The Opioid Crisis is my family too.

It's friends telling me how brave I am when I tell them my family member is in treatment for addiction and telling me that they are so glad I am coming forward because it will encourage others to be candid too -- and then never mentioning it again.

It's the same friends and family members asking me why I'm being such a bitch when I'm depressed all the time.

Oh, we forgot about your "situation."

It's total isolation.

Anonymous wrote:Trump said that he will add more jail space to fix the problem. That should help, right?

He wins the biggest, hugest asshole award. Worldwide!!

Hopefully his abuses lead more people towards education and a skeptical mind.

Anonymous wrote:I had a fairly minor dental procedure done recently and they handed off a prescription of Vicodin with no warning about it being addictive or anything. I was shocked. Didn't get it filled and did just fine with ibuprofen.

Yes -- this is the problem. Doctors need to be giving this prescriptions with a huge warning and hopefully talking to someone else in the patient's family about the dangers.

I have a message in my phone too, along with my emergency information: DO NOT GIVE OR PRESCRIBE ME OPIOIDS

I am having surgery in a week or so and told them DO NOT GIVE ME OPIOIDS, DO NOT PRESCRIBE THEM, I DO NOT WANT THEM.

I had a fairly minor dental procedure done recently and they handed off a prescription of Vicodin with no warning about it being addictive or anything. I was shocked. Didn't get it filled and did just fine with ibuprofen.

If I know someone struggling with this, I don't know about it.

-- AA woman, 47

Trump said that he will add more jail space to fix the problem. That should help, right?

I personally know 10 people who became addicted to heroin in their teens. All MC/UMC in DC/close in MD. Note that many are doing well and are not looking back to the time of their addiction, and barely recognize themselves from that time. Early treatment is key to success and doesn't necessarily require rehab. NA is a great free resource. Kicking child out of home or enabling them when they live at home does not lead to good prospects.

1. M--Parents sent to wilderness camp for marijuana. Started heroin as college freshman. One or two rehabs. Kicked out of house, homeless, committed suicide.

2. M--Parents kicked out of house day he turned 18--only drugs marijuana. Has lived on streets since and panhandles. Took up heroin. No rehab unless you count jail for shoplifting. Has done methadone, but used heroin at same time. Still addicted with GF below.

3. F--Parent sent to wilderness camp for marijuana. Lived in park with BF above, found by police. Was under 18 and parents gave up custody so state would put her in psych institute for a month--wilderness camp blew their funds. Got out, lived at home, but still with BF and got hooked to heroin. Also has done methadone/heroin combo. Has often resorted to sex for drugs. Still living with parents doing restaurant jobs.

4. F--Not sure how she started, but under 18. Went to outpatient rehab and took suboxone. Still took heroin, OD'ed, recovered in hospital. Sent to rehab and got on Vivitrol. Came back to half way house and lots of NA, in college and doing well.

5. F--Started around 16 with BF living on streets. Parents sent to psych hospital--escaped. Sent to RTC for a year. Got back, got hooked on heroin again and did outpatient rehab. Switched to cocaine with new BF. Broke up and went to live with grandparents. In college and doing well.

6. M--BF of above. Sent to jail for shoplifting and got clean. Came out and found janitorial job and room in a church. Was clean until I lost track of.

7. M--Started with oxy and graduated to heroin by 17 when he could score in Baltimore. 2200+ SAT. Went to UMD--gave him greater access to Baltimore. Multiple detoxes until parents finally sent to rehab. Did halfway house for a while while doing suboxone. In college and doing well. Weaned self off suboxone. Now in therapy for repeated abuse as 5 year old from older brother's friend.

8. F--Went straight to heroin at 19 to deal with pain from undiagnosed illness. Tried to use no more than monthly--OD'ed but saved by EMTs. Mother did regular urine tests. Relapse leading to physical dependency while mother on long business trip. Turned self in--did at home detox and lots of NA. Got diagnosed and gets medical treatment. Now in college and doing well.

9 and 10: Don't know stories as well. 9 is M, addicted freshman year at UMD (friend of UMD M above). Has been to rehab--don't know current status. F--started by at least 18. Hospitalized for septicemia. No rehab, but a lot of NA and found Jesus. Doing well last I heard.

I'm not sure if it's affected my family -- not that I know of, in my immediate family, but my stepson's mother has struggled with alcohol and addiction to benzos and she often seems out of it (as does her boyfriend) and it's quite possible opioids are at play there.

There is so much blame to go around, but I think the doctors share some significant responsibility. When they hand out opioid prescriptions, they should hand them out like they would a gun. I have had nasal surgery twice in the last 4 years, and both times I got a LOT of opioids after -- like 30-40 pills. I do not have an addictive personality and took a few after each surgery -- usually at bedtime -- but I could have gotten by on 5 pills per surgery, or maybe 10. Why 30?? Why don't the doctors bring in your emergency contact, the person who is picking you up from surgery, parents of teenagers, etc -- and be VERY clear about what they are prescribing, the risks, and the oversight that other person should exercise on the pills?

If my kids ever have surgery or some kind of incident that warrants opioid prescription, I really will lock the bottles up like a gun and try every single thing possible before handing one over.

I also think we should consider requiring parental consent for opioids before the age of 21. Or colleges could have that policy for their health clinics. I hear a lot of stories about college-aged students getting the prescriptions and getting addicted.

Once someone is addicted, as a PP said, your brain is rewired and it is incredibly hard to fix it. It's really sad, and we need to place a very high premium in our society on stopping the abuse to begin with. I know it may be harder for those take them for legit reasons, but I think it's worth the price (just like I think it's worth the price to make gun ownership more onerous, but that's another topic!)

Yes, my cousin lost her son to an OD. This was several years ago, and to this day, she will not admit it. She says it was an "allergic reaction to medication". We all saw the toxicology report and while I could believe the overdose was not intentional, he had more than enough illegal (and legal) drugs in his system to kill Keith Richards.
My mom is from Central Pennsylvania and has seen numerous friends and distant relatives who still live there grapple with this in their families. That area has a very serious problem and I'm honestly not sure what the answer is. That said, I grew up in Arlington and personally know three people in my age group who overdosed and died. My husband had a rather rare and complicated surgery ~8 years ago; we flew to another state for the operation because there were only a handful of surgeons who knew how to perform the specific surgery at the time --this doctor was one of the pioneers of the method and was working to train others. The surgeon was a wonderful person and did a fantastic job. Without getting too specific, he legitimately gave my husband his life back. Within a year or so, he/we found out that the surgeon had his medical license suspended and had voluntarily entered a treatment center because he was addicted to opioids. We thought he was doing better and then just recently learned he apparently relapsed and is back in rehab. It's very, very sad and such a waste because he did such good work and helped so many people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the flip side my parent needs a low dose to leave her bed every day. She can only get a 30 day supply and is treated like a criminal every time she goes to the pain clinic. There are no surgeries for her condition and she's tried everything. She's not an addict and never takes more than her low dose. When she runs out, she just cries in bed and is unable to move. We've had to carry her to doctors appointments. The lack of availability of Percocet has limited her life. She has to schedule vacations in between her doctors appointments and often misses holidays and birthdays because she can't travel close to her refill dates. She would like to move closer to her granchildren but can't because she can't find a doctor. She carries her MRI results with her in case of emergency.

I'm worried what happens when Percocet is banned

My dad and I worry that if Percocet is banned that she would turn to the black market or heroin. She's so crippled physically in pain daily. I think this is why a lot of people turn to heroin.

I am sorry for her pain. Still it sounds like she needs to find a new doctor. The doctor shouldn’t treat her like a criminal if s/he properly understands and is treating the condition. In a nut shell, she shouldn’t be running out. The refill/follow up would be scheduled on day 29, so that on day 31 she begins the script.

My family members are in a similar situation. It can be extremely difficult for legitimate patients to obtain opiates, even the less addictive ones. This is contrary to the message that the media is putting out about how you can just go to a pain clinic and walk out with a bucket full of Oxy.

No one in my family that I know of, but I’ve lost several friends from high school and college to heroin ODs.

Most recent was one of my freshmen year suite mates from college. She became addicted to oxy after breaking her tailbone giving birth. Pills progressed to heroin. She was 35, a VP at work, brownie troop leader, and mom to 3 kids under 9. Her death was a big shock because she was not a party person in college and didn’t even like alcohol. Very much a health nut when it came to her kids. Just mind boggling.

It can happen to anyone.
My father graduated top in his med school class, had 4 kids and many friends - he was a sweet wonderful man.
Then he had an accident and sustained a severe concussion and then he became addicted to his pain killers - and still had pain.
Then he died of a heart attack from the damned pain killers - at age 43.
I just read his journals recently and it was rough.

Anonymous wrote:My nephew past just three months ago at the age of 23. Intact family, father was a cop. Southern Maryland where the drugs ran rampant. He was in and out of rehab so many times, God how my brother and his wife tried to save the kid. They of course are devastated, they feel like complete failures. When my DH was prescribed pain killers after a knee operation I refused to fill the prescription and gave him Tylenol instead. He has an addictive personality, he knows it, as do I. When I mentioned it to his doctor he was unfazed, handed out prescription like it was candy. Actually asked my DH how long he wanted to take it. No wonder we have a problem, it's not just big pharma.

I'm sorry for your family's loss.