Is there anything I can do to help my aunt that is addicted to prescription drugs?

28/08/2010 admin 14 comments

My aunt is addicted to prescription drugs and has been for a while. She also has an eating disorder. She only drinks water and never eats. She is also addicted to smoking. She takes pain killers and morophene patches constantly. She doesn’t even need them but one doctor she goes to continues to prescribe them. He even knows whats going on. She gets so high on the pain killers sometimes she passes out in bed with a cigerette lit and she has almost burnt herself up multiple times. She gets so bad she can’t walk or talk she is so high on them. She don’t even know where she is and what day it is. I have suggested to my other aunts that we should do something but they say that the only person that can do anything about it is her son and husband (that is is seperated from). Her son is an alcoholic and doesn’t care and her husband would never say anything about what she is doing. I fear I am the only one that can help. Is there anything I can do to help her?

ALCOHOLISM TREATMENT addicted, Anything, aunt, drugs, Help, prescription, there

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Written by willcy0721 about 1 year ago.

talk to her prescriber and have him consult her about it if that does’nt work hide the pills
Written by KK about 1 year ago.

talk to the doctor who persicribes this, he should offer you advice on who to talk to and what to do
if he refuses to stop perscribing then report him and he’ll be struck off,
Written by edueche about 1 year ago.

thats a though one… until she realizes thats she has a problem and actually makes an effort to stop there is nothing you can do i think, this comes from somebody that had the very same problem

i wish you all the luck in the world
Written by Cyndall about 1 year ago.

You need to call the police next time you see this occuring, a night in jail might be the only thing you can do to make her see what she is doing to not only her life, but the lives of those around her.
Written by rsgreenhoe about 1 year ago.

yes u can,, call family independence agency, and your local health deptartment, they will help you to get help for her

good luck on this
Written by Donna M about 1 year ago.

Boy, what a load of responsibility for you to carry! If her doctor is really prescribing this stuff for her, he should be horsewhipped. Seriously, that is not an ethical thing for him to do. You might try calling Adult Protective Services.. look in the phone book under your government listings. It should be in the “county government” section. Or call 411 and ask for the number for Adult Protective Services. I’m not sure if they can do something, but they certainly can point you in the right direction. It’s true that your aunt is the only one who can decide for herself, but she’s in no condition to make rational decisions. If she died, I know you’d feel terrible if you didn’t do everything possible. So start with Adult Protective Services and see what they can do to help you. The doctor also should be reported to the Medical Board if in fact he knows what’s going on. Try calling the County Health Agency (or it may be a similar name) and ask how you can start an investigation. They may be able to tell you where to go, too. Good luck. You must love your aunt a lot to help her this way when nobody else will.
Written by Melissa K Screwed Me about 1 year ago.

After dealing with a bout of anti-depressant and pain medication dependancy, i found it was VERY difficult to expell those urges, so this isnt going to be an easy task, but if i could do it, anyone can. I suggest that you research the FACTS, the harmful things that can and will occur form abuse of most any prescription narcotic, etc., and fill her in in a caring manner. I lost a substantial percentage of my hearing, which i may never get back due to my abuse of these types of drugs. Education is often the key, as many people who abuse drugs often times arent aware of the FACTS.
Written by cuz_n_deb about 1 year ago.

See if , by chance you can become her guardian after that I’m sure you will try to find a rehab for her .
Written by bobweb about 1 year ago.

If she was in a reputable old age home, it couldn’t happen any more by law. But maybe she wants to kill herself. The standard technique to stop a loved one from further abuse is called an “intervention”. That’s when the person’s family gets together and agrees that the addicted person needs help and how to help them.
Written by its me about 1 year ago.

you can try an intervention there is this web site i think might help you its recoverychat.com also stepchat.com good luck
Written by Mike about 1 year ago.

So often in life we see a bad situation and desperately want to make it better. Most of the time we can’t really do much. You indeed describe a terrible situation, but there is little you can do. More importantly though, take this opportunity to explore what is within yourself – why do you so desperately want to help someone who does not want to be helped? Every hear that joke: How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? – Just one, but the light bulb has to WANT to change. It’s true. You can’t help people that don’t want to be helped. When she hits rock bottom and decides to pick her life back up, that’s when you will be able to help. Not before. Good luck.
Written by rayne_1620 about 1 year ago.

I hope you do manage to get something done. I had a similar situation with my aunt. The family tried to intervene, but her husband was the only one with the power to do anything…She died several years ago, by her husbands hand either way because he enabled her drug use. You other aunts should push the husband to do something. If he won’t then try to go to the doctor with her and talk to him or see him on your own. You could contact your local treatment center and see what they suggest, because they see this type of situation fairly frequently. I would strongly recommend not to let it go on. My aunt begain taking all these pres. drugs, and basically laid in her bed and smoked and drank diet coke for 2-3 years. The whole family still hurts over her loss. (Her husband remarried two weeks after the funeral, which might show why he wouldn’t let her be helped. Good Luck, stick to your guns on this you are right.
Written by radandsmelly about 1 year ago.

I’m sorry to hear about your aunt. I used to personally be addicted to painkillers myself, and there are a number of options for treatment. You should look into methadone or ask a doctor for clonodine patches and pills..These will help with withdrawl symptoms and help her sleep. You have to realize that in order for her to quit completely, she needs to lose all the numbers to all the people that she gets the drugs from ( this is what cured me, i also moved away from the whole scene 45 miles away), also you have to realize that in order for her to quit, she needs to WANT to quit 100%. A good way to start is to make her realize how much her addictions upset you and how you truly wish she could go back to being her old self again. Mention how dangerous it is, and how an overdose is very likely (I knew 4 people in 1 year who OD’d…3 died). Make your whole family get involved, the more the better. I hope this information helps, if you want any more info, email me..Good Luck.
Written by devlish1 about 1 year ago.

The first thing that you need to do is to report her doctor, he is basically contributing to her abuse.

The second thing you can do is you can actually admit her (well depending on where she lives) against her will into a clinic. I only know this as my mother has been battling with prescription drug addiction for many years now, at least ten. I would take her from hospital to hospital when I was younger so that she could get prescriptions.

Then one day I realized that I was baiscally making her what she was. So I admitted her. But, the best thing that you can do honestly is be there for her. If you rebel, or push away it wont help the situation.

Its really a life and death situation. I hope that this helps.

How Do I Get My Son Off Drugs?

Is there anything I can do to help my aunt that is addicted to prescription drugs?

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