Tori's Struggle with Drug Addiction (Part 2)

So let’s pick up with Tori where she left off.

When he came in the room that day I knew that something was up. He asked how I was doing and about my day but soon told me the truth about why he requested I come in. Dr. Dewey told me about patients he had that had gotten habituated to pain medication and he had been concerned about my use of the meds he had been prescribing. He didn’t accuse me of anything but instead asked me if I thought I might have a problem. My heart fell to my toes. He said it was brought to his attention by my husband that I was getting other prescription drugs from other sources. This was shocking because I thought my husband had no idea. Being carless and not hiding the pills, my husband had found my stash. He had known for about a month and had not said a word. He had kept track of how many pills I had taken each day. He had researched all of the different kind of pills I had. At first I denied there was a problem and felt I had to keep this secret. The doctor accepted my “story” and kept reassuring me his only purpose for having me come in was to find out how I was really doing. He shared other stories about how people have gotten confused about pain from disease and pain form addiction. He was worried I might be heading down a bad path. He stated several times that if I did find myself in a bad situation I could always call on him. At no time did I feel judged our threatened.

(I will make an important point) It is critical that a person who realized they have an addiction problem have someone they can trust and that they feel is totally on their side. Someone they can completely trust. We can never force an addict to heal. Patient concern, yes even love, is the crucial component to help someone feel they can change. I needed to wait until Tori was ready to admit she had a problem and asked for my help. It was insightful and loving of her husband to not confront Tori.

My husband knew if he was the one to approach me it probably would not go over too well. Desperate for help he contacted Dr. Dewey. My husband knowing how much respect I had for him he knew he would be a good person to turn to. Dr. Dewey told him not to say anything to me, asking that he be the one to talk to me first. Not once during the talk with Dewey did I feel judged. Dr. Dewey wanted to do everything he could to help me with my addiction. But he said the desire of wanting to stop had to come from me. Knowing my husband knew about everything was a huge burden lifted as crazy as that sounds. Instead of my husband being hateful & bitter he was understanding and loving. Which if the tables were turned I don’t know if I could be that same way.

(I’d like to stop the narrative here and we’ll pick up next week.)