Mood swings
You may experience depression or irritability with limited access to your meds, says Dr. Mogali. And you may also find that you’re no longer just craving the meds for physical pain relief, but in order to obtain emotional relief, adds Stephen Grinstead, a doctor of addiction and chief clinical officer at A Healing Place—The Estates, a chronic pain functional restoration program.
“You start thinking of the feeling you get more than the pain relief,” notices recovered addict, Todd Crandell (he spent 13 years addicted to opiates before turning his life around, becoming an addiction specialist). “Your mindset changes. You find yourself waiting for the next time you’re supposed to take your pills. You’re excited and eager. Your thoughts start to gear toward a feeling of euphoria you’ll get when you take them.”
Your friends and family may be expressing concern at this point, although you’ll likely dismiss it, just as you dismissed your doctor’s concern about your having “lost” your meds for the second or third time. You may at this point be willing to acknowledge to yourself that it would be a good thing if you cut down on your usage, according to Dr. Mogali. But there’s the rub. You will have significant difficulty in doing so, leading to further drug-seeking behavior.
