5 Reasons Recovery is So Scary for Prescription Pill Addicts with Legit Medical Problems

For those addicts who struggle with the abuse of prescription pills, especially powerful painkillers, it is an uphill battle trying to find treatment and escape out of that vicious cycle and into recovery. Discomfort doesn’t even come close to articulating some of the pain that is involved in detoxing from painkillers cold turkey, and the longer you have been using the worse it gets. So when you throw into the mix a legit medical problem that consists of a fair amount of pain, the concept of giving up the only thing that you believe can help you because it is causing you a different kind of pain can be terrifying. Here are 5 reasons recovery is so scary for prescription pill addicts with legit medical problems.

1. Afraid of the pain of detox

For prescription pill addicts, the thought of detox is scary enough. When you add the pain of detox to a regularly scheduled agony from medical problems it only makes it harder to stick through that detox process without giving up, and many addicts who use pain killers have a hard time telling the difference between their own pains and the discomforts caused by withdrawals.

2. Afraid detox will make medical problem worse

Sometimes when someone with a serious medical condition considers the idea of going to treatment for use of a prescription pill that has developed into a serious addiction they are afraid that the physical toll taken on the body from the detoxification process will actually create more complications with their current condition. Especially if their condition is the actual reason why they have been prescribed the medication in the first place, the addict can become even more worried that without it their problem will progress.

3. Afraid of being ‘black listed’

A lot of times a prescription pill addict will avoid going to treatment or getting involved in their own recovery because they are worried that when they admit to having a serious problem with narcotics and abusing their medications that they will no longer be able to be prescribed medications. Many addicts believe that by going to treatment they are automatically ‘black-listed’ from being able to receive specific medications and they are scared that if they do so and their medical problem persists that they will no longer be able to get the treatment for that condition. They may fear that once they admit to a drug problem that doctors will assume in the future that they are just trying to manipulate the system in order to get these medications, when they really do have a more serious problem.

4. Afraid of new medications

When taken off of you prescribed medication to try and resolve an issue with substance abuse, there can be some fear in recovery that your new medication may not be as helpful or healthy as you had hoped. It is possible that these new medications may not be as effective, or they may include their own list of side-effects or long-term effects that make them just as detrimental as the original medication you were taking.

5. Afraid of relapses

Probably the worst fear of prescription pill addicts with legit medical conditions in recovery is relapse. Once in recovery a prescription pill addict will probably start off with a pretty legit fear of their condition because if they know already that they have issues with substance abuse and painkillers then it is understandable when they are hesitant to be prescribed new medications to help with their health problems because they are not familiar with the effects of these medications. Being an addict in recovery who has a legit medical issue and must be on some kind of medication, it can seem scary to have to remain vigilant as to your medications. At the end of the day though, all addicts must maintain self-awareness and vigilance.

For those with medical issues, the fear of getting off harmful medications can seem scary when you don’t know how else to navigate your illness without the help of your prescriptions. Some addicts don’t realize how much worse their illness may actually be as a result of the medications they abuse, or how it may be as simple as a new medication that could mean the difference between addiction and recovery, which for most means life or death. If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please call toll-free 1-800-951-6135