Girl-From-Mars
11-06-2001, 02:27 AM
ok. this is another post that isnt about myself. im posting on behalf of my mum.
she's been taking dihydrocodeine for about 4 years. she gets bad arthritis in her hands... she got given it first off after an operation on her hand to remove a nodule type thing from her joint. shes been taking an increasingly large amount as time has passed.
most recently, shes been taking 200 x 30mg tablets, and 112 x 60mg continus tablets, and theyre lasting her 17 days, roughly. instead of a month. now, her usual doctor is away, and the replacement one from within the surgery refused to sign her prescription and said that shes been taking too many and needs to stick to the required dosage.
now, shes been given 100 x 30mg tablets, half her other dose, and none of the continus ones which keep a constant supply in her bloodstream. and these are supposed to last her an actual month, rather than 17 days. actually... the doc asked if mum had any of the 60mg ones left, and she lied and said she had because she felt bad about having taken them all... so he thinks she has 56, again, half her previous dosage.
now is this me, or is this pretty harsh? to sudddenly cut off a strong drug like this and give no help in getting her off them? her sister took them previously, and to aid with her withdrawal she had to see a psychiatrist, and was given something to act as a replacement to wean her off. my mum has been given NO support from her doctor and has been made to feel like a drug addict, which totally isnt fair, they were the ones giving them to her in the first place, no one noticed she was taking mroe than she should. but as her pain kept getting worse, she just kept upping the dose herself. some days she was taking 20 x 30mg tablets a day, and the maximum works out to be around 8. the doctors never even mentioned how addictive dihydrocodeine is, and that it is in fact more addictive than heroin, in some ways.
shes been taking some of my kava kava tablets to calm her down and ease with the withdrawal... is this the best thing to do? is there anything better out there, herbal or otherwise, that can help? she's getting proper withdrawal symptoms, feeling irritable, tearful, and a deep frustration, as if something is missing, when she doesnt take the same amount as before. she is prone to suffer from depression, so surely something can be done? she doesnt want to phone this doctor back, she has a very strong sense of pride and wont be seen to be asking for help, or pleading, if she can help it.
i suggested the national drugs helpline perhaps... she doesnt want someone coming to the house, can counselling be done over the phone to these types of people? is this a good idea anyway?
id be really grateful for any replies about this, i appreciate it probably isnt going to be something that many of you have any kind of experience with. <IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/frown.gif"> karla, maybe you can provide some links?
thank you all in advance.
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I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
~ the late, great Douglas Adams
she's been taking dihydrocodeine for about 4 years. she gets bad arthritis in her hands... she got given it first off after an operation on her hand to remove a nodule type thing from her joint. shes been taking an increasingly large amount as time has passed.
most recently, shes been taking 200 x 30mg tablets, and 112 x 60mg continus tablets, and theyre lasting her 17 days, roughly. instead of a month. now, her usual doctor is away, and the replacement one from within the surgery refused to sign her prescription and said that shes been taking too many and needs to stick to the required dosage.
now, shes been given 100 x 30mg tablets, half her other dose, and none of the continus ones which keep a constant supply in her bloodstream. and these are supposed to last her an actual month, rather than 17 days. actually... the doc asked if mum had any of the 60mg ones left, and she lied and said she had because she felt bad about having taken them all... so he thinks she has 56, again, half her previous dosage.
now is this me, or is this pretty harsh? to sudddenly cut off a strong drug like this and give no help in getting her off them? her sister took them previously, and to aid with her withdrawal she had to see a psychiatrist, and was given something to act as a replacement to wean her off. my mum has been given NO support from her doctor and has been made to feel like a drug addict, which totally isnt fair, they were the ones giving them to her in the first place, no one noticed she was taking mroe than she should. but as her pain kept getting worse, she just kept upping the dose herself. some days she was taking 20 x 30mg tablets a day, and the maximum works out to be around 8. the doctors never even mentioned how addictive dihydrocodeine is, and that it is in fact more addictive than heroin, in some ways.
shes been taking some of my kava kava tablets to calm her down and ease with the withdrawal... is this the best thing to do? is there anything better out there, herbal or otherwise, that can help? she's getting proper withdrawal symptoms, feeling irritable, tearful, and a deep frustration, as if something is missing, when she doesnt take the same amount as before. she is prone to suffer from depression, so surely something can be done? she doesnt want to phone this doctor back, she has a very strong sense of pride and wont be seen to be asking for help, or pleading, if she can help it.
i suggested the national drugs helpline perhaps... she doesnt want someone coming to the house, can counselling be done over the phone to these types of people? is this a good idea anyway?
id be really grateful for any replies about this, i appreciate it probably isnt going to be something that many of you have any kind of experience with. <IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/frown.gif"> karla, maybe you can provide some links?
thank you all in advance.
------------------
I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
~ the late, great Douglas Adams