit using is to quit using. Sounds easy; we know it is not.

First phase of course is withdrawal. Most think it ends there. It does not. Most addicts relapse after withdrawal because they have not equipped themselves to cope with living life without drugs. There are solutions.

We will be happy to share suggestions with you. Getting clean and staying that way requires making a lot of changes in your life. Write back and tell us more about yourself. Also, please consider this question: what are you willing to do to live free of the drugs?

Write back; hang in there.
Welcome."the cat's out of the bag" so now your secret is no more.Why don't you share a little more about what's been going on.I think you will find a lot of folks that will be able to help you.What's your story?
Welcome. I know it takes courage for most of us to post the first time.(even though u r ananymous & we only know what u tell us.)

One thing I can gurantee you is that you will find many people who have been in your situation. This is a place where people are at all different levels of recovery ranging from people have been in recovery for many years to people hanging out trying to catch recovery.

You will find this a pretty good place to get the kind of support u need sometimes. By that I mean it is a place always available, and some of us find at times its our main recovery place. Ultimately you will do much better if you use it as 1 part of your support - but this place is here just for you as it is just for me and just for all of us,, it becomes what you want it to.

We will help you in any way we can.

Tell us a little bit about whats going on. From your post I can gather that you are still actively using and youare weary of your habit.

How long have you been using , about how long have you been using regularly, what are u using and how much are you using. Do u usually just swallow the pills how, or do you prefer another method of taking them.

I'm not asking to be nosy. But knowing the above can help us help u. There are many ways to quit and cold turkey is not always the wisest choice. Certain drugs, such as benzos, barbituates and alcohal can be dangerous to quit cold turkey. They can result in seizures, death etc.

Opiates, for people in reasonable health, are usually safe to go CT. WDs vary depending on how much of what for how long. As far as I am concerned, there are better and safer ways to quit then CT. But , that is the way some people do it. I will admit I have become a complete baby when it comes to withdrawels. I'm sure there are those who think its the best way, but I cant see any value whatsoever or reason for a person to endure them.

But I think I am maybe getting ahead of what u are asking.

We are here for you and we are glad you are. You are not alone, or the only one going thru this. It might not seem like a big thing to you right now, but looking back you will one day realize what a giant step toward making your life good that you have taken by posting on this board.
Welcome letmeout. I'm Hilary. And I was in your shoes just under 2 months ago. I was my deep dark dirty shameful secret. No one knew except my exhubby. I felt so alone. I realized I was tired of living like that. I went ct..I won't lie to you it wasn't pretty BUT I got through it!!! You can too. Sounds like you want out.

I'm still a newbie here but I know in this case I can offer something. You so came to the right spot. The ppl here are great and so welcoming and loving you will feel part of the "family" in no time.

Come this Saturday I'll be clean for 60 days and it feels sooo great. I'm getting my life back...reclaim yours too!!!! You can do it.

Hugs
froggy
Good to see you reaching out froggy. How's the search for a sponsor coming along?

Ribbet
Hi August...ughhh on that topic. Sadly not alot of women at the meetings. I did however ask the chair last night about sponsors. We'll see...

How are you doing?

letmeout....see???? They care here :-)


ribbet
Hey Froggy, I am hanging in there. In the dementia of my old age I have resumed running after taking off 30 years to let some injuries heal. I did my long run today so I am worn out. I don't run far but I sure can run slow.

One thought, Froggy: don't limit youself to just AA or just NA while searching for a sponsor. Might be that there are more women in the other fellowship. Sure am proud of you, you crazy Canuk!
hey letmeout, im fairly new too, even though i am the family member of an addict i dont think there is much of a difference, both of us needs to stop doing something and we need support to do it
Hi momg -Check out the family board. Also Narc Anon, Al Anon. There are lots of books out there on co-dependency. Tell us your story.

Hi Let me out - Welcome. It's a horrible secret that we have all shared. Keep coming back and tell us your story. You are not alone and you can learn to live life without pills. One day at a time. I just celebrated 17 months. If I can do it, so can you.
letmeout..hope all is well. Please come back and share with us.

Alice---awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See letmeout, there is a way out.

August..I have dementia at 42, I swear. I just prefer to call it Craft. Can't Remember A Fricken Thing!!!! lol Only one other person calls me Canuck. A good friend of mine in Arizona. You will be allowed to call me this..lol Nice of me eh??? (pls know I don't make a habit of saying "eh" alot. or aboot etc..lol, just have to show I"m Canadian!!! lol)

ribbet
Excellent call Alice.MomG,I would just start a new thread so it doen't get overlooked.
I'll bump this to the top hoping that Letmeout will come back.

Welcome to the board...we are so glad you found us. I had that dark secret too. Found out by keeping it a secret, I stayed sick. Please tell us more about you...
Going to bump this once more hoping you come back letmeout.

We are all here for you.

hugs
Hi all i have been gone for long trying to find another way maybe solution but i cannot find anything. This is my secret and i have neva mentioned it to anyone. I am addicted to perscription medication, it started when my first husband died when i was 27 and left with 3 small kids,i now realise that the problem is much deeper. I was molested by my uncle from the age of 4 till 13 and i had it buried deep down were no-one wud see it. When i was basically forced to tell my parents at the age of 38 they did not believe me it was terrible their reaction.I tried to explain my addiction to shopping was my way of coping but to no avail so i just started using more and more pills anything that would make me feel beta. Painkillers,calming meds and sleeping pills. I now take up to 300 sleeping tabs a month plus i don't know how many pain meds and i am now there where alcohol helps when drinking it with the meds. I am lost and depressed.
There is a solution. Ask for help. You do not have to do this alone. You and your children deserve better.

Do you have a family friend or doctor that you trust?
its not easy. i was not able to do it eather. not wanting to get sick and all.yak... but i finaly bit the bullet and now its been six months.we are not alone.thats all i need to know we are not alone
Glad you came back and Welcome to the board. I can feel your pain in you post. I kept my using a secret for a long time and more than once and never thought I could tell anyone. I finally did and long story short... things got better. It can get better for you too You are not alone!

I assume you feel like you can not tell you parents after the last thing you told them. So, do you have any siblings, close friends, or your dr. that you could talk to about this? Are you married again? If so, can you talk to your spouse? We can help you to a certain degree, but additionally some kind of face to face support is better.

As you probably know mixing alcohol with the pill combinations you described is dangerous. You are reaching out here and that is the first step. Are you ready for some sanity in your life? You can do it! Keep coming back and I wish you all the best
LetMeOut-You are not alone and I'm not sure which solutions you were looking for but I can offer you one.

I'm sure you are aware of AA but there is also NA[Narcotics Anonymous].Click hereMy Webpageto help you locate a meeting where you live.If there are no NA meetings then try AA,which basically is the same thing and since you have alcohol in the mix,you will be more than welcome.Click here for that.My Webpage

However, the first thing you will need to do is detox.If you are taking 300 sleeping pills and drinking,it would be very dangerous for you to stop abruptly.You will need medical help with that.Are the sleeping pills benzodiazipines? Valium,Xanax,Ativan,Clorazepam,Clonazepam...drugs like that? If so,you could have seizures if you just stop them.

There is help and you still are young and have your whole life left.What you're doing now is not living but a slave to these pills.

You will have plenty of time to deal with all the other issues,like sexual abuse,when you get clean.It's an awful thing to have happened but slowly killing yourself isn't going to effect the perpetrator at all.A lot of times parent's don't want to own up to the fact their own flesh and blood could do those things but if you get clean,there will come a time when you will be able to put some closure on it.It may always effect you but you don't have to live in this hell for something you had no control over.There will even be legal alternatives for you.

However,for right now,it's important you take that first step which will be seeking out some medical facility to help you detox.
Welcome "letmeout"This is actually a good "first step"comming here and admitting you have a problem may seem like not much because we are online.However you admitting you have a problem is a good step.
I understand how it feels when you dont have the kind of support you feel you should from your family.Some families just cannot understand or want to believe this is an actual illness.
Ive been told & still get told..."oh its all in your head"You can stop you just dont want to"
It no longer gets to me anymore because until they walk in my shoes they will never know.
So youve gotten some good advice already but I do have a couple questions if thats ok?

Ok where are you getting these pills from?
Are they from a Dr if so how many Drs do you have.
What is your condition for getting pain pills?
If you have a regular Dr how long have you been with him?

I know alot of questions,but Id feel better knowing that way maybe I can tell you something helpful.

I just want you to know...your NOT alone in this.At least for now there are so many great people on this board who dont judge & only want to help.They wont baby you,but you'll feel the care & concern...Hope you keep posting
mj