Let's try this. Skip through the questions of whether or not you are addicted or are abusing. You can't provide an answer to a law because law is non-customizable.
......That's why it's called the cold, hard truth. Because it;s always cold and hard......
Abuse is ANY use of ANY substance (pain relievers, uppers, downers, alcohol, sexual enhancement drugs...whatever--over the counter, prescription, or illegal....all the same category) which is OUTSIDE the prescribed dosage. That prescribed dosage is: printed on the package if it is OTC, or expressly documented if prescribed by a physician. In other words, it is indeed abuse if I decide to pop a Tylenol gel-cap without the need to reduce some type of mild pain. If I do have a headache, it is still abuse if I take 3 pills instead of the recommended 2.
Under your own admission, you are actively abusing drugs. Now, here is where you must use your head. In the same post, you admit to taking hydrocodone or codeine "too much" and "too often." Why did you not mention any of the milder pain-relievers you may take? You didn't mention the milder drugs because they do not carry the same taboo conotations as the stronger ones. In other words, you KNOW you are addicted. You didn't come here to find that out. You came here looking for justification. That means you are looking for the wrong answers in the wrong place.
Your doctor will not irrationally have you "committed" or anything like that. Doctors are very well aware of the risks of addiction associated with the various medications they may prescribe. If you walk into his/her office and suggest looking for alternative forms of pain management because you feel you are developing a tolerance for the conventional methods, the doctor will fully understand and RESPECT your reasoning, and gladly work with you. After all, you are human, and your doctor is a student of the human body.
Now, here is the road you are currently riding on in regards to the doctor:
You maintain your fears of negative recourse by keeping the doctor confident in a successful pain management regimen; therefore, nothing changes. Each and every visit is more and more of the same stuff...nothing different. EXCEPT, your doctor begins to notice that you are coming into his office much more often, and that frequency is accelerating. Keep this in mind, he is no idiot, and will likely have the good sense to put 2 and 2 together. And, when he does, that is when you will be truly in jeopardy of negative recourse.
I think you know you have a problem, and I think you should start asking the more proper questions.
