Signs of Prescription Drug Abuse?

Question by prncessang228: signs of prescription drug abuse?
I have a 7 year old daughter that I was sharing joint custody of with my ex-husband up until 12-3
of this year.

on that date, my daughter came home stating her father had physically hit her on the back of the head (where she had 3 staples in to close up a cut she received after being pushed by a cousin at her uncle’s house on her dad’s side of the family) b/c he got angry at her for not sticking with a lie he had made up about her being sick so that I would come pick her up from his house instead of him having to take her to school. I currently have temporary full custody of my daughter due to an order of protection being passed. I also called CPS and filed a report.

My daughter has also stated to me that her dad takes alot of pills and sleeps ALL day on the weekends he has her which requires her to have to get her own meals and entertain herself unattended while he sleeps. she even told me he’s allowed a neighbor girl (same age as my daughter) to come inside the house and play while he sleeps.

-he text messages/calls me at all hours of the night (midnight,2a,4a,etc) on the days he has our daughter and then my daughter will tell me he sleeps all day!!

-over the past 6 months, his short term memory is completely gone. he forgets dates, times,events and constantly forgets things told to him about our daughter’s doctor’s appts and school events,etc.

-has recently been requesting other people watch our daughter for him or will ask people to pick her up from school b/c he claims he is too sick or needs to take a soma and can’t drive to get her (did this 3 times in 2 weeks prior to me taking her from his care)

I know that he is on xanax,ativan,seroquel and the soma b/c i’ve seen the pill bottles in his home (and warned him about them being within reach of my daughter) and he’s admitted to taking the soma on a constant basis

my questions are:

-is the sleeping all day/being up all night a sign of addiction?
-is not having hardly any short term memory a sign of addiction?

and if he is abusing these drugs (in excess) will it show up on a drug test (random urine and hair follicle testing-I’m requesting both from the judge)?

thanks!!

Best answer:

Answer by Billy
The symptom you are describing can be indicative of abuse. They can also be symptoms of depression, metabolic disease or side effects of the Rx drugs. It is really hard to say for sure with the information given. A urine or follicle test may show the presence of the drugs but not necessarily the quantities taken. A urine test may show high quantities but the results may be skewed depending on how often he urinates. It can be diluted or concentrated. The best indicator of drug level would probably be a blood test which would show the actual amount of drug in his system at the time. Any test ordered by the court should be sufficient to make the case.
I would imagine that you have a strong case for custody given his inability to remain awake to care for your daughter. Physical abuse is a big deal breaker as far as parental rights. I would move on this information immediately before his inattention or instability cause major injury to your daughter. Good luck.

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