Tornado Alley (PROG)

[Zorax]

Sadly that was my mother in her mid life. Only she was a diabetic by the time I was 15 and by the time I was 20 she was addicted to percocet. Early onset of neuropathy got her on pain pills. Then, doctors would just keep upping the doses to keep a patient quiet. Or she'd see another doctor. Never beyond the opioid scrips however. Back then there really wasn't pain clinics and stuff. Constant debilitating pain changes peoples personalities sometimes forever. With pain pills you seem to never know what is the extent of your real pain. Neuropathy can be from diabetis - main cause and physical damage or brain problems.

It all started with a prescription painkiller prescribed by her doctor.

She delivered her son by C-section and, for the pain, she was given the combination opioid drug, Percocet, which contains paracetamol and oxycodone, an opioid pain medication.

One day, that drug was no longer enough. Her dosage was upped to a stronger pill, Oxycontin, a highly addictive opioid drug.

When the scripts started drying up, Ms Szabo "doctor-shopped", going from surgery to surgery to bypass America's lax reporting system. She did the same with pharmacies.