3rd June 2005
Oh Lanie,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your story.
How very sad and difficult this must be for you, your sister, and the entire family. She's so young, only 29...plus she has a child of her own. You're not alone in your feelings of helplessness and despair in trying to help her...there are lots of folks here, as I'm slowly finding out, in very similar situations to yours and mine. (It's my son who's the addict). I've found this place to be a godsend because EVERYONE tries to help one another, whether they're the ones battling the addiction themselves or the loved ones of the folks who are. I'm sure you'll find lots of excellent advice and support here. :)
I feel so sorry for your sister having those horrible migraines. My Mom suffered from those for years...it would get so bad she'd beg me to get a gun and shoot her. She'd be locked in her darkened bedroom for days with the curtains drawn and barely able to stand the sound of a pin being dropped on the floor. Back in those days (early 70's) there wasn't a whole lot of great treatments out there. Fortunately, my Mom's headaches ceased miraculously after she passed menopause, but nowadays, there should be no medical reason to wait that long!
I also have a good friend who had these migraines and fortunately for her, the drug Imitrex was her salvation. I think it's something you take as soon as you feel a headache starting and if you can nip it in the bud, you'll avoid it completely. I honestly don't know what else is available out there now for migraine sufferers but I feel so bad that the only thing your sister's doctors seem to be able to do for her is to prescribe these really heavy-duty narcotic pain killers.
Chronic pain is very depressing, as I know firsthand. But sometimes it's like the chicken and the egg thing...does the pain increase the depression, or does the depression increase the pain? Often the two go hand in hand, I think.
I will pray and hope that your sister can get through this. I can't really offer any practical advice about how to help her beat her addiction, but as you've seen, there's been a lot of very good suggestions from the others.
You and your sister have my heartfelt support and prayers.
Nell
Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your story.
How very sad and difficult this must be for you, your sister, and the entire family. She's so young, only 29...plus she has a child of her own. You're not alone in your feelings of helplessness and despair in trying to help her...there are lots of folks here, as I'm slowly finding out, in very similar situations to yours and mine. (It's my son who's the addict). I've found this place to be a godsend because EVERYONE tries to help one another, whether they're the ones battling the addiction themselves or the loved ones of the folks who are. I'm sure you'll find lots of excellent advice and support here. :)
I feel so sorry for your sister having those horrible migraines. My Mom suffered from those for years...it would get so bad she'd beg me to get a gun and shoot her. She'd be locked in her darkened bedroom for days with the curtains drawn and barely able to stand the sound of a pin being dropped on the floor. Back in those days (early 70's) there wasn't a whole lot of great treatments out there. Fortunately, my Mom's headaches ceased miraculously after she passed menopause, but nowadays, there should be no medical reason to wait that long!
I also have a good friend who had these migraines and fortunately for her, the drug Imitrex was her salvation. I think it's something you take as soon as you feel a headache starting and if you can nip it in the bud, you'll avoid it completely. I honestly don't know what else is available out there now for migraine sufferers but I feel so bad that the only thing your sister's doctors seem to be able to do for her is to prescribe these really heavy-duty narcotic pain killers.
Chronic pain is very depressing, as I know firsthand. But sometimes it's like the chicken and the egg thing...does the pain increase the depression, or does the depression increase the pain? Often the two go hand in hand, I think.
I will pray and hope that your sister can get through this. I can't really offer any practical advice about how to help her beat her addiction, but as you've seen, there's been a lot of very good suggestions from the others.
You and your sister have my heartfelt support and prayers.
Nell