Alcoholics and Addicts/Sober Sisters

Yeah, there are a bunch of us.

I took no anti-anxiety or anti-depressants, and was a little nuts, but I made it through fine. Hey, if I was a little weepy, oh well. This is what breast cancer without drugs looks like. I only had 1 meltdown, and I still feel that it was not that inappropriate. For me, being substance-free was much more important than looking good. My program friends were there for me, and this made all the difference.

I'm glad you have your daughter to dole out meds - why should you put that extra strain on yourself?

My biggest problem with drug interactions was pre-op sedation - I now refuse them as a matter of course. I should say that I have friends in recovery who did just fine with Versed - I didn't. I don't know if there is a way to tell how you will react, but you can ask to meet with the anesthesiologist before surgery, and explain that you have addiction issues, and ask to skip pre-ops. I did that for a second surgery, and made it through just fine.

I did take pain killers after surgery - my husband doled them out, but I only needed them for a few days. Remember that you will heal better without pain, and you are not using for addiction.

Have you addressed this with your surgeon? Mine would have been horrified, so I'm glad I didn't, but I know that there are docs who are open to this. My oncologist is very supportive, and I am totally honest with her.

Here's what I posted back in May - A little overwrought, but this is how I was.

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/6/topic/705405?page=1#post_925181

And they didn't lock me up. 

Keep your chin up, honey. One day at a time, one procedure at a time.

If you want to talk offline - feel free to send me a private message.

Perfect timing sistas....

I was just about to put in my biography this week and wondering if it was at all appropriate to talk about my sobriety...I thought "yes, defintely in my biography and then I ll go from there" ....then I read your post...very cool...

Ya know,as addicts,  we have already been "challenged" and succeeded in this life and it made me so much stronger in facing my diagnosis..

I ve been sober since 8/06 and that was a frickin miracle!!  Statistically, Booze should have killed me a long time ago ...and did NOT....so this whole cancer thing is much more survivable/doable.

My belief is that God will not give us anything we can not handle....I have already used the past couple wks to help support many others...with this website and the thousands of women's stories, advice, love, etc., I was super-enpowered!!!  

I face surgery on Oct. 9th and I am concerned about how I am "looking forward" to the pain killers I ll get after my bilateral...I too, will be handing the bottle over to someone else (mom and dad) so with that already in place, I have less worries about getting to a dangerous self-numbing.  For me, it s all about listening to that "gut feeling" and not ignoring the wisdom that comes from it.  This will make us all that much stronger (icky cliche, i know, but it is the truth) and we will be blessed in helping others with THIS disease as well.   I will pray that each day is a success for us all and a strong link in our sobriety.....love jules

Hi Jane (and my other "friends of Bill" bc sisters)...I have to say that, for me, the tools of our Program were precisely what not only helped me through my bc journey, but gave me the unshakable determination to live strong throughout it and to see it as yet another opportunity to strengthen my sobriety. I saw very clearly, at the outset, that I could actually choose between living and dying, just as I make that choice on a daily basis to not pick up a drink or a drug.

As for the pain meds, it was definitely something of a struggle for me to remain clear about why I was taking them and to "think through the drink" in order to not take any more than was prescribed. My sponsor, who has MS and is on several drugs for muscle spasms and such, was a rock for me and helped me to stay strong and clear. I found that, for me, one day at a time, became starkly real and got me through without too much struggle or threat to my sobriety. I hope that you have a similar experience.

~Marin

BUMP, girls.

My late mother was an alcoholic first and a cancer-patient second. I am in absolute awe of all of you, and the promise that means in your LIFE! XXX Kerry 

ODAAT?

That's okay - got the bumper sticker, just didn't get the abbreviation.

I had my 6 month follow-up with my rad onc, who is my favorite doctor ever. He asked me what the hardest part of treatment was - I said, it felt like I was walking down a New York street, with all the guys offering loose joints.

Personal opinion only. But when I got sober 24 yrs ago, there were a zillion middle-aged ladies coming in who were valium addicts, all prescribed by their family doctors. I understand that they care about us, and that they have been trained to help keep us from suffering, but I hated having to say no, over and over again.

For what it's worth.

vision4utoo....I'm sorry to hear that your "homies" didn't come through in any overwhelming way and am guessing that it was fear that kept some of them away. As much as we try to hand over our fears, it doesn't always happen on our own time schedule, right? But how terrific that you have such generous co-workers!

 Jane...I will tell you what helped me with my prescription for Ativan, as contrary to what is normally defined as mentally healthy as it was (I think you'll get it though ). First I'll tell you that though my drug of choice was alcohol, I was also mighty fond of the benzodiazepines, primarily Valium, and took it quite faithfully (as in about 10-20 pills/day!) for years. So when I was told that I "needed" Ativan for nausea, I went on high alert. HOWEVER, when they told me the dose (some teeny-tiny amount), I completely relaxed and the stuff just sat in my cabinet. After all, knowing that I could in no way catch a buzz from such a small bit, I felt it completely worthless and ignored it. Sick? Maybe. But I stayed sober.

~Marin

Icando:  I forgot to say, if I were into drugs before that Verset(sp) I like that!  There is a drug that worked really well for me in pre op - as they injected my nip 16 times and hadn't warned me - but the doc was a step ahead and had them give me a shot of that Verset.

Anyone getting ready for Recon yet?  Tissue expansion?  Surgeon told me it was painful - that is worring me re: pain meds.

most pain meds are in a Tylonel base like Vicodin, only a small amount of additonal addictive pain meds in - which is why I chose Tylenol instead

I have an 18-year-old daughter as well - she has matured through my treatment, and she's turning into a considerate young woman from a bratty teenager. An unexpected gift.  

Jane - you had chemo within the last 48 hrs - you do what you need to do to get some rest. I'm glad that you are getting some support from your community. I didn't have chemo. My brother went out for a martini in the middle of an intervention we had for our father, so you aren't the only one with a family that doesn't get it.

Vision - I had Mammosite (well, I started to), and when they did the simulation, they found that the space was a little out of shape, so they overfilled the balloon to stretch the space. And put me on Vicodin - it hurt a lot, but only for 72 hrs. I used it to sleep, but I did need something for those first days. I hope that the expanders are gentler for you.

I had an appointment with my therapist this evening. I got hit with PTSD when I got a series of infections in the Mammosite space and then scheduled a colonoscopy. I wasn't paying attention to the little flags that said, you don't feel well enough to do this, and ran myself off a cliff. We've got me back to my normal self, more or less, and we are working on a plan for how I should handle interactions with doctors in the future. My sponsor always said, you are either growing away from a drink or falling back toward one. The last few years, I've been coasting in my program, and now I'm getting to work on growing again.

It's kind of nice to have a meeting to share with on a daily basis. Thanks for being here, guys.

Interesting factoid for my alcoholic sisters: Women who drank alcoholicly in their 20s are more likely to have bone issues.

I take tamoxifen because I was told I had osteoporosis a few years ago and put on fosamax- my onc recommended arimidex, of course, since I'm post-menopausal, but she agreed to support me on tamox for at least a couple of years. I had another bone scan, and I came back with only osteopenia -  and there were weird areas. So I went to see a bone endocrinologist - it seems that I drank through the years when my bones should have been finalizing themselves, so I am seriously osteopenic. The reason I got osteoporotic readings was because I have scoliosis.

She says that tamox is enough for me, so I'm off the fosamax, which my tummy doesn't miss at all.

But if my doctor switches me to Arimidex, Zometa for me!

hey Jane! I am grateful that you bumped this, you must have been reading my mind!! God works in mysterious ways..... I have been sober for 10 years, I have to say this whole BC thing has tested my sobriety, not in the beginning but more recently, I was glad to read the posts here and get my head back where it should be, thank you