Quote From: geekasaur Life in chronic pain is no joke, and I completely understand where Joani has been and how she got there. Everyone is right that if you take narcotics you will be physically addicted to it. What few people get is that for many people in chronic pain, they will back that up by saying, "So, what's your point? Yes it is addictive, and I would dearly love to be on anything else, I would, if I could, but I can't, so I won't."
I came down with something called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy in 1994, comepletely out of the blue. Prior to that, I cycled 60 km (about 35 miles) a day, to and from work. My wife and I were very good ballroom dancers, which TV watchers now know is a lot of effort. Instantaneously it was all over. I was using a cane, then 2, then Canada canes, then crutches, then a walker, a wheelchair and now a power chair. Every step down came with a lot of resistance and I waited far too long before finally giving in. With my meds it was the same story. I began with anti-inflammatories and the other painkillers, followed by codeine and then on up through its derivatives, morphine and its derivatives, etc. When my condition was it its worst, I was on 85 mg of sub-cu dilaudid (hydromorphone) an hour. Sub-cu is about twice the strength of pills, I am told, which would make it 10 times stronger than morphine.. I am now on about 10% of that, as fentanyl. Thank God for socialized medicine, because the dilaudid cost $350 Canadian a day, about $300 US. That is a day, folks!
Right now, all up my drugs and other medical expenses total $23,000+ a year, most of which is covered by socialized medical support and insurance. It still isn't cheapand doesn't include all the non-medical costs, like equipment and "decorating" costs, and a great topic for an expose is the cost of being disabled - try toilet seats. Going down the last 2" is the killer, so a toilet seat that eliminates it is worth its weight in gold, or almost, since it costs $135 and not even gold costs that much! You can buy motorcycles cheaper that power wheelchairs, suitably kitted out with extras like seats and controllers (I am not joking!).
Joani has my sympathy and deserves yours. Yes, she made a mistake, Yes it is awful easy to make, and easier to throw stones. While it doesn't make her mistake right, neither is all the stonethrowing.
I too understand the awful consequences of drug addiction. Sadly about 10 years ago my boyfriend (now husband) and I were addicted to meth. I got off fairly easily but my husband struggled for a while we are both meth free and have been for 9-10 years. I am now struggling with a pain pill addiction (any kind of pain pill, it doesn't matter to me what kind) and while I beat my meth addiction alone with no rehab I went cold turkey, I can't seem to kick the pain pill addiction. My husband has no idea that I have been on them for almost 2 years. I have wanted to tell him so many times but I just can't bring myself to tell him, because not only do I worry about whether or not he will leave me (which I would understand and not blame him) but I cannot live with the fact that I will have disappointed him and know that he will never look @ me the same way ever again, I just keep telling myself that I can do this alone and beat it with him being none the wiser. I have been trying to get off of them for about 6 months now and honestly it's not going so great, but I still cannot tell my husband that I need help. And to be honest if the pain pills didn't have serious long term use affects then I probably wouldn't even be considering getting off of them. I suffer from back problems and I work in the healthcare field, sometimes I know that if I didn't have the pain pills I couldn't do my job because of my back, so not only do they help with the pain, they also give me infinite patience and empathy for the patients that I deal with on a daily basis. I love my job and I don't want to quit because I have a problem with pain meds but I can't see doing this line of work without them either. I realize I am probably just making excuses for myself and I hate that. But I love the way the make me feel and it's so wonderful to be able to go to work with minimal pain (it's always there, no matter how many pills I take). I know I must get help soon because my pill intake is usually about 10-15 pain pills a day. I just wish there was a way without having to hurt my family. I got myself into this mess now I guess I must get myself out. Anyone with any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, but please try not to judge me. I seem to be judging myself just fine all by my self. I don't need strangers telling me how big of a piece of crap I am or how I should be ashamed of myself. Believe me I tell myself that everyday.
Sarah and Tecoa check in with Dr. Phil after three months of drug rehabilitation. Sent to two separate rehab centers, the twin sisters had to learn to stand on their own two feet before they could move forward in sobriety. The sisters haven’t seen each other in months. How is Tecoa doing after giving birth and placing the baby for adoption? Which twin relapsed and used IV drugs after months of hard work? Then, after rescuing Sarah and Tecoa, Joani finds herself back to the life of addiction -- abusing pain killers, lying to doctors and even meeting one of the twins’ old drug dealers to purchase heroin! How did this happen? Plus, a viewer inspired by Sarah and Tecoa’s story reaches out for help. Talk about the show here.
