From Diet Pills to Meth Abuse
Nanci’s started abusing diet pills during her career as a nurse. The pills were just the start of her painful and tiresome road down addiction’s chaotic spiral.
She started off taking one pill a day; when one pill wasn’t enough, she started taking two. Nanci got to a point where she was taking three a day and would run out of pills before the end of the month.
It didn’t take long before pills were not able to truly satisfy Nanci’s addiction driven cravings. In searching for a stronger, longer-lasting high, she turned to Crystal Meth.
A Secret Life of Meth Addiction
Before addiction took hold of her every thought and action, Nanci had built a life for herself. Married with children, she managed to keep her drug problem a secret.
When she first started using Meth, regulating her use was in the cards; however, her daily Meth use schedule of 6 o’clock, noon and four, did not last long.
As her addiction progressed, Nanci started to sell drugs, among many other things. Eventually, her job as a nurse—being kept on call 24 /7—became unmanageable and she stopped showing up to work.
Showing up to work was not the only unforeseeable task for Nanci in the grips of her disease—as her addiction to Meth became stronger, Nanci stopped showing up for her kids.
Introduced to the 12-Steps
After three years of living an isolating and dishonest life, Nanci’s addiction started to seep through the cracks. When her husband, at the time, found out what was going on, he gave her an ultimatum: if Nanci didn’t go to rehab, she would be kicked out, wouldn’t have a place to live or be helped in any way.
Worst of all, she was told she would never be able to see her kids again. While talking about this time in her life, she states, “I wasn’t there for me, I was just there to try and save my marriage.”
After rehab, Nanci turned to 12-step meetings, where she was introduced to the 12-steps. She explains, at first, that she was scared of the meetings and the groups. She didn’t know what to expect, nor what the people in the groups expected from her.
Her plans to go to meetings and quit Meth soon failed, however, leading to what she claims to be “the beginning of the worst part of my life.” Inevitably, the consequences of lying to keep addiction alive and thriving caught up with her.
One night, she called her husband for help, instead of coming himself, he called the cops and Nanci was arrested. Little did she know that the call to her husband was what she needed to finally surrender and give up drugs.
Are You Willing to Do Whatever It Takes?
Nanci knew all along that she wanted to stop doing Meth, she just didn’t know how. Surrendering the night of her arrest, was not only a necessary turning point for Nanci, it was the beginning of a new life.
When she and her husband separated, Nanci went to live at a women’s halfway house. With a great amount of shame and guilt, she was put in a position where she had to learn how to love herself.
Today, Nanci works a 12-step program and sponsors other women. She feels that if someone is willing to do whatever it takes, they can get sober.
Getting sober and living a life in recovery may seem out of reach, or even outright impossible. During her addiction, this was her reality, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. There is support as well as many avenues to getting the help you or a loved one might need.
If you’re looking to talk with someone who has overcome addiction and understands what you are going through, call (866)578-7471. There is help and recovery is possible. You don’t have to do this alone.
