I have an employee (let's call her "Gail") whose daughter is, frankly, a mess. Gail says her daughter (let's call her "Mandy") was once a normal, healthy woman until mental illness unexpectedly claimed her.Mandy had been a successful business woman who met the wrong guy. She fell in love with a smooth talking blue collar businessman. They got married, and then he proceeded to try to break her in every way he could. In the end, she was left a quivering mess, crying on the phone to her mom, afraid of leaving the relationship for fear of what he might do to her. She was abusing prescription drugs to disconnect and "forget everything."
Gail asked me what she should do. I told her to get Mandy out of there as soon as possible. I suggested that she wait until Mandy's husband was gone, and then she should drag her off by the hair, if necessary.
One day, Gail had had enough. When Mandy's husband was gone, Gail hired a truck to go to the house, packed up as much of Mandy's stuff as they could pack, and then they got out of there.
Mandy's husband was livid but there was little he could do. By now, Mandy was hooked on the prescription drugs. She would lie, cheat, or steal to get them. "What can I do?" Gail asked me in desperation one day. "I can't restrict her access because there are so many unethical doctors out there that will write a prescription for whatever she asks! They don't care!"
I told Gail to report these doctors and clinics to the police. Perhaps that is what led to the eventual arrest of 6 of these doctors, although there are others out there.
Mandy's heart stopped the other day. She was rushed to the hospital where they were able to revive her. But her body cannot take much more of this abuse. She has to get clean, and she can't do it when she can get easy access to the drugs which are killing her.
Gail is planning to Marchman Act Mandy soon. (The Marchman Act is just like The Baker Act but it's used when someone is killing themselves through substance abuse). With any luck, when Mandy gets out of there, she won't face the same temptations because the streets will have fewer of these dealers.
Hopefully these recent arrests will send a message to the other scum out there: whether the drugs are legal or illegal, you are still nothing more than a common dealer. You need to be taken down.
15 comments:
a sad tale and not that uncommon. Sadly, until Mandy makes the decision to get clean, this will be recurring cycle. I hope getting sober will give her the clarity to decide to get clean
Bravo! I couldn't agree more. I hope Mandy gets the help she needs - addiction is extremely difficult to recover from, but it is possible if she can admit there is a problem. Among the symptoms of addiction is denial - it's the only disease that tells its victims that they don't have a disease.
I've seen what drugs - legal (like alcohol), prescription and illegal - can do to otherwise perfectly healthy, normal and well adjusted people. I've seen families destroyed, careers ruined and people die because they thought they could control what was really controlling them.
Addiction doesn't discriminate. It makes no difference if one is rich or poor, black or white, hero or scoundrel, it is an equal-opportunity killer - but not before it robs its victims or everything including their dignity. It's not done until it's destroyed families, betrayed trusts and completely taken over its host's every waking impulse to satisfy the craving that can only be met by "more."
There is no difference between the drug pusher on the street corner and the unscrupulous doctors supplying drugs that are sometimes even more dangerous than the street drugs to their "patients." Then there are the doctors that will give their patients anything they want just to keep them happy and still others that have been sought out for the soul purpose of prescribing the same drugs that another doctor has already prescribed (like Rush Limbaugh).
I sincerely hope Mandy can get help and get it soon. She has to want it though. Ultimately, it comes from within – that’s where the process starts. Long-term recovery is not the norm, however, statistics can’t be applied to individuals. Mandy’s chances are either zero or 100% - it’s up to her. Recovery is not for those who need it, it’s for those who want it.
~Mike
What a shame. You see this type of thing all too often. Hopefully something can be done with the asshole who drove her to this as well. It's abuse pure and simple.
What is really sad is that many drug seekers lie to the doctors about their injuries and pains. They know how to work the system. What are doctors suppossed to do? These people ruin it for people like me who actually rely on the drugs for pain managment.
Never mind the scum on the streets, how about doctors as pushers?
Florida is full of pill pushing doctors. And for the most part, the pill pushers get away with it.
If they really want to know who the drug dealer PhDs are, start with asking Rush. He is also an addict, but he will not admit that. He was "doctor shopping".
And while I am at it, notice how the law is written? It is illegal for ME to doctor shop, but not illegal for a doctor to put me on horse dope.
Drug addiction is a DISEASE plain and simple. I hope the person you speak of can get the proper medical treatment she needs before it is too late. Do not punish the people with the disease. punish those who contributed to causing the disease. Start with the abusive husband.
not much i can say better than those who've already commented. speaking as an abused woman, it takes a fair amount of time away from the scum to realize fully what was going on. i still have trouble accepting i was abused sometimes, but only a tiny bit. it's a troubling thing being manipulated and emotionally abused by someone you loved and trusted. oh well, live and learn.
i hope your friend survives. a support group might help, in time.
mck.
I hope it all works out. What a sad story.
Oh Saur, I sure hope all works out. I see this all to often!
What a horrible and intense story. Knowing drug addicts, one very well, I know how easy it is to fall back into it. I mean you could drop an ice-cream cone on the ground, and that is what will make you get high one more time. Today isn’t a good day to quit...
The worst part is, it isn’t really like in the films. Drugs are rather cheap, and rather easy to get, and you can actually use them and function. I mean enough that you can be addicted for years and keep going, if only at times just to get high the next day. A good hit of heroin in some locations is 5 bucks, yes 5 bucks! Crack, similar prices…
As for the doctors: If you get lots of money, and have one of the most important jobs, you should be ashamed of the betrayal you commit every time you enable someone to abuse their bodies and get hurt. I mean 150,000$ a year isn’t enough? Hell I would do a good job for free, there is something to be said for honor and pride in your work. I just ask them: How dare you? And I also would warn them: This may not always be a happy ending type of life, but in my few years on this planet, I have noticed that people do get paid back eventually. The justice of those you have enabled, or scammed, or abused… That justice is pending, I assure you.
I don't envy the job of writing prescriptions. While I agree that the 6 you reference are scum and deserve to have their licenses revoked, I can't find fault with those who honestly seek to relieve their patients' chronic pain.
I think "a mess" is a pretty good description. I'd hate to see my daughter in that state.
Do you know how badly I want to go into the medicine cabinet and draw little faces on all the aspirin now?
Like I've always said, the difference between legal drugs and illegal drugs is - not much.
the story of her ex though is pretty sad. Some people are evil and try to suck the life out of people. Too bad your boss's daughter married someone like that.
Drugs. Always hated them.
It's horrible that this guy had such an impact on an otherwise potentially healthy young woman. Thankfully, her mum is there for her.
Cheers,
Beav'
Tragic story. I hope she can recover and resume a healthy life. She and her mom both deserve that.
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