I am the mom of a 17 year old addict. She started when she was about 13, at 14 she went into an outpatient rehab program and was clean and doing well for about a year and a half. Had a job as a dental assistant full time and was doing distance learning. I kept her with me 24/7 for 6 straight months until I knew she was clean and making proper decisions. She was on a drug test patch for a long time (it collects sweat and dna for a week and then is removed and sent for testing and another is put on, there is no manipulating this test to be fooled).
She was running away in the middle of the night and would be gone for days and I could not find her. I stopped looking and just started praying and reporting her missing. We lost everything in the fight to get this girl clean. I lost my great paying job and we moved in with family so I could be with her all of the time.
She is back to using Meth now, lives with her abusive 25 year old so called boyfriend, and no matter what I do or say she will not come home. If I bring her home she leaves again. He beats her and she will not report it. I believe he is involved with prostitution and drugs. She is down to about 89lbs and looks very bad. My hands are tied because where I live there is not a lock down facility nor will my insurance cover it. My husband and I cannot afford $3k a month for a program and so we search for help and wait. I pray to God all day long that she will have a change of heart, mind and soul, and again I wait.
I have given her until the end of the week to come home and get into a program. I have scheduled 3 appointments for her with a therapist and she doesn't go, so I turned it over to her. I told her I will do whatever it takes to get her out of that place this week even if I have to go to court and try to get her committed. She seems to believe me as she has been talking about getting help and calling the therapist. She called her old counselor from her rehab and she says she is going to church with me on Wed. So I wait and hope that she will.
I don't trust her. I feel desperate, hopeless, sad and like my heart is going to burst if we don't get her help. I dread the phone ringing and seeing her #, or a number I do not recognize, afraid that something has again happened and that she can't call or that it is the police or hospital. I also dread her coming home to stay as it will be a long hard road to recovery again and there will be fighting, anger and tension in the house.
I have been a good mom and always there and attentive to my children. I have a 22 year old daughter who is a pretty good girl. My girls know I would lay down my life for them. I did not raise this kid to be the ass that she is today, to choose drugs and beatings over love.
Meth is a horrible, horrible extremely addictive, very available monster and it takes over your being as well as the innocent bystanders around you. I can say that if I had it to do over again I would start drug testing on day one of Junior High and continue random testing through the age of 18. There are things that I would do different, but at 17 with 6-months left there has to be something drastic and hard to change her life.
I am praying and waiting. If you are an angel please help. If you have a suggestion please help. I don't want to watch my baby die anymore.
(Original Air Date: 04/25/06) How do you get through to rebellious teens who think they are invincible? Dr. Phil has advice for parents terrified that their kids are headed down a destructive path. Shelly says that her 15-year-old daughter, Allie, was the perfect child before partying and drinking took over her life. Allie has been cited several times for public intoxication, and also has been caught stealing prescription drugs. Shelly fears her daughter won't make it to her 18th birthday. Dr. Phil introduces Allie to someone he thinks will leave a lasting impression. Then, Kim is scared to death because her 16-year-old daughter, Briana, has sex with older men and doesn't use condoms. Briana was even caught having sex with a 23-year-old in the backseat of his car! Dr. Phil gives Briana a wake-up call she'll never forget. And, a teen who has spent over 400 hours in tanning beds says she’s unconcerned about the health risks. Share your thoughts, join the discussion?
