JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- She doesn't want to give her name. She's a wife, a soccer mom, and a woman bent on telling everyone, "Watch out!" She said within weeks, she was sucked into an addiction to prescription pills.
How did it start? She didn't steal drugs. She didn't party with druggies. She had gastric bypass surgery and complications threw her into pain.
The doctor, she said, suggested Lortab. She thought it was no big deal because it was at the doctor's direction.
"I took the painkillers and I liked the way it made me feel," she recalls. Trouble began when she started thinking about the pills almost constantly. She couldn't stop taking them.
She said it's "scary" how fast it happened. She never imagined she'd wind up an addict. She said she always thought drug addicts "lived under bridges" and "weren't soccer moms from St. Johns County."
She started hiding her pills in Ziploc bags in her bra. She started also drinking white wine but got it in boxes so she could hide them in the trash. She wound up in the ICU and then Gateway for detox.
Her wish? She just wishes she'd never taken the pills in the first place. She says the doctors never once offered her the idea of trying Aleve or Motrin first.
Now she's spending time helping others get free from their addiction issues. She's one woman who's turned a traumatic situation for herself into good for others.
If you need help getting free from a pill or alcohol addiction, here are resources:
INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAMS
Breakthroughs Counseling & Recovery Inc. (904) 739-2152
3810 Williamsburg Park Blvd, Jacksonville, FL
Greenfield Center (904) 389-37843
Shircliff Way, Jacksonville, FL
Awakening Recovery Center (904) 733-7383
METHADONE TREATMENT
Jacksonville Metro Treatment (904) 398-7015
3609 Emerson St, Jacksonville, FL
INPATIENT AND OTHER LEVELS OF TREATMENT
Lakeview (904) 642-9349
8889 Corporate Square Ct, Jacksonville, FL
Stepping Stones Treatment Center (904) 446-1041
1815 Corporate Square Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32216
Wekiva Springs Center (904) 296-3533
3947 Salisbury Rd, Jacksonville, FL
PUBLICLY ASSISTED TREATMENT PROGRAMS
River Region Human Services (904) 899-6300
390 Park St, Jacksonville, FL
Gateway Community Services Inc. (904) 387-4661
555 Stockton St, Jacksonville, FL 32204
Gateway Community Services Inc. (904) 739-1922
1754 University Blvd W, Jacksonville, FL
YOUNG ADULT TREATMENT OPTION
Teen Challenge (904) 647-6358
3333 Phillips Hwy, Jacksonville, FL
12-STEP SUPPORT GROUPS
Narcotics Anonymous (904) 358-6262
Jacksonville, FL
Alcoholics Anonymous Northeast Florida Intergroup Services
Phone (904)399-8535
SUPPORT GROUPS FOR LOVED ONES
Al-Anon (904) 350-0600
Jacksonville, FL 32202
First Coast News