It’s All Fun and Games until Someone Gets Addicted to Pain Killers

I used to love Flintstone vitamins. Loved them. I couldn’t wait for my mom to give me one every morning. I liked the orange ones the best. As a matter of fact, I remember once climbing on the counter, grabbing the bottle of vitamins and hiding behind a recliner in our family room to chomp on a few orange ones – you know, as if they were candy.

I can’t remember when my mom weaned us off the vitamins, but I am sure it came with a fight.

5 weeks after my surgery I met with my neurologist. Like I did every time I met with one of my doctors, I ran through the lengthy list of medications I was taking, the dosage and the frequency in which I took them. When I got to the pain pills, my doctor was appalled. “You’re still taking those?” Yes, I told him. Though at this point, I didn’t need the lower dosage of Oxycontin as often. “You need to stop take those. Those are highly addictive, who prescribed those to you?” Appalled. Okay, I said, I’ll stop taking them. Only you can’t just stop taking a highly addictive narcotic. I had to wean myself off them. And then the most exciting thing since the surgery happened to me...

Each pill was cut in half. So instead of ingesting one 20mg pill twice daily, I was to take half a pill twice daily for half a week and then half a pill once daily for half week. The first half wasn’t too bad, though I did notice a bit of a difference in my body – it is hard to explain, but I just felt a little off.

The 2nd half of the week is when things really started to get exciting! I couldn’t sleep. I was irritable. I was anxious. I tossed and turned at night. My napping throughout the day quickly ended. I woke up earlier. My arms and legs felt restless – to the point where I had to sit on my hands. I had this feeling once before – the first time I quit smoking (when I didn’t have the aid of morphine to help me through it). And that is when I updated my Facebook status: “Amy Ruud is addicted to pain killers.”

I was going through withdrawal. 6 weeks on pain meds and my body was hooked. Funny how that happens. Coming off of the pain pills all sorts of other things started happening with my body – reactions to the other medications I was on, mostly. Reactions I wanted no part of. But I was happy to come off of the pain pills. After all, I was due to return to work in a couple of weeks. And the pills – while they helped with the pain – made me sleep all the time. And there wasn’t much going on in my life. I was either sleeping or eating or watching TV all day long. I had nothing to talk about with my friends other than the advancements in my vision and what song Ellen danced to that day. So while it’s all fun and games until someone gets addicted to pain killers – at least I had something else to talk about now besides the fat dude on the Today Show.

(June 16, 2009)