Prayers for my family

[pri17cess72]

Hi Everyone,

Please say prayers for my family we are going through a rough time.

We found out that my brother is addicted to prescription drugs. It is a very complicated and sad story but none the less prayers are much needed for my brother and my mother.

Please say prayers for my family especially my Mother who is very hurt by this and my brother who does not recognize that he has a problem.

They live together and it has been very difficult for my Mother who is taking on all the burden of this right now and trying to be strong.

Thank you everyone this means a lot to me that I know my family is in your prayers and thoughts.

God Bless!

[Edin]

pls know that i will be praying for your brother, your mom and you. God will make a way where there seems to be no way. hugssssssssss God bless

[ixtapacheryl]

My mother (age 82) was also addicted to Rx pain drugs..... She was taking Oxycotin/Vicodin/Hydrocoden/sleeping pills/alcohol and driving. OMG she was a walking time bomb (an accident waiting to happen). She fell many times - broke her wrists - would forget that we were even visiting her at her apartment - you name it!

Well long story short I mentioned to her while she was visiting us in Florida that she was addicted. Now she is a retired drug/alcohol counselor. She vehemently denied she had a problem. Well she moved down here two years ago - we got her off the drugs. She went cold turkey and she can't believe how different she feels. She is no longer experiencing "brain fog". Sure she still has back pain - but those pills never killed her pain in the first place.

I will definitely remember all of you in my prayers. Get him some help immediately! It sounds like he needs some intervention. It probably would help if your mom would seek out some counseling because she is involved as well.

God Bless you and your family!

[pri17cess72]

Thank you so much for the prayers and hugs. It is been very painful for all of us and it is really taking it toll on me.

I went to see my brother the other day and I hope I talked some sense into him. He is a doctor and I asked him if he would prescribe this amount to his patients and he said No. I reminded him that he is very smart and he does not this stuff. I warned him that I would seek professional help if he did not stop. I hope this worked. He seems normal now and not so strange.

I have called an interventionist and they are prepared to help and come the second I call.

Thanks again!

[JannyLite]

I understand exactly the distress you and your family are feeling! My sister, an RN, was taking Vicodin/marijuana/alcohol/spending excessively and beginning to neglect her child until we launched an intervention when we realized the extent of the problem and discovered she had started stealing Rx pads from employer to write prescriptions. The drugs hidden in every nook and cranny of her house were shocking. We got her into a program over near you in the East Bay after threatening exposure to nursing board and removal of her child. We also made sure to threaten the various doctors who had written the various prescriptions to ensure that they were more observant with future patients.

We also really had to look at how we, as family members, enabled her; my parents were always there to rescue her when she messed up. I agree that your Mom, if not all family members, will need counseling to learn how best to interact with your brother and to handle emotions of anger, guilt, etc. We were all advised so often to take care of ourselves first...and that will be important to you when you are dealing with all this and trying to change your way of eating.

Regrettably, instead of dealing with back pain and life stressors by exercising, healthy eating, relaxation techniques, etc., my sister continues to look for the typical American's "easy way out": medication, stimulants (coffee, nicotine), antacids, etc. At least we believe she is not abusing the Rx pain drugs or pot.

Do follow through with the intervention. For medical professionals, especially, access to the Rx drugs is so easy. Your brother needs help seeing that he has a problem.

But take good care of yourself too! We're here for you, and I'll be adding you and your family to my prayers!

[pri17cess72]

Hi Jan,

Thank you so much for your post. I appreciate your feedback knowing you went through this too.

Do you remember the name of the treatment center in the East Bay?

Good to know you are close. Do you live in SF?

I will be looking for your posts.

Thanks,
Liz

[ixtapacheryl]

Jan: Great post ...... I agree with you that some of these prescribing doctors should be shot. I can't believe they gave my mother all that crap and she's 83 y/o. What were they thinking? I even wrote a letter to my mother's doctor and that didn't stop him. He didn't stop writing the RX until the day before she moved to Florida ..... that should tell you something.

Thank God she is off all that junk. She is taking Cymbalta for her pain but that is not a narcotic. I suggested it to her new doctor and he gave her some samples. At least she is not "lurching or lunging when walking" like she did in the past. She said she does feel a difference - plus she's in great moods

I'm still praying for your brother pri17cess72 and also you and your family!

[JannyLite]

Dear Liz:

Yes, I do live in San Francisco, across the Bay from you. So there's someone close by with experience of what you're going through...when it comes to the family issues and also our trying to lose weight!

Originally Posted by pri17cess72

Do you remember the name of the treatment center in the East Bay?

It was the Mt. Diablo Medical Pavilion Center for Recovery, located in Concord.

I remember family were asked to participate in sessions there several times over the course of the month, and it was so important to meet other people feeling and going through the same thing. You would be pleasantly surprised at how even continuing to go to a nearby 12-step program for relatives of addicts can really help you to care for yourself...and help with our own relationship and food issues too!

Anyway, keep us posted on how things are going. Prayers are winging your way!

[JannyLite]

Oh, and Ixtapacheryl, you are so right! These doctors need to be held accountable. That's why I'm on the bandwagon with the push for computerized health records, like Newt Gingrich and Hillary Clinton support.

In that way, a flag would have gone up with the number of prescriptions and the different doctors also prescribing the same drug. I also want a more open book on medical mistakes and violations. An industry that polices itself is so prone to abuse.

And then, of course (as she climbs on her soapbox), there's drug company advertising and our desire for the "quick fix." All that has to change so that Americans aren't reaching for the little blue pill to make them feel better all the time! Or calling their doctors for the medicine advertised on TV that they don't even know the purpose of...just the vague "Call your doctor to see if [blank] is right for you!" Aaagghh!

Okay, okay! I'm calming down. Well, don't anyone mention kids and the drugs they're giving them!

Sorry, Liz, for ranting and raving here. It just makes me so mad...the coercive nature of our drug and advertising industries, lack of time for doctors to properly screen their patients for meds and our own desire for easy solutions. Oh, well. Knowledge is power...so at least we're all advocates now in our own little ways.

[pri17cess72]

Hi Jan,

Thanks so much for the info on the treatment center. I will check it out. You words and encouragement are very much appreciated.

You left me a link to a thread on my journal and I clicked on it and nothing is there. I am not sure if you have a journal, I was going to write you a note.

Go ahead and rant and rave.....this kind of problem is what got my family in this mess to begin with. The irony is my brother is a doctor and probably has his friends prescribe his meds. Kind of like Dr House on that TV show.
ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!

Have a great new years and thanks for stopping by my journal Jan!!

[Edin]

hi pri, i hope things are a bit better. hugsssssssss perhaps you can remind your brother of his hypocratic oath, which is "to first do no harm". that is to include himself.

pls take good care. praying

[la.lady]

You have my prayers...