Not sure I am really a recovered addict when I have to rely on prescription pills
Is this right?
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Do you take pills for addiction or for your other mental illnesses?
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I used to have a similar problem early on in my recovery. In my first year of being clean I was prescribed Ativan which everybody knows is addictive. I would think to myself that I was using drugs and that I wasn’t really clean. But I finally read some CA and NA literature, and I think they also address this in the Big Book, that as alcoholics and addicts (and humans) we are going to get sick and we are going to need medication that is sometimes addictive.
The bottom line is if the medication is prescribed, and you’re taking it as prescribed, and taking it responsibly and you’re not abusing it in any way then you can still claim you’re clean and sober. It’s a tough problem to grapple with but my sponsor agreed with the literature and I sorted it out in my own mind, so If I ever can’t avoid Ativan in the future or I am prescribed codeine of morphine and I take only just what is needed, then I have not broken my sobriety.
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I am thinking of the fact that these pills are also making me reliant on them
Others like Diazepam and Pregabalin people take to get high
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That’s good to know your perspective on this @77nick77
Thank you for sharing
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Yeah, I get the fact that it’s hard to justify taking addictive substances when you’re an addict or alcoholic, and wondering if you’re really clean and sober. Maybe call up AA, CA or NA World Services and talk to them and ask them this question. People take Ativan to get high and abuse it so I had to find the answer to myself whether I was still “using” because I occasionally took an addictive drug. That literature I mentioned clinched it for me and made me realize I was still clean. I don’t know, hopefully you’ll get some different opinions. You’re in a tough situation.
An addict is basically someone who abuses addictive substances.
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Like a dieting obese person still needs to eat…
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Addiction is where you cannot control the use of something you are out of control whereas with taking medications, you are just taking the prescribed amount.
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I think with medications if you take as prescribed then its all good.
Ive struggled with addictive behaviors throughout life. Generally trading one for another one.
Ive quit alcohol, and recreational drugs. Ive toned down on reckless extreme sport activitys. The last one im working on is sex addiction which is really just a compulsive bahavioral addiction.
Ive generally kept the sex on in check with some sort of management of porn use but recently with addition of ritalin its gone full send again.
So I installed blockers on all my devices and gave the password to my wife lol. Its for my own good.
Now im currently working on replacing that behavior with some other healthy rewarding activities. Im choosing gamified learning of low code apps, a gamified cyber security platform, and khan academy gamified learning platform.
I think people with addict traits dont really ever escape it. Its either supressed or redirected toward something healthier.
Cheers
Level
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This is the crux of the matter. 12 Step programs all make allowances for taking necessary medications as prescribed. I would never tell one of my sponsees they are an addict for taking a painkiller as directed by their doctor.
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Very wise and smart. Best of wishes 
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I like how you said pregabalin to get high. It does give you a sort of buzz. But the therapeutic effect it had on me was unreal. That’s one medication I don’t regret taking one bit.
I’m a nicotine addict
Nah don’t get down on yourself just because you need to take medication addiction is different to dependence. I would encourage you to reframe this thought in a way that reoriantes towards the self. It is a positive thing you are taking a medication that you need to take
Medication dependency is not addiction. I was dependent on Ziprasidone fo 20 yearsr. Yes some symptoms improved on this meds and other worsened I was one of the very rare examples who had a damn hard time breaking the habit of using Ziprasidone so that took 1 and a half year to break fri from. All other meds I’ve been taking were a load easier to tapper. F.x. Took it only some months to tapper from 900 mg Qutiapine to 600 mgs.
I quit 600 mg Clozapine after half a year of usage in 1 day. Likewise I also quit 16 mg Risperidone after one year of usage. I think that the timespan you use a sudden drug will be decisive for how long it will take to come off that.
So conclusion is that Medication is a necessary help to back on our feets while alcohol and drugs are addiction that kill our bodies and brain.
Hi my name is Niels and I am an alcoholic.