REMINDER.......
She had some bad damage in her hands already. I wondered how she lit her ciggy's, with those hands. I mean I cannot even get a lighter to light. Yeah... I would crap outta luck if I was a smoker
It did not look like she had swelling in her knees; but she did have visible swelling in her hands and fingers. Seemed she could still bend her arms out straight and upward. That was just amazing to me about her elbows, I guess because my elbows have very limited ROM and have since I got worse. I hope she gets the help she needs, DXed with a certainty, and on meds to help prevent further damage. UHGGG...I feel like such a knot head....why didnt I set this to record on the DVR? I have been waiting for it for a month and of course I missed it anyways. I was in the kitchen and on the go from 5pm to 10pm with dinner and my sons birthday cake, mom and dad coming over for supper etc. I am so mad that I missed it.
I hope I can catch it on the rerun in another month or two...
It sounds like it was good...it really makes you want to reach out to her and her family (to save her and shake them!) I wouldn't be so quick to condem the family. She was showing addicted behavoir such as getting narcotic prescriptions from multiple doctors without informing them. She could not function while on her medication regimine, She was dangerous to herself and others around her. She was slurring her words, falling down, passing out. As much as they love her they couldn't count on her...and that had nothing to do with whatever arthritis she had, it was the narcotics and muscle relaxers causing that. You could see how better she spoke at the rehab center. It was a tough situation, she did need in patient treatment as much to safely detox her from her current regime first before working to find a pain treatment that allowed her to function. She was on a combination that was toxic for her She had no life right now as it was...she was either in pain or strung out I felt sorry for her. The first time in the show that I really realized this was an addiction for her was when she got the sample medicine. She has so hyped about getting it and it didn't seem like she was happy because it was free. It seemed more like she was happy to add to her "stash" without paying for it. Did anyone else get that impression? Getting drugs from multiple doctors, of course, is the biggest red flag that this is an addiction. I'm not saying she wasn't in pain and didn't need something for it. I just feel like most of what she's doing is because of the addiction, not the pain. I understood that the wedding was important for the sister and she didn't want anything to mess up her special day. I understook that, but the sister NOT allowing Brooke to show up at the hospital for the baby's birth. Totally uncalled for. I thought dad was the only compassionate family member. At the end when Brooke was crying asking why her mom hadn't been around her for such a long time, well, that made me cry. there is a decade of history we didn't see. People are often less than compassionate when its the 100th time not the first. The family has lost sight of how her disease affects her because all they can now see is how the meds affect her. When you pass out in public things like that tend to happen The whole family needs help. Brooke needs mental health counseling to deal with her depression, anxiety, as well as learning non narcotic ways of dealing with pain. The family needs to learn how the physical disease affects Brooke and how they can help. How many of us are on heavy duty medications and do not behave like that. We get our drugs from one dr and one pharnacy. We don't slur our words or pass out. I feel for Brooke I really do..but for us to protray her as an innocent victim and her family to be horrible is not right. Part of addictive behavoir is not taking responsibility for your own actions and Brooke was not doing that. She needs help to find a combination that works SAFELY for her. She needs to get some active treatment for her arthrtis (whatever it is). She needs couseling to learn to deal with life. She is in the best place for that Jas, i totally thought the same thing when the sister said she didn't want her "hobbling down the aisle". I was shocked by that. I missed that RA meds failed her, I didn't hear any mention of them at all, but I missed the first few minutes. I wonder what will happen if she does come off the pain meds. I mean, as an addict she can't take them anymore, right? So how will she deal with the pain? Can she still take them if she takes them properly? I cannot imagine having RA meds and only ibuprophen or some such thing to handle it. JasmineRain, I agree 100% with you. I heard her brother make that stupid remark about the pain medication too. He was such a jerk. I missed the part where her family tried to withhold her pain meds. How cruel - bad enough that she has a disabling disease, they want to throw her into immediate withdrawal too! It sounds to me like her doctors may have let her down as well, if pain pills was all she was taking. I heard her mom say that no arthritis medication was working, but you'd think she'd be on something that was disease modifying. I wonder if she tried treatment for Lymes? Did they say? I don't remember. Since it's only an antibiotic, I would have tried - especially when they said nothing else was working. I wonder if she tried treatment for Lymes? Did they say? I don't remember. Since it's only an antibiotic, I would have tried - especially when they said nothing else was working. http://boards.aetv.com/forum.jspa?forumID=600000055 Very interesting. Thanks Joonie---that was very interesting. Her sister actually responded on that message board. But it didn't sound like anyone was buying it.
Myabe I'm just hard hearted but while I feel for Brooke's situation i am just a bit amazed at the reaction to her. Would we be saying "oh you poor thing" if she had chosen alcohol as her drug of choice? Its people like Brooke that make it difficult for those of us who use our meds responsibly. How many of you have had trouble being prescribed pain meds because of the fear of addiction. Its easy to complain about how unfeeling the family was but a heavily edited 1 hour show does not really show the real life of living with and around an addict.. And she was a addict. Living with an addict is hell. what was the family supposed to do continue supporting her abuse of the meds and watch her die. Compassion runs thin when things go on and on for years. If all we saw was a portion of her life and it was that bad how was she when the camera's weren't on. How much of her physical problems was disease and how much of it was medication? You try taking 12 muscle relaxers a day and see if your legs work. It was not her family's fault that she has chosen to abuse her medications. She made that choice herself because she could not deal with the realities of her disease and the changes in her life People do not stage an intervention for people they hate. They love Brooke and did what they had to in order for her to get help. And I pray that she takes advantage of this and truly gets the help she needs Myabe I'm just hard hearted but while I feel for Brooke's situation i am just a bit amazed at the reaction to her. Would we be saying "oh you poor thing" if she had chosen alcohol as her drug of choice? Its people like Brooke that make it difficult for those of us who use our meds responsibly. How many of you have had trouble being prescribed pain meds because of the fear of addiction. Its easy to complain about how unfeeling the family was but a heavily edited 1 hour show does not really show the real life of living with and around an addict.. And she was a addict. Living with an addict is hell. what was the family supposed to do continue supporting her abuse of the meds and watch her die. Compassion runs thin when things go on and on for years. If all we saw was a portion of her life and it was that bad how was she when the camera's weren't on. How much of her physical problems was disease and how much of it was medication? You try taking 12 muscle relaxers a day and see if your legs work. It was not her family's fault that she has chosen to abuse her medications. She made that choice herself because she could not deal with the realities of her disease and the changes in her life People do not stage an intervention for people they hate. They love Brooke and did what they had to in order for her to get help. And I pray that she takes advantage of this and truly gets the help she needs "At the end of the intervention Brooke said "why do ya all care now?" Part of addictive behavior is playing the victim. Just because she feels that way does not mean that is what is real. Caring does not mean 100% support for someones actions. There is something called compassion fatigue..we see it here with certain posters. They complain and complain yet refuse to do anything to alter their situation. People, including family, simply get tired of dealing with it. Brookes's family did not make her an addict nor can they make her recover...only she can do that. I feel for Brooke she is in a tough situation but hopefully this time will allow her to take control of both her mental and physical health. Did you guys go to the hyperlink Joonie provided and read the response from the sister who had the baby? You should. She provided more information. The whole situation is just so sad. I think some of the "editing" made the family seem uncaring. One of the things that bothered me most was about the baby and with the sister's explanation, it wasn't really like what was portrayed in the show. Folks it is called editing!!! A&E wanted you to see what they wanted you to see,because it made ratings. Brooke has been abusing drugs for years it was stated in the show & on the website. She had a positive Lyme disease test, she didn't wanted to be treated for it because she didn't believe she had it, she should have gone for a second opinion but she didn't. She was going to alot of drs because she was shopping formore meds then she was suppose to have which she even admitted and admitted she had pills hidden all over the house. Because of the way A&E has portrayed the family they had been threatened and bullied by replies left at the A&E website that the postings, had to be pulled. They went along the line of they hoped the new baby got seriously ill and even died, they threatened the safety of Brooke's family. It is pretty sad .This is a huge problem in reality. It is a major problem in just our
Thanks Rose! Enjoy your day.
I cannot wait to watch this. I had a reminder on my calendar.
Lets have a discussion tomorrow on it.I have Dish Network and my program says the woman has Still's, not RA. Is that right, or is she supposed to have RA?MIne says a gymnast is addicted to narcotics....is that it?Mine has gymnast, than Stills?Straight from the A&E website:
"Monday, January 07th 09:00 pm ET
Tuesday, January 08th 01:00 am ET
Brooke, 26, was a beautiful teenager with a magnetic personality. An elite gymnast on the cheerleading squad, she looked forward to a successful and athletic life. But tragedy struck in her senior year when she was crippled by Steele's disease, an early form of rheumatoid arthritis. Her doctors prescribed narcotics to ease her pain, but Brooke soon became addicted. Her heartbroken family has sought new treatments to help Brooke, but she denies she's an addict. Now her family has turned in desperation to their last hope--an intervention."
http://www.aetv.com/intervention/int_episode_guide.jsp
Rose, I watched this and it was excellent. That poor girl and that poor family. Hope everything turns out well for all of them.
I missed the first couple of minutes, but wasn't that girl on any RA meds?? Battling RA with pain meds only? That's crazy.I watched it too...and wow. I really hope things get better for her, and with her relationships with her and her family.
It seems that she does not have a straightforward diagnosis, so they're trying to find the combination of drugs to help her in the treatment program (sounds like a lot of us huh?
Hi..I'm new, just adding my 2 cents
I don't know, i got a differant take on the show....Forgot how long she was in hospital after initial problems, months??????..they said?
I can see her, as the skinny, pretty twin, her sister was gorgeous too, getting all the attention, and she did not know how to handle her meds, and passed out many times..The other sister that had the baby, didn't want the involvement, she was at the end of her pregnancy, and sent the husband, to find her passed out again and again...
I wish the doctors were not giving her the meds so freely, at least not several kinds for pain.......also mentioned she has to go to Missouri, from OK, to a RA specialist?
I did hear oxycontin, and vicodin.....
I also heard that the RA meds have failed her, but of course we won't know which one..The show is repeated tomorrow, maybe in the middle of the night..
So whats the deal?..There will be followups on her, with new episodes?
She will get a 3 month stay in California Bay something treatment center?
Was wondering about the cooler she had, could it have been from a biologic?
Then they said Lymes disease, after RA, and at the very end, they said they still don't know whats wrong with her
At the end, i saw that familar limp, she was in pain, and that awful walk,from the knees, and they did look swollen to me, even with her very thin legs..
In a way, i don't blame her twin sister, it was her wedding, her day, and she knew there would be a scene, and drama from her sister being uncontrolled..I'm glad they are getting help, they care for her
Hey i layed around for months passing out and wasn't even on any pain meds. Fishoil makes me pass out. If she is swollen then and the RA meds are not working i do not think the docs are passing out the pain meds to freely? As i can not say how much pain someone else is in. But another show a lady was getting pills over the internet. Some people are more pron to adiction then others. I knew someone that never drank or did drugs as he knew it ran the family. He had a bad heridatary condition of bleeding ulcers also ran in the family. Hence maybe why so did the addiction. He started checking directly into rehab after every hospital stay cause he would get addicted to the morphine. Hope she gets help with the disease. They would have really been upset about me and my fishoil passing out all of the time. Drives my family nuts. They call to wake me up and ask if i am being a productive person everyday. Some days i say yes and some days i say no. My pain pill consumption has nothing to do with it. I did not take a pain pill today. Took one yesterday. But i have been known to take two a day. I do worry sometimes as this has been the longest flare i ever had and usually i would not need them at this piont. Well the higher does of pred helps the pain or i probably would have taken one. I do hope she gets the help she needs for both problems. But how can you take pain pills away from someone in pain? I do not want her to be adicted but i do not want her to be in pain. OMG I'm watching it now. The sisters are pieces of work. My God, they could not even CALL this woman when the oldest had her baby? And the twin sister... she didn't want her sister "hobbling" or "pilled out" at the wedding? It's her DISABLED sister, for chrissakes. Anyone think of maybe getting a wheelchair or some other accomodations for her? Maybe someone staying overnight with her the night before to help her get ready for the big day? You can see that even when she's looped on pain meds (and she SHOULD be loose and flexible!!!) she's still stiff as a board. Dad seems like the only compassionate one.
You could see she had trouble moving about; would it have killed someone to help her get ready for the baby shower or the wedding? Why on earth would they even encourage her to drive when she was so messed up on pain meds anyway? Honestly, I don't think the girl should have been driving at all. She was either doped up, or too stiff to even put the key in the car door. Either way, I doubt her reaction time would be sufficient in an emergency situation.
And her family seems hell-bent on getting the "old Brooke" back. Well, that ain't gonna happen. The New Brooke has a chronic, disabling disease. She will NEVER be the same as she was before she got sick, and they need to accept that.
If there is a medication out there that the "pharmaceuticals" are not telling us about that will aid this pain let it be know soon.....the heck with the politics and love of the almighty dollar.
My prayers for all of us and also for Brooke, God love her Dad.
rose
Right on Buckeye! I have a granddaughter that was in a car accident about 7 years ago and she is still hooked on pain meds as well as pot. She can't hold a job and has been in rehab but nothing has changed. She is a smart delightful young woman and very pretty, but somehow that smartness does not enter this picture. I think that problems were there before the meds and these meds give life a brighter picture.
I wish the whole family well and will remember them in my prayers.
I thought the show was good and covered all sides in the condensed version for TV. She definitely over-medicated and needed help. The family came across as harsh but did say this had been going on for a long time. The buzz word was "attention", she felt like she never got enought attention from her family and the family felt she was demanding excess attention with this disease. So the emotional aspect of the disease was covered. I did find it interesting that she could easily light the cigs and hurled the phone across the room with ease but then it could have been the good moment of the disease. All and all good show....when exactly is this coming on again? I'd like to set my DVR even if it's in the middle of the night. OMG I couldnt believe this show. It was really good. I felt so sorry for Brooke. She is so young having to deal with all of this. Im not sure she should be living alone passing out like she does. Im so sad for her. I hope they run an episode after she gets treatment. I hope her family becomes more supportive of her. The sisters were selfish. Im sure it's because they are just not educated enough about this disease. They just thought Brooke was a drug addict. They just dont know what she was going through. Nobody does that doesnt have this disease. That's the hard part. I missed the first of the show. When I turned it on, she was shutting her cooler and had just told everyone what she was taking. What meds was she on? I read someone's post that said she didn't appear to be on any DMARD or biologic. I don't understand that. Why not? Did I miss that part of the show?
The small beige box wasn't a cooler; it was a small safe. It was mentioned during the show that her family had tried to take all her meds away and "detox" her. That is beyond cruel - you can't just pull opiates from someone who has developed a tolerance to them, whether they are a street heroin addict, a dying cancer patient or an RA patient who's overmedicated. I believe she said she had naproxen (which was the first pills she took), and then oxycontin and lortab (also known as vicodin). They didn't say what strength either of them were. Her brother, the ass, said that if he took one of the lortabs he would pass out, so basically she shouldn't be taking that many. What, is he a damn doctor? True, she was over-medicated, but to make such a statement shows just how ignorant (ignorant meaning lack of knowledge) these people were about chronic pain and the drugs used to treat it. It is normal to build up a tolerance; anyone who's taken vicodin for more than a couple days knows that the first few pills will make you dopey and woozy, and you quickly adapt. I still don't think she should have been driving around. She was taking too much medication and she did not appear to have the strength and dexterity to drive a vehicle.
They also said that she had been on the "other" arthritis drugs, and they didn't work. Many people here have experienced the exact same thing. Sometimes it takes quite a while to find the right combination; sometimes it works for a while and then stops.
I'm not denying the woman needs treatment for her mental issues (who wouldn't be depressed?) and her dependence. But she also has a very real, disabling physical disease. No one other than her father seems to acknowledge that.
take care rose
Thanks rose it took me over 5 yrs to find him and i am not going to let go.
[QUOTE=delfina]did everyone miss the fact that she tested positive for lymes and refused treatment....who would not want to pursue that? It will be interesting follow-up show for sure.[/QUOTE]
It was also stated sometime in the show that those tests were not conclusive. She went to two rheumatologists who said she had RA; one doctor said she had Lyme. It sounded to me like her regular doctors (those most familiar with her case) did not agree with the Lyme person, and she went with their opinion. I can't fault her for that. Many of us have received several different diagnoses.
They didn't say, but she was hospitalized for a month at the beginning of the whole ordeal. We also don't know if Minocin or other antibiotics were among the various arthritis meds that she tried.
I feel bad for Brooke---her family doesn't support her at all.
I think what made her situation particularly different from the average alcoholic/recreational drug user is that she does not have the choice to just stop. Just like the difficulty that individuals have with eating disorders,she has to continue to indulge in the substance that she has an addiction to. Alcoholics and other drug dependant individuals are able to refrain from taking the substance again. She will have to continue to use pain meds during her recovery. Even the doctor they bought in to consult said that he believed she was not taking the meds to get high, rather that the pain meds were not working and she started overmedicating herself initially to try to get rid of the pain. The sympathy comes from that it could potentially happen to anyone of us who has a chronic pain condition. It is not the same as trying something at a party and then getting hooked. I cried when she asked why it took a stranger to convience her family that she was actually in pain and did need pain meds.Caprice,
I agree!!! At the end of the intervention Brooke said "why do ya all care now?" It broke my heart.
And your also right about her not having a choice--she didn't go out partying and get addicted in that kind of lifestyle. I just feel for her---being someone myself who takes narcotics everyday. I have never gone over what is prescribed but I know the danger is always there.
a side note, the prescription drug problem really kills me. so many innocent people start out with good intentions and slowly become a slave to a drug they were prescribed for a real purpose. i think drs need to be really careful when prescribing such powerful narcotics, and hopefully some rx reform can happen someday. the oxycontin prescriptions were just on the news the other day about how people are abusing them so much its insane! makes me wonder about those drugs bc wasnt cocaine and heroin originally a rx and then years later we realized it was so addictive and dangerous! makes you wonder when you blindly follow drs orders! haha cant do anything blindly anymore!
community. I cannot imagine it on a bigger scale. I did not see the
program as I just now saw this thread and wish I had seen it a week ago
when it was on. It is difficult to explain to people who have never dealt
with seriously drug addicted people (narcotic addiction). Their pain is
very real to them. I think these people hurt as bad as they say they do.
the mind is an interesting aspect of the human body. And the lengths
these people will go to obtain more and more drugs totally amazes me. If
I have 5 patients, 2 or 3 of them are in for pain control as a result of
running out of their narcotics. And everytime they come in, it is for more
and more. In our small community, we do not have a facility to deal with
this such as drug rehab so the hospital has become a revolving door of
narcotic addicted people. And it amazes me how much these people can
consume without dropping dead. I feel a certain amount of responsibility
for this viscious cycle as I'm contributing to the problem. Afterall, I'm the
one injecting the drug. These patients are the most time consuming, and
demanding and difficult to deal with much of the time. They take away
from care to other patients by consuming more than their fair share. They
eat up funds and much of the time are self pay and never pay their bills.
Many cannot hold down a job. It is unreal to me and a problem I don't
think the system knows how to handle. I just wanted to give my 2 cents
as this is a subject that concerns me. I hope you are all having a pain free
weekend. i also saw on that new celeb rehab show that people with chronic pain AND addiction-small pain feel like 5 alalrm fires or something . and the brain has to be retrained to adapt to pain and treating pain after an addiction. addiction is complicated enough i guess and when you add chronic pain to the mix it adds a different layer to trying to treat everything. plus isnt rationalization the number one defense mechanism for addicts, and if you have chronic pain you have the top notch rationalization and defense to cover up your addiction...i was saddened to see so many people attacking the family in such cruel ways. its a really tough situation, and i cant help but feel like the sister who called a&e is maybe kicking herself. if they were truly misrepresented by editing then thats a tragedy, however i feel like no one in the situation is perfect. dealing with a chronic illness is a really tough thing as we all know, but also dealing with an addict is a hard thing, i know that from personal experience as well. so there were mistakes on both sides and her family defensiveness wont do their family any good. dealing with their family issues should be their main priority right now rather than defending themselves!
Erica just a quick question how would you feel if you were verbally attcked about how you were treating a family member who was an addict. It is hard hon believe me I have been there with my mother, we had many people, not the medcial professionals though, telling my family we were making things up to make my mother look bad, besides being mean to her, it is not easy. So let's give them a break remember they are only human. MemeThe 'Brooke' episode will be on again on Monday night at 8:00PM (Chicago/Central time zone). Check your local listings for the time in your area.
Jasmine I didn't get to see it did they have a newer update on her, I don't know why but I was thinking about her this past week and was hoping things were going her way??
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