So in a nut shell heres what happened after the hospital informed me I was suffering from opiate withdraws. I became dedicated to stop this medicine & I was gonna do it all by myself. The hospital reccommended an inpatient treatment center but  I have kids so I cant do that. I figured it couldnt be that bad. On day 3 I wasnt able to work. I missed the whole day and was still sick by the end of the day. I had to go to work another day becasue how else was I gonna pay the bills? So, I filled my perscription and started taking the pills atleast every other day. I didnt take many and wasnt abusing them so I figured I was still in control because I didnt have a mental addiction. Oh no I thought I was too strong to be mentally addicted to this stuff. Welll to sum it up life got in the way of my path that I thought was right. I had tragedy surround me a whole bunch all at once. My cousin died, an uncle died, my boyfriend lost his job, and I lost both my pets. All these things happened within one month. You may wonder what I did to handle all this. Well I didnt handle it. I felt really depressed and instead of seeking help I used the medication as a crutch. I realized when I had the pills I was in a happier state. I didnt cry as often and I could manage myself much better. So, instead of dealing with life I just kept taking pills. I then heard these pills were being used as a way to get high. Since I am a pot smoker & I do party with drugs I figured it would be ok if i was just using them to get high occasionally like I used drugs like cocaine. I didnt do cocaine regularlly & I never had withdraws when I stopped using cocaine. I figured if I was using these pills to get high just on the weekends then I was not addicted. I started to snort the pills to make my high better and to make my pills last longer. As time went by my addiction got worse & I didnt see it. It started that I was snorting the pills as soon as I got home and then I started snorting them during the day and all day long. I realized I was addicted but it was much easier to stay high than deal with this addiction. Nobody understood how I felt. Nobody wanted to hear me say that I didnt want the addiction but I was physically not strong enough to fight it. Nobody wanted to know what was happening but just sat back and judged. Nobody meant anything by this but you cant understand an addiction until it takes over your life & you have lived through it all. I constantly tried to stop taking these pills without doctors help & I constantly failed .Over and over again I would get off the pills and end up back on them. I never made it very long without them because i hurt everywhere. There is no way to describe the pain of withdraws but Ill do my best. I was covered in sweat with a fever that couldnt break and shivering because I was freezing cold all at the same time. I vommitted and had the shits and couldnt hold down a thing. I tried over and over. If you touched me during the withdraw period I would have sworn you took a sharp knife & stabbed me in that spot you touched & the side ripples remained going through my whole body minutes after you took your hand off me. I felt like hell, I looked like hell, and I prayed for hell. This was not something that I was going to concur. I gave up at one point. I was ready to kill myself and just end this life because I was tired of trying to stop taking this medicine thats killing me but I constantly failed at it. I was a very confident women before this addiction. During the addiction I lost all my power and my self worth. I started to miss work because of the withdraws and I ran out of money for the pills to make me able to go to work. I started to pawn everything. I pawned everything I possibly could till I had nothing left. I hated myself and I hated my life. Every junkie wants to die. Every junkie accepts the addiction and gives it complete control with no fight. I didnt want to be like every junkie. I got to the point where snorting the pills was like heaven compared to what I was doing. I started to shoot the pills directly in my veins. I became a pro at the entire shooting up process. I use to get excited when I pulled back blood because I knew as soon as I pushed that syringe I was gonna be out of all misery. I wouldnt feel anything no pain, no sadness, no lonliness, and most of all no hate. I started shooting every night, then every day, then all day, and then my life became nothing but how to stay high. I would do it any time any place any where. I had no limits I had no morals & I had no values. I lost everything when I gave up my power. I felt I had no hope and then my daughter asked me if I was dying? That question stabbed my heart so deep you would have thought she used a dager. I realized I was out of control & I was powerless. I went to my therapist and got a medicine prescribed that would help ease the withdraw pain but not take it away. I still shook uncontrollably every night I tried to sleep. I still had the shakes, the sweats and most of all I still felt the pain. I locked myself in a van in the middle of nowhere for an entire week to get over these withdraws. On day 7 when I could actually sit up without vomitting I realized that now that I can admit I was powerless it was time to start getting the power back. The withdraw symptons did not go away after 7 days or 14 days. It started to go away on week 3, 21 days! That was just the start because it took longer to be back where I am now. I started to sleep atleast 3 hours a night by 45 days and by 60 days I finally stopped shaking when I laid down. I still had the hot & cold flashes and I still ached; I simply decided to deal with it. The withdraw pains eased away but it took a long time to get up and going again. I had no immune system because of the pills so I got really sick with bronchotis & the flu. I felt weak every day it never went away. It took me almost 3 full months before I felt like I had strength back. I started to gain weight and hold food down and I finally started to sleep a full 4 hours straight. My life will never be the same as it was before addiction. I have limits now that I didnt even know I needed before this addiction. I have finally started to get back my routine of life and I have been off those pills for almost 5 months now. This was the hardest thing Ive ever faced & it is a disease. It is not something that can be stopped on your own. You must get help! You must find help because you have a disease that is killing you. If I wouldnt have gottenn off the pills I would have only gotten worse & I would probably be dead now. Dont fool yourself or listen when you hear you can control it and its only 20% physical. Whoever had the percentages on addictions is wrong. The withdraw pains are 99% physical for atleast the first 2 weeks. After the worse of the withdraws the percentage of it being physical are less but it is ignored the beging is as bad as it is. This addiction is something that will change every part of you and your life. I still party but I cant have people around me that are doing pills in any way. I dont like to take anything for pain now not even tylenol. It scares me that things got out of control. I take full responsibility for how bad  I got. I know that it was my fault but not because I should have just stopped but because I should have seeked help. The worst part about recovering is the feeling. Feeling sadness, emptiness, anger and fear. We forget how to feel as an addict but I am blessed to have these feelings today. When I spent 5 days crying I hated life and now I am thankful I was able to feel. Its hard to deal with life but its better to deal with it than to cover it up. Addiction is a disease but there is a cure. Get help and find your cure to your addiction. The help is out there, you just gotta look and you have to take the first step and admit things are not good!

Cliff’s story actually began back before there was a database created which helps prevent prescription fraud, so he simply went from one doctor to another getting the desired drug. There are so many people who did that very same thing. Like Cliff, since the database, they now just go back to their own doctor and complain of pain stating they need something stronger. The video shows just how easy it really was, and is, not only to develop an Oxycontin addiction, but how easy it is to feed it.

Oxycontin has been called “Hillbilly Heroin”, and for a very good reason; it costs much less, but still ruins lives. It is easily available to those who learn to manipulate their doctor into giving them medication they don’t actually need. Oxycontin and Oxycodone addicts did not intend to destroy their lives. Most were given a prescription for pain for a valid injury or surgery, but ended up with an addiction. There are so many people who have been helped by Narconon began their addiction quite innocently. Cliff is just one of them.

His story illustrates just how easy it is to go from a normal, happy person to a desperate addict. Rehab has been a life-saver for many of these individuals. Narconon is a rehab center which incorporates natural healing for those with Oxy addictions, including Oxycontin and Oxycodone. They do not substitute drugs, but use comprehensive methods in order to treat the whole person; physically, mentally and spiritually. Individuals, such as Cliff, have learned from Narconon how to put Oxy addiction behind them and lead a better life, free from drugs.

Oxycontin addiction can happen to anyone. There is no age boundary, nor income limitations. It is an addiction that begins so innocently for many. There are many groups and individuals beginning to hold doctors accountable for their leniency in prescribing pain medications. Still, there are far too many being given out. Cliff bravely told his story so Narconon could reach out to help others with similar addictions.

It all started on a Wednesday in January, three years ago. He had been out chopping firewood for the evening fire. Little did he know that the axe had been tampered with.  As he raised the axe to strike the stump, the blade left the handle and went spinning down and crashed his femur.

At the hospital, they put him under a sedative, but the pain was evident on his face. The doctors gave him an oxycontin prescription. He was in the hospital for a month. When he was discharged, he took the prescription home.

At home, he slowly became depressed. He could no longer go to work. He was now confined to a wheelchair. The only times he would seem a little happier was after taking the oxycontin prescription and then he would slowly slide back to depression after the medication’s effects wore off. He began taking a larger dose of the tablets so that the effects could last longer. Each day he took more and more, gradually replacing meals with those tablets.

Money started being a problem, yet he couldn’t do without the expensive medicine. He became lean with each passing day. Talking to him was no good, as he did not listen. When his parents tried to talk to him, he simply nodded in agreement then went back to the drugs as soon as they were out of sight.

Soon after, he started complaining of a backache. We were back to the hospital. Tests showed that he had severe spinal injuries due to abuse of oxycontin. He had to spend another two months hooked to machines. Friends and relatives contributed towards paying the bill, but that was not enough. The health insurance denied liability, claiming that the injury was self-inflicted. Problems piled up as friends gradually became tired of contributing.

The hospital could no longer house him so he was discharged. He took the new medication that was prescribed to reverse the effects of oxycontin. Day by day he regained health even started talking again. He admitted that he had been aware of the effect oxycontin was giving him, but he couldn’t stop using it. He is ready to get help and I am happy to have a second chance to get my family back together again.

Scott, like many Hawaiins, is an avid surfer and has always felt at home in the sea, finding peace in its endlessness and a sense of mothering comfort in its perpetual ebbing. To him then seas constant lapping is a loving caress, but lately he hasn’t been surfing much.

Scott is, unwittingly, the classic candidate for drug addiction. Unknown to him, his grandmothers’ death has left a vast gash into the fabric of his emotions and, as many of us do, he is avoiding the pain, saying to the caring people around him that he “expected it” and that “she has gone to a better place.” He even refused to miss more than two days of college, knowing that a large portion of the money used to pay for his studies came from his late grandmother.

At school yesterday, a new friend invited Scott to come to his house over the weekend, to relax and get away. Scott jumped at this opportunity to have some time to himself without needing to bat away seemingly empty condolences from all and sundry. The new friend Jake had invited Daniel as well and privately told him Scotts old friends that he knew a sure way to help him through this.

Saturday afternoon and the boys arrive at Jakes home. Jakes father, a lawyer with a good reputation, is out of town for the weekend and Jake is looking after the house. “Come play Call of Duty,” says Jake, and the two old friends follow him to the TV room. Scott finds the games violent nature a lot more satisfying than he normally would, and gets very competitive, winning almost each battle.

Jake disappears whilst Scott and Daniel go head to head. His voice drifts through the TV room’s doorway from somewhere deeper in the house. “Want anything to eat guys?” “Yes,” the boy’s call back in unison, eyes fixed intently on the screen in front of them. Daniel is starting to catch up.

Jake returns with a sleek metal tray of food and drink and when the boys sit down to eat, he turns to Daniel. “Tell him Dan.” Daniel looks at Scott, puts his hand on his shoulder and says “Scott, I’ve known you for ages. I know when you’re upset and you’re definitely a lot more upset about your grandmothers death than you’ve been showing everyone.”

Scott’s smile vanishes so fast it’s hard to believe it was ever there. He’d forgotten totally about his gran, just for that hour, but now, like a heavy winter duvet, the weight of the facts falls back down.

“And so,” continues Daniel, “Jake and I have managed to get you something to help.” Jake places 2 golden-yellow, circular tablets on the food tray. They stand out sharply against the silvery tray.

“Take these,” urges Jake. “They’re designed to help people deal with pain.”

I was in the hospital for four days, thankful that none of the kids were in the car with me that evening as I ran to the store and was hit by a drunk driver.  I smiled as I looked into their eyes, filled with worry and fear.  I promised them I would get better.  Before leaving the hospital, the doctor gave me an oxycontin prescription.  I was grateful as I was still experiencing a lot of pain.

The pain seemed to be worse when I got out of the hospital as I no longer had the IV administered drugs.  I began doubling, then tripling my dosage on my own.  The more I took?  The more I needed.  Without realizing it, I was hooked.

Okay, yes, I did realize it.  The oxycontin, though, made me feel good, made me forget the pain of not only the accident but the last six years without my husband.  The kids were teenagers and busy with their lives and it was easy to keep it a secret for a while.

One night they were all out and I was going stir crazy pacing back and forth needing a fix.  Suddenly I knew what to do.  I drove out to the east side of town where the dope dealers and prostitutes hung out.  I needed some oxycontin and if someone knew where to get it, then it was them.

I quickly assured the prostitute walking that particular corner that I was not a cop, I simply needed some oxycontin.  She took out her cell and made a call.  She gave me directions to a hole in the wall bar just down the street.  When I got there, a guy standing outside told me to follow him to the alley.  I did and there were two other guys back there.  They told me they wanted to have a little fun first.  I saw the bag with the oxycontin pills and I wavered, then I gave in.  Was it rape?  Some might say so.  I only know that I did what I would never have comprehended doing for a bunch of pills that night.  On top of that, after being used by all three?  I still had to pay money for the pills.

The next day, I looked at my beautiful daughters.  I knew I could never do that again.  I got online, found a treatment program near me, and as soon as the girls were out the door to school, I placed a call.  “Hi, I’m a single mom with three teenage daughters and I am hooked on oxycontin.  Can you help me before I ruin all of our lives?”