Annoyed at family

[Marionnette]

Maybe I'm not picturing it correctly. I can see taking 8 out of a pill bottle that holds 30 and hoping they're not noticed. What I don't get is a box like this:

And then pills from 5 days taken out. Was there more than one pill in each day? Are the pills that recognizable out of their labeled bottle, and mixed with other pills?

Addictions drives people to do the most illogical things. My nephew stole Oxycontin from my mom, one or two pills at a time, until the bottle was empty. Then he left the empty bottle in the cabinet instead of tossing it. Mom might be 80, but she would never leave an empty pill container (for a script with no refills) in the cabinet.

The same nephew had taken a picture of Mom's list of daily meds with his cellphone. Apparently, he used it to check whether any of them were useful to his purposes.

 

[RedHatDisney]

As a knee replacement patient, I had a first hand experience with pain meds, both before and after surgery. These meds don't really relieve pain, at least not with me. They just made me NOT CARE about the pain. I think this is what is so dangerous about the drugs......

 

[Bec3b1g]

An addict won't care if the loss of the pills causes you discomfort or ruins family relationships. They only care about their next high. It's pointless to confront them.

Sorry, OP. I have a family member who is an addict and she can't be trusted in anyone's home. If she can't find pills to steal, she will steal anything else to sell for money to buy the drugs.

 

[LilyWDW]

Addicts are not logical at all. They just want their fix or the right stuff to sell to get their fix. They also know exactly what the want, what it looks like, and what it sells for so they can get what will work the best. So, if you had a pill box like the one posted, they would know just what pill in there was "good" for their needs, grab it, and leave anything else. But, they wouldn't always think about the fact that the person they are stealing from would most likely notice.

How do I know? By dealing with a family member who did the exact same thing.

 

[littleblackegg]

This is so sad. I'd make an emergency appt with my doctor and describe the situation fully. She or he may give you a prescription for the other eight days. Prescribers know addicts steal from family members-this is charted territory for them. If you take opioids or anxiety medication every day, you likely have developed a physiologic dependence on them and should not stop taking them unless your provider says to. This sort of body response is a natural, predictable response to taking these drugs, but can be dangerous if the drugs are abruptly stopped.

 

[LilyWDW]

This is so sad. I'd make an emergency appt with my doctor and describe the situation fully. She or he may give you a prescription for the other eight days. Prescribers know addicts steal from family members-this is charted territory for them. If you take opioids or anxiety medication every day, you likely have developed a physiologic dependence on them and should not stop taking them unless your provider says to. This sort of body response is a natural, predictable response to taking these drugs, but can be dangerous if the drugs are abruptly stopped.

The issue is, even if the doctor gives them a new prescription, it is very possible that the insurance will deny paying for it.

 

[littleblackegg]

The issue is, even if the doctor gives them a new prescription, it is very possible that the insurance will deny paying for it.

That is problematic, but not insurmountable. We had this happen to one of the patients. His insurance company made him document the loss by reporting it to the police, but then they covered it. Since he was essentially a victim of a crime, they couldn't justify not paying, I guess. Anyway, the prescriber will know best how to handle the shortage.

 

[bethy]

In 2014 there were more deaths from overdoses on prescription pain medications than all street drugs combined. It is one of the biggest epidemics in the U.S. Most people who abuse heroin started out as prescription pain medicine abusers, and when their habit became too expensive they resorted to heroin.

Oxycontin is sold on the street for approximately $1 a milligram.

Unfortunately for the OP she will probably not be able to get a few extra pills to "tide her over" without filing a police report, especially if her medication is prescribed by a pain management doctor.

OP, unfortunately, there probably isn't anything you can do, but I wouldn't sit silent about it, and I wouldn't play coy. I would send out a group email or text to everyone that was at your home stating that 8 of your pain pills, and only pain pills were missing. Tell them that it is obvious that the the person or persons that took them knew exactly what they were. Tell them that you will be left in pain and possibly withdrawal because of their actions, That you are hurt, angry, and disappointed that a family member would abuse your trust and your home in such a way, and that you sincerely hope that the person who did this seeks help, or if anyone reading this knows who did it they encourage that person to seek help.

From now on lock up narcotics.

The message to the group will be good in that it will warn others in the family.

However, the message will not resonate with the addict at ALL. If you haven't dealt with someone who has an addiction to pain meds you can't begin to imagine how meaningless words are to them. There is no guilt trip big enough, no logic, no reasoning, no crystal clear evidence that will resonate with them in any way. It is a completely different animal than I have ever seen before. The sooner people who are affected by an addicts behavior internalize this the sooner they can move on with a healthy strategy and approach to protect themselves.

 

[kamik86]

I can understand why some would think this was doable. I'll admit the only time I had this type of drugs was when my wisdom teeth were removed. However I only took 2-3 pills, the instructions were to take ibuprofen on a certain schedule and only take the vicodin of the pain was still bad. I did this a few days as the pain was just enough that I couldn't sleep but not enough to bother me when awake.

I probably wouldn't have noticed if someone only took 1 or 2. I didn't count them before bringing them to one of those drug drop off places.

 

[sharona]

The message to the group will be good in that it will warn others in the family.

However, the message will not resonate with the addict at ALL. If you haven't dealt with someone who has an addiction to pain meds you can't begin to imagine how meaningless words are to them. There is no guilt trip big enough, no logic, no reasoning, no crystal clear evidence that will resonate with them in any way. It is a completely different animal than I have ever seen before. The sooner people who are affected by an addicts behavior internalize this the sooner they can move on with a healthy strategy and approach to protect themselves.

Sadly true.

 

[wilkeliza]

Maybe I'm not picturing it correctly. I can see taking 8 out of a pill bottle that holds 30 and hoping they're not noticed. What I don't get is a box like this:

And then pills from 5 days taken out. Was there more than one pill in each day? Are the pills that recognizable out of their labeled bottle, and mixed with other pills?

Pills all have a code stamped on them that say exactly what they are if you search the code. That is a legal requirement in the US at least. Many addicts know exactly what code is their drug of choice as well as the codes of others that might be of use to them. Heck I've found a pill before and wasn't sure what it was so I just googled the code. Came right up what is what and used for. It was from my further father-in-laws pill case that he carries.

They may have only taken 8 because in the time it took them to find 8 of those pills was what they deemed an acceptable amount of time to be in the bathroom with out throwing a warning sign.

 

[bethy]

Pills all have a code stamped on them that say exactly what they are if you search the code. That is a legal requirement in the US at least. Many addicts know exactly what code is their drug of choice as well as the codes of others that might be of use to them. Heck I've found a pill before and wasn't sure what it was so I just googled the code. Came right up what is what and used for. It was from my further father-in-laws pill case that he carries.

They may have only taken 8 because in the time it took them to find 8 of those pills was what they deemed an acceptable amount of time to be in the bathroom with out throwing a warning sign.

Yes, and I'm sure they plan to come back for more. 4 years later my SIL thinks she is being discreet when she methodically visits each bathroom over the course of one visit to relative's home. She's founds stuff before and taken it so she checks each time now. She never took all pills at once - you could tell there was some process going on in her mind about what an acceptable and discreet volume of stealing would be. There is a raltionalization process that goes on in their minds. And the one time she gave in and took all the pills she did not leave the whole empty bottle sitting there but instead took it too which IMO was smarter. . .

Anyway, at this point there is no longer anything for her to find because the family members who do still allow her in their homes lock up all meds and valuables. But she still checks - even though everyone is open and upfront with her about knowing she steals meds.

 

[Bec3b1g]

Anyway, at this point there is no longer anything for her to find because the family members who do still allow her in their homes lock up all meds and valuables. But she still checks - even though everyone is open and upfront with her about knowing she steals meds.

It's really crazy how they get to a place of no shame. And that's probably not the right word because I have to believe that deep inside my sister is still a person who knows right from wrong.

 

[bethy]

It's really crazy how they get to a place of no shame. And that's probably not the right word because I have to believe that deep inside my sister is still a person who knows right from wrong.

You are right, I think - which is part of the reason they rationalize things. Addiction is a disease and honestly I don't even take it personally anymore. I just feel sorry for all the victims - both the addict and the people in their lives. I am terribly grateful to not be an addict myself.

 

[mefordis]

If you are on these pills daily, perhaps you took them and forgot? If they are strong enough to be appealing to someone with a potential for drug abuse, perhaps you thought you placed them in the container but actually did not?

I would definitely NOT accuse a family member of stealing 8 pills. I don't see it as being worth it in the long run. It also may backfire and they may think you have the drug problem. Just watch your pills from now on.

 

[ariel71]

DH had to renew a narcotic prescription and the dr's office Xeroxed the form. It had a hand-signed signature but the pharmacy wouldn't accept it. Sad that the world has come to this.

When we returned home from vacation last week DH noticed some of his percosetts were missing. He can't prove anything, and hopes he's mistaken, but we suspect one of the teenage boys of the family who was taking care of the dog and bringing in the mail. The locks on our house were changed a year ago and those neighbors are the only ones with a spare key. Next time we go anywhere DH will be sure to hide the narcotics.

I hate to sound paranoid, but if you really do think it was him and there's not a viable alternative explanation, I'd get the locks changed again and not have that neighbor be the one to help out when you're gone. For one, it means he went through your house, not acceptable in and of itself. Two, now that he knows there's something worth stealing, he could easily have had the key copied for future use. It could become more brazen. I wouldn't want to have to deal with locking things up every time I ran errands - if he's a neighbor, he can probably see when you're not home pretty easily.

 

[book_junkie]

If you are on these pills daily, perhaps you took them and forgot? If they are strong enough to be appealing to someone with a potential for drug abuse, perhaps you thought you placed them in the container but actually did not?

I would definitely NOT accuse a family member of stealing 8 pills. I don't see it as being worth it in the long run. It also may backfire and they may think you have the drug problem. Just watch your pills from now on.

Someone on daily meds like this uses the box in order not to forget to take the pills. The prescribed pills have different affects for those who actually need them than for those who are using them to get high. If the OP is using a monthly pill box for meds, they know what they took and what they didn't.

It's actually brave to speak up- a. The OP is letting EVERYONE in their family know that they're having this illness and on this medication, which is often a stigma in and of itself. B. By asking the family, they're letting them know that they can't do it again, and if it's a minor sneaking the drugs (which we've seen in previous posts), their parents can be on the lookout in their cabinets. The infomercials about teens raiding the medicine cabinet or storylines about the pill parties aren't fake.

 

[2binak]

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.

Agreed - they are still prescribing them somewhat freely, especially following procedures in hospitals.

Many police departments & some pharmacies now have drop boxes where you can deposit unused medications (including over-the-counter) so they aren't sitting around houses and can be safely disposed of. The links below are for sites where you can search for drop box locations in your area. My local police department isn't listed on the site, but does have a drop box so if you don't see your local department listed, check with them anyway.

http://www.awarerx.pharmacy/dispose-safely/disposal-sites

http://www.disposemymeds.org/

 

[mefordis]

Someone on daily meds like this uses the box in order not to forget to take the pills. The prescribed pills have different affects for those who actually need them than for those who are using them to get high. If the OP is using a monthly pill box for meds, they know what they took and what they didn't.

It's actually brave to speak up- a. The OP is letting EVERYONE in their family know that they're having this illness and on this medication, which is often a stigma in and of itself. B. By asking the family, they're letting them know that they can't do it again, and if it's a minor sneaking the drugs (which we've seen in previous posts), their parents can be on the lookout in their cabinets. The infomercials about teens raiding the medicine cabinet or storylines about the pill parties aren't fake.

If we are talking daily use of narcotics, I have a distant relative who took pain meds every day of his life (he was thrown from a horse and had back pain) and if one day he claimed he was missing 8 of them there would have been major eye rolls. In fact, sadly, he died of an overdose some years ago. These pills are nothing to fool around with. The majority of drug overdoses these days are from prescription drugs (narcotics in particular) - I saw that on Dr. G!

I have to add to this I really don't get the appeal of these drugs. I was given a prescription for my wisdom teeth - I think percocet - anyway they totally made me nauseous and at best made me feel sick to my stomach like I was hung over! I took advil and was in pain but at least didn't feel sick.

 

[mom2rtk]

If we are talking daily use of narcotics, I have a distant relative who took pain meds every day of his life (he was thrown from a horse and had back pain) and if one day he claimed he was missing 8 of them there would have been major eye rolls. In fact, sadly, he died of an overdose some years ago. These pills are nothing to fool around with. The majority of drug overdoses these days are from prescription drugs (narcotics in particular) - I saw that on Dr. G!

I have to add to this I really don't get the appeal of these drugs. I was given a prescription for my wisdom teeth - I think percocet - anyway they totally made me nauseous and at best made me feel sick to my stomach like I was hung over! I took advil and was in pain but at least didn't feel sick.

Have you ever dealt with a chronic pain condition?