Basic \text plainly states as long as you take as prescribed by a physician it is not using. As far as what other addicts say about it, doesn’t matter that section from Basic Text says it all. Thing to be careful about is that our bodies don’t really know the difference between prescription and street drugs. This is why working with a sponsor is so important. Just my experience
Actually, this is only partially what it says. The BT goes on to say that we need to be honest with ourselves and our doctors before and during taking any narcotic or med that can lead to a relapse. We also have to be honest with our sponsors and seek support from our fellow addicts when these times do arise. It is also suggested elsewhere in our literature that we try the best we can to have doctors that are knowledgeable about treating people with addictions, though that isn’t always possible with insurance restrictions and some doctors that either don’t care or will immediately label us a "pill seekers" or other related crap.
When I 1st had to take a narcotic I was very fortunate to have a doctor that was very knowledgeable about addictions. He was one of the "on call" doctors at the local rehab and also worked as "staff doctor" for our county drug/alcohol counseling center. He was the one who 1st showed me this chapter in our BT (all we had at that time other than the "In Times of Illness" booklet. He kept a copy of our BT in his office as does our current doctor. When I came to TN I needed to find a new doctor cause mine from PA just wouldn’t come with me lmao. The one we have didn’t know anything when we 1st got to know him but was willing to learn and his 1st education was reading the BT we gave him as part of a community outreach from our PI committee. Since then he has gone on to find other education in this field and does on-going education in many different fields that affect his patients.
Bottom line, it is ultimately up to us to make the decision to take any medication that our or any other doctor may prescribe for us. We alone are responsible for our recovery no matter what. We alone know our motives for taking any medication. Nobody else is in our brain but us, but we can include others in our thinking and decision making – such as sponsor, doctor or other addicts that we know have been in the same or similar situations. Are we still clean??? In my opinion, as long as our motives are clear and legitimate, and we aren’t misusing the medications – that also includes trying to second guess the doctor and taking less that s/he prescribes, then yes, we are still clean. I’d be up shit’s creek with no paddle if not because I take about 8 different medications on a daily basis, though only 1 is considered even marginally narcotic-like, not true narcotic though is flagged as one that can cause cravings and relapses in some addicts if not taken with care.T hen there is my inhaler. I’ve known people to use these to get high not for asthma or other breathing problems. When I 1st started using them I did see why as I got a bit of a momentary high feeling from it; just enough to make me very cautious with it . With my sleep problems right now, my doc has also suggested I use a sleep aid to help me sleep better (it does seem to be helping a bit) and those, even the OTCs, can be psychologically addictive to people like us so we do need to use them with care.
Again, honest with self, doctor, sponsor and other NA support people is key. What others outside that circle say is not important to me. I know why I take each and every medication that I put into my body and do so knowing full well all I can learn about that med as well as any interactions with other meds. Today there is absolutely no reason in my opinion for anyone to take a medication that they don’t research what with the wealth of information that can be had through search engines on sites such as WebMD, Drugs.com, Medline, etc. I will generally search at least 2 sites and keep a profile on Drugs.com where I can list all my meds and get updates on new information about them as well as find out interactions with other meds that I take that may not be listed anywhere else. I would highly suggest anyone that takes multiple medications to do this as well – for safety as well as information. I had one interaction when I 1st started the profile that I was very concerned with and talked to my doctor and we ended up changing one medication to reduce the interaction potential.
Sorry for the long rant but this seemed like the place to do it. HUGS
