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Thursday, October 3, 2013

Opioid Dependency: The real and scary truth!

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.”



Because I am a nurse in the state of Florida (the mecca of all prescription drug abuse) I see tons of prescription pain pill addiction. Not only do I deal with Opioid addiction in my professional life, I have also see the hard truths in my personal life. I've had one family member die from a pain patch and a combination of other medicines that were not prescribed to him. I also have a very close family member to me that has a legitimate back injury. The doctor immediately prescribed my family member a heavy duty drug instead of trying a lesser pain medication. I have watching this family member withdraw within herself and her addiction over the past 12 years. She will not come out of her house or around others unless she has lots of pain pills to get her through. While I realize that she has legitimate injuries, I believe at this point she does not even know what pain she has anymore. I do not blame her for this addiction; I blame the doctor that immediately jumped the gun with this really addictive drug. I have literally seen her have seizures when she ran out of her prescription pain medicines. Her youngest was 10 when the addiction first started and all of her children have had to see their mother in this state during a great part of their formative years. My heart hurts for her, and for her children, and I pray that one day she will explore treatment options. I also had an acquaintance that had an addiction of prescription drugs. At the age of 24 she went to bed one night and never woke up because she overdosed on opioids. She left behind a young child. This was not the first time her dependence almost took her life. Just a year before she had been in a terrible wreck with her infant in the backseat. She swore she would never take any opioids again, but unfortunately her addiction won.

There are options to treat Opioid Dependency that many people are not aware of. Most of these options are covered by insurance. I think a big reason that people do not explore these options is the embarrassment of having to admit to their self and to others that they have an addiction. Right now, only 44% of Americans believe that there are medications that can help treat prescription opioid drug dependence, but 58% of Adults and 73% of doctors would support the use of medicines to treat Opioid Dependency. 



Opioid Dependency is real, it is a disease like any other, and cannot be ignored! There are approximately 2 million Americans that are affected by this disease and it is costing the US around $193 BILLION dollars per year. There have been countless lives lost, just like with my family member and friend.  If you or a family member has an addiction to Opioids, please send them to the link above before it is too late!


3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for posting this. I have been on suboxone for 6 years and it has saved my life. The turn to help website is a great resource for all those struggling. Instead of " not speaking" about such a subject I am glad you as a blogger, had the courage to come out and bring up a subject that others might fear would be too controversial. I now like your blog even more than I did before ( if thats even possible) LoL) but its true. I thank you for educating people on such a subject where other people may be quick to judge. There is proof that any addict can change and you do not need to die an addict. Addicts do change Sometimes they need a little help weather it be from medicine or support groups. Thanks again. ___ BTW I am a reader and subscriber of your blog and have been. This article really caught my eye when I got my daily email I saw the subject and was like hmmm....and had to check it out...

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    1. awesome! I am glad I posted it even more then :)

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