Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America

A Learning Convention - Addicted? Not Me

September 2008

You go to a convention expecting to learn or experience something on veterans' rights, national security, foreign affairs, etc. Well, the major thing I learned was to recognize and understand my own being. For the last number of months I have been trading the flu with my wife and suffering from a pneumonia, a triple wrist fracture, and excessive pain.

At the convention I lost a complete day. I went to meetings without realizing I had been there or remembering what had taken place. The following day I was told, to my dismay and embarrassment, what I had done and said without any recall.

Before coming to the convention, to relieve pain, I had been taking Percocet, a pain medication. Frankly, I had been taking it in larger doses than I should have, and more than was prescribed. I've got to tell you the truth that it was exceptionally effective in stilling the pain and making it bearable. If I had been home, I would have just laid down in bed and slept it away.

At home, I would have been accepting an addiction without realizing it and with the self-assurance that I could control it. After all, I had been able, as a chain smoker, to give up smoking.

Luckily, I was at a convention meeting obligations. It was during the meeting, as I explained before, that I lost contact. So what was the problem? Starting with considering that I may have been overmedicating myself to still the pain I was experiencing, I stopped taking any pain medication at all. And it worked, and I started returning to my usual self - together with pain which became a little more bearable, with a recognition of the source.

So why write about my experience since many encounter physical responses - especially as we grow older (an admission). The problem is that as long as we feel fine and with limited pain spasms, we don't really care about the cause and effect. We should care. We should realize that we are not living our life to its fullest. Sedation can be wonderful, but it wastes life's potential.

A lesson learned is worth telling. A lesson followed through is worth living. Really the first place to start your journey is with your doctor, since many of the symptoms may not be as obvious or apparent. Nor delude yourself about the cost (physical or monetary) of an addiction.