Addiction To Pain Pills ~My Story~ (My Experience of Substance Abuse)

Member Name: Kntrykutie

Product:	My Experience of Substance Abuse
Date:	30/05/01 (610 review reads)
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Disadvantages: addiction

Substance abuse can come in the form of prescribed drugs as well as illegal or street drugs. I know through my own experience of addiction from taking pain pills prescribed from my doctor lead to my addiction.

It all started 8 years ago while I was working as a meat wrapper in a grocery store. I developed tendentious and arthritis in both my wrists from the rapid motion of using my wrist and hands that this type of job required.

After wrapping meat for 8 hours a day my wrists would become swollen and became very painful. So painful that they would sometimes bring tears to my eyes. I eventually went to my doctor and he prescribed pain pills for me to take for the pain.

At first I did take to pain pills as directed and the pain in my wrists did ease up. I also was enjoying the way the pain pills made me feel, the high I was getting from them. So, after a while of taking theses pain pills I started increasing the dosage of course, without consulting my doctor first.

I soon ran out of pain pills long before I was supposed to. I went back to my doctor and he did give me one more refill but not before he cautioned and lectured me about taking the pain pills. I don't remember exactly what I told him why I ran out of the prescription so fast but I know the reason was some lie I had made up.

This second prescription refill didn't last me no time at all, I believe 30 pills lasted me only 10 days. I did call my doctor, making up some story about accidentally dropping the prescription bottle down the toilet. I was told I could not have another refill.

But I was hooked and I had to have more pin pills-some way, somehow. So, to get more pain pills I came up with this scheme that did work for a while. I went to every doctor in my small town to get a prescription for pain pills, then I would go to the different pharmacies to have them filled. Not wanting to risk using my insurance I did pay cash for the doctor visits a
nd for the prescriptions. Which did add up to quite of bit of money.

It is true that the addict has to admit it to themselves that they are addicted before they can get help. I could not face the fact that I was addicted to these pain pills. I did not want to believe that I needed the pain pills just to survive but I did, I was in denial.

My husband was the first one to notice the changes in me, he knew something was not right and he often asked me what was wrong, I lied to him and told him nothing was wrong. Other family members started noticing the changes and I knew that it was getting harder for me to hide my addiction. I had become a totally different person.

After taking the pain pills for about 6 months I too started noticing myself changing. I was very moody, I had trouble concentrating, I was not interested in having sex with my husband and I was very withdrawn. I also noticed physical changes as well. I lost around 25 pounds, my hair was falling out and I had dark circles under my eyes.

I soon realized that I was addicted to these pain pills and knew I needed to get off of them but part of me needed them very badly while the other part wanted off of them. It was a battle that I was fighting within myself. I hated the way that I was acting and I hated my appearance. I started looking many years older than I really was.

It was when I nearly had an accident while driving high on pain pills that shocked me into reality, I knew then that I was addicted to these pills and I needed help. I prayed to God asking for his help, then I came clean and told my husband everything about my addiction from start to finish. He listened, held me and even cried with me, he promised to do everything he could to help me get off the pain pills.

The battle had started and it was a tough battle. But with God and my husband on at my side I knew I could win this battle. I went through 8 days of hell. The withdraws were terrible.
I had the shakes, the sweats, headaches, bodyaches and chills. I was a nightmare to live with but my husband was right there for me he never gave up on me and neither did God.

Today I am clean, I have been for almost 7 years now. I am happy and healthy and owe my life to God and my husband, together they saved my life.

I am also very careful about what type of prescribed drugs I take, because I know that if I take just one pain pill I could be right back where I was, an addict and I never want to live like that again through that hell of addiction.

So, please take prescribed drugs as directed. And remember any type of substance control prescribed drugs can lead a person to become an addict. It is not just the illegal or street drugs that can cause addiction.

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