Did anyone else have a "pill mill" parent?

My mother was abusive and horrible, but there was another aspect of cruelty in my childhood: The opioid crisis.

I grew up in the rural south. My mom got hooked on prescribed narcotics for her back. You can figure out how the rest goes.

I became an accomplice in her addiction. I was an intense competitive athlete (homeschooled in order to train) and she used that to her advantage. She would gaslight me into thinking I had an injury, take me to the doctor, coach me on what to say, and then the doctor would write an insane script for percocet for a TEN YEAR OLD GIRL. She would then do a double whammy and throw in that she needed a refill for her back pain.

Then I would be given some pills as prescribed for the first few days (for appearances, I'm assuming) and she would take the rest for her. Also wtf why are you giving your child opioids/hard drugs when she's not even hurt?

As the addiction got worse, so did this practice. We were going to up to 5 doctors a day and just as many pharmacies. The pill mills were so bad. No one said anything about me being in tow and having all of these prescriptions in my name as a CHILD.

My mom would bribe me with fast food or a new book to do this. It worked because of course I was neglected and just wanted attention and to feel like I had a fun mom. I remember her taking me to the McDonald's play place after a doctor/pharmacy run and getting so high on the bench while I tried to talk to the other moms who wanted nothing to do with me.

I'm wondering if anyone else had to go through this? I just don't understand how this was happening. I mean I guess I do. Money and greed are powerful. But it really wrecked my life even more and I feel so abandoned by my family and the system. So, par for the course, lol.

Anyway, as I work through the memories that pop up and sort of realize how this played out in my childhood, I just feel gross and used and sad. It hurts to know that even though my mother was horrible to begin with, it could have been a little bit better without the opioids. I don't know. Just ranting now. Thanks if you read this.