I don't think your addicted Tabby.....if you can forget to take it....your not addicted. So obviously if you are feeling good when you take it, then the meds are doing their job because as you say ...when you don't take it you feel bad. Consider yourself lucky that your pain meds are working for you.

tabby,
tolerance does happen, but i'm not clear on how severe your problem is. there are 800 numbers on here you can call anytime as in now, but you should speak to your dr asap if you're this concerned. please get help. there is a difference from treating pain and addiction, please be careful and seek professional advice.
why do you keep a photo of whitney as your avi? are you saying something with that?

Have you spoken to your doctor about your addiction. I think you really need their help with this. When you say you feel terrible when you don't take them..do you mean the pain comes back or do you mean you no longer have that high feeling?
I would definitely talk to your doctor. I wish you all the best with this. My prayers are with you.

Can anyone explain the difference between the following (in terms of both physical and mental symptoms)

addiction
dependence
tolerance

I would appreciate it.
Cindy

Tabby, I have to agree with Dixie ......if your able to forget it and your not taking more and more each time I would think that's addiction but it's good that your aware of what your taking and the amounts....if I was you I'd watch myself closely for a couple of days . Write down when your taking it and see if your taking it as prescribed then if you realize then talk with your doctor but make sure first.....it's not something you'd want on your files if your not........hugs and prayers

Tabby, I have to say that it doesn't sound like you're addicted yet but you do hold very strong potential of it turning that way. Trust me because I was going down that long, dark, lonely road myself a little over a year ago myself. At 1st I found myself building up a very high tolerance & the pills wouldn't work so I would take a 2nd because the bottle did say take 1-2 every 4-6 so I didn't anything of it. Before I knew what was happening I was with a Pain Management Doctor take Norco 10/325 up to 4 x's daily & mscotin 60's 23x's daily & soma 325mg up to 4x's daily. At this point it was still under control as I was under PM care & I did follow instructions. About 2 years ago I started a downward spin till I lost control & hit bottom hard.

I could sit her & blame the hubby, he did have a lot to do with it & to say about it & still does 14 months later when knowing that I have not taken a darn thing for pain & I will sit here & die 1st before I give him the satisfaction on an I told you so & see him grab my kids & run because it will not happen, I will not let it happen.

When my meds stopped working I did try to do the right thing but the doctors didn't care & they would either up it or put me on yet another pill. It finally got to the point that I said screw it & it was just easier considering so many I knew also took them so one hand washes the other, right? NO WRONG, I really messed it up & came damn close to losing the 1 thing in my live other then my beloved Nana, my 2 boys. I came close but thankfully I was still close enough to shore to pull myself out & slowly climb back to my feet.

Last January I went to try to get help & was laughed at by more then one doctor & nurse because and I quote 'It's not like you're shooting up heroin or something, you don't have a problem', Can you friggin believe it? Here I dragged myself for help because I knew i could not handle this on my own & everyone turned their back on me, with the exception of 1 nurse. He gave me the name & # of a doctor that he said could & would help if I wanted it badly enough. This new doctor not only took my insurance & didn't charge me a dime but his office fit me in the next day. With his help & support I stopped ALL meds & switched to all non-narcotic meds (well, I will not give up my ambien & he said he would never ask me to). As long as I didn't take any opiate based meds he would be happy. He does the wonderful pee test every month, he made me start therapy & NA/AA meetings, I have to admit I haven't been to one since I found all of these wonderful people at DS. They have helped me 100x's more then any meeting ever did considering the ones I could make they really didn't speak English very well.

Oh my, I did it again, I didn't mean to run on about this but it is a topic I know all too well. If you want to talk some more please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail, if I can help one person from going through the hell that I did & still do (now it's just in managing the pain & not the meds). Best of luck.....

How can you say you are addicted when you also say this,
"I feel great When I don't take it or I forget to take it."

That is backward to what an addict says and feels.
THis is very confusing.

@cindy, treatment, addiction
jsut using my own case as an example - once i was adequately treated to have liveable pain, which still isn't great and have to fo through changes occasionally, i've been on the same dosage of key meds for a few years although, as i said, there were plenty of adjustment periods.
i take breakthrough meds as needed. sometimes i don't take them on schedule and i get a not so friendly reminder. i don't double dose, i don't get a buzz...
i think when you start doing those things you are abusing.
with certain meds, a tolerance build may happen. your MD may make a slight increase or try another med.
i hope this helps. may not be the best explanation, but that's how i understand it.
hope it helped a little or you can go to ask an expert on DS and they might explain better.
hugs :)

I said when I take my pain medicine I feel great when I forget to take it I feel bad

I do think you're addicted only because you said, "I use it to help me with my problems". That's not what pain meds are for. But you know that. You need to get some help before it gets out of control. I know the feeling, though. When I was first diagnosed with lupus, the doc put me on percocet for the pain but I began to enjoy the euphoria I had with it. I stopped it immediately and went on something different. jthat was 16 years ago and I've never taken another pain med that makes me feel "high" like percocet. Maybe it's because I need the meds now for the pain and the relief I get alone is worth it.
God bless and good luck!
Sandy

If you're taking pain medication to deal with your problems, then that is a problem.

Forgive me if I'm wrong but didn't you just go through treatment for drug addiction??

If you are taking pain medicine to feel high and not to help pain, then yes it's a problem. Talk to your dr about it before it gets to serious that it's something you don't see yourself.

bottomline, you really need to discuss this with your dr. - maybe your pain isn't being treated or maybe you have a problem that can be treated in healthier ways. i still don't understand why you use WH as your avi.
is what gr8ful said true? have you already had addiction issues? if so, you have to be very careful about meds.
how can we help and support you?

wondered about the avi myself. But I agree with Serenity, and how can we help and support? There are so many great people here and we are all willing to help in anyway we can :)

Tabby, what are you getting pain medicine for? The last time you posted you said that all the doctors ran all the tests and didn't find anything wrong. Have they since made a diagnosis?