Have you told employer

[really trying]

Just curious has anyone ever told their employer when they went through w/d...curious...many of us are off for quite a few days. Has any one told the real reason they are off work and what has the responce been. I was clean for a year and then relapsed...quit again for one month and back again. I would like to try again,,,,really nervous now as I know what to expect.

[SomeDay]

Many times, especially during early recovery while my emotions are going a million miles an hour, I have badly wanted to for whatever reason. I guess I feel like it would be therapeutic and would get something off my chest. But I have never done so, and now i'm very glad. People who have not gone through this don't know just how difficult it is. They just see us as junkies, just like a crack addict. To them we are no different.

So be careful before you decide to tell anybody. You can always decide to tell somebody later, but you can't take it back once you do. Never make any decisions like this early in recovery.

[luvy298]

When I went though my detox I decided not to tell my employer. I had some sick time left so I took it as that. Also with the flu like symptoms from the withdrawl they just thought I had a bad cold.

I wish you good luck.

Luvy298

[MaisieC]

I worked for a large educational institution that you would expect to have liberal views on the topic, but I was told in no uncertain terms by HR that I should not say anything to anyone. They told me I shouldn't even have told them. It's a shame, but I think there's still a huge stigma. It can make it difficult for your boss to trust you again, and that's not completely unreasonable given the way addicts tend to behave. If it were me, I'd never reveal it.

Good luck!
Maisie

[shybaybe2003]

Many times, especially during early recovery while my emotions are going a million miles an hour, I have badly wanted to for whatever reason. I guess I feel like it would be therapeutic and would get something off my chest. But I have never done so, and now i'm very glad. People who have not gone through this don't know just how difficult it is. They just see us as junkies, just like a crack addict. To them we are no different.

So be careful before you decide to tell anybody. You can always decide to tell somebody later, but you can't take it back once you do. Never make any decisions like this early in recovery.

i dont really see how we are any different than a crack addict, except some of us may have started out taking pills as prescribed for a legit reason,then got addicted. I wish I could say i was always taking pills for a legit reason, but i wasnt, I was taking them to get high. And I became addicited, just like a crack or heroin addict. We are ALL addicts. Just my 2 cents

[ComingHome]

Agree shy - an addict is an addict is an addict.

I didn't tell my employer. It's just way too risky IMO, and there IS still a huge stigma attached to being an addict. Supposedly, employers can't do anything since it is medically protected, but anybody who has worked in the corporate world knows that it's easy for managers to make up other excuses for write-ups and terminations. Also, there is the trust issue going forth. Every time you call in sick or are late, they are apt to think about your condition. The downsides are just so much greater than any upsides of telling your employer. As a matter of fact, think carefully before you tell ANYBODY. I'm not saying you can't trust anybody with that information, but in early recovery many of us have a tendancy to shout our fresh recovery from the roofs, and the average person out there is still not very tolerant or understanding of this condition, and it can be used against you in various ways later. Bottom line... be very careful.

[SomeDay]

i dont really see how we are any different than a crack addict, except some of us may have started out taking pills as prescribed for a legit reason,then got addicted. I wish I could say i was always taking pills for a legit reason, but i wasnt, I was taking them to get high. And I became addicited, just like a crack or heroin addict. We are ALL addicts. Just my 2 cents

Correct, we are all addicts regardless. But if we were crack addicts, we wouldn't be having this conversation. (At least i'd hope not).

[cheekysod]

dont see how a crack addict is any different. jeez. when you are an addict. doesnt matter how or what you ingest, you are still an addict.
yup i see stigma all the time. i used iv. doesnt make me any worse than someone gettin their pills legally and being hooked on them.
even see stigma here. pillheads think they are better than junkies..

aint true.

[SomeDay]

Ok it seems like everybody missed the point of this thread. I indicated that from my perspective, employers would see pill poppers no different than crack addicts. And yes since we ARE all addicts, they probably shouldn't. Somebody mistook that statement as me ensuing that pill poppers were different or better than crack addicts. Not what I said.

So is "an addict an addict" regardless? Yes probably, as everybody here has now quickly indicated. So let me attempt to give my opinion one more time based on the "crackhead"analogy...

Prescription pill abuser (pill popper) = Probably not a good idea to tell your employer, but many would still consider doing so.

Crack head = Let me think about that one for a minute...!

[really trying]

Thanks to veryone who responded, I think I will keep this too myself.

[numbOne]

Interesting thread timing - Have been toggling the very thought in my head the past couple weeks as i try to come off drugs. Right now i feel like i need the drug to get through the workday. Next vacation is not for another 6 months. have considered bringing up that i am addicted and need a week of PTO maybe more to recover. Definitely worried about rumours and strange glances my way if/when word gets out...

As a general rule of thumb: I would NOT volunteer the information, i would however use it as an excuse if i were about to lose my job or in a performance review i felt something drastic needed to be said.

[shybaybe2003]

the last i I went through withdrawals when I was working, i couldnt tell my employer what was happening seeing as i worked in a pharmacy. But I agree unless you have a very underastanding employer, I wouldnt tell about addicition. Didnt mean to take this thread in a completley diff direction. My apologies.