how do you tell your employer?

[happypill]

as i posted before, i am thinking about going to rehab for vicodin xanax and ambien. i need to take a leave of absence from work. how do i tell them? do i have to tell them i am a drug addict going to rehab?
can anybody tell me how you did it?

[eyeofhorus2010]

I would exercise caution with full disclosure. Every few weeks I do lunch with other business owners and leaders and we discuss many, many things. This very subject came up a couple of years ago and being an addict myself I just sat back and listened. There were those that were very compassionate towards that problem and a couple mentioned a relative or friend that went through that so their opinion was if it's a good employee with an otherwise good work history they would help all they could.  Several though were very vocal that they wouldn't allow some kind of "crackhead" to be working for them. Very narrow minded I felt.
Get the leave of absence by all means but it's no one's business as to the nature of why you need the LOA.  Getting a 30 day LOA shouldn't be a big problem though depending on your employers policies you may lose accrued vacation time or other benifits.

[Xhost]

Yeah, this is a tough one. I know that when I inadvertently became addicted to Xanax, and wanted to stop (which I did cold turkey, which I would not recommend), I was so miserable I begged a doctor to send me to some type of rehab. He kind of sort of agreed, so I told my supervisor the truth about what was going on.

Luckily, the super was very understanding, and told me to go do what I needed to do. I never actually went to rehab, but looking back on it now, I am not sure I would he so honest in the future. First, I worked for a small company, so even though my immediate supervisor was cool about it, I am fairly sure everyone in the company knows about this. And, another reason: even though I did not wind up going to rehab, I always had the nagging feeling that I was being judged anyway, in both a professional and personal sense. Now, that may not be fair to my employers, granted, but it was always in the back of my mind.

Something I will point out because I think it is probably important, but rehabbing off of an opiate, a benzo and a benzo like Z drug (Ambien) are not the same thing at all. Vicodin, I do not have much experience with, but a friend I know did do a rehab off of this. She went through a 21 day rehab, and, after my troubles with Xanax, she told me that she is glad I did not to rehab for Xanax. The rehab strategies for Xanax and an opiate are not the same. This cannot be stressed enough. With an opiate, rapid withdrawal is often followed by maintenance on something like Suboxone. With Xanax, an overly rapid withdrawal is not to be recommended. In my friend's words:  in her rehab facility (run, in part, by the state), those withdrawing from a benzo were always placed in front of the room during group AA meetings, just in case anyone seized up.

When she told me this, I understood why she said she was glad I did not go to a traditional rehab facility: because they often treat drug withdrawals as all the same. They are most certainly not. The treatment protocols for, say, an opiate addiction are completely different than for a benzo. Some rehab facilities claim that you may be rapidly withdrawn from these drugs, and you can, with the help of phenobarbitol to control seizures. But the problem is once you leave the rehab facility, as the process of healing from an overly rapid withdrawal from benzos can be a difficult and lengthy one.

Before you go to rehab, do yourself a favor and look up the Ashton method for withdrawing from a benzo. Xanax is a tough one to withdraw from, given its short half life. The typical treatment plan is to slowly switch to a longer acting benzo, such as Valium, and then slowly tapering off of that drug. The length of time required to taper down to no drug varies, depending on a few factors:

--Current dosage
--Length of time on the drug, and
--Individual tolerance of withdrawal symptoms

I know this is off topic concerning your original question, but thought I would throw in the benzo information just in case it might come in handy. Whatever you decide to do, and how to decide to go about it, I wish you the best of luck.

[paying_it_forward]

I made the mistake of telling my boss about my painkiller addiction (i did tell her i was getting help for it)...and what do you know, the next day i get fired. I would keep it confidential. They have no need to know why you are taking leave...maybe speak to your doctor and just get them or the rehab to write a medical certificate and give it to your employer. It's not their business to know your personal battles, so long as you tell them how long you will be away and give them a medical certificate that should be all they need to know.

[Soccermumof2]

U do not have to get into "details" with ur employer.  If u have a good relationship with ur dr, he will grant u medical leave. Hopefully u have short term disability. That will ensure 65% of ur weekly pay, if not FMLA. Either way is 26 weeks is to be granted. Dr note to only say, under my care n dates u both sgree upon. No ones business but urs n ur drs

[MomMom11409]

Can you confidentially apply for an FMLA leave through your HR? That would protect your job and maybe let you take short term leave.

[Back2Me]

I faked the flu and missed 4 days total only to come back demoted then I walked out and took my wife with me. And that was 2 days ago  So you might not want to do that :)

[ImDONENoMore]

Is there an HR (human resource) representative you can go to?  This would be the best place to discuss your plan.  Some companies have programs that employees can enroll in when this kind of help is needed.

Do you have a comfortable relationship with your boss?  I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how much support you will get when people know you're just trying to get better and be well.

Good luck to you.  You deserve a good life.  I'll bet the people around you will think so too!