My wife has medium to serious back pain. she is taking 8-12 10 mg of lortab each day.

she says she has to have that much

The doctors will only give her 6 a day and nothing more?

Is she harming herself?

Yes, she's not only killing her liver , she's quickly becoming an addict.

Take it from someone who's finally broken the addiction noose.

There's a reason the doctor won't give her more. The Tylenol in Lortab will KILL HER at those doses.

Take her back to the doctor and tell him/her the truth.

I wish you both luck.

When you're at the doctors ask him what else he could prescribe for your wife as the tylenol is quickly ruining her liver. And while you're at it ask him for a prescription for a liver blood test while you're at it so your wife can see just how much damage to her liver has already occurred. As a rule getting that much tylenol in your system every day I'm shocked that her doctor didn't order a liver test done every so many months to ensure that her liver is not irreversibily damaged by all that Tylenol.

I am sure there is something else he can prescribe for her pain. Also, if she is in that much chronic pain she needs to start thinking about weaning herself off the pain meds or having surgery for the problem. Sometimes the person must have the pain meds due to psychological reasons and not real pain reasons after being on them for so long.

well bobby one is usually supposed to take the recommended amount of any drug the doctor perscribes - this is usually for a good reason like overdose and side effects... any more or less could be classed as abusing your medication.

usually with pain medication the body builds up a tolerance which is why your wife probably needs more in order to feel the same effect 5 or 6 once gave her.

the body is an amazing organisim and can tolerate a lot. if she needs pain medication she needs pain medication.

what is your problem?

what is your problem?

His problem is that he is concerned about his wife. How callous of you to ask this question.

His wife is slowly becoming an addict and ruining her liver. He sounds like a very concerned and loving husband.

The title of this post is "Lortab Addiction", how long has she been taking pain medicine?

If she is taking more than she's prescribed, she obviously is running out of pills early. Is she going to more than one doctor?

Is she getting extra pills elsewhere? Maybe even the street? Addicts don't like to run out.

How is she reacting when she does run out? Is she going into withdrawals ?

I've had back surgery, and hip surgery, both in the last three years. I had been taking pain medicine for at least 6 years. They got stronger and stronger.

The addiction snowballs into a absolutely horrible existence. It progressively gets worse over time.

There are so many other options she should talk to her doctor about.

Being an addict in recovery, I try to help others that have become hooked on painkillers. That is the whole premise of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Helping others to get, and stay, clean and sober. There are support groups for family members too. Those groups are called Alanon and Naranon. If this issue is threatening your very sanity, like is usually does, I recommend you, and most importantly her, going to meetings in the future. These groups are free, anonymous, and worldwide.

Painkillers are a double-edged sword. They are quite necessary, yet so very , very, habit forming. Before you know it, you are a slave to the pills.

Even when you don't really need them, you MUST HAVE them.

Time and time again, I have seen people limp into the doctor's office, and skip out with their prescription in hand.

People die every day from accidental drug overdosing. Please get help before it's too late.


May GOD bless you on this difficult path you are on.

no i am not a doctor but i am very well qualified in a related field and i have recovered from serious drug addiction and am aware of the dangers.

for someone with a serious back pain like his wife - she WILL NEED substantial pain relief. I stand by what i said IF SHE NEEDS PAIN RELIEF SHE NEEDS PAIN RELIEF.

sometimes people can overreact and think someone is addicted when they have just built up a tolerance to their medication. As i said medication should NOT be abused - taken over or under the doctors recommended doseage but if she has built up a tolerance her doctor may be able to provide alternatives. I stand by what i said in this regard.

All i was tryin to do with my question "What is your problem?" was to get him to look at the reality of the situation. Is it really addiction or just him being over cautious. His lack of response to all questions (So Far) WHICH incidentally WE NEED ANSWERS TO IN ORDER TO ASCERTAIN IF IT IS ADDICTION OR JUST A NEED FOR DOCOTR'S CHANGING HER PAIN MEDS) would indicate to me that the situation is POSSIBLY not as serious. Is it her problem or his problem??

Lets not get carried away by calling me CALLOUS?? (please) etc without giving me a chance to respond - i dedicate all my spare time to helping addicts and alkies recover from this killer disease and take it most most seriously!!

Being HYSTERICAL and telling a concerned spouse that his wife is KILLING HERSELF is more CALLOUS than taking a measured and calm approach. Taking an extra pain killer - YES will have an effect but may be an indicator that her meds need changed - NOT NECESSARILY an indication of addiction. Indicators of addiction are: emotional withdrawal from relationships, disapprearances, loss of appetite and chaotic behaviour - he mentioned none of these things...SO FAR!!! So lets not get totally hysterical and scare the poor man to death!

I stand by all my posts and do think about them before i publish!!

There are better medications that will take care of her pain and not do such damage to her liver.

Doctors are reluctant to prescribe them because of the potential for abuse.

Oxycontin is stronger but has no acetaminophen in it.It is highy addictive,as is the Loritab. It really is a catch 22 very often.

I would suggest a pain management clinic where other treatments are offered.

Many people do very well with pain blockers.There are numerous therapies that can be looked as so as to avoid the pain medication abuse.

MayfairLady disagrees: i will not accept being called callous from you!!



Your question what is your problem?
was very cruel and callous. I stand by my belief here. Maybe it's not what you intended. But that's sure the heck the way it came across.

no i am not a doctor but i am very well qualified in a related field and i have recovered from serious drug addiction and am aware of the dangers.

for someone with a serious back pain like his wife - she WILL NEED substantial pain relief. I stand by what i said IF SHE NEEDS PAIN RELIEF SHE NEEDS PAIN RELIEF.

sometimes people can overreact and think someone is addicted when they have just built up a tolerance to their medication. As i said medication should NOT be abused - taken over or under the doctors recommended doseage but if she has built up a tolerance her doctor may be able to provide alternatives. I stand by what i said in this regard.

All i was tryin to do with my question "What is your problem?" was to get him to look at the reality of the situation. Is it really addiction or just him being over cautious. His lack of response to all questions (So Far) WHICH incidentally WE NEED ANSWERS TO IN ORDER TO ASCERTAIN IF IT IS ADDICTION OR JUST A NEED FOR DOCOTR'S CHANGING HER PAIN MEDS) would indicate to me that the situation is POSSIBLY not as serious. Is it her problem or his problem??

Lets not get carried away by calling me CALLOUS?? (please) etc without giving me a chance to respond - i dedicate all my spare time to helping addicts and alkies recover from this killer disease and take it most most seriously!!

Being HYSTERICAL and telling a concerned spouse that his wife is KILLING HERSELF is more CALLOUS than taking a measured and calm approach. Taking an extra pain killer - YES will have an effect but may be an indicator that her meds need changed - NOT NECESSARILY an indication of addiction. Indicators of addiction are: emotional withdrawal from relationships, disapprearances, loss of appetite and chaotic behaviour - he mentioned none of these things...SO FAR!!! So lets not get totally hysterical and scare the poor man to death!

I stand by all my posts and do think about them before i publish!!

I think your first response came across as non-caring. Your second post is more to the point, and considering you're in recovery, like myself, you have good input. However the title of this post is "Lortab Addiction", thus the labeling.

Taking 12 Lortabs a day is not recommended. The US Food and Drug Administration has come out with warnings about taking excessive amounts of Tylenol. Different people have different tolerences to high doses, but you're playing Russian roulette when you take this many. When I was in pain, and more importantly, in full blown drug abuse, I took alot more than 12 a day as I'm sure most addicts do. It is simply not recommended.

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly agree about the alternative medicines to control the pain, and possibly surgery, or epidural steroidal injections.

No, not everyone who is taking pain medicine is an addict, but you know as well as I do, that THAT'S the path to addiction.

Had you done a follow up post after the first, I wouldn't have given you a reddie. But you seemed arogant with the post "what's your problem?"

Bottom line is that you should NEVER take more medicine than the doctor prescribes.

You're saying that YOU know better than the DOCTOR when you do.

May GOD bless everyone who battles the addiction demon. You included.

JM...Had to spread the rep, but maybe arrogant was a better word than callous. Yes, MyFairLady came across as arrogant in her first post, but made it clearer with her followup. Had she done this in the first place no one would have gotten reddies.

weather she is in extensive pain and needs more or becoming a addict if an error is made on our part in giving advise it is best to error on the side of caution in telling her husband she may have an addiction issue