Clinic 2 go 2 for help!

The mother stated she'd done everything she knew to help her son. At that point, there's nothing she can do except continue to hurt herself. Anything you give them will be spent on drugs. When you give them money you don't really have, let them live in your house free with a needle in their arm, bail them out of jail or make excuses and lie for them, you're enabling.
When they come to you and ask for help to get clean, that's different.

TimSimpson wrote:

Let me ask you this, if you had a family member that had liver disease from years of drug abuse, and just as an example cuz I have no idea what a liver transplant costs, but just say it cost $60,000 for this operation, and you had $60,000 in your retirement and if they didn't get this surgery they would die. What would you do? I know what I would do.

If they were still abusing drugs, or they were clean and had residual damage from prior abuse?
That's really not the same situation as handing a drug addict money or letting them steal from you, though.

I have been on drugs and i have been clean for over six months! If it wasn't for my family and my boyfriend I would still b sticking a needle in my arm or dead. I needed them to help me thru everything not hand me off! Now I love them and respect alot more for being there. I'm glad I grew up and realized that my children and family meant more to me then pills did before it was to late!

in my shoes wrote:

I have been on drugs and i have been clean for over six months! If it wasn't for my family and my boyfriend I would still b sticking a needle in my arm or dead. I needed them to help me thru everything not hand me off! Now I love them and respect alot more for being there. I'm glad I grew up and realized that my children and family meant more to me then pills did before it was to late!

I'm glad you realized that, too! Congratulations, keep it up.
Their supporting you in getting clean is very important. But supporting you by making it easy for you to get drugs doesn't help, does it? It just allows you to have the money to keep sticking that needle in your arm.
What made you decide to get clean? Was there an incident that prompted it or you just got sick and tired of being sick and tired? What finally said to you "this is it, I'm done"?

lmao wrote:

<quoted text>I'm glad you realized that, too! Congratulations, keep it up.
Their supporting you in getting clean is very important. But supporting you by making it easy for you to get drugs doesn't help, does it? It just allows you to have the money to keep sticking that needle in your arm.
What made you decide to get clean? Was there an incident that prompted it or you just got sick and tired of being sick and tired? What finally said to you "this is it, I'm done"?

I almost died, I was with a few "friends" and over-dosed and woke up in the hospital alone. No one was there they called an ambulance and left. That was the last time I did anything. My parents never gave me money anyways. But I got it anyway I could, beg, steal or borrow!

Drug addicts are good at getting what they want, aren't they? You're right about "friends". Bet they don't like you so much now that you're clean! I do. I don't know you but I'm overwhelmingly proud of you.
Glad you stayed with us. You've been somewhere not everyone has, and can help others understand a lot. It usually takes a hard fall to wake people up, and you took one for sure.
You're over half way to being yourself again now. It takes so long to regain normalcy and be able to produce what you depleted with pills. You also have to kick yourself a lot about things you did, and make many repairs. But I think you've got this :)
I have to sleep awhile, but would be very interested in your story. It could help others get where you are.

lmao wrote:

<quoted text>
Yes, it has cycled somewhat but this sentence rings very loud in my head. We certainly have an obligation, and we've been meeting that only by sacrificing ourselves. I don't mean to sound pathetic, and I don't mind working hard, but in order to not short pts we've had to step up, and up, until the pace is dizzying. Fatigue and stress lead to error eventually, so are we helping them by running crazy or putting them at risk?

the answer is not to step it up and up, but to slow it down to a comfortable pace for your own sanity. It's hard to provide optimal patient care when you are running yourself ragged. Focus on patient care, not on the paperwork. As a nurse manager you are in a position to actually put this into effect. If the paperwork is not done but the patients are well taken care of, so be it, tell administration to hire clerks to do the paperwork or tell them to do it themselves. If I was the medical director of your hospital I would back you 100% on this.

malo wrote:

<quoted text>
the answer is not to step it up and up, but to slow it down to a comfortable pace for your own sanity. It's hard to provide optimal patient care when you are running yourself ragged. Focus on patient care, not on the paperwork. As a nurse manager you are in a position to actually put this into effect. If the paperwork is not done but the patients are well taken care of, so be it, tell administration to hire clerks to do the paperwork or tell them to do it themselves. If I was the medical director of your hospital I would back you 100% on this.

We have help with paperwork, but it's not enough. Or maybe the paper just continues to grow faster than the help. The policies and SOPs change often while they try to figure out how to save money; we jump from one to another on the floors.
The problem remains that the puppet masters are so far removed from actual pt care that they can't see it.

lmao wrote:

Drug addicts are good at getting what they want, aren't they? You're right about "friends". Bet they don't like you so much now that you're clean! I do. I don't know you but I'm overwhelmingly proud of you.
Glad you stayed with us. You've been somewhere not everyone has, and can help others understand a lot. It usually takes a hard fall to wake people up, and you took one for sure.
You're over half way to being yourself again now. It takes so long to regain normalcy and be able to produce what you depleted with pills. You also have to kick yourself a lot about things you did, and make many repairs. But I think you've got this :)
I have to sleep awhile, but would be very interested in your story. It could help others get where you are.

thank you. I'm very proud of myself! It's been a hard road but you have take it day by day. People say they understand what I've been thru but u never truly understand til u have been dependent on something. You are very right about my so called friends. But I changed my number and deleted every person out of my phone that had anything to do with pills. It's starting your life all over. A fresh start!

in my shoes wrote:

<quoted text>
thank you. I'm very proud of myself! It's been a hard road but you have take it day by day. People say they understand what I've been thru but u never truly understand til u have been dependent on something. You are very right about my so called friends. But I changed my number and deleted every person out of my phone that had anything to do with pills. It's starting your life all over. A fresh start!

You should be very proud, I know it's hard. I don't fully understand but I'm trying hard to do that. What was the hardest part for you? Withdrawal? Feeling isolated losing your "friends"? Cravings? Did you go through a period of depression in the first couple of months or later?
So many questions, I'm sorry, but one more...how did you get started taking opioids?

Just one more lol, and I'll quit...have you felt pressure from the old drug pals, do they contact you or try to get you to use again? How do you handle that?

lmao wrote:

<quoted text>You should be very proud, I know it's hard. I don't fully understand but I'm trying hard to do that. What was the hardest part for you? Withdrawal? Feeling isolated losing your "friends"? Cravings? Did you go through a period of depression in the first couple of months or later?
So many questions, I'm sorry, but one more...how did you get started taking opioids?

the hardest part was the cravings but just had to keep my kids in my mind to get thru. My 6 year old looked at me and said "mommy god gave u a 2nd chance, take it" and that gave me the strength to make it thru! I got started in high school. A friend of mine had a loratab 10 and we split it and I just kept doing them. It took me 10 years to finally quit!!!

10 years is a long time! What were you using when you quit, how many mgs per day normally?
This is personal so just ignore if you want - were you using at all when you were pregnant? I'm not asking to judge you at all or to pry, just for the knowledge.

A second chance, a fresh start, make the best of it!

lmao wrote:

Just one more lol, and I'll quit...have you felt pressure from the old drug pals, do they contact you or try to get you to use again? How do you handle that?

I changed my number so they can't get ahold of me but a few people that I talked to before I changed my number that was all they talked about. I went to pick up some of my stuff from a "friend" and they sit there and did pills in front of me. They had no respect knowing that I quit and was having a hard time with it. They acted as if I wasn't there. Btw it was me that posted under "I know" I just forgot to change my name back. The answers to your other ?s are in that one. It's ok ask me whatever u need to bc if I can help someone else with my story I would answer ?s all day long!!!:))

lmao wrote:

10 years is a long time! What were you using when you quit, how many mgs per day normally?
This is personal so just ignore if you want - were you using at all when you were pregnant? I'm not asking to judge you at all or to pry, just for the knowledge.

A second chance, a fresh start, make the best of it!

I was doing 30mg percocets and I would do 10 a day if I could get them!!! Actually I quit when I was pregnant. And had no trouble at all but at that time I was only doing small stuff like 5s or10s. I'm trying to make the best of it. I lost everything to drugs. My car,my home my kids, EVERYTHING even almost my life. I find strength in my children's eyes! Everytime I think about using I think about them. And also my bf told me something that just stuck in my head. He said when u start thinking about doing just 1 remember 1 is to many and a millions not enough!!! That's what makes me make it thru the day. Day by day the only way u can make it thru.

When I first decided to quit I used suboxone. I only took it for 6 weeks but it was so much better than trying cold turkey!!! And many people say that u just go from one to another. But it really helped me I just start weening myself down week by week. Til eventually I was taking only a 1/8 of a strip a day. Did that for a week and then just quit going to the clinic.

in my shoes wrote:

<quoted text>
I was doing 30mg percocets and I would do 10 a day if I could get them!!! Actually I quit when I was pregnant. And had no trouble at all but at that time I was only doing small stuff like 5s or10s. I'm trying to make the best of it. I lost everything to drugs. My car,my home my kids, EVERYTHING even almost my life. I find strength in my children's eyes! Everytime I think about using I think about them. And also my bf told me something that just stuck in my head. He said when u start thinking about doing just 1 remember 1 is to many and a millions not enough!!! That's what makes me make it thru the day. Day by day the only way u can make it thru.

Your bf is smart. Everything you lost, you can get back eventually. It seems to take about 1 and a half to 2 years to really recoup your life but once you get back to living, the time will fly by.
Were you eating, snorting or banging the percocet?

in my shoes wrote:

When I first decided to quit I used suboxone. I only took it for 6 weeks but it was so much better than trying cold turkey!!! And many people say that u just go from one to another. But it really helped me I just start weening myself down week by week. Til eventually I was taking only a 1/8 of a strip a day. Did that for a week and then just quit going to the clinic.

This is exciting! We've known for awhile that the suboxone could be used as a tool to reduce withdrawal IF it wasn't prescribed month after month for years. It confirms again what is happening with the clinics that are taking advantage of people desperate to regain their lives by continuing to script a highly addictive drug way past the amount of time it's needed. You could most likely have jumped off the subs even sooner. At 6 weeks, did you have any withdrawal symptoms at all? If so, what were they?
Thanks so much for your input!

The clinic that helps

lmao wrote:

<quoted text>Your bf is smart. Everything you lost, you can get back eventually. It seems to take about 1 and a half to 2 years to really recoup your life but once you get back to living, the time will fly by.
Were you eating, snorting or banging the percocet?

shooting them