A Self-Help Guide to Overcoming Prescription Narcotics Addiction

The process is long, be prepared to be sick for over a month. If you work, it would be great if you could just take a vacation as much, sick and personal time as you can because you need it.  I was prescribed narcotic analgesics around 1998 and used for the first 9 years with no problems. I was prescribed Fentanyl patches, Oxycontin and Hydrocodone at different times during this time. In any case, the doctor was left on the flow of what I took. She was the one who prescribed it and knew I was taking.  I can not really say when it started I became dependent on drugs. My doctor called addiction and I disagree. I called addiction …. but, for some reason, I have been demanding more of the medication and use it faster than what was prescribed and I knew I was in trouble. My father was an alcoholic, my brother, a former recreational drug user, so I knew something (dependence) ——addiction seeing my family with their problems  . I spoke with my doctor about it and, for some reason, she chose not to help me on this.  She informed if and when I stopped, I have to go through withdrawal. This was probably his way of “teach me a lesson,” but I did not ask if she felt like that  . In mid-June of 2009 I made the decision to stop. I would be out of pills and refills outside and it just seemed to be the best time to declare my independence. My target date was July 4, 2009 —Independence Day. I watched some reality TV shows about celebrities and rehabilitation so I would have a pretty good idea what I was going. I informed my family of my intentions and started.  The first two days were not too bad, but the third day, I was sweating, nausea, vomiting, and very weak. I could not eat, could not drink – especially water, could not do much except get out of bed to use the bathroom and then stumble my way back to bed. The nausea was bad, I could not keep liquids down, I was able to eat crackers. My husband was scared and asked me to please lay down on the couch where he could watch me. The sofa, the bathroom and bed were as far as I could go.  For two weeks I thought I would die …. then, slowly, things started turning around. The nausea subsided, I was able to keep liquids down and I started to enjoy the beef broth. It tasted heavenly. The weakness lasted about a month and then, slowly, my body started to react and my life started to turn around. Ten years of taking prescription narcotics has vanished in the dust.