I am a male living in Louisiana. My wife is addicted to pain pills (methadone). There are several doctors that also think she is addicted. Her current doctor is giving her 200 pills every month and she also goes to another doctor and gets other types of pain pills. The doctors do not know she is doing this. What are the thoughts on me getting full or sole custody of my child? Should I file to get tempory custody? I am very nervous about this. Thanks for any responses.

I think the most important question here is if the child is suffering. Is he or she being neglected, or abused? Your wife certainly deserves the chance to clean herself up before she loses custody of her child. Maybe it would be easier for both her and the child if you did seek temporary custody until she can get off the pills and get back on her feet again.

Hello to:

Couple things. Methadone is not a pain pill. It is a drug given to heroin addicts as a legal substitute. Some people lead a very productive life in spite of being an addict. Others addicts can't take care of themselves, no less a child.

If her addiction is interfering with her responsibilities as a parent, then you absolutely should file for custody. But, why only temporary?

excon

My wife does not even know she is in this world when she is taking the pills. Her mother and step dad and brother even says she is addicted and said they would tetstify in court. I can also get many doctors to testify she is addicted. The police came out the other day said they could tell she was on something. The police told me to have her committed for three days and file for temporary custody so she could not run off with her. I know I need to speak with an attorney. We have tried to talk her into getting help but she won't. Does my chances of getting full custody look good? I am really scared.

excon is exactly right. The only reason a doctor would give your wife methadone is if she was addicted to heroin and was trying to get off it. But now she is abusing the methadone. So... You need to get temporary custody of your child NOW and get her out of that environment.

It is not the easiest feat to have a child taken away from their mother. Most judges will give the mother a chance to clean herself up before they grant full custody to a father, family member, etc. But I think temporary custody is absolutely necessary.

Don't be scared. Your daughter needs a strong parent.

I was wondering how things are going for you? I am in the same situation but it's my husband and he is hooked on Oxycotin. It doesn't help that he is our sole support too. But I am thinking about filing papers on him too.