Over-prescribers are just like drug traffickers, says addict's wife

A wife affected by her husband's prescription drug abuse discusses her situation.

The wife of an Emirati man addicted to prescription drugs refers to psychiatrists who over-prescribe pills as "drug traffickers".

"They only think of their profits but they need to understand that what they are doing is taboo," said the woman, 35, who wished to remain anonymous. "They are just like drug traffickers, trading with people's lives and ruining homes."

She said such health professionals had ruined the chances of treating her husband, also 35, who had been involved with drugs since he was 13.

But in the past 10 years he has moved towards prescription medicines, such as Tramadol and Rivotril, because they are so easy to get.

On average he spends about Dh3,000 a month on consultations, she said. His usual tactic was to visit many different clinics, sometimes as many as 10 in a day, and obtain prescriptions from each.

"He is using these pills as a substitute for narcotics because he knows he will get away with it," his wife said.

The man, who is retired from the military, sometimes takes more than 10 pills to get an effect because smaller quantities no longer work, she said.

"He gets angry and starts fighting with me and the children if he cannot find the pills. He thinks we are hiding them but in reality he will have taken them and forgotten."

She said he had overdosed several times in the past decade, but still abused pills after being released from hospital.

"It is easy for him to get hold of the pills," she said. "His psychiatrists do not mind prescribing it.

"I continue to find prescriptions from the same clinic with just a few days' difference."

The wife said she had tried to cut off his suppliers. So far this year, she said, she had contacted five doctors asking them not to prescribe drugs to him, but none listened.

"I have contacted them and told them and that these medicines are not a cure for his addiction," she said. "The only response I get is that 'your husband is suffering from depression and we are the doctors. We know his situation better'."

The couple married when they were 16 and have six children aged four to 18.

"I cannot leave him," his wife said. "We have grown up together. He is part of me. He is a kind man when he is not under the effect of these drugs."

Her dream is to have her husband treated and his addiction cured.

"I urge the Ministry of Health to prevent private clinics from providing treatment for drug addicts," she said. "This should only be confined to public hospitals, which are not interested in profits but in saving lives."