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Guy Livid After Parents Steal His Post-Surgery Pain Meds Because They’re Worried He’ll Become Addicted

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We are in a bad place when it comes to addiction and drugs.

It’s a serious epidemic.

And the rise in pill addiction is rampant.

So we of course want to stay vigilant for our loved ones.

But there are definitely ways that will more alienate loved ones than help.

Case in point…

Redditor crackheadsexual wanted to discuss his story for some feedback. So naturally he came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit.

He asked:

“AITA for telling my parents to return my meds or I’ll file a police report?”

The Original Poster (OP) explained:

“I (21 M[ale]) had a surgical removal of a cyst this afternoon.”

“Mine had a pretty nasty infection, so it had to be removed ASAP.”

“I went to the hospital with my fiancé (19 M), and my parents (62 M) (57 F[emale]).”

“Everything went very smoothly thankfully.”

“But as my parents were driving me and my fiancé back to our apartment, we got into a discussion about the medication I was prescribed.”

“Now, my parents are paranoid when it comes to anything addictive.”

“I don’t blame them.”

“I’m aware that hydrocodone is incredibly addictive, and am wary of it myself.”

“They straight up told me that I shouldn’t take it at all, and just take Tylenol and Ibuprofen.”

“I told them I’d rather have the medication I was prescribed just in case my pain got bad once the hospital meds wore off.”

“I wasn’t allowed to drive after my surgery, so they were supposed to pick up my medication for me.”

“Well, they did. But with two of my hydrocodone pills missing.”

“Well. that’s fishy. And annoying. I texted my mom basically asking where the pills went.”

“She didn’t respond so I kinda forced it by telling her i’d have to report the pharmacist if it wasn’t her.”

“She said, ‘I took the other 2 and, I took them because that’s all you can legally have and drive (fiancé) to work tomorrow.’”

“And then ‘Ok?’ Wow.”

“I had set money aside for him to be able to get an Uber tomorrow if he needed to anyways.”

“Which she would’ve known, had she talked to me about it or even brought up these concerns at all.”

“I was pissed.”

“I texted this huge paragraph that was basically saying either give them back or I’m filing a police report.”

“That stealing hydrocodone was a felony.”

“That I understand her fear but this was absolutely NOT the way to go about it.”

“Forty minutes later I get a ‘we’re here’ text and a pounding on my door.”

“I waddle over and open, and my parents are standing in the doorway pissed as f**k.”

“My dad starts by talking about how it was absolutely NOT okay to threaten legal action.”

“And that I needed to apologize.”

“He said it was his fault that no one talked to me about it, that he’s sorry.”

“But then goes on about a 5 minute rant of how I have an addictive personality.”

“I was a smoker when I was 18 and smoked weed.”

“How he’s concerned for me.”

“How he would NEVER use the law against me.”

“That the surgeon is giving them out like candy, and that he’s heard a lot of cases of people getting addicted to these and didn’t want to risk it.”

“I said that being concerned wasn’t the issue.”

“He couldn’t take away my say on the situation.”

“He couldn’t just steal pills from me just because he’s scared.”

“At the very least he should discuss his concerns with me like an adult.”

“He did not like that.”

“He played this game of keep away with the bottle.”

“Holding it out to me and then yanking it away to say more to me.”

“Just kept arguing. I got them back after a lot of fighting.”

“Am I wrong here?”

“I need to know I didn’t overreact.”

“AITA?

Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA?:

  • NTA – Not The A**hole
  • YTA – You’re The A**hole
  • NAH – No A**holes Here
  • ESH – Everyone Sucks Here

Redditors declared our OP was NOT the A**hole.

It’s a tricky situation.

Let’s hear some thoughts…

“NTA. The fact that you think you might be means his gaslighting is working.”

“They stole from you, lied to you and tried to manipulate you and then tried to punish you for your completely normal response.”  ~ Radley500

“I would contact the doctor or pharmacy and mention tampering concerns (from the parents).”

“Maybe they could check them or switch them.”

“I am also very paranoid when it comes to parents pulling crap like this, from my own experiences.”  ~ PatchworkGirl82

“Absolutely this. /u/crackheadsexual, take the pills out of the bottle and Google whatever is written on them to make sure that what is in the bottle is actually your medication.”

“Unfortunately, they could have tampered with them in other ways, like freezing.”

“That would not be apparent, but do your due diligence, and if something is wrong, tell the cops first. NTA.”  ~ cmlobue

“They also behave as if they care for OP, but put him to this stress after surgery and go to his door rant to him for over 5 minutes.”

“If you get something like hydrocodone, the expected pain can be bad.”

“And this pain medication works different than ibuprofen.”

“You also don’t get addicted from two pills.”

“OP, you really should stop the contact with your parents.”

“They are addicted to the power over you. NTA.”  ~ EvilFinch

“I’m sorry, but you need to report your parents regardless of whether they returned the proper medicine to you or not.”

“The fact of the matter is that they stole a controlled substance with intent.”

“In addition, they still tried playing their little mind games with you, by making it your fault when clearly they stole a controlled substance that was prescribed in your name.”

“That’s enough to put both of them in jail. That’s a felony.”

“Your parents should not touch your prescriptions any more.”

“Your health care provider, and your pharmacist need to know this, or you could be in for a world of trouble.”

“They need to make sure that you are taking the correct medication.”

“Your parents could have given you anything.”  ~ MyTesticlesAreBolas

“NTA – Surgeons are absolutely NOT just handing opiates out like candy.”

“In fact, many chronic pain patients are now having great difficulty getting meds due to the doctors reluctance.”

“I got Hydrocodone when I had my gallbladder out a few months ago and never ended up taking them (former addict, scared to relapse).”

“But I’d have been PISSED if someone took that choice away from me.”  ~ notlucyintheskye

“I’m a chronic pain sufferer and I’m on opioids for it.”

“Even though I have never abused the meds or taken more than what is prescribed, I still get drug tested every once in a while.”

“I was switching types of meds a few months ago and the current meds had to be destroyed before they would send the prescription for the new meds to the pharmacy.”

“They didn’t have the meds I needed in stock so I had to go cold turkey for the weekend.”

“It was very painful.”

“NTA – but your parents are.”

“Not everyone becomes addicted.”

“If I had a better way to manage my pain, I could quit opioids tomorrow and never look back.” ~ChaosIsMandy

“NTA. They are your meds, not his.”

“They were prescribed by your doctor in the numbers you were supposed to have received.”

“He stole them because he wanted to substitute his agency for yours.”

“That’s not okay, and it’s entirely reasonable to demand them back — including threatening to involve the law if necessary.”

“He just complained because he didn’t like it that you won this one and he had to give them back.”  ~ VoyagerVII

“NTA: He can use your supposed addictive past against you but you can’t file a completely valid police report against them for stealing narcotics?”

“BTW, what was the point of taking just TWO of the hydros from you?”

“What was that going to accomplish?”

“Nope. You’re NTA.”

“I worked as a pharmacy tech and we had several customers who tried to get their drugs ahead of the 30 day limit for refills.”

“One time, a woman tried to tell us that her kids were stealing her Oxy’s from her so that she could get them refilled a week after she’d gotten her monthly refill.”

“My pharmacy manager told her ‘Come back with a police report and I’ll be happy to do give you a new bottle.'”

“You can imagine we didn’t see the patient until her next monthly script came in.”

“You didn’t overreact.”

“If you were addicted to cigarettes you’d still be smoking them and marijuana is not a gateway drug.”  ~ blockparted

OP returned with some details…

“I want to thank you for asking these questions.”

“I’ve had issues with my parents since I turned 13.”

“Lots of public humiliation, lots of shame, lots of explosive outbursts over me not blindly doing what they say.”

“While they can always turn it around and say they do what they do because they love me and want me to learn, it feels as if i am just an emotional punching bag for their own shortcomings.”

“I’m going to process this all with my therapist tomorrow.”

“But I appreciate your input on the situation, it really eases any guilt i was feeling.”

OP you have your hands full.

Your parents have their hearts in the right place, but their execution needs work.

Hopefully your therapist will have some helpful ideas.

Feel better… on all fronts.