My family has recently realized that my older sister has been abusing her presciption drugs.  She has gotten to the point where we actually went to her house to talk with her and found her conscious, but unable to walk on her own, barely able to speak.  We found presciption drugs all over the house.  She does have medical problems & that is how she has been obtaining her drugs.  We took her to the er.  She was hallucinating and doesn't remember that night.  She has since been placed in a mental hospital, been released, and is attending NA meetings.  While in the hospital, she was somehow able to pierce her nose.  She now has her nose pierced on both sides and has a regular earring in the one hole.  Last week, she went to get her hair cut.  She usually wears long hair with a perm.  She got her hair cut, buzzed, about an inch long.  She looks ridiculous.  I told my mother these are all screams for help.  My mom says she's wanted to get her hair cut for some time now.  Never have I heard her mention a haircut like this.  I say this is all in the routine of a form of self mutilation.  My mother refuses to believe it.  I found information on it on the internet and cannot seem to locate it online now to send my mother.  My sister is almost 40 years old, probably 38 or so.  She is putting both of my parents through extreme stress.  I say she needs to stand on her own two feet and take care of herself and her addiction.  She will be getting surgery for TMJ on Thursday.  She will be on heavy medication for pain and will be staying with my parents, AGAIN.  She has had numerous surgeries and has stayed with my parents each time.  My parents have a very difficult time with her.  My mother told her to try to get the hospital to keep her longer in order to detox. 

Anyway, she has medical problems, is a hypocondriac (sp), goes to the doctor for every ache and pain.  She is addicted to her medications and mixes them, as well.  She was babysitting my 4 year old son the entire time.  I didn't know that she was taking too many meds, mixing them and practically od'ing.  I didn't even know she was taking pain killers while she had my son.  After questioning him on his aunt's behavior, he told us how she would rest, sometimes falling asleep and him not always being able to wake her up.  She told my mother that when she would take her pills, she would forget and take another and then forget and take another.  I told my mother that from what I have read, addicts don't forget anything about their pills, that they always know exactly what they have and how long they have left before getting more.  I told her that when she would start coming down, she'd take another.  I told her that she needs to go to an analon meeting.  She needs to interact with others who are going through it and have already gone through it.  She needs to stop listening to my sister's crap and get some real facts.  My sister has been in control of the decisions the entire time, even while f**ked up and while in the hospital.

So, I guess what I would like to know is....Are her behaviors something to worry about (self peircing, haircut)?  I think of Brittney Spears, what a coincidence.  Anna Nicole died just a few days before we found my sister in such a state.  I told my mom that my sister is doing the same thing, taking lots of drugs and thinking she's in control of it. 

Please, give me some input, some websites to look at with information on behaviors and such.