CS problems because of my meds

[giterdun]

What is the name of your state? TX
I'm in central Tx, my wife moved 200 miles to east Tx, she just filed for a divorce, she is trying to take away all my visitation because of the medication, I take 4 different kinds, Lexapro for depression, Vicodin, Tramadol and Soma for pain. Her lawyer is claiming because of those I am unsafe to transport my children and right now temporary orders are in place that only allow me visitation over there under supervision. I had some back surgeries and have some neurological defects in my back that cause chronic pain, I developed depression as a result. I take the Tramadol and Lexapro in the morning, the Tramadol does not impair my driving, its a class II pain reliever. I take the Vicodin and Soma at night, and never when I drive.
The law for DUI of legal drugs is unclear, but I'm sure I'm not impaired to the point I can't drive. I have been on these drugs for 2 years and my wife didn't have an issue with them before, they are using my health and pain against me.

I also will be getting SSI disability in about 6 months, she is asking for half of the back pay from 2 years back, is that right, can she get it?

 

[Halls]

Not to be rude, but when I have been on Vicodin I am never left alone with my kids. I know you say you take it at night, but what if one of the kids had an emergency in the middle of the night under your care? You couldn't drive them to the doctor/hopsital in the middle of the night. I know I've taken Vicodin after 4 surgeries and I always had someone here to help with the kids and never drove on it until I quit taking it.

I think you need to be thinking about what is best for your kids right now and not do overnight visitation until you are off the heavier medications.

 

[ceara19]

What is the name of your state? TX
I'm in central Tx, my wife moved 200 miles to east Tx, she just filed for a divorce, she is trying to take away all my visitation because of the medication, I take 4 different kinds, Lexapro for depression, Vicodin, Tramadol and Soma for pain. Her lawyer is claiming because of those I am unsafe to transport my children and right now temporary orders are in place that only allow me visitation over there under supervision. I had some back surgeries and have some neurological defects in my back that cause chronic pain, I developed depression as a result. I take the Tramadol and Lexapro in the morning, the Tramadol does not impair my driving, its a class II pain reliever. I take the Vicodin and Soma at night, and never when I drive.
The law for DUI of legal drugs is unclear, but I'm sure I'm not impaired to the point I can't drive. I have been on these drugs for 2 years and my wife didn't have an issue with them before, they are using my health and pain against me.

I also will be getting SSI disability in about 6 months, she is asking for half of the back pay from 2 years back, is that right, can she get it?

Vicodin & Soma can both impair your ability to drive. Even if you have a valid prescription, you can and will be charged with DUI if a law enforcement officer feels that your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle is impaired due to the drugs.

It's completely understandable for mom to be concerned about you driving with the children. I don't know if supervised visitation is warranted though. How old are the children?

When you start receiving your SSID, will the benefits be retroactive? She MAY have a valid claim to a portion of those funds.

 

[giterdun]

Yes my SSI is retro, they will pay back to the date determined disabled. I disagree about the paion med though, the amount I take and considering the time I have been on them, I have developed a tolerence, the dose I take is low for a person who is has just starting taking them. Studies have been done that show a person who suffers long term pain has a reduced amount of natural endorphines, the body gets accustomed to feeling the pain and goes back to a sence of normalcy, the pain medication only brings me back to state of normal pain relief, not a state of "high" like most people think, and driving under severe pain would be worse IMO. Anyway, I have been taking them for over 2 years and my wife didn't have any issues with riding with me and taking the kids until this divorce came along.

If my kids had a medical emergency at night I would call 911 anyway.

I don't think it is fair that a person who already suffers from chronic pain has their rights taken away because of it. And my boy already suffers from depression from missing me.
Since my wife moved over 200 miles they should make her deliver the kids to me.

My wife will get CS once I get SSI, but it isn't fair that she get my back pay. She doesn't work and has no valid reason not too, except being a money greedy lazy scumbag.

 

[jennie239]

Yes my SSI is retro, they will pay back to the date determined disabled. I disagree about the paion med though, the amount I take and considering the time I have been on them, I have developed a tolerence, the dose I take is low for a person who is has just starting taking them. Studies have been done that show a person who suffers long term pain has a reduced amount of natural endorphines, the body gets accustomed to feeling the pain and goes back to a sence of normalcy, the pain medication only brings me back to state of normal pain relief, not a state of "high" like most people think, and driving under severe pain would be worse IMO. Anyway, I have been taking them for over 2 years and my wife didn't have any issues with riding with me and taking the kids until this divorce came along.

If my kids had a medical emergency at night I would call 911 anyway.

I don't think it is fair that a person who already suffers from chronic pain has their rights taken away because of it. And my boy already suffers from depression from missing me.
Since my wife moved over 200 miles they should make her deliver the kids to me.

My wife will get CS once I get SSI, but it isn't fair that she get my back pay. She doesn't work and has no valid reason not too, except being a money greedy lazy scumbag.

I agree with you on the tolerance note. I take vicodin on a regular basis and I have full custody of my son, I've been on vicodin for so long that it takes away my pain but it doesn't make my drowsy it actually makes me more awake then anything b/c I've developed such a tolerance for it. I don't think that pain medication is going to be the sole basis for them deciding custody b/c if it was then I shouldn't have my son...I take vicodin and thorazine, thorazine itself is powerful but they still gave me custody. It just depends. Granted I don't take it take it everyday on the vicodin. But once you develop a tolerance to medication it works differently it might still get rid of the pain but the side effects are different.

 

[ceara19]

Yes my SSI is retro, they will pay back to the date determined disabled. I disagree about the paion med though, the amount I take and considering the time I have been on them, I have developed a tolerence, the dose I take is low for a person who is has just starting taking them. Studies have been done that show a person who suffers long term pain has a reduced amount of natural endorphines, the body gets accustomed to feeling the pain and goes back to a sence of normalcy, the pain medication only brings me back to state of normal pain relief, not a state of "high" like most people think, and driving under severe pain would be worse IMO. Anyway, I have been taking them for over 2 years and my wife didn't have any issues with riding with me and taking the kids until this divorce came along.

If my kids had a medical emergency at night I would call 911 anyway.

I don't think it is fair that a person who already suffers from chronic pain has their rights taken away because of it. And my boy already suffers from depression from missing me.
Since my wife moved over 200 miles they should make her deliver the kids to me.

My wife will get CS once I get SSI, but it isn't fair that she get my back pay. She doesn't work and has no valid reason not too, except being a money greedy lazy scumbag.

People build up a tolerance to alcohol too. The best thing that you can do right now is to have your DOCTOR evaluate the situation and see what their opinion is on the matter. All of the "studies" on the subject aren't really going to help your case unless you personally participated in those studies.

The fact that she never had a problem with it before and you only take the narcotics at bedtime will almost certainly work in your favor. You could also suggest adding a stipulation to the visitation order agreeing that you will not drive with the children in the car within 6 hours of taking the Vicodin and/or Soma. It would be rather pointless because it would be virtually impossible to PROVE that you are abiding by the agreement, but it would at least show a good faith effort on your part.

Plus, it would be much better to stipulate to the fact that these medicines can have an adverse affect on your driving ability then it would be to try and argue that they don't have that kind of effect on you. "I have a high tolerance for strong narcotics because I've been taking them for years", just doesn't SOUND good.

As far as the retro SSDI, she got a pretty good case for half any amount that you receive for the period of time BEFORE you were officially separated. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to argue against it though.

 

[LdiJ]

My wife will get CS once I get SSI, but it isn't fair that she get my back pay. She doesn't work and has no valid reason not too, except being a money greedy lazy scumbag.

Your wife will be the rep payee for the children's separate benefits. That does replace CS.
That means however that she will also receive all of the retro benefits for the children. That is automatic and there is nothing you can do to change that. So if that is the back pay you are talking about, then you will have to accept that.

However, if she is asking to receive half of YOUR back pay, in addition to the children's, you can fight that.

 

[giterdun]

People build up a tolerance to alcohol too. The best thing that you can do right now is to have your DOCTOR evaluate the situation and see what their opinion is on the matter. All of the "studies" on the subject aren't really going to help your case unless you personally participated in those studies.

I haven't asked but doctors hestate on getting involved, because of the liability, if they say yea you can drive and you have an accident they can get sued. Only the person taking the drug knows how it affects them, but the best thing I guess is not to be on anything while transporting the kids. If I ever had a wreck they would must certainly take a blood sample.

This is great forum, glad I found it!

 

[acmb05]

Your wife will be the rep payee for the children's separate benefits. That does replace CS.
That means however that she will also receive all of the retro benefits for the children. That is automatic and there is nothing you can do to change that. So if that is the back pay you are talking about, then you will have to accept that.

However, if she is asking to receive half of YOUR back pay, in addition to the children's, you can fight that.

This will only be the case if she receives custody of the children or is the residential parent if they share custody.

If your divorce is not done by the time the payments start I would request thru the courts that all of the childrens money be put into a seperate bank account until the custody issue is resolved. If you were to happen to get custody of the children or even residential parent then you would be rep. payee and your ex would not be entitled to any of it.

When you go to fill out the paperwork to start your payments they will ask you who has custody of the children, If you tell them you are going thru a divorce and that custody has not been determined yet they will hold all of that money until it is determined and then pay it out once one of the parents brings in a paper from the court showing they have custody and that the children live with them. My neighbor is going thru almost the same exact thing at the moment and SSI will not release funds for the children until one of the parents can prove custody thru the courts.

 

[acmb05]

Your wife will be the rep payee for the children's separate benefits. That does replace CS.
That means however that she will also receive all of the retro benefits for the children. That is automatic and there is nothing you can do to change that. So if that is the back pay you are talking about, then you will have to accept that.

However, if she is asking to receive half of YOUR back pay, in addition to the children's, you can fight that.

Actually it DOES NOT replace child support, However a judge can give you credit for that amount off of your child support obligation.

For example if you are ordered to pay 200 dollars a month and your children receive 90 dollars from your SSI benefits then a judge could (but does not have to) give you credit for that 90 dollars thereby making your child support payment 110 dollars a month.

 

[ceara19]

I haven't asked but doctors hestate on getting involved, because of the liability, if they say yea you can drive and you have an accident they can get sued. Only the person taking the drug knows how it affects them, but the best thing I guess is not to be on anything while transporting the kids. If I ever had a wreck they would must certainly take a blood sample.

This is great forum, glad I found it!

I didn't mean you should get the doctor to OK driving. However, a statement from your doctor explaining the reasons that you are on the medications may be useful depending on how mom addresses the situation.

 

[acmb05]

I haven't asked but doctors hestate on getting involved, because of the liability, if they say yea you can drive and you have an accident they can get sued. Only the person taking the drug knows how it affects them, but the best thing I guess is not to be on anything while transporting the kids. If I ever had a wreck they would must certainly take a blood sample.

This is great forum, glad I found it!

The problem with that anology is that a person drinking could also state that 5 beers does not affect them, which is why they have state laws on drinking and driving. Well they also have laws on taking medications and driving and just because you may think it does not affect you would not stop a blood test from comming back saying you were on drugs at the time of the accident or traffic stop and you would get arrested for it.

As to the second part of your statement, that would be a good idea.

 

[giterdun]

The problem with that anology is that a person drinking could also state that 5 beers does not affect them, which is why they have state laws on drinking and driving. Well they also have laws on taking medications and driving and just because you may think it does not affect you would not stop a blood test from comming back saying you were on drugs at the time of the accident or traffic stop and you would get arrested for it.

As to the second part of your statement, that would be a good idea.

I meant in terms of looking and acting impaired, a person that normally drinks may have 5 beers and drive OK, whereas a person who never drinks can have 5 and be all over the road, both would be considered DWI though, under the law. And AFAIK there is no set definable limit on drugs, or which drugs you can take and which ones you can't, I would think Tramadol would be OK, I would rather not be in pain if I can. But I don't know. So the question is how can a person know he/she is breaking the law if they don't know what the law is?

 

[stealth2]

I meant in terms of looking and acting impaired, a person that normally drinks may have 5 beers and drive OK, whereas a person who never drinks can have 5 and be all over the road, both would be considered DWI though, under the law. And AFAIK there is no set definable limit on drugs, or which drugs you can take and which ones you can't, I would think Tramadol would be OK, I would rather not be in pain if I can. But I don't know. So the question is how can a person know he/she is breaking the law if they don't know what the law is?

The number of beers is moot - it's the alcohol level in the bloodstream that matters - and that causes the impairment. And most people who're over the limit think they're driving just fine.

In the case of drug usage (legal or not), the observations of the officer would play a huge role in the determination of whether or not you're impaired.

 

[giterdun]

The number of beers is moot - it's the alcohol level in the bloodstream that matters - and that causes the impairment. And most people who're over the limit think they're driving just fine.

In the case of drug usage (legal or not), the observations of the officer would play a huge role in the determination of whether or not you're impaired.

I was using beers for an example, alcohol level to alcohol level, it doesn't matter, the point was how a non drinker or non drug user, will appear next to a drinker or drug user with the same level of intoxicants. Alcohol is pretty hard to hide,even for an experienced drinker, but a person that has built up a drug tolerence can appear to have less drugs in the system than actual. In any event I'm a responsible dad so I cannot take the risk.