I am in need of some guidance and advice :-/ My husband is a recovering Alcoholic, he hasn't had a drink Since July 8th. I am beyond proud of him. About a month and a half ago he had some gall bladder issues and was prescribed hydrocodone 10mg- problem is that the drs kept prescribing them to him. He got to the point where he was taking 2 every couple hrs- anytime he felt a little bit of pain. He quit taking them when he realized that he was taking them more for the way they made him feel then anything. He went through some pretty serious withdrawals. Went to the ER they prescribed him hydrocodone 5mg (taken 2x a day for 3 days and 1x per day for the following 4 days. Everything was great for about a week. He then started having pains in his chest- similar to where they were before his gallbladder was removed. Dr gave him more hydrocodone and told him that the pain would fade over time. now he is out of the prescription (again) and is in a lot of pain. I believe that he is in pain but is it possible that because he was on such a strong dosage for so long that his body can no longer tell the difference between extreme pain and achy-ness?
He has had scans and xrays to rule out any major post surgery complications. The drs say that it will get better as time goes on.
How do I show support without telling him that I think it's ok if he goes back to the ER to get more hydrocodone?
I think that is the last thing that he needs, when I try to talk to him about it he gets defensive and angry.
Do you go to Al-Anon or Nar-Anon meetings? You can find support their for family members of alcoholics or addicts. Yes, the mind can manufacture pain. No recovering addict or alcoholic should take a prescribed narcotic without talking to his sponsor about it and getting support from his sponsor and other members in recovery, who can keep him honest.
Dave's advice for you is important,,your best support is Al-Anon,,Nar-Anon. As addicts,, it's really your husband who might do better here or at live meetings.
As a recovering addict,, currently recovering from knee surgery and dealing with similar medication issues,, I'd say that if there was a section of time that a 'recovering addict' felt ...''he was taking them more for the way they made him feel than anything else'',,,then -definitely- the mind will -manufacture' pain and any gamut of reasons ,justifications to dive into 'comforts'.
In my process dealing with pain over the last year,, attending -pain management classes- I was reminded of the value of using meditation techniques as part of pain management. This may sound a bit insubstantial when dealing with pain,, but just as the subconscious mind can manufacture pain, it can also learn to manufacture amazing amounts of serenity!
....IF nothing else.....it's a well known fact that higher oxygen levels are very helpful both for healing and reducing pain....guess what happens in meditation! There's any number of meditation CD's on the market,,,, and many forms of meditation that have nothing to do with any sort of religion,etc.
A good place to start is checking the local hospital for pain manadgement classes,,, and there's lots of material if you google mindfulness meditation.... ....it won't hurt to try!
.....from my recent experiences I've fallen on the term.... .....meditatebeforemedicate!
....there's more dialogue on pain control over here starting Oct 25,,, http://na.activeboard.com/t60992246/back-on-thplanet-again/?page=1#lastPostAnchor
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...gawd,,,please don't let me -ever- forget why I came here in the first place!!(my 'senility' prayer)
