[quietgirl]

Hi everyone,

I need to ask some of you for your help and insight because I am new to this. I am not the person who is addicted, I am the girlfriend of the person who is. My boyfriend of 5 months just trusted me last month with this secret of his that he’s been hiding for over 3 years now. He’s addicted to vicodin. He’s never told ANYONE. I felt honored and wonderful that he felt comfortable enough to tell me and trust me with it, and I am determined to do anything I need to do to help him. Well, his doctor put him on something to help with the withdrawal symptoms (I don’t know the name of it). It’s been a month now, and he’s been acting so differently toward me, and I just want to know from some of you who have experience with this what I should expect. In the beginning I was very secure in our relationship and how he felt about me. We talked about things like moving away together, getting married, etc. Just a few weeks ago he asked if I would go look at houses with him. Last weekend he dug up a big piece of his nice backyard grass and put topsoil down just so I could have a garden because he knew I always wanted one. Well, One question I have is do these meds affect your libido? Because he hasn’t been into doing anything for over a month (about the time since all this started). Also, this past weekend he started acting very strange. He said to me there’s no surprise in our relationship, it’s expected that we hang out, we went to fast, and we should both have space to “refresh” our relationship. These don’t sound like things someone would say who just asked me to look at houses and just made me a garden and gave me a key to his house. Very weird. I asked him if there’s someone else involved, or if he wants to break up or see other people, and all he keeps saying is the same thing: “no! honey, I love you! You’re my girlfriend!” I might also add that he owns his own business and is trying to work and stay afloat while trying to kick his addiction. I know this is tough on him, and I’m willing to do what I have to to help him, but like I said, I have no experience when it comes to this, so could someone who’s been there please help. I know when he met me he was hooked on the vicodin, but could he change so drastically that he be a COMPLETELY different person and not want to be in this anymore at all?? What do I do? He says nothing is wrong and we just need space but it just seems weird and contradictory, that’s all…