Taking Medications

[janbear]

This is a program of total abstinence, however, there are times, such as in
cases of health problems involving surgery and/or extreme physical injury,
when medication may be valid. This does not constitute a license to use. There
is no safe use of drugs for us. Our bodies don't know the difference between
drugs prescribed by a physician for pain and drugs "prescribed by ourselves"
to get high. As addicts our skill at self-deception will be at a peak in such a
situation. Often our minds will even manufacture additional pain as an excuse
to use. Turning it over to our Higher Power and getting the support of our
sponsor and other members can help prevent us from being our own worst
enemies. Being alone during such times would give our disease too much
leeway to take over. Honest sharing can dispel our fears of relapse. Serious
illness or surgery can present particular problems for us.
Physicians should have specific knowledge of our addiction. Remember that
we—not our doctor—are ultimately responsible for the risk we expose
ourselves to. To minimize the danger there are a few specific options that we
may consider. These are using local anesthesia, avoiding our drug of choice, if
any, stopping while we are still hurting, and spending extra days in the
hospital in case withdrawal occurs.
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Whatever pain we experience will pass. Through prayer, meditation and
sharing we keep our minds off our discomfort and have the strength to keep
our priorities in order. It is imperative to keep N.A. members close by at all
times, if possible. It is amazing how our minds will go back so quickly to our
old ways and old thinking. You'd be surprised how much pain we can handle
without medication. In this program of total abstinence, however, we need
feel no guilt after having taken a minimum amount of medication prescribed
by an informed professional for extreme physical pain.

Basic Text

[shydawg]

There
is no safe use of drugs for us. Our bodies don't know the difference between
drugs prescribed by a physician for pain and drugs "prescribed by ourselves"
to get high.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ this is a great passage taken from chapter 10 "more will be revealed" ....doctors were my dope dealers for my yrs even tho i never had a 'script 1/2 the time , its my personell responsibility to tell the doc that I'm an addict in recovery & then my responsiblity to tell my sponsor if im taking meds that could be dangerous to my recovery . MY RECOVERY IS ALWAYS MY RESPONSIBILTY & IT IS ALWAYS A CHOICE

[dalin]

I know that as I get older,and my body becomes tired,I have
had to redefine the standerds that I set for myself in my first
5 years clean.
I talk to my sponsor about it as time goes by.
I can never use dope of any kind like an "Earth-person"
but I have had to redefine my old attitudes as time passed.

[AngryDan]

My experience, strength and hope...

When I had about 9 years clean, my appendix burst...I sweated out the whole day on the bed until I couldnt take it anymore...and then drove myself to the hospital a mile away (of course-typical addict-couldnt ask for help!!)

In the hospital I sweated it out some more before surgery. Told the nurses/docs I was an addict and didnt want anything....then I couldnt take it anymore......

..in tears, I asked for relief. In tears, because of the pain and because of the thoughts of "using" I watched them pump me full of stuff.

I didn't get "high", there was no enjoyment...there was relief from the excrutiating physical pain. I'm sure I probably acted a little dopey...but it wasn't anything like "getting off" I simply remember relief from the physical pain. The only enjoyment was relief from the gut wrenching physical pain.

After surgery, I again told the doc I was an addict-clean for a number of years. He sent me home with a weeks worth of pain meds ( he originally suggested more-I said less)

After two days, I woke up-and the physical pain was bearable. I threw out the rest of the meds.


Yes, my recovery is my responcibility..so is my health.
I have an honest desire to stay clean...I have made a concious decision and choice to stay clean....the key word here is honest.

Do I honestly feel enough physical pain to need medication?
Are the meds making me feel loopy-or just taking the edge off the physical pain?
Have I thoroughly explained to the physicians my circumstances?
Questions I HONESTLY have to ask myself.

Later in recovery, I had some elective, in office, surgery done-where the physician told me to take a drug 2 hrs before the surgery. I told him my situation ...he explained that the drug was necessary in order for the body to physically relax enough to do the surgery (it was a vasectomy). I took no "aftercare" medications. (that time..I was "loopey" from the one pre-surgery pill)

What Ive learned over the years:
Extreme physical pain is not a requirement.
The human body cannot heal when in extreme physical pain.
I need to make a concious and honest decision about my condition.
I need to inform my medical staff of what I really am.
I need to inform my NA network of whats going on.
I need to bare some physical pain at times without the use of drugs
I need to make choices.

[Victoriana]

This is an interesting thread. Thank you.
There will always be times, through accident or illness, when an addict will be exposed to addictive drugs prescribed for his/her own wellbeing. For this reason I have included information into my sos bracelet about my addiction along with the fact that I am diabetic in case I am found unconscious somewhere.
There are times when it is unavoidable to prescribe some addictive substances. In these cases we should not see ourselves as failures or beat ourselves up but rather, find out if there is an alternative which can be used during follow up treatment and be on top of all medical decisions. Discuss everything thoroughly with the medical team and talk about getting back into recovery when necessary.

[shydawg]

lots of E, S, H, being shared , thanks!! I'm still learning alot . as 'script meds were 1 of my fav DOC there towards the end of my using .. so the thought of being prescribed meds by the doc scares me .. i know what I'm suppose to do . but it still scares me ..again at the same time its also my resposibility to take care of myself when the time calls for it .. thanks for sharing