Yes, it is a HUGE problem. My ex-fiance is an oxy addict. He didn't have a pain condition; he got hooked off the street and was in it for the high. However, oxy on the street costs about $80 a pill. So, my ex actually once faked a pinched nerve in his back, went to the emergency room and got a full prescription of percocets, no questions asked. For those who aren't aware... if your addict claims to have a "pinched nerve," it should send up a huge red flag. A real pinched nerve is extremely painful, but will not show up on an X-ray and is very difficult to detect (if not impossible) on an MRI so many ERs/doctor's are forced into the position of taking the patient's word.

Daphneann, I don't doubt your husband has a legitimate chronic pain condition; I'm just sympathizing with you, because I agree with what you are saying and your anger/frustration with your husband's doctor.

I work for hospitals and clinics as a medical transcriptionist. I see where people come in putting on this big show for a doctor who wants to help them. They whimper, bent over in pain, moan how their dog ate their pills and died, how their kid stole their pills, how they are from out-of-town and just need a few to get them home to see their regular doctor, etc. The doctors all know these are signs of drug seeking behavior. It is not easy for a doctor to deal with these people! Anyone who goes to a pain management doctor has been diagnosed as a pain pill addict and has to have a special doctor to monitor them, handle their meds, and get them to agree to "contracts" that they will go nowhere else for their pain meds and will not buy them on the street, but they also know these people are addicts. The vast majority DO have some pain from back problems, neck problems, fibromyalgia, etc., and to cut them off their pain meds would be cruel, but to make the stick to their contract is tricky, so at some point they get caught, that pain management doctor releases them from their care, and it starts all over with another doctor. It's a REAL mess for the doctor and the patient's family to deal with.

And you are there, why? You are continuing to suffer in silence, why? I, having been a former addict, loved people like you who'd be there to pick us up and keep us on track regarding our addiction. It's been people like my brother who threw me out on December 25, after a blizzard the night before, or my other brother who threw me out at 2am, or those others who've shown me the door that were those who showed the greater love which has gotten me on the absolute right track of life. You just cannot be afraid to separate yourself from the problem and let God do His job. We will continue to fail in doing His job or thinking we're going to assist Him. HE DOES NOT NEED OUR HELP. He needs us to get out of the way. Do it!

One thing I learned is that "people, places and things" are not responsible for our loved one's addictions. They are responsible. Don't get me wrong I agree with the whole prescription drug/doctor/problem here as my son's addiction was to prescription drugs and that's a whole messed up system. But we can't control these kinds of things only ourselves. Alanon is helping me greatly deal with my hurt and anger and emotions. I'm sorry about your husband and all the pain his addictions are causing. I grew up with a Dad like that and my ex is like that so I know. I also know that if you want to feel better inside there is help out there for you in that regard.

my mom started her path with legitmate prescription drugs for pain management. I however have several friends who take similar medications and they are not addicts. Many people legitimately take these meds and may be physically reliant on them for pain management, but physically reliant and addicted are not necessarily the same. The physical reliance comes with using the pills properly, not using them to get high. Several friends have told me for example, that oxys made them buzzed the first few weeks they took them, but then the buzz wore off, and they take the dose to relieve the pain, and dont get the buzz anymore. Now if they were to want the buzz, they need only increase their dose, but they do not, because they are only using them to relieve the pain, not get wasted.

Long and short of it is that it is the personality of the person who starts taking the meds for pain management. I do think that it is a choice

I too think the addict comes first. My 1st husband was alcoholic and hurt his back. And that was a "dream come true". He had a "reason" to take pills and drink. He was in pain. Well, true pain management programs try to keep you from living on drugs. My 2nd husband who I left in 2005, contacted me a year ago. He has found a "dream". He found a doctor who would give him pain meds for his back problem. A "legal" way to get high. My son-in-law found one of those doctors who just gives pills. But...he was an addict BEFORE he found this doctor. Yes, the doctors can be a problem, but it is the addict looking for the high. I have chronic pain, but since I am not an addict...I don't get hooked on pills. In fact, I look for any alternative to taking the drugs. Don't justify what your husband is doing and look for other to blame. By the way, my 1st husband went to rehab...got into AA and was clean and sober 8 years and NEVER took a pill again.

Thanks to all of you, I think I can see that my anger has been displaced. I know that my husband has always had addiction problems and he found his dream come true with a legal way to get drugs. I am truly appreciative to each and every one of you for helping me to see this! I just wish things were different. He is sleeping on the tile floor now, I guess fixing the grout became tiring for him midstream. It is him that is abusing rx pills. I have wasted alot of energy being angry at the drs. THANX!

I think anytime you go to a medical professional, they are going to approach the problem how they were trained. Medical doctors are trained to treat the symptoms. When the symptoms do not disappear with medication, they may often refer out to various other professionals such as therapists, chiropractors, etc. The unfortunate thing is that when a person is drug seeking, they can go to multiple doctors and get prescriptions and then go to different pharmacies to get them filled. I just finished an intervention on a guy whose ex-wife was and the family failed to mention it to me, addicted to pain pills. She had six different doctors treating the same "disease". There has to be a better way to track this, because I'm sure none of these doctors had any clue what was going on.

I know a pain doc who "fired" patients for being liars and obvious drug seeking beavior. I mean, how many times can one "Lose" their meds???? Too bad all the doc's don't do that.

I feel you competley. My mother has back problems and doesn't want to get surgery done. So she started taking all the pain medications that her doctor gave her and slowly just started going downhill after awhile. Since I was 14 years old I would have to constantly be checking on her to make sure she didn't over do it too bad this time. I would have to take care of my little brother and I never could have friends over because she would fall face first into her food every single time she ate.
For some reason she can't seem to comprehend that its not just herself that she is hurting. It is hurting her kids and now her granddaughters. I know it sounds very selfish for me to talk that way but I feel that its the truth. All these doctors have just made things worse and my mom doesnt seem to care enough to straighten her act up.
Before I got pregnant with my first daughter my mother started going to several dif. doctors in dif. areas so she could get more pills and she will def. put on a show and do whatever she has to do to get what she wants.
I moved 6 hours away from her about 7 months ago and I dont think I have ever felt so guilty because most of my childhood has been spent caring for her and watchin out for her. I still have been having issues with this and I know that when she finally o.d.'s again that eventually its gonna be too much and they wont be able to bring her back. I know that I will have to live with that for the rest of my life but I have a family of my own and my second daughter is due in less than a week and I can't keep trying to protect her.
The last time I saw my mother she came to stay with me for a few days. The first day she spent screaming and crying and scaring my little girl to death because she couldnt understand why her nanny was falling out all over the place and yelling. By the time she had left my daughter was literally scared to be to close to her and she ended up WRITING on all my daughters furniture in her room and opening all the food we had in our freezer. she slept standing up infront of my microwave for 2 straight hours knocked out and anytime I tried to get her to go lay down and sleep it off all it did was piss her off and she would scream at me and cuss me out. By the time she left my house she just about hated me because I would let her take my daughter to the park. Its like she doesnt understand and its very hard for the whole family. I just get so stressed out sometimes.
It scares me to try to talk to her about all of my concerns because the last time that I did it was when my oldest daughter was a week old. Exactly a week old and I wouldn't let her drive with her in the car. That night she O.D. and her heart stopped and they all(our family) made it pretty clear that it was all my fault. She went to rehab for a few weeks but that didnt help a thing. I'm sorry that u and ur daughters have to live with all of it and I know it can be really hard at times. I wish u the best though! Ur not alone!