TOE JAM

[LiFeBaCk12]

TOEJAM... What considers someone an addict? I mean... my usual day consists of... I wake up... eat breakfast.. take 4-5 lortabs sometime during the afternoon.. and then I continue on with my day.. workout.. and everything seems to feel normal.. Its like just that little feeling of "happiness" that lasts for only about hour.. for some reason makes my whole day feel like a normal day.. I am a person who never smokes marijuana.. hardly ever drink .. and have stayed away from all other kinds of drugs.. But for some reason painkillers or lortabs have been the one thing that seems to keep me coming back to them.. Is taking 4-5 lortabs at one time consider me an addict? Because Ive done research of some people who takke 30 to 40 pills a day.. My main reason for posting my issue on this forum is so that I may get some insight on what I may be leading my life to .. from what I told you.. Would you consider me an addict? Another reason I am posting is because I am afriad for one of my good friends.. A few days ago.. He took about 7 lortab 10s... snorted 3 roxy 30s.... 3 klonipins.. and now is getting Oxy 80s from one of his family members.. Which I have heard are the strongest painkillers made? What should I do for him? Is there anything I could do? Thank you so much for your response

Is Xanax a good substitue for my feeling of need for lortabs until I can become clean from them?

[sportnut]

Ditto,
I have been on 20 mg Oxy for 4 years after 4 rotator cuff surgeries and never took more tha one whole one ever, most of the time just bit a piece off for exactly the reasons you said and I validated it exactly as you have, picked me up, made me feel good, had great work outs,  I am 50 and docs say my heart etc are like a 39-40 year old, people guess my age at 40ish, I rationalized it like a multi vitamin or a weightlifting supplement, or say someone who is depressed goes to the doc and get on Prozac or something so what's the problem right?
Problem was that I was sneaking it every day, I couldn't get through a day without it
and now that I have stopped I for sure am experiencing WD.
Also if I told my doc what I was using the Oxy for, feel good not pain there is no way he would be ok with that.
I have posted before that I think my brain has rewired itself to depend on the opiate and now it is rewiring back to what it should be.
Now that I am getting it out of my system I am starting to feel like the old me again.
So I know exactly where you are coming from and I have struggled with that very same question but again if I told my doc "hey I need more oxy to feel goog" no way would he write me a rx and I'd be buying off the street and ruining my and my families lives.

[LongerDays]

Ditto what flmagi said. Over the three years or so that I took vicodin, I don't think I ever went above the prescribed dose, and usually took fewer (3-5 7.5 mg pills daily), and there's no doubt that I was (am) addicted.

[flmagi]

Are your pills prescribed by a doctor?
Are you taking the dose as prescribed by the doctor?
Are you taking them for legitimate pain issues?
Can you just stop taking them?
Do you think you wouldn't be happy without them?
I think you can answer your own question about being an addict.
You're headed down the road to hell, if you don't stop now.

[toejam_muncher]

i can't give you medical advise. i would say that a substitute for any addiction is really just a replacement and in my opinion isn't a good idea unless your doctor tells you it is. sometimes it's needed for the withdrawal process. sometimes it just makes it more comfortable to withdrawal. i'm not a doctor so i can't give you the reason...but the point is it's never a good idea just to simply replace something like hydrocodone with xanax and say you aren't an addict anymore...because you still are. as far as what defines a person as an addict? for each person it's slightly different. for me, i take 1/3 the daily dose i'm allowed of the drug i'm addicted to...but i take it every day and it's almost impossible for me to stop. i constantly think about it and constantly wish to take more. that to me is an addict even though i'm not like others who take 10 times the dosage that i take and are also addicts. it's all relative to your situation and  your need for the drug. if you're wondering if you're addicted to a medication...most likely you ARE...whether it just be a "mild" addiction or a "severe" addiction. in any event....if you are abusing a medication, you should get help by talking to your doctor asap.