[spgirl]

I am looking for some unbiased, knowledgable advice. My husband has been addicted to hydrocodone for almost two years now. He has a 3+ year history of pancreatitis and has had some kind of surgery about every six months during this time. He has also developed diabetes and he is young (30). About a year and a half ago, he came to me and his family about his addiction and was going to get help. It didn't work out and he has been hiding his addiction from his family ever since. He tells me that he is going to really try to quit but feels sick a lot. Because of his job and that he refuses to tell his family that he never got off the pills, the only option for geting off is that he is doing a gradual decline in his dosage. He is taking probably around 15 a day. He has come down a lot since his last surgery in January but is at a point where it is going to take a drastic step to come all the way off. I have one friend who I have confided in about this and she tells me that if he doesn't get help soon, this could kill him. I want to help him and be patient but I am not only very concerned for his health but also this is costing us about 1/3 of our income and we just can't afford it. I love him very much but I am struggling with whether I should get tougher about this or not. We have had many arguements about this and he has told me that if I tell anyone, he will leave. My friend said that this needs to come out, no matter what the outcome, because it would be better for our kids to have a father who isn't here than a father who is dead. What I really need advice about is two-fold. First, how deadly is this? I'm sure that he is doing some kind of damage to his health, but can this really kill him? Secondly, I would like to hear from someone who went through this, as to whether they would have wanted a friend or family member to get them help, even if at the time it meant you had to shed all your pride. Or maybe I should just keep being patient with him and let him work this out in his own time. I would really appreciate any advice. Two years is a long time, and I just want it all to end.

[needtoknow7896]

girl,

read topic Painkiller Addiction. there are 21 pages of post with personal testimonys of people going through what you and your husband are dealing with.

my prayers are with you and your family. please read these post; you WILL find what youre looking for.

also, research Suboxone. this is a medication to help with withdrawl symptoms when getting off pain killers.

best of luck. stand by your man. give it some more time; but also be true to yourself and your children. substance abuse is a family wrecker. my parents were married for 34 years and my dad was an alcoholic. it took her leaving him to sober him up. but it was too late to save their marriage. she stayed with him for so long because of her children. from my experience, my advice is NEVER STAY IN A MARRIAGE FOR YOUR CHILDREN. kids bounce back better than adults do. i could have coped better at 12 rather than 26. this is the hardest thing i have ever been through.

if it comes to the point where youve had enough, give him an ultimatum. it might take leaving him to wake his ass up.



there is no better medicine than love.