Re: I couldn't believe my ears-

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

My daughter is 16, and to be honest, she never gave my medications a

second thought, she knew I had to take them to be able to be " mom " ,

at least until my neice (who is 30 by the way-I was 5 1/2 when she

was born) started planting little seeds in her head. This woman has

a very, VERY checkered past, so she has little room to talk about

others. As for the comments that she made (at Thanksgiving no less!)

to members of my family about being a coke head, all she did was

alienate them, because no one believed a word of it!

The thing is, my daughter has ODD(Oppositional Defiant Disorder), and

for some reason, only hears what she wants to hear, and when she's

done listening, she's done listening. Keeley has some friends who

use drugs as well, but she's very anti-drug, alcohol, and tobacco.

But when I'm using medications that are prescribed to me, in the

manner that they were prescribed in, it miffs me a little that I feel

I have to justify myself to my SIXTEEN year old!

I honestly don't think it was concern on her part that caused her to

make that comment, but rather, the things my niece, , has been

filling her head with. If my daughter payed a little more attention,

she would know that I take the lowest dosage possible, and that

somedays, I don't event take it at all.

Yes, the media blitz has been something else. They focus on all of

the negatives, about the abuse and such, but NEVER show the other

side, about how it's helping this person live without pain who never

thought they would. They also don't cite the statistics that in

persons with REAL chronic pain, the chance of addiction is less than

1%. It turns the whole population against us, but I would gladly

give it up in a heartbeat to have a " normal " live again.

As for her being angry, well, that just comes along with having ODD.

She can be a perfect angel at times, but others, it's like living

with Dr. Jekyl and Mrs. Hyde. You just never know who you are going

to get, and when, or why!

Someday, maybe, we'll be friends as well as mother and daughter, and

hopefully, she'll also gain and understanding of the things I've gone

through in the past 4 1/2 years, and how I've spared them from most

of it.

Thanks for writing!

Jen Z

[Guest guest]

Hi Jen Z.

Kids are tough.

Mine has been hospitalized 3 times in the past year for possible bipolar

disorder. So on top of being in incredible pain I'm dealing with her recovery

and mental health treatment as well. ODD is also a diagnosis that has been " on

again off again " .

One minute she is sweet as pie, and the next she is vindictive and mean. I

spend a lot of my time crying. Christmas was awful.

I'm so very tired. I'm tired of it all. And I totally sympathize with you.