My Dad got addicted very quickly to Oxycontin after surgery. They took him off cold turkey and he did fine, but it was very scary to see what it did to him and how fast it happened.
Culturally we like to think of "drug addicts" as low class derelicts, but in reality today prescription drugs are a big deal.
If you don't legitimately need them for real pain, get the heck off them. The medical field is NOT very good at pressing this point home. It really is up to lay people, family and friends, to help the patient understand.
In my case my wife notices my behavior immediately when taking pain meds. But I cannot tell.
When I decided to get off cold turkey, it was because of side effects, not the basic drug itself. I disliked depression, mood swings and anxiety. I disliked having a 2nd prescription for anxiety and a 3rd for constipation.
So I decided to remove the root cause--the pain med. My wife had not suggested it. If she had, I might have resisted. I had to decide. The PA even suggested cutting down the dosage, not quitting cold turkey. I decided cold turkey if I could.
But I sort of understand the basics of addiction and recovery. Medical pros tend to coddle the patient.
