I know everyone has heard the age-old saying of "Don't Do Drugs!" And half of the time, we laugh it off because it never even crosses our minds that it could be us that may one day battle with addiction. No, I'm not talking about your typical neighborhood drug dealer or someone you know who has put drugs on themselves. I'm talking about the accidental kind of addiction that smacks you in the face before you even realize it's happened: prescription painkiller addiction.

Take it from someone who's been there: it is scary. Never in my life would I have thought that I would become addicted to painkillers strength medicine not once, but twice on two separate occasions. Neither of them was intentional, yet they still happened. I have a lot of health problems, and the two times that I have been addicted were once for chronic stomach pain, and once for an ankle operation. The drugs that caused this? Oxycontin and Percocet/Tylenol with codeine.

I see Oxycontin addictions spewed all over the internet, news, and even have heard personal stories of overdose based on people I know. Prior to being given Oxycontin, I was on a slew of drugs: Morphine, Dilaudid, Toradol, Percocet, and Tylenol with Codeine. When I first got prescribed Oxycontin, I had spent fourteen hours in a hospital not knowing what was wrong with me. The stomach pain that I endured was excruciating -- I could barely even move or speak. I was put on every drug imaginable prior to the end-all drug. You name it, I took it. However, the little white pill took all my pain away. Not only was I able to manage my pain successfully, but I was pretty stoned most of the time. I'll be honest: I don't remember much of the month that I was on Oxycontin. All that I know was that I became addicted and fast. What started out as half of a prescribed pill, turned into one and a half, then two full tablets. Mind you, this would be upwards of two or three times a day. When I wasn't on it, I became irritable, moody, nauseous, got light headed, and my pain became "unbearable" again. I use "unbearable" because I'm sure the half of a pill cured it, but my body didn't think so. Neither did my mind at the time. I'm not going to sugarcoat it: I was hooked. It was so much so, that I had to go through stomach surgery and not even be given any sort of painkillers right after the operation, for fear that my body would permanently need the drugs. Luckily, once I had my surgery, I was able to recover drug-free.

But I wasn't safe.

I had major ankle surgery two months ago, and I was put on Percocet/Tylenol with Codeine afterward. As you can imagine, I was pretty afraid to be on such strong painkillers again. But, I thought that this time would be different. And it was, until one night when everything went wrong. Again, I'll be honest: I don't remember much. I was coming home from a normal night with my family when all of a sudden I felt light headed. After that was a blur: I couldn't move, I slouched over, I couldn't speak full words, I was nauseous, and I was in and out of consciousness. Basically, I was a human zombie. My family rushed me to the emergency room, not realizing that this could have potentially been caused by the Tylenol with Codeine. The staff at the emergency room realized that this was a side effect of the painkiller, and said I looked like a "druggie." I was given three liters of fluid to flush it out of my system, and some nausea medication. Luckily, the fluids helped, and I was OK. But, I was warned: if I stayed on the pills any longer, the next step would be a full-blown addiction.

I don't tell this story to scare anyone, nor do I tell it for the show. I think that it sends a strong message, the same one that I mentioned in the beginning of this article: "Don't Do Drugs." Seriously, don't even try them. You may think "just one hit" won't do anything, but what happens when one hit turns into one hit every night. What happens when marijuana turns into heroin, or heroin turns into Oxycontin. It's possible, and it can definitely happen to any of us. More than likely, you won't realize that it has happened, and by that point, it will be too late. I'm sure some of you can relate, and haven't taken painkillers for fun, but because they were a necessity at the time. But for those of you who "occasionally" use recreational drugs, "occasionally" take a Xanax for fun, "occasionally" pop a pill or do a line; addiction is real. The threat of taking it too far is real. I get it, we're in college. It's the norm to experiment. Experimenting could cost you not only your future but your life. Please, be safe with what you're doing. A recreational drug isn't worth losing control or losing your life over.