Annoyed at family

[livie1205]

Hi to start with let me say I take rx meds for a chronic illness , I keep track of my meds and never had a issue . I have them in a month box so I keep track how many should be taken on each day and that works .
Well we had family over last week for a few days and today I notice that 8 pills are gone , which will leave me short on 5 days ! I'm so angry .
Would you confront the people if they were in laws or just suffer a little on the short days ? I know if I confront the result will cause a permanent issue in a close family (spouses family ) he is livid but said we didn't see it so no proof ... No one else has access to it .why would u put someone in this position ???! It's just cruel to me.
Anyway ideas? Opinions? I'm just upset ..

 

[sonnyjane]

Do you at least have a suspicion of which person it would have been? Are they still at your place? You could try the "play dumb" approach of "did someone take a few of my pills? I am a few days short." And just observe the reactions. My brother did this to my mom. She now has to keep her meds in a locked safe

If they aren't still staying at your home there's not a lot you can do. Probably long gone.

 

[eliza61]

Damn livie, that royally sucks. I would mention it without accusing anyone. unfortunately I agree with your dh, unless you can prove it, I doubt anyone is going to fess up.

My brother was a crack addict for 13 years before getting clean. I banned him from my house when he stole my open box of cereal. seriously, how much drugs can one get from an open box of fruit loops

 

[ronandannette]

I presume you're talking about narcotics? Nothing you can do now but make sure you are a lot more careful about securing them in the future. (If it's only 8 pills I'd also consider just talking to your doctor and requesting that the prescription be renewed a week early.)

 

[scrhsa]

This just happened to my niece over Thanksgiving. She did confront the person and things kind of blew up a bit. But by her reaction, very defensive, and the actions of the night they left...midnight in an extreme hurry, it seems she was the culprit. Nothing really was done about it because, like you, there wasn't any real proof. I think my niece confronted her mainly because she just wanted to let her know she knew it was her.

 

[wilkeliza]

Dang that sucks. I don't know what I would do. I definitly would leave my pills accessible to those family memebers in the future.

 

[sunshine1178]

Hi to start with let me say I take rx meds for a chronic illness , I keep track of my meds and never had a issue . I have them in a month box so I keep track how many should be taken on each day and that works .
Well we had family over last week for a few days and today I notice that 8 pills are gone , which will leave me short on 5 days ! I'm so angry .
Would you confront the people if they were in laws or just suffer a little on the short days ? I know if I confront the result will cause a permanent issue in a close family (spouses family ) he is livid but said we didn't see it so no proof ... No one else has excess to it .why would u put someone in this position ???! It's just cruel to me.
Anyway ideas? Opinions? I'm just upset ..

If there were any small (under 18) children over, then I would make phone calls immediately. "Hey, it's Livie. Is everyone okay over there? I've just noticed that I'm missing 8 pills, and I'm terrified that Snowflake might have mistaken them for candy! Do you think that you should take her to the ER? No, then what could have happened to them? I'm so concerned, because x, y, and z awful side effect could happen to an adult who takes them, and I can't imagine if a child ingested them!"

Now that everyone knows you're aware, call the pharmacy and see if they can give you a few to cover the shortage. Then buy a small safe and put your medicine into it each time that a guest is in your home. (And especially a child. I'm not joking about that.)

 

[wilkeliza]

Thinking about it I would confront everyone who was over. If someone is stealing pills they need help and they need to know someone is onto them.

 

[sonnyjane]

If there were any small (under 18) children over, then I would make phone calls immediately. "Hey, it's Livie. Is everyone okay over there? I've just noticed that I'm missing 8 pills, and I'm terrified that Snowflake might have mistaken them for candy! Do you think that you should take her to the ER? No, then what could have happened to them? I'm so concerned, because x, y, and z awful side effect could happen to an adult who takes them, and I can't imagine if a child ingested them!"

Now that everyone knows you're aware, call the pharmacy and see if they can give you a few to cover the shortage. Then buy a small safe and put your medicine into it each time that a guest is in your home. (And especially a child. I'm not joking about that.)

Oh that's genius!

 

[LilyWDW]

If there were any small (under 18) children over, then I would make phone calls immediately. "Hey, it's Livie. Is everyone okay over there? I've just noticed that I'm missing 8 pills, and I'm terrified that Snowflake might have mistaken them for candy! Do you think that you should take her to the ER? No, then what could have happened to them? I'm so concerned, because x, y, and z awful side effect could happen to an adult who takes them, and I can't imagine if a child ingested them!"

Now that everyone knows you're aware, call the pharmacy and see if they can give you a few to cover the shortage. Then buy a small safe and put your medicine into it each time that a guest is in your home. (And especially a child. I'm not joking about that.)

I love that!

I have a small safe that I put any of my "good" pills in when some people come over. Sometimes it is so kids don't get into them by accident. Sometimes it is so some people don't steal them to either take themselves or sell for something else (then again, that person has only been to my house once since I want her no where near me if at all possible).

 

[TipsyTraveler]

If there were any small (under 18) children over, then I would make phone calls immediately. "Hey, it's Livie. Is everyone okay over there? I've just noticed that I'm missing 8 pills, and I'm terrified that Snowflake might have mistaken them for candy! Do you think that you should take her to the ER? No, then what could have happened to them? I'm so concerned, because x, y, and z awful side effect could happen to an adult who takes them, and I can't imagine if a child ingested them!"

Now that everyone knows you're aware, call the pharmacy and see if they can give you a few to cover the shortage. Then buy a small safe and put your medicine into it each time that a guest is in your home. (And especially a child. I'm not joking about that.)

Great idea. I was also thinking about spinning it another way if you have pets, OP. Call and ask if someone accidentally spilled your pills because you're missing some and you need to know where to start tearing your house apart to look for them before your dog eats them.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Maybe the Dr. has some on hand as samples or write out a script just for the amount you need. I would give it a try.

 

[NewRVLady]

This happened to my elderly MIL last Dec ( and one reason I refuse to be near the crazy girl DH's nephew is engaged to).... She just had the script filled- Pharmacist verifies amount filled...we know it's her- she is addicted to pain meds

So now my MIL hide the meds when that family visits

 

[mom2rtk]

Not only do you have a thief in the family, you have a stupid thief in the family! I can't believe anyone would actually take them out of those little daily boxes and think you wouldn't miss them. That's just crazy.

At least you know now and I'm sure will see to it that it can't happen again.

 

[livie1205]

All good idea! Thanks , yeh I have NEVER had this issue before so it's a very few that could have taken them it's very upsetting because I wouldn't have them unless u needed them and i take then EXACTLY as directed .The dr won't replace so no need for me to ask, he has to be strict on narcotics and it was my responsibility to keep them safe but I never would have thought either two people would take them ! I'm going tomorrow to get a small ex lock box and that is where they will say but I shouldn't have to do that in my own house ! thanks everyone !

 

[mefordis]

Hi to start with let me say I take rx meds for a chronic illness , I keep track of my meds and never had a issue . I have them in a month box so I keep track how many should be taken on each day and that works .
Well we had family over last week for a few days and today I notice that 8 pills are gone , which will leave me short on 5 days ! I'm so angry .
Would you confront the people if they were in laws or just suffer a little on the short days ? I know if I confront the result will cause a permanent issue in a close family (spouses family ) he is livid but said we didn't see it so no proof ... No one else has excess to it .why would u put someone in this position ???! It's just cruel to me.
Anyway ideas? Opinions? I'm just upset ..

What were the meds? Why would anyone want them?

 

[Colleen27]

What were the meds? Why would anyone want them?

There are plenty of prescription meds that are addictive and/or used recreationally and therefore valuable. DS has a friend who recently got into serious trouble for selling her adderall to other teens, and the heroin addict in our family got his start on prescription opiates (first his own, then stolen or illegally purchased, including some vicodin DH had leftover from a dental procedure).

 

[mefordis]

There are plenty of prescription meds that are addictive and/or used recreationally and therefore valuable. DS has a friend who recently got into serious trouble for selling her adderall to other teens, and the heroin addict in our family got his start on prescription opiates (first his own, then stolen or illegally purchased).

Ohhhhh okay thanks. Duh. I think we'll be seeing a lot less of the narcotic stealing since doctors are being cracked down on over prescribing those. They now have synthetic versions that are less appealing to drug addicts (also anti inflammatories work better for chronic pain). They used to give percocet out for back pain but that is being stopped. They really should only be prescribing these pills for right after surgery, just a few day's worth. They are highly addictive and dangerous and don't really even work after several day's use - it's more a placebo after that.

 

[sonnyjane]

Ohhhhh okay thanks. Duh. I think we'll be seeing a lot less of the narcotic stealing since doctors are being cracked down on over prescribing those. They now have synthetic versions that are less appealing to drug addicts (also anti inflammatories work better for chronic pain). They used to give percocet out for back pain but that is being stopped. They really should only be prescribing these pills for right after surgery, just a few day's worth. They are highly addictive and dangerous and don't really even work after several day's use - it's more a placebo after that.

They are definitely still prescribing them like candy around these parts. I had surgery and was given 30 percocets but I didn't take them so still have the bottle. DH got back-to-back surgeries a few months ago and got 60 percocets PER SURGERY but also only took a few, so we have a ton of them here. I was really surprised at how many they gave us.

 

[wilkeliza]

Ohhhhh okay thanks. Duh. I think we'll be seeing a lot less of the narcotic stealing since doctors are being cracked down on over prescribing those. They now have synthetic versions that are less appealing to drug addicts (also anti inflammatories work better for chronic pain). They used to give percocet out for back pain but that is being stopped. They really should only be prescribing these pills for right after surgery, just a few day's worth. They are highly addictive and dangerous and don't really even work after several day's use - it's more a placebo after that.

It isn't just pain pills. People will steal things like xanax because it does produce a high of sorts. Also not everyone who has a narcotic would benifit from an anti-inflamitory. Doctors are being more closely monitored but things like cancer they might prescribe pretty entense pain pills for certain people. When my mom was in hospice there was morphine, Vicodin, and Percocet in the house. I wouldn't be shocked if my father did slip a few for himself here and there because that's the kind of person he was.