EXCLUSIVE – Mother of fentanyl addict lays bare the horrifying reality of parenting a child who is struggling with drug abuse

• Florida-based Brandi Mac, 41, is a nurse who works in the Intensive Therapy Unit
• In 2019, she learned her then 20-year-old daughter was engaged in drug use 
• Since then, Brooke, now 24 years old, has gone to seven treatment centers

A Florida mom has candidly revealed the horrors of parenting a child who is struggling with a fentanyl addiction.

Brandi Mac, from Tampa Bay, first learned that daughter Brooke, then 20, was more than just a recreational drug user in December 2019.

She shared that the young woman also ‘engaged in IV drug use, abusing crack, crystal meth, opioids, and amphetamines.’

The doting mother, 41, said: ‘Despite my background as a nurse in the Intensive Therapy Unit, I quickly realized just how little I knew about drug addiction from a personal perspective.’

While Brandi, who became pregnant at 17, had known that her daughter used drugs recreationally, it was not until 2019 that she learned about the IV drug use. 

At the time, Brooke had just given birth to a son – and her mother was trying to visit the family every three months so she could spend time with them.  

‘My child was nine-months postpartum, living in Florida, while I was in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho,’ she said.

‘Every three months I would visit her and my grandson. During my last visit I noticed a change in her mood, she seemed increasingly irritable.’ 

However, Brooke chose not to tell her own mother about her drug habit – instead confiding in her grandmother, Brandi’s mom, that she’d been using fentanyl along with her partner.  

‘She eventually confided in my mom about her and her partner’s use of intravenous fentanyl. 

‘My mom then reached out and told me. I never pressured my child to explain “why.” She may not even know herself. 

‘However, I recently learned that when she was 13 or 14 she had found some old opioids in my medicine cabinet from dental work I had forgotten about. 

‘That was her first experience with opioids.’

In middle school, Brandi discovered that her daughter had been self-harming. 

She grew increasingly concerned that the situation might escalate to something as serious as suicide.

During high school, Brooke’s lying became more frequent and she started sneaking out at night, eventually experimenting with drugs during her sophomore year. 

The youngster even admitted to using methamphetamine which deeply alarmed Brandi. 

To add to the complexity, her daughter had been diagnosed with depression and PTSD.

In 2016, Brandi moved with Brooke to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.

‘One of the main reasons was that the medical insurance and mental health services were far better than what we had in Florida,’ Brandi admitted.

‘This move allowed us to provide her with a drug counsellor, psychologist and psychiatrist. However, once my child turned 18, as a parent, there wasn’t much I could do. 

‘After high school she wanted to move back to Florida and live with my mom.’

Searching for an outlet and aiming to raise awareness Brandi turned to TikTok. 

She began sharing her experiences as a mother grappling with her child’s addiction and now has more than 271,000 followers.

The platform opened her eyes to just how big the issue was and gave her an opportunity to connect with countless others facing similar challenges. 

The advice offered by the recovery community became invaluable, far surpassing what she had learned from conventional resources.

‘As my online presence grew, so did my understanding. Did you know that in 2022, reported deaths from overdoses reached almost 110,000,’ Brandi noted.

‘And those are just the reported numbers. Relapse rates remain alarmingly high, as 40 per cent to 60 per cent of individuals undergoing drug addiction treatment experience a relapse.’

Brandi shared that her daughter sought help from seven different treatment centers in just three and a half years. 

While suboxone – a prescription medicine used to treat opioid addiction in adults -offered her the most extended period of respite, relapses persist.

Today, Brooke is still struggling with addiction and the responsibility of raising her son falls upon Brandi. 

The journey, she admits, is far from easy.

‘Initially there’s a lot of hope, especially when you see them sober up,’ Brandi said.

‘But repeated relapses can wear you down. It’s not so much about losing hope but dealing with the repeated heartbreaks that come with each setback. 

‘The shame, the guilt, the blame… what could I have done differently? The phone anxiety! I still panic every time an unknown number calls me. 

‘It’s like dealing with ambiguous grief, grieving someone who is still alive.’

Through her TikTok platform, Brandi emphasizes the need to eliminate the stigma surrounding addiction. 

She is not out to shame anyone but to create a positive and understanding space. 

To foster a dialogue and make the topic more accessible, Brandi now often invites questions from those curious or in similar situations.

‘I’ve never been so disgusted by an industry as I am when it comes to addiction treatment,’ Brandi confessed. 

‘There is a huge lack of ethics and the profit-over-patient mentality is out of hand.

‘By providing a real, unfiltered look into my own life as a mom of a child with substance use disorder, I hope to foster understanding and build a supportive community for those affected.’