I've had a couple close family members that have become addicted to drugs and watched them change as a person and do things they normally wouldnt do. That in sense has made me very afraid of taking pain meds(when I have too) for a long period of time..afraid I will become addicted to. Have you ever experienced drug addiction yourself or have had a family member go through it?And did they/you recover and get help?
Drug addiction in your family?
04/09/2012
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I come from a long line of alcoholics. Irish/Scot on one side and a really weird mix of European/Native American ancestry.
A small portion of my family is also addicted to prescription medications and not just the ones that relieve pain or depression. It's vital for them to have a medicine cabinet full of things to "fix them".
I, thankfully, do not have the troubles they do. I've never been addicted to anything except for nicotine. I can't imagine their inner dialogue and watching my father drink when I was a kid put things into a different perspective for me. One trick I learned, early on, was to always try to surround myself with people who were driven and "always busy". It made me want to keep up and so I didn't fall into those same pitfalls.
I don't think anyone in my family has done more than go to AA meetings. My grandmother and grandfather quit drinking but that was because of we were military and his CO was not thrilled with his performance. They were going to lose base housing if they didn't stop and start taking care of their kids. Or something like that, I can never keep track of those things when it comes to their stories. Each time you get a slightly different version.
I know my dad spent a couple nights in jail over the years for drunk in public and I'm pretty sure there's a DUI in there somewhere.
A small portion of my family is also addicted to prescription medications and not just the ones that relieve pain or depression. It's vital for them to have a medicine cabinet full of things to "fix them".
I, thankfully, do not have the troubles they do. I've never been addicted to anything except for nicotine. I can't imagine their inner dialogue and watching my father drink when I was a kid put things into a different perspective for me. One trick I learned, early on, was to always try to surround myself with people who were driven and "always busy". It made me want to keep up and so I didn't fall into those same pitfalls.
I don't think anyone in my family has done more than go to AA meetings. My grandmother and grandfather quit drinking but that was because of we were military and his CO was not thrilled with his performance. They were going to lose base housing if they didn't stop and start taking care of their kids. Or something like that, I can never keep track of those things when it comes to their stories. Each time you get a slightly different version.
I know my dad spent a couple nights in jail over the years for drunk in public and I'm pretty sure there's a DUI in there somewhere.
04/09/2012
Psh, I am surrounded by a family of alcoholics... Me and my brother are the only non daily drinkers...
I had many drug addictions in my youth, mainly coke, and sought help and got through it. I am in fact a hardcore stoner to this day.. so maybe I didn't fall far from the tree, or get all that recovered. I don't do coke or hard drugs anymore though, so thats something..
I had many drug addictions in my youth, mainly coke, and sought help and got through it. I am in fact a hardcore stoner to this day.. so maybe I didn't fall far from the tree, or get all that recovered. I don't do coke or hard drugs anymore though, so thats something..
04/09/2012
i have seen family members smoke pot, but thats it really :/ thank god. but i really wish they wouldn't do it in front of their KIDS if they are going to do it.
drinking is the same for me. if i drink in front of my sister, i try my hardest to hide it from her but she always figures it out.
drinking is the same for me. if i drink in front of my sister, i try my hardest to hide it from her but she always figures it out.
04/09/2012
Not even an alcoholic in any even remote close familial ties, unless they hide it really really well.
04/09/2012
My family is full of alcoholics, but I refuse to associate with them. My father and my mother do not have any drug addictions, though, for some time my mom had a cocaine problem, but that went away when the coke stopped coming to the area and she had a bypass. Now, she knows no more coke.
My grand mother and aunt are alcoholics. You can tell when they call you, the ice clings the glass in the background. I really don't have much information on my mom's side of the family and I wish not to know anything unless it effects me. I have valid reasons, but I won't get into it.
My husband is an alcoholic whether or not he wants to admit it. It completely changes him when he drinks and he doesn't know when he has had enough. He drinks nightly, because it is going to "help with pain." He does have 4 bulging disc in his spine and metal plates in his neck, plus bone missing from his hip. He hurts a lot, but alcohol doesn't help.
My mother in law is addicted to pain medicine, but also as many other medications a 65 year old women is taking plus the over the counter stuff. She is just addicted to taking a pill to fix every issue. She goes to the Dr 2-5 times a week. That is more her addiction. She gets something simple like a sore throat, but nothing actually wrong and is confused why she didn't walk out of the doctors office with a prescription. Her medication over dose put her in a coma for 3 weeks. We all thought she was going to die. The cause was Tylenol, which is a filler for he pain medicine, plus she takes Tylenol PM, and Tylenol for arthritis. It was shutting down her liver and stopping her heart from beating on its own, which caused her to pass out in the hall way as well. She lives alone, so no one found her for at least 36 hours. When they admitted her 36 hours at least after she passed out, she had toxic Tylenol doses. We still can't seem to help her out much with it. She is completely addicted to all the medicine the Dr gives her and won't listen to us that she needs to go through detox and change her ways. All she is worried about is cashing in her prescription, especially for her pain meds.
My step Uncle (has been my step uncle since before I was born) is addicted to alcohol, but also Meth. He went to prison for meth for 4.5 years and was released on parole. He had to behave for 6 years. Addiction does not go away and when you hang out with the same people you end up with old patterns. He wasn't out of jail for a year before he went back. Now, he will be gone for another 10 years. He has a child who is 5 and a 2 year old, who will never know him. And I don't blame the mother for not wanting the to know him. He became crazy on the meth and kid napped her by knife point.
I, so far, have no addiction issues. I just must not be wired like that or know when to part ways with something that is too good. I have done many drugs and played around multiple times with hardcore ones. I never found myself with addiction issues. Not everyone who does them becomes addicted, but they can really ruin your life. I stick to my Marijuana to this day. It doesn't make me do things I regret the next day.
My grand mother and aunt are alcoholics. You can tell when they call you, the ice clings the glass in the background. I really don't have much information on my mom's side of the family and I wish not to know anything unless it effects me. I have valid reasons, but I won't get into it.
My husband is an alcoholic whether or not he wants to admit it. It completely changes him when he drinks and he doesn't know when he has had enough. He drinks nightly, because it is going to "help with pain." He does have 4 bulging disc in his spine and metal plates in his neck, plus bone missing from his hip. He hurts a lot, but alcohol doesn't help.
My mother in law is addicted to pain medicine, but also as many other medications a 65 year old women is taking plus the over the counter stuff. She is just addicted to taking a pill to fix every issue. She goes to the Dr 2-5 times a week. That is more her addiction. She gets something simple like a sore throat, but nothing actually wrong and is confused why she didn't walk out of the doctors office with a prescription. Her medication over dose put her in a coma for 3 weeks. We all thought she was going to die. The cause was Tylenol, which is a filler for he pain medicine, plus she takes Tylenol PM, and Tylenol for arthritis. It was shutting down her liver and stopping her heart from beating on its own, which caused her to pass out in the hall way as well. She lives alone, so no one found her for at least 36 hours. When they admitted her 36 hours at least after she passed out, she had toxic Tylenol doses. We still can't seem to help her out much with it. She is completely addicted to all the medicine the Dr gives her and won't listen to us that she needs to go through detox and change her ways. All she is worried about is cashing in her prescription, especially for her pain meds.
My step Uncle (has been my step uncle since before I was born) is addicted to alcohol, but also Meth. He went to prison for meth for 4.5 years and was released on parole. He had to behave for 6 years. Addiction does not go away and when you hang out with the same people you end up with old patterns. He wasn't out of jail for a year before he went back. Now, he will be gone for another 10 years. He has a child who is 5 and a 2 year old, who will never know him. And I don't blame the mother for not wanting the to know him. He became crazy on the meth and kid napped her by knife point.
I, so far, have no addiction issues. I just must not be wired like that or know when to part ways with something that is too good. I have done many drugs and played around multiple times with hardcore ones. I never found myself with addiction issues. Not everyone who does them becomes addicted, but they can really ruin your life. I stick to my Marijuana to this day. It doesn't make me do things I regret the next day.
04/09/2012
As far as I know nobody in my family has done anything other than prescription drugs except me. I have done just about everything that does not involve needles and then some (LSD, shrooms, speed, meth, cocaine, up-rs, downers, in and out-rs lol) . I was addicted to crack/cocaine for about two years before quitting cold turkey. I still will smoke some weed now and then but I do not go out of my way to find it.
04/09/2012
I have some heavy drinkers in the family.
04/10/2012
Literally everyone in my family, on both sides, over the age of 25 has had at least one serious addiction problem. When I was about ten years old my parents sat me down and told me that while some people are able to try certain drugs once or twice without getting addicted, that would not be the case for me, and I shouldn't ever even consider trying them.
Unfortunately, I didn't listen and ended up addicted to something myself, and because I was underage I was terrified of my parents finding out. After about a year of near-daily usage, I kicked the habit myself cold turkey with the help of my then-boyfriend, who did some research and found several studies showing that my drug of choice had been found to cause severe problems for fetuses, even years after ingestion. When he showed me his findings, I saw what I'd been risking all that time, and I quit that very day. Several years later I still get shakes when I even read about people using it, but I haven't used since, and I never will again.
Most of my family members have also broken their addictions, some cold-turkey and some with the help of rehab. A few haven't been able to, however. Four of my uncles are heavy drug users to this day, and have even broken into my grandparents' homes to steal their possessions and money. Despite going to jail multiple times for drug- and alcohol-related offenses, visiting several rehab clinics, and having tried to quit by themselves, they continue to fall back into the same old patterns.
Having seen so many people suffer because of alcoholism, and having been through my own addiction struggles, I always leave parties if there's alcohol being served, and almost never drink on my own either. Nearly all of my friends are under 21, and it makes me sick to see them doing something that, in my experience, can only lead to negative things.
Unfortunately, I didn't listen and ended up addicted to something myself, and because I was underage I was terrified of my parents finding out. After about a year of near-daily usage, I kicked the habit myself cold turkey with the help of my then-boyfriend, who did some research and found several studies showing that my drug of choice had been found to cause severe problems for fetuses, even years after ingestion. When he showed me his findings, I saw what I'd been risking all that time, and I quit that very day. Several years later I still get shakes when I even read about people using it, but I haven't used since, and I never will again.
Most of my family members have also broken their addictions, some cold-turkey and some with the help of rehab. A few haven't been able to, however. Four of my uncles are heavy drug users to this day, and have even broken into my grandparents' homes to steal their possessions and money. Despite going to jail multiple times for drug- and alcohol-related offenses, visiting several rehab clinics, and having tried to quit by themselves, they continue to fall back into the same old patterns.
Having seen so many people suffer because of alcoholism, and having been through my own addiction struggles, I always leave parties if there's alcohol being served, and almost never drink on my own either. Nearly all of my friends are under 21, and it makes me sick to see them doing something that, in my experience, can only lead to negative things.
04/10/2012
My little brother (who was my only sibling by blood) died of a drug overdose back in 08 and now all of my step-siblings are so addicted to drugs it's ridiculous. I want to beat the crap out of every single one of them and tell them how stupid I think they are, but I doubt it would help.
04/10/2012
Total posts: 10
Unique posters: 10