I guess that should cover both continents since I was born and raised in Australia, and am in my 10th year living in the USA.
I'll give you permission to skip to the end with my thank you for reading part since this is so freakin' long.
Started down the proverbial rabbit hole of drugs after a car accident rendered my lumbar spine useless. Did the "conservative" method for a while — namely medications. Started on Vicodin, then to Norco, percoset, oxycodone, oxycontin, tramadol, opana, morphine, dilaudid, fentanyl, and ketamine (as a cream). I'd been on other stuff too over the years, be it gabapentin, various benzos, sleep meds, anxiety meds and muscle relaxants - Walgreens loves me and my insurance hates me. Never 'graduated' (I guess you could say) to illegal methods though. Did steroid injections into my spine because I was told it would help. It 'helped' me alright. It 'helped' me gain 30 pounds. So I did surgery. My most recent one was two years ago, and at some point soon I've got to have an MRI to see what is causing my most current issues and what is pressing on my nerve.
Went through medical detox program where they lock you up in a facility for four or five days, you go cold turkey and they use other methods to help with withdrawals. Now on Suboxone (8mg/2mg three times per day), as well as taking fioricet (prn) for migraines. Current 'pain management' doc is useless as he told me he wasn't going to do anything for my back pain, but 'continue on the current plan — being the Suboxone TID and if I have migraines, Fioricet'. An illness literally at the beginning of 2010 (I was taken by ambulance and was in ICU on January 3rd for two weeks) — rendered me incapable of taking any form of extended release / slow release medications, as I simply cannot dissolve them.
Before I admitted myself into detox, I was one car accident away from losing my license, and a DUI. The cop told me I looked like I was on something, and that she could pull me in for a DUI but wouldn't if I got my husband to take me home, and get myself sorted. So I did. That car accident was in February of this year. Prior to that, I had one in October swerving to avoid a deer coming through my windshield, and less than a week after getting my car back from the repair, I drove my car into the rear of a Ford Escape at 50mph (they were stationary). I can attest to the fact that you can come out of an accident like I did, $17,000 damage to my car (not totalled which shocked me), $4,000 to the ford, and all I got was a bruise where the seatbelt restrained me. No injuries from my airbag, but the ER people were worried at first that I'd broken my neck or shoulder.
That was my wakeup call. Three accidents in the space of five months, although technically three months as my car was in repairs for two months with the first two accidents. One near miss with law enforcement. At the time I was on Fioricet (I'd taken two 8 hours prior), but I hadn't taken anything else as "I don't like driving when on medications". At my worst with pain and my dependence (everyone says technically I wasn't addicted as it wasn't ruling my life, and I didn't think that I couldn't survive without any, so it was more of an abuse/dependency issue. Let's call a spade a spade and say I was addicted and be done with it). I was prescribed by my Dr. 1-2 8 mg Dilaudid every three hours with a max of 12/day, and 1-2 Norco every 4 hours with a max of 8/day. That's what I was prescribed. At my worst I was taking 10-12 8 mg Dilaudid AT A TIME. I took 8-10 Norco at a time as well. Yet, when I ran out, and it's amazing how fast you can blitz through 600 some odd pills that is meant to last a month, I never really had an urge to go find more. I was just so desperate for pain relief that I was taking way more than I should to just FEEL relief for a short time, than taking two Dilaudid and have it last for maybe a couple hours if that.
So there's my story. I fell down the rabbit hole, and am now on the slow road to recovery. Alternative treatment for pain for my back (since my new doc hasn't done anything for me, even if it means more aggressive treatments and surgery), treatment for migraines (check), get what trust I lost with my husband and my friends, and hopefully re-enrolling at school. That one is a little difficult as its in the medical field and I'd have access to narcotics, even though I don't have cravings for them anymore, I know that there will be hesitance on the school's part to allow me back in to finish (8 months left).
I decided to join so I can be more informed as to what I put into my body, any possible interactions (I'd had an accidental OD a few years ago when I was taking three medications as prescribed, flexeril, xanax and percoset (or something to that effect - all I remember was it was one tab every 8 hours, the other two every 6 and this particular time they happened to time together) - one of each - and they caused a heavy sedation that my boss called 911, and I had to have my stomach pumped. All docs in the ER said accidental OD because of the sedative effect they all had, damn shrink thought it was a suicide attempt). I figure if I can learn anything about drugs, as well as share my experience(s) with any of you and it helps, then I've done the right thing.
Sorry for being long. I get kinda wordy when I'm nervous. But if you've read all this mess, congratulations, you win nothing, except maybe my gratitude and a virtual hug for reading the internet equivalent of War and Peace.
Stay safe my friends,
/L
I'll give you permission to skip to the end with my thank you for reading part since this is so freakin' long.
Started down the proverbial rabbit hole of drugs after a car accident rendered my lumbar spine useless. Did the "conservative" method for a while — namely medications. Started on Vicodin, then to Norco, percoset, oxycodone, oxycontin, tramadol, opana, morphine, dilaudid, fentanyl, and ketamine (as a cream). I'd been on other stuff too over the years, be it gabapentin, various benzos, sleep meds, anxiety meds and muscle relaxants - Walgreens loves me and my insurance hates me. Never 'graduated' (I guess you could say) to illegal methods though. Did steroid injections into my spine because I was told it would help. It 'helped' me alright. It 'helped' me gain 30 pounds. So I did surgery. My most recent one was two years ago, and at some point soon I've got to have an MRI to see what is causing my most current issues and what is pressing on my nerve.
Went through medical detox program where they lock you up in a facility for four or five days, you go cold turkey and they use other methods to help with withdrawals. Now on Suboxone (8mg/2mg three times per day), as well as taking fioricet (prn) for migraines. Current 'pain management' doc is useless as he told me he wasn't going to do anything for my back pain, but 'continue on the current plan — being the Suboxone TID and if I have migraines, Fioricet'. An illness literally at the beginning of 2010 (I was taken by ambulance and was in ICU on January 3rd for two weeks) — rendered me incapable of taking any form of extended release / slow release medications, as I simply cannot dissolve them.
Before I admitted myself into detox, I was one car accident away from losing my license, and a DUI. The cop told me I looked like I was on something, and that she could pull me in for a DUI but wouldn't if I got my husband to take me home, and get myself sorted. So I did. That car accident was in February of this year. Prior to that, I had one in October swerving to avoid a deer coming through my windshield, and less than a week after getting my car back from the repair, I drove my car into the rear of a Ford Escape at 50mph (they were stationary). I can attest to the fact that you can come out of an accident like I did, $17,000 damage to my car (not totalled which shocked me), $4,000 to the ford, and all I got was a bruise where the seatbelt restrained me. No injuries from my airbag, but the ER people were worried at first that I'd broken my neck or shoulder.
That was my wakeup call. Three accidents in the space of five months, although technically three months as my car was in repairs for two months with the first two accidents. One near miss with law enforcement. At the time I was on Fioricet (I'd taken two 8 hours prior), but I hadn't taken anything else as "I don't like driving when on medications". At my worst with pain and my dependence (everyone says technically I wasn't addicted as it wasn't ruling my life, and I didn't think that I couldn't survive without any, so it was more of an abuse/dependency issue. Let's call a spade a spade and say I was addicted and be done with it). I was prescribed by my Dr. 1-2 8 mg Dilaudid every three hours with a max of 12/day, and 1-2 Norco every 4 hours with a max of 8/day. That's what I was prescribed. At my worst I was taking 10-12 8 mg Dilaudid AT A TIME. I took 8-10 Norco at a time as well. Yet, when I ran out, and it's amazing how fast you can blitz through 600 some odd pills that is meant to last a month, I never really had an urge to go find more. I was just so desperate for pain relief that I was taking way more than I should to just FEEL relief for a short time, than taking two Dilaudid and have it last for maybe a couple hours if that.
So there's my story. I fell down the rabbit hole, and am now on the slow road to recovery. Alternative treatment for pain for my back (since my new doc hasn't done anything for me, even if it means more aggressive treatments and surgery), treatment for migraines (check), get what trust I lost with my husband and my friends, and hopefully re-enrolling at school. That one is a little difficult as its in the medical field and I'd have access to narcotics, even though I don't have cravings for them anymore, I know that there will be hesitance on the school's part to allow me back in to finish (8 months left).
I decided to join so I can be more informed as to what I put into my body, any possible interactions (I'd had an accidental OD a few years ago when I was taking three medications as prescribed, flexeril, xanax and percoset (or something to that effect - all I remember was it was one tab every 8 hours, the other two every 6 and this particular time they happened to time together) - one of each - and they caused a heavy sedation that my boss called 911, and I had to have my stomach pumped. All docs in the ER said accidental OD because of the sedative effect they all had, damn shrink thought it was a suicide attempt). I figure if I can learn anything about drugs, as well as share my experience(s) with any of you and it helps, then I've done the right thing.
Sorry for being long. I get kinda wordy when I'm nervous. But if you've read all this mess, congratulations, you win nothing, except maybe my gratitude and a virtual hug for reading the internet equivalent of War and Peace.
Stay safe my friends,
/L
