addictions / quit smoking

[Guest guest]

I don't think that would help him anymore than just asking him to quit smoking

would help........my first question to you, Alma, would be..... " Have you,

personally, ever been addicted to anything? " There has to be more than just

words on a page.......you have to WANT to quit more than anything else. And,

again, nicotine is MORE addictive than HEROIN.

 

After my spinal fusion in January of 2001, I became addicted to the Oxycotin

that my doctor prescribed for pain. I am no novice when it comes to surgery.

I have, besides having my tonsils out as a child, had an abdominal exploratory

laparotomy (sp?) and 7 caesareans and on three of the C-sections, the spinals

DID NOT WORK and I would not let them knock me out until my doctor had the baby

out, BUT, that spinal fusion was THE single most painful surgery of my life.

It was horrible, horrible, horrible.

 

I started out on 40 mg. twice a day, of Oxycotin with Vicodon between the

doses of Oxycotin for " break-through " pain. For those of you who do not know

what Oxycotin is, it is a time-released morphine. I stupidly thought that

since I have never HAD to have any substance (coffee, tobacco or medication of

any kind), that I had a " non-addictive " personality and that the morphine would

not " get me " . Was I ever wrong.

 

Even thought I had medical supervision and was given lower doses of morphine

along the way, I was VERY addicted at even 10 mg. twice a day and was given NO

help by the doctor. I was just told, " Oh, you can wean yourself off of it " .

Good grief, people.....what did I know about weaning myself off of medication.

I was not a happy camper. I was determined, however. So, I started pushing

the time between the pills a little every time. And, let me tell you, if you

have never been addicted to a substance, you don't know what withdrawal is

like......I am here to tell you that it is horrible. I would start to sweat, I

was EXTREMELY nervous, had sub-sternal chest pain, headaches, can't

sleep........felt in general like I was going to come apart at the seams. And,

I still had 3 daughters at home and a husband to take care of.

 

When I finally had pushed the time between pills to 54 hours, I realized that

I didn't NEED to take the next pill and never took another one. But, if I had

not been so determined, I would have probably ended up like Rush Limbaugh or one

of the other celebrities who have been addicted to prescription pain killers but

without their money to pay to go to a cushy detox center.

 

It took me 8 months to " wean " myself off of the morphine and made my life, and

my family's lives hell. I was so happy when I finally knew I did not need to

take another pill. I was also thankful that I had medical training to give

myself the confidence to try to do it by myself and thankful that I was not an

illegal drug addict but was addicted to a medicine that my doctor prescribed and

was continuing to prescribe during this process.

 

What this Oxycotin addiction experience gave me was a clear understanding of

what it is like for smokers and drug addicts. What it also taught me is that

anyone CAN kick an addiction IF you are highly motivated, but doing it for

someone else rarely works for long.

 

Nancy C.

 

 

Let him read all of these responses to quit smoking