[splitimage]

I've had kind of a rough weekend. A friend of mine whose been sober from alcohol for 35 years called me and left me a message on Fri. She actually used to be my sponsor but I fired her when I found out she was using pot as to me that wasn't sober behaviour. But we've stayed friends. I think she doesn't have a lot of people she can talk to and I'm one of very few people she's willing to talk to about mental health and psych meds, mainly I think because she's embarrassed about needing them and knows I know a lot about meds and am on them, so I'm safe.

So anyways she leaves me a message saying that she's really depressed and anxious over family stuff, she's talking to her psychiatrist regularly and they've talked about her going into the hospital. Then she drops the bombshell that she's been abusing sleeping meds to knock herself out earlier and stay asleep longer. This freaks me right out so I called her back and left her a message saying - you've got to cut out the **** with the drugs because that's seriously dangerous and call me because I'm worried about you. Didn't hear from her all weekend. Called her again today.

She left me a message tonight when I was at my Women for Sobriety meeting, and I didn't get it until it was too late to call her back. This time she told me what she's taking. She's taking more than her prescribed dose of seroquel, a "few" clonazapam, and 4 or 5 gravol. Ok we're now talking possible OD or respitory failure territory. She said she'll try and stop the drugs but they've become a "habit" so I'm worried that she's already psychologically if not physically addicted.

Part of me wants to call emergency services and report her as a danger to herself except I know that would mean the cops would pick her up and take her to the hospital for an evaluation, which would completely traumatize her and probably make her lose all trust in me.

I'm going to call her tomorrow & hope I get her and tell her that as far as I'm concerned it's a relapse, she's engaging in addictive behaviour and she needs to call her psychiatrist immediately and tell him what she's been doing. The fortunate part is she'll probably listen to me and do it - don't know why but she listens to me on meds stuff and the last times I lectured her about stopping pot and gravol she listenned to me.

I'm really worried about her and a little bit pissed off that she's dumping this on me, when I'm trying to focus on my own early recovery.

--splitimage

[madisgram]

you're a good friend and i'm sure you already know you said all the right things. so on to your friend. does she have family that may want this info?
your friend is giving a cry for help but she is taking you hostage by giving you this burden. if it were me, 1.-i'd tell her she already knows what she needs to do. 2. for her to call her pdoc and also go to a meeting ASAP and fess up.
we can't "carry" the person who is using. you've done all you can do but those 2 things i mentioned. after that the ball is in her court. i wouldn't enable her by her calling and dumping anymore. she needs to take responsibility for self. it's "tough love". i'd tell her you can't help her. only she can do that.
hope this helps.

Good luck in getting this sorted, splitimage.

[Open Eyes]

I have a suggestion, maybe you can offer to take her to an AA meeting with you.
It sounds like the rooms helped her stay sober for many years so it may work again and there may be someone who is a really good Sponser that can take over for you and somehow reach her better as you are new at this.

Sometimes my husband would come up against a similar situation and the AA group would organize some type of intervention. You may want to go to a meeting as soon as possible and ask around. I get the feeling that this friend of yours is not really capable of helping herself, even if she had done it in her past or even helped others.
I would not let her go any longer taking all those drugs that can cause her to OD.

[Junerain]

((((splitimage)))

I am sorry to hear about your friend. Remember to take care of you, during this early recovery period- we are all rooting for you