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How can I help a friend addicted to pills?

LostHiWay

LostHiWay

Golden Member
I'm really at a loss what to do. He's 21 and still lives at home. Right now he's taking about 50-75 vicoden HP's a day..(Yes a day). Should I confront him about or should I just go to his parents. I really hate to have to do this since he just got a pretty good paying job and he'll most likely loose it.

Any ideas?
 
Switch his pills with Viagra. He'll stop. 🙂 Seriously, I'd talk with him before going to his parents. Going to his parents first could make things worse and ruin a friendship.
 
Both.

People addiced to pills will stop for a week and gradually get back to it, as the signs are usually less noticable when they start again.
 
50-75 a day? Christ! His kidney's have to be VERY messed up by now with all of that acetominophen. Anyway, someone with that big of a habbit has to go into rehab. It's been said that about 20 vicodin is equivelant in high to a "decent" (whatever that means) shot of heroin. I used to pop about 10-15 at a time. The only thing that got me to stop was not having any more pills.

Edit - tapering off is *sort of* an option, but it's way to hard for a user to trust himself doing that very long.
 
Go to his parents. If he's taking that many a day, he's not going to be able to stop on his own. He'll probably be mad at you, but you're doing this for him. He'd probably do the same for you were the roles reversed.
 
50-75 a day? Is that even physically possible? When I hurt my back and my leg (laid my bike down) they gave me a bottle of 50 Vicodin. The big ones. I must admit, what a nice little buzz! But you quickly develop a tolerance for them. You start out with two pills at a time. After about a week, you need four to get the same effect...I can't imagine how long your friend has been taking them.

How does he get the script filled? There's no doctor that would keep refilling that script. Does he buy them down in Mexico or something? Good luck. He needs help. He WILL go thru a detox period. Codeine is a narcotic...it won't be pretty.
 
I think I'm going to go over to his house and ask for a pill for my wisdom teeth. When he gives me the bottle I'll flush them and tell him he has 2 choices....quit now or I'm telling his parents and he'll be put in rehab.

sound fair?
 
How can he afford that? No way his insurance pays for that much pillage. And is he getting it refilled at the doctors? The doctor should be shot.
 
take them...tell him you will give him a certain amount a day....less and less each day....dont just make him go cold turkey....i was loritab and soma, daily for 6 months....i tried cold turkey and it was horrible...
 
Do not just snatch the pills and flush them. He may lose control and attack you. Seriously. He's addicted. He needs help. The "weaning" thing is a good idea...kinda. Nothing's going to keep him from just buying another bottle from Mr. Dealer. I'm sure Mr. Dealer would be very happy to give him some credit, too. :|

You're a good person for wanting to help your friend. Many people don't think pills are addictive, or that it's a bad thing b/c "my doctor gave them to me" Wrongo. Drugs is drugs is drugs.
 


<< 50-75 a day? Christ! His kidney's have to be VERY messed up by now with all of that acetominophen. Anyway, someone with that big of a habbit has to go into rehab. It's been said that about 20 vicodin is equivelant in high to a "decent" (whatever that means) shot of heroin. I used to pop about 10-15 at a time. The only thing that got me to stop was not having any more pills.

Edit - tapering off is *sort of* an option, but it's way to hard for a user to trust himself doing that very long. >>



Geez, I think even 10-15 would really kill me. After I got my wisdom teeth taking only 2 of them kept me numb (and buzzed) for several hours.


LostHiWay, I have no real idea of what you should do, but you should do something.
 
It's a really difficult situation - Whatever you do you are going to lose your friend.

If you say nothing and he continues with his out of control habit, it will be a permanent loss.

However, if you intervene, there will be time for him to forgive you . . . 😉


EDIT: Yes, confront him. Depending on what he does, escalate "help" for him including informing his parents (depending what his parents are like and if they would really help him). It appears he needs "intervention" as he is not only addicted but his addiction is directly threatening his life.
 


<< I'm really at a loss what to do. He's 21 and still lives at home. Right now he's taking about 50-75 vicoden HP's a day..(Yes a day). Should I confront him about or should I just go to his parents. I really hate to have to do this since he just got a pretty good paying job and he'll most likely loose it.

Any ideas? >>




Ok two possibilities. I just researched this a bit and Vicodin HP is 10mg hydrocodone(narcotic) and 660mg acetaminophen.

0.66 x 75=49.5grams.

I really really hope you're just kidding in light of our attention. He'd be at luckiest to lose the job, because more likely scenario is dying of Tylenol poisoning 🙁


Tylenol poisoning can take a few days to kill, so the longer you wait before you take his ass to ER, the less chance of survival


"Acetaminophen poisoning is a toxic reaction resulting from the
ingestion of excessive doses of the drug. In adults, dosages
exceeding 10 to 15 grams can produce liver failure and
dosages exceeding 25 grams can be fatal. Symptoms such as
nausea and vomiting, profuse sweating, pallor, and oliguria
(scanty amounts of urine) are associated with the onset of
acetaminophen poisoning. Jaundice and pain in the upper
abdomen, hypoglycemia, encephalopathy, abnormal
functioning of brain tissue, and kidney failure may become
apparent as drug toxicity increases."
 
You have to sit down with him first. Tell him why you are concerned and point out what those pills are doing to his kidneys, his body, and his friendships. It's straining all of these things. Odds are, he'll tell you to shut up, tell you he'll try and quit, or he'll agree and will seek help with you.

If that doesn't work, offer to help him. Give up something you really like as long as he isn't taking V's. Pay him for each day he doesn't take them if that's possible and he'll do it. Try and make him see it as a challenge you are going to help him with. Make sure you talk with him and not to him. Don't lecture, but talk with him and let him say his side.

Then, if that doesn't start working soon, you're going to have to tell his parents if they are the kind that will care. He'll be pissed and will probably stop talking to you at this point, but explain that to him from the beginning.

Pill-heads can be some rough looking people. I had a buddy that was a walking pharmacy for about a year or two. Everytime you'd see him, his eyes were in a daze, he walked around all sluggish and worried about what pills he had and what he needed to stock up on. He was slower than a year before in reacting and in conversation. Unless you really knew him, it wasn't too obvious except when he was in "party mode" which usually consisted of doubling his normal outrageous amout. He was able to get off them pretty much cold turkey. He got a new job and really worked hard for a couple months. Didn't really have the time to pop pills anymore. He does them occasionaly now, but he's quit selling and it's never more than once a week...so he's doing better now.
 


<< Each tablet contains: hydrocodone bitartrate* 5 mg and acetaminophen 500 mg. >>




<< Each extra strength tablet contains hydrocodone bitartrate* 7.5 mg and acetaminophen 750 mg. >>



<< Ceiling: Because of the acetaminophen content, there is a ceiling. Doses of acetaminophen should not exceed 4000 mg in 24 hours. >>



From the Professionals:

<< Persons addicted to vicodin generally benefit from detox followed by treatment at a residential treatment facility. People's treatment needs vary greatly and a number of treatment options are available including medical detox, rapid opiate detox, and residential treatment and outpatient treatment. Persons addicted to vicodin generally cannot quit on their own; otherwise they would have done so before real, threatening problems occur. Those that are in denial of their addiction may benefit from family intervention. The first step to recovery is a telephone call to a reputable treatment facility followed by intake and treatment. >>

 
I had a friend with the exact same problem. Hurt his leg during a skiing accident. Got really addicted to vicodin. He personally changed completely, the guy was nuts. We didn't think anything of it at first, but his behavior was so wierd. Finally, I just ended up taking them away from him and that was it. I guess he wasn't able to get more.
 
UPDATE...

Ok I just talked to him and he agreed he might have a problem. At this point I reminded him there is no might about about. YOU DO!! He had 4 bottles of 50 pills. I took all but 1 bottle and flushed them. The other bottle I'm keeping to help him come off. I figure I'll give him 4 or 5 a day then after a few days 3..then 2 then 1..then none. Hopefully he'll be able to keep his job during this whole process.

I did warn him that if I ever notice he looks messed up I'm telling his parents and helping them arrange rehab.

 
tell his parents. if he doesnt want to quit, he isnt going to quit with you telling him to quit. get someone invovled. youre doing him a big favor in reality.
 
He seemed pretty cool about it. Probably because we've been friends since kindergarden. He was a little upset that I flushed 3 bottles down but I told him once he's clean I'll make it up to him
 
what in the world does 75 vicodins do for a person? wouldnt that kill the person? thats a lot of pills to be intaking in a day!!
 
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