Did anyone develop a dependence on prescription drugs? :(

tommycat
tommycat Member Posts: 790 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
Wondering if anyone out there developed a dependence on prescribed medicines i.e. T3s, Ativan, etc.
If so, what did you do, or are you doing, to break the habit?
I was prescribed Ativan almost two yrs and am only now slowly weaning myself off it it, but it has its challenges for sure.

Comments

  • plh4gail
    plh4gail Member Posts: 1,238 Member
    #2
    Not this time, but when I
    Not this time, but when I had a neck/disc problem a few years ago, I saw how easy it was to go through Vicodin and decided I better not get the next refill.

    Take care my dear, gail
  • idlehunters
    idlehunters Member Posts: 1,787 Member
    #3
    plh4gail said:

    Not this time, but when I
    Not this time, but when I had a neck/disc problem a few years ago, I saw how easy it was to go through Vicodin and decided I better not get the next refill.

    Take care my dear, gail

    OHHHHH YEAAAAA....
    Oxycodone....... I was pill stupid.... I didn't know they were addicting.... Onc or no other doc either bothered to mention that. A stage IV cancer patient can get any drug they want and as much as they want...that's what I learned. I fell and broke my back in 2 places...6 months after DX...thats when I started with the pain pills. When my back healed I told doc I didn't need the Oxy any more...HE informed me...oh yes you do...huh? Then I realized I was hooked. It was the worst experience of my life...worse than cancer... I had to be admitted to a psyco drug ward and go thru the withdrawal process to get off them. I spent 4 days of hell and thank God I got thru it. This was just MY experience and most do not get to this point that I know of. I do from time to time take a pain pill now.... BUT...now I am INFORMED...now I know MY limit... and what I cannot take. I think that is what you need to know...what YOU and YOUR body can SAFELY handle. Take care

    Jennie
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #4
    Tramadol (Ultram) got me
    and it's supposedly non-addictive - not even a "scheduled" drug. I became physically addicted, tho never mentally addicted. Just found when I didn't take the pills on time, I'd become shaky and nauseous. Finally realized what was going on, and carefully weaned myself over 3 weeks, dropping one daily pill every 3 days. No fun.
  • ron50
    ron50 Member Posts: 1,723 Member
    #5
    I was not addicted
    But I was totally dependant on prednisone. When you take a high doses of a steroid like prednisone your body stops producing the natural stuff. It took me nearly four months to wean off it. Never again!Ron.
  • tommycat
    tommycat Member Posts: 790 Member
    #6
    Thanks for your honesty, all
    Thanks for your honesty, all of you. Am seeing a doc today to explore ways to get this Ativan monkey off my back.
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #7
    Meds
    I've been taking 80mg of Oxycodone daily for three years and I have no problems!
    ;-)
    Seriously, I have had 5 major surgeries and have pain issues. Back when there was that multiple murder on Long Island earlier this year (?) I took a look at where I was since that was the drug that the guy killed all of those people over. It does get a lot of press. Almost ALL pain meds have addiction issues. I think that too often, doctors don't warn us about that. They assume we are more informed than we actually are. We're often so focused on the cancer we're not tuned in to the pain meds. I've gone from taking 30/20/30 mg per day down to 10/10/10 mg per day and I get the same amount of relief from the lower dose. I still hurt but even at the higher dose I hurt. I just didn't mind as much.
    It really is something (else) that many of us often have to deal with.

    I think it's great you are doing this. Ive found that if you THINK there is a problem, often there is one.
    Have you talked to you doctor about this and anything you need to be aware of? Sometimes cold turkey is good but sometimes it's not.
    Best of luck to you TC
    -p
  • northernlites
    northernlites Member Posts: 96
    #8
    prescriptions...
    Hi,
    I take 5mg oxycodone amd 600 mg ibruprophen every night before bed. It is the only thing that I have found that works for me at night to get to sleep. I ask my oncologist about it the other day and he said if it works then take it, because my body needed rest. Am i addicted?? probably... But it works for me...

    tessa
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    #9
    Heck
    The first thing they did was prescribe pain killers and Ativan and I'm sure I could have gotten oxy if I wanted it. I took a couple of pills, and a year and 7 months later, their still there in the drawer (except for the vicoden's that an ex of my son's stole). I thought it was strange of me not to take them, my husband would say, you hurt, take a pill and I would tell him "I know it's stupid, since I'm going to die, why should I worry about being addicted, but I want to enjoy my time too much, and don't want to be in a haze." So I never did, although I think it could have been easy for me to have done so. Very easy, but I'm scared of having an addictive personality ((a few of my brothers and one of my sisters (oxy and heroin) is like that, and that's always scared me from drugs, other then marijuana)). And that is probably the only reason why I didn't. I wish you the best on getting yourself off of them, I know it can be difficult!!! Wish I had advice for you.
    Hugs,
    Winter Marie
  • steveandnat
    steveandnat Member Posts: 886
    #10
    Still use
    I am still using vicodine...it seems to keep me calm and relaxed especially chemo weeks. I do pretty good not over doing it but I know if I was told to stop them tomorrow it wouldn't be that easy. I've had some chemo buddies that don't take any pain medicine and for many of them seem to suffer too much and get worn down too easy from fighting the pain on their own. I'm probably a wimp when it come to the pain but if there is something that can help minimize it why not.
    Jeff
  • tommycat
    tommycat Member Posts: 790 Member
    #11
    steveandnat said:

    Still use
    I am still using vicodine...it seems to keep me calm and relaxed especially chemo weeks. I do pretty good not over doing it but I know if I was told to stop them tomorrow it wouldn't be that easy. I've had some chemo buddies that don't take any pain medicine and for many of them seem to suffer too much and get worn down too easy from fighting the pain on their own. I'm probably a wimp when it come to the pain but if there is something that can help minimize it why not.
    Jeff

    I agree Jeff.

    I agree Jeff.
  • maglets
    maglets Member Posts: 2,576 Member
    #12
    tommycat said:

    I agree Jeff.

    I agree Jeff.

    drugs
    I started using an antidepressant about 3 years ago....I take 37.5 mg of effexor every day. At night I take .5mg of ativan to get me off to sleep....sometimes i really wish I was not on the ativan but i think it would be hard for me to stop even that small amount....i have come to "count" on it.....

    I have found that most of the pain drugs tend to make me violently sick to my stomach....i tried medical MJ a couple of times but i didn't like that.....so i will still have a glass of wine once in a while to settle those pre-test jitters.....

    maggie
  • tko683
    tko683 Member Posts: 264 Member
    #13
    Ativan....yes...
    I started taking ativan when I finished with my chemo and radiation and had a bizarre seizure that freaked me out. My doctor told me to take the ativan every night so I did. The 4 years later my doctor told me that I needed to wean myself from it so I cut then in half and started taken 1/2mg each night. Then my husband was dx with stage 4 rectal cancer this year and I am still taking the 1/2 mg each night. One day I will try to wean myself again but not right now. My doctor gave me a prescription for the 1/2mg and said when I am ready I could start cutting then in half but again not right now...Good luck.

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