... the small dose had no affect on her pain. Naturally, the doctors upped the level. "They said we should increase it to twice a day," she said. "They kept telling me there was nothing wrong with Oxy and it was not addictive." Meanwhile, Davidoff dealt with odd side effects. "I felt disoriented," she said. "It was like I was on the outside looking in. But if I did not take the drug at my scheduled time, I'd get sick with diarrhea and leg pains." She got boosted to 10 mg twice a day after seven months. And when she complained, the doctors told her to stick with the pain program. They also said she'd be on Oxy for life. Before long, she was up to three 20mg pills a day and addicted to the painkiller.

Troubles began when she sought doctor's help for kidney stone pain

Dianne Davidoff, a soon-to-be single mother of two, lives in an Oxy-fueled haze. The popular painkiller has scuttled her marriage, turned her days into foggy dreams and pushed her to addiction. "I am addicted to the drug and there is nothing I can do about it," she said. "I can't stop taking it."

Life has been that way since 2001 when pain specialist in Portland, Ore. prescribed Oxy after Davidoff complained of kidney stone pain. "They said it was a wonder drug; not addictive," she said. "They said I would not have any problems and that it would take the pain away and I'd be able to live a great life."

But the small dose had no affect on her pain. Naturally, the doctors upped the level. "They said we should increase it to twice a day," she said. "They kept telling me there was nothing wrong with Oxy and it was not addictive."

Meanwhile, Davidoff dealt with odd side effects. "I felt disoriented," she said. "It was like I was on the outside looking in. But if I did not take the drug at my scheduled time, I'd get sick with diarrhea and leg pains."

As her body grew tolerant, doctors increased the dosage

She got boosted to 10 mg twice a day after seven months. And when she complained, the doctors told her to stick with the pain program. They also said she'd be on Oxy for life.

Before long, she was up to three 20mg pills a day and addicted to the painkiller. If she begged off the drug, her blood pressure would skyrocket. Then she'd get body chills and aches, like a street addict coming off heroin.

When on Oxy, she felt drugged and dopey. "Everything was in a haze," she said. She slacked off caring for her kids. Forget to pick her daughter up from school, gave up caring about family events, kissed off her marriage of nine years. "I could not do anything, I was a drugged person sitting there all day," she said. "It took my life away, instead of giving it back."

Today, she takes 10 mg of Oxy three times a day. She wants to get off the stuff, but fears the agony and expense of rehabilitation. "I wake up in the morning and know I need it," she said. "My legs hurt. If I don't take it I get stomach aches and my blood pressure goes up. I am trapped, because I have to take it."

She is in the process of divorce and said the drug played a role in the destruction of her marriage. "I know this has something to do with it. Oxy kind of numbs you to things around you and how you see the world," she said. "I find myself telling myself the drugs are still there. The idea of not having one scares me to death. Not having them makes me nervous and paranoid."

Bizarre behavioral changes

Her addiction was so strong that she forced her husband to turn back during a road trip to Nevada to get the pills. They were four hours away from home at the time. "I could not function without them," she said. "I was panicked."

"I let every thing go," she said. "I did not care. I was once really involved with the children, now I have to keep notes to remind me of their events. I feel like I am watching my life go by."

The drug affected her relationship with he two kids, ages 9 and 5. "I become short tempered and agitated when I don't take it," she said. "The kids would ask 'why are you being so mean.' I got that way whenever it was close to the time to take another pill."

Her bottom line on Oxy: "This is a horrible drug. Never start taking it. It is not good for you. I am not the same person I used to be," she said of life in Oxy's wake. "It kind of drained the life out of me. I am not the fun happy person I used to be."