Why Heroin Addicts Can't Recover
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They can get better. Lets lay that out there before going any further. In many cases, however, heroin addicts make repeated attempts to “get clean” that fail almost before they get off the ground. Almost everyone has heard a heart wrenching scenario in which an individual’s loved one got clean and managed to stay clean for extended periods of time before relapsing and, sadly, losing his or her life as a result. So why is it that so many heroin addicts simply can’t recover?
The Misunderstood State of True Addiction
Addiction takes many forms and the word is tossed around quite lightly by most people. Your mother may make jokes about being “addicted” to coffee or gardening. You see television specials focused on helping young adults who are “addicted” to video games and your friends work the word in when expressing their pleasure with something, such as being “addicted” to roller coasters. In reality, none of the above mentioned things constitutes a true, physical addiction (and no, no matter how much you love caffeine, you aren’t addicted to it).
True addiction comes when an individual is unable to property function without the needed substance. While video game addicts begrudgingly take time off from gaming to attend school or go to work, and coffee junkies have a soda with their supper, heroin addicts are still snorting, smoking or shooting their chosen substance.
Do other addictions exist? Yes. Can they really compare? No.
The Longer the Addiction, the Harder it Is to Break
Any ex-smoker will tell you that, the longer a person smokes, the harder it is to quit. The same principle can be applied to heroin use. This is because daily activities become ingrained into your daily life. Physical addiction aside, the brain is a powerful weapon. Feed it with a highly addictive substance, such as regular opiates, and it will turn on you, ready to devour your very psyche in an effort to get more.
High vs. Normal
Most people who try heroin do so for a simple high – and they achieve it, but at a cost. Once the body becomes accustomed to opiates (and this occurs extremely quickly) it will revolt if the drugs stop coming. The end result? Heroin addicts must shoot, snort or smoke even more heroin simply to feel normal.
Failing to get a “fix” leaves a heroin addict physically sick and psychologically tormented. They cannot function either psychologically or physically past a certain point. Sure, we’ve all seen the withdrawal videos of heroin addicts shaking and sweating while their bodies detoxify, but try and imagine what the addict is experiencing. Think you’ve got it? You don’t. The drug is so powerful, so demanding, that it strips the user of his or her sense of self. Its more powerful than self-respect, fear, pride and the love an individual has for his or her friends, family and children.
Black Tar Heroine Documentary
I am going to post the HBO documentary on black tar heroine here. I am pulling this video from Youtube. I don't take credit for originally posting it, but I am grateful to whoever did. Although different types of heroine exist, black tar heroine is rarely addressed and I believe its important to acknowledge it as a threat as well.
The documentary is informative for addicts and family members regardless of whether the problem substance is black tar heroine, standard smack or other opiates.
How Heroin is Made
Heroin is processed by adding acetic anhydride to simple morphine and bringing the substance to a boil. As the compounds coalesce, the raw heroin will sink.
Morphine and heroin are similarly addictive substances. Believe it or not, there are quite a few Americans out there running around addicted to morphine, but most of those have jobs that allow them access to the drug. Heroin is much, much easier to come by than morphine, which is closely controlled.
My Opiate Experience
First, let me state that I have never been addicted to heroin. Never even tried the stuff. I haven’t lost a friend or family member to it and I hope I never do. While researching heroin addiction, however, I found myself completely blown away by the sheer magnitude of what this drug can do to families. If you aren’t convinced, let me tell you my story.
I have a natural narcotics immunity, for starters. I didn’t discover this fact until I was 19 and landed myself in the hospital. You see, I’d had a kidney stone that I didn’t seek medical help for because I didn’t have insurance. The pain was regular, constant and sometimes debilitating. I self-medicated when I could with vodka and cranberry juice – a remedy suggested by, and supplied by, my grandmother, with whom I was living at the time. She couldn’t afford to send me to the doctor and I never told her how bad it really was.
After several weeks of this, one night the pain was so bad I couldn’t draw breath to scream. I literally crawled out of my room and was rushed to the hospital. I was given large quantities of various IV narcotics, none of which worked. The doctor on call declared that I must be a drug addict to not respond to any pain medicine. I didn’t hear this because I was hurting too much. I was in school and trying to get an education. I wasn’t doing any drugs – not even the recreational pot smoking my friends were doing.
My sister arrived later that morning. Being a nurse, she was furious that I never told her about the pain and she managed to explain to me that some people just have a natural immunity to narcotics.
The only thing that worked was morphine. The first time the staff gave it to me, I didn’t even feel it. I was screaming. I thought I was dying (and I was. My heart stopped sometime later and they managed to revive me). A second dose of morphine however and the pain went away. I felt it go into my bloodstream like thick, hot coffee. The heat then rushed across my face and torso like a cloud and the pain was gone. There was no sense of being “high” and I got no pleasure from it, but the pain was finally gone.
I was in the hospital for a week, receiving morphine intermittently when the pain got bad. I was also on a steady morphine drip. I had to remain to give the powerful antibiotics time to take effect. The last day I opted for ibuprofen rather than morphine. I was petrified of getting hooked on it. I knew very little about addiction, but I knew enough to worry.
The day after I got home I got sick. Very sick. I didn’t know what was happening to me. I had no idea that I was withdrawing from the morphine. It was one of the worst feelings I can ever remember. I was nauseated, too lethargic to move and, perhaps worst of all, I felt everything was pointless. My body radiated between sweating and freezing. My terminally ill father actually put me on his oxygen machine, thinking it would help. I would have done just about anything to make it stop. None of us realized it was actually a very mild opiate withdrawal.
And then, it went away and I got better and moved on with my life. It wasn’t until an accident six years later landed me back in the hospital on a morphine drip for several days and the scenario repeated itself that I realized what actually happened.
Considering my high tolerance for other narcotics and the very brief period of time that my body was exposed to the opiate, I can only begin to imagine what the withdrawal experience must be like for a heroin addict. Remember, heroin is more powerful than morphine.
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Opiates for Heroin Detox
Drug treatment centers offer a myriad of heroin detox methods to help addicts reduce the pain of withdrawal. For those lucky few who managed to quit the drug “cold turkey,” it can be easy to point fingers and blame relapses on each individual’s lack of strength and motivation. In reality, all bodies are different and process toxic substances in different ways. What didn’t get a full hold on your brain could have driven another person to insanity.
Methadone is usually the drug of choice for heroin addicts. This reduces the need for a “fix” although cravings may still occur. Methadone can be used either permanently for “maintenance” or taped down over time as part of a slower detoxification program. The only problem with this method is that Methadone is, in and of itself, an incredibly addicting substance.
There are other detox methods, such as ultra-rapid detox, although I don’t know enough about it to either condone it or give a warning. I may update this when I have the chance to do more extensive research on the subject.
Heroin Withdrawal Can Kill You
Before you decide to tie your loved one to a chair and just force him to detox on his own, thinking he’ll thank you later when he’s clean (yes, people do this), you should remember that for addicts accustomed to injecting, snorting or smoking high amounts of heroin every day, withdrawal can be just as much of a death sentence as remaining on the drug.
In the event that such an unorthodox detox were to be successful, there’s still no gurantee that the individual won’t relapse. Ridding his physical system of opiates doesn’t rob his brain of the knowledge of what heroin can do. Just like a smoker who remembers what its like to smoke a cigarette after abstaining for a while, the heroin user may seek out additional drugs as a way of reclaiming that high.
You see, after a while heroin users don’t use because they want to. The pleasant feeling that once accompanied the drug is muted by the body’s overwhelming need to have opiates merely to feel normal. Detoxing can bring the high back. Thus, detoxification can, in itself, provide the former heroin addict with motivation to return to the drug.
- Heroin Withdrawal: Opiate Detox Symptoms, Treatment and Recovery
Heroin withdrawal symptoms occur when the addict undergoes opiate detox. Withdrawal symptoms, treatment methods and recovery rates vary for heroin addicts.
Family Members of Heroin Addicts
If you’re the friend or family member of a heroin addict, all you can do is encourage the person to get clean, be as supportive as possible and stay out of the way. No one who gets clean by force or overwhelming pressure is going to stay clean. As heart wrenching as it may sound, that person has to want to rid themselves of the heroin before they can ever do so – even if its for their families.
What you can do, however, is practice a bit of tough love. Some addicts need to hit rock bottom before they can begin to scramble back to the surface. The longer you hand out a free ride, the longer the user will remain a “comfortable user.” Sure, the addict is in less danger than if he were on the streets, but the longer he uses heroin, the harder it will be fore him to shake the habit.
If the heroin addict has children that live with him or her, your absolutely must notify the local police department or DFACS of the user’s addiction. Regardless of how good of a parent he or she claims to be, the smallest bit of heroin left on a paper or in a syringe can and will kill a small child. If your loved one were in his or her right mind, rest assured you’d be thanked. Even if you can’t save the addict, you can take steps to save the addict’s children.
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Very interesting article. I thought I'd comment as an ex-heroin user (I shot up 5-10x daily for all four years of college, with intermittent periods of abstinence). Many people find heroin extremely addictive, but some, such as me, do not. Like you, I've had chronic kidney stones (sometimes every month) since I was 14. Although I had ever drank or used drugs, doctors always made me feel like a drug seeker in the ER, since they don't see a lot of young people with kidney stones. being treated like this was absolutely infuriating, and I eventually decided I'd treat my pain without medical supervision. I did some research on opiates, and discovered that diamorphine (heroin) was only 3x potent as morphine, and I'd been given MUCH stronger narcotics in the ER. I'd never gotten high off opiates or enjoyed them due to the side effects, but kidney stones aren't something easily ignored. After thinking it ove, I set about procuring some heroin and figuring out a therapeutic dose in mg, and when I first did it, I didn't understand why anyone who wasn't in severe pain would choose this! I soon got used to the side effects, but the pain control stayed and it cost me $8.00/daily for 4 years, which was less than 20% of what it would cost for me to go to a doctor (and I was uninsured), and not even have my pain managed. During my time as a heroin user, I maintained a 3.8 GPA, participated in normal life, and nobody ever suspected a thing, because I did not fit the stereotype of a junkie. Withdrawal was pretty awful, but much less excruciating than I'd anticipated (a kidney stone is WAY more painful). When I got out of college, and was able to afford health insurance w/in a year, I started a kidney stone prevention program, and have only had two stones since (for which I was prescribed narcotic analgesics for a short time).
It's been 4.5 years since I last did heroin, and I don't have any desire to go back to it, as I don't have kidney stones all the time, and when I do, I can afford quality medical care. I'm married and working on my doctorate, and I'm relatively open about my past heroin use. There are many secret, functional heroin users who carefully conceal their habit, but mainstream society makes it seem as though anyone who uses heroin will INSTANTLY become a dirty, homeless junkie with AIDS. And people who say they can't quit heroin would be able to if they really wanted to. Withdrawal is bad, but you'll do it if you are dedicated to staying off it. Most importantly, heroin does not change your moral compass, and people who lie, cheat and steal (which I never did), and say that heroin was responsible for their behavior are making excuses for their own lack of character.
I am the mother of a heroin addict. Until my son became an addict, I did not realize the effects that an addict had on their family or the effect the heroin has on the addict. My son is not even the same person on heroin. It is the most devastating thing I have ever experienced and I would not wish it on anyone. My son is going to a physician today to try to get help and he has gotten help before but did relapse. I always remain hopeful that he will be able to kick this terrible addiction and I believe he is a strong young man and I believe he can do it. My biggest concern is that there is not more help out there for heroin addiction. It seems unless an addict has a job and insurance that no one wants to see them or even try to help them. This is so unfortunate in that most heroin addicts are not working and do not have insurance. My son has lost his job due to the addiction and though he has voiced that he wants to get help he cannot find anywhere to go that is not so expensive that he can afford it. I also feel there is not enough focus on heroin addiction and too much on marijuana addiction. Heroin is so much more dangerous to the addicts and the families than the marijuana so when everyone is so excited about a big bust on marijuana it almost angers me because the real problem is heroin and pills such as oxycontin yet the focus seems to remain on marijuana. I do not agree with the comment that heroin does not change your moral compass. I believe it absolutely does. My son does not have the same morals at all when he is on heroin or looking for it and I can't believe that someone would make such a comment. It absolutely changes your moral compass. I have seen that firsthand. I will continue to support my son and pray that he gets the help he needs as I do for all addicts and their families.
Wow.. This is one of the most detailed articles about heroin that I have seen! If your still thinking of experimenting with opiates after reading this.. Don't. I was addicted to heroin for 14 years and Once you realize that you need it just to function, it's too late. It took everything that I had. I learned the hard way.
This was a very informative show. I want to compliment you. By bringing this out maybe you get to save a few people from going down that road. One thing I must say. To the commenter named Alana, Your situation was far from typical. As a matter of fact you are one of a very, very small group that can boast of an experience like that. Most heroin addicts do not start out as liers and thieves. or prostitutes. It is the drug that turns them into these types of people. To say it doesn't change your moral compass is to say that every heroin abuser wanted to become prostitutes, or thieves or to lie to there families. And to want to hurt the people they love.I am sorry but you need to get a clue. Because you do not have one when it comes to making a statement like that. And Yes I am talking from experience. When I became addicted to heroin, Which was after several years of prescription drug abuse. I was far from a lier, cheat,& Thief. This sickness took me to places I would never have gone to as a straight or sane man. The depths I went to in order to chase the sickness away, Were deeper and darker than any I ever went to before or want to go to ever again. I guess what I am trying to say is that this drug would make even the most moral of men lie and steal if that is what they had to do to get there next fix.
Very powerful story, and some solid facts to back it up. But you seem to have the opinion that recovery is an impossibility for an addict. I don't think this is entirely true.
People have been known to move on from opiates and lead completely normal lives. It's all a matter of how badly they want to stop and get clean. And trust me...every die hard heroin addict wishes nightly that they could kick their habit and just be happy.
But unfortunately if wishes were horses then beggars would ride, it takes more than just "wanting" to quit
lets see before i started using heroin i would of never of thought about walking into a store and demanding money from the cashier or walking in to someones house just to see what i could get money for nor would i lie to the people i love... It started with oc's and went straight to hell i have been trying to beat this for two years now ive been addicted for six ill have periods where i go 3-6 mos but never any longer ive already lost every thing but the people i care about but for some reason i just keep hurting them when i know that all there doing is trying to help i dont know what it is about this drug that just makes you go crazy when you cant get it i dont like the person that i have become and afraid of the man who lies ahead if i cant kick this you think that a little child a loving wife and family that support you would be enough but its not for some reason ive been trying to get into a rehab and they will tell me we will have a bed tomorrow but its true tomorrow never comes when you dont have insurance or 9000$ so many speak ill of addicts when they should be blaming the lack of help for addicts you see these people just like you ran down the wrong road but when they try to right the wrong they find that its easier for them to continue to use because its cheaper less stress full and easier then finding someone to help them i know your supposed to put the same effort into getting clean as you did into using so are they saying that you should continue to steal and lie to get my life on track aging just like being addicted to heroin you become addicted to the lying and stealing it become a compulsion an urge just like the heroin i want to be a good man for my family but every where i turn i get sent away even from county funded programs because theyre to full to help anyone else i know that i did this to myself but now i want the support and help of someone that knows what there doing so i dont go back agin i want to get away from this dark passenger and never look back if someone know where to turn to for help please let me know i want a great life for my child and i cant do it stoned all the time
To all those individuals who are addicted to heroin, chant NAM-MYO-HO-RENGE-KYO, morning and night to give you hope and freedom. To make you strong and to give you courage. Thank you.
My daughter is an active herion addict. This has been a nightmare for the last 13 years. it was first cocaine and has grown now to herion. She has been shooting up for at least four years. She has beeen in rehab five times. the last time was for 6 months in a Christian based rehab. MY daughter has a daughter that is 2 1/2. I wonder if she will be around to see her grow up.. She was on methadone while she was pregnant and then when the baby was three months old she starting using herion with the methadone until she was arrestedd.
This has been a nightmare. I don't know how to live with this stuff and can't shut my daughter out of our lives. She stays with friends for days and says she is trying to detox. But it is another lie. I have threatened all of her so called friends with calling the police if any one gives her drugs. I guess they all think I am nuts. But there needs to be more arrests made to people for homicide if they are selling drugs and someone dies.
My daughter has said she will go to detox on Monday .. We will see. She was using two weeks after she got out of the 6 month program so I am not feeling too much hope.
I am sitting outside of an e.r. rite now in my car. I have been here for the last two and a half hrs. I am having a lot of trouble breathing, heavy chested, especially around the heart along with a feeling that my heart is somehow clogged, and the top of my throat has felt like it is closing almost shut for the last 3 hrs. I have been shooting bad heroin and JUST WANT TO STOP!!!! My last dose was at 10 and it is now 130. I didn't get high because I am at the point where I am using just to survive. I use a gram and a half a day of brown rock heroin. I just turned 22 two days ago and it was the worst birthday of my life the whole time I was on heroin but cudnt get high. It was a very miserable and depressing day. I can't decide if I shd go in or not cuz I kno if I do there will probly be legal repercussions since they told me after my 15th time here because of o.d. this spring that they would notify the police if it happend again. I have been addicted for a yr but started back up a month ago. I went thru the summer and early fall four months clean due to suboxone. I am most worried to go in because of the narcan I kno they will inject into me and I kno how bad it hurts to get that wen yur body has been getting a gram and a half per day everyday. I have myself girlfriend and parents in tears on a daily basis although my parents are strong enough that they cry behind closed doors. They do this because they are soooo good to me and such great parents and I feel soo terrible to be letting them down and getting re-addicted agn and even worse. They say wen the beast kums back it kums back worse and boy were they right!!! Please If anyone is reading this who is not alrdy addicted to heroin but is thinkn about using it or is using it but not addicted yet. Stop NOW DO NOT USE PLEASE LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES DO NOT LEARN THE HARDWAY HEROIN IS SUGARCOATED PAIN IT BRINGS COMPLETE DESTRUCTION TO THE LIVES OF ALL OF THOSE WHO GET ADDICTED AND STATISTICS SAY IT WILL SOONER OR LATER KILL MOST OF IT'S POOR ADDICTS LIKE IT SEEMS IT IS ABOUT TO KILL ME RITE NOW! PLZ ANYONE READING THS STOP USING RITE NOW!!! I am going into the e.r. now I can't take it anymore and don't wana die n the parking lot of the e.r.
Jared
As heartbreaking as some of your stories are, the facts are the facts, I dont think people that have been using for a long time will ever kick the addiction, the real problem of this is the aftermath of the closest family members....how can you explain to the wife of a 1o year heroin addict that she needs to let go...or she will never be happy or have a normal life?? because their ignorance leads her to believe that if he wants he can get rehabilitated. wich is not true, because it takes more than just simply wanting to stop. your body is already addicted so it needs more than a want to feeling. getting into methadone is just as bad and if cold turkey could kill the addict, then, what is the solution to the problem?????
Jared I will pray for you :( I hope it all worked out for you:)...I have never been addicted to any drug but right now I amdealing with one of my best friends who is heavily addicted to heroin..it is amazing how it literally controls their lives..all I can do is be there when she really needs me and pray for her constantly..please I am sure many people who will read this have different faiths but I truly believe there is nothing God can't do but of course it is up to the persons free will to surrender to him and watch how God works :) with love to all be strong and I hope you find your way to stopping this horrible addiction that has consumed so many lives....
I'd just like to say I'm a recovering heroin addict, coming up on one year of complete and total sobriety. AA and an outpatient rehab is working pretty darn well for me. But it's working because I'm doing it for myself, and I'm finally getting honest with myself.
I found the "Heroin withdrawl can kill you" line a little misleading, as the physical withdraw itself cannot kill you, unless you have a really bad heart. Benzo and Alcohol withdraw can kill you however. And technically you can get addicted to caffeine, the body becomes somewhat dependent on it and if you stop taking in caffeine you get headaches, irritablity, etc. Same with pot surprisingly enough. I get what you're saying though, that these kinds of addictions are nothing compared to heroin. I went through countless attempts at getting clean until I got into a treatment program where I was given suboxone. I was still batshit crazy of course, until I found a AA. For everyone here, keep in mind that we started using heroin as a solution for something. If we take out the heroin without replacing it with some other solution, we will undoubtedly go back to heroin or some other drug. I found my solution in my higher power, which sounds hokey, but hey it works.
As a heroin addict of 3 years (and heavy drug user for 15) I can honestly say that in my experience all the scumbags involved are scum on or off the gear and people with strong morals can get away without stealing and scaming. Having said that users eventually WILL suffer because of their habit, it's a matter of time and trust me rock bottom hurts.
""JonB 7 days ago
As a heroin addict of 3 years (and heavy drug user for 15) I can honestly say that in my experience all the scumbags involved"""
can u say jaded - i met a girl in VAN who is a H addict-
she is the most wonderful amazing person i have ever met.
i may - try to help her -
i am going to phone her now - just to say high
I understand that you did your research and you did write a great article. But is this something you feel can truly say without having experienced it first hand? Please check out my hubs for some pieces on addiction and recovery. Thanks for the hub
take it from the top -PLEASE AFTER ALL THESE POSTS,
I ASK= ?Heroin Addicts ?can they recover?
i'm engaged to an addict~opiate dependent for 10years~ & no i am not a drug user- i met him through a friend-i was in grad school-i offered him refuge to 'clean up' which in overview, didn't help- this addiction escalated in the 4 years i know him.
he is in a makeshift rehab joint currnelty= it is outpatient, with only social workers[no Dr, psychologists or true therapists with credentials=NO-only social workers]. this rehab grants "certificates of completion/graduation" after 3 months..?is this rehab? this is usual? they talk with all at once- a group of folk in their teens to folk in their 40s; all participants have a variety of addictions~only commonality IS they have addictions that someplace or someone wants/needs them to get help- and in odd cases, the individual initiates for his/herself =this rehab joint provides locales with quick treatment, so, for example, they can go to court and show that they completed rehab ~ hopes the courts will then give them rights back to raise their kids.
i pose this true question ?under this guidance ? heroin addicts ?can they recover here? is this adequate?
i have true concern that this does only a mere fraction--an intro to heroin addiction and recovery? should i trust he will come back a better man? and now have new values? why should this certificate be reflective of himself as a better man- like someone who wants to be honest? and try to take care of himself and his sons and me? i have doubts this is sufficient rehab for a forty year old guy with a ten-year, heavy-use opiate addiction [ and before that- meth and alcohol addict]. i love this guy and his boys, but reality puts on the table the truth that he hasn't held job since before i new him ~has anger problems and drug fogginess [that resulted in his being fired/suspect for drug use]. he has probs with cops- been incarcerated for 2violence cases, and recently found in public with a warrant for not attending a criminal case pretrial hearing. currently has 2 other warrants for skipping out court dates-thus, fled the state- left behind his boys and then me= yes we are still engaged= IS HE likely to recover?
What's the guess from any one with real experience that is SIMILAR- please, what does life experience say?
.. so now he lives with his mom- he is /has been in an outpatient rehab joint where they uses 'herd mentality' advice= i think recovery needs individualized components- and separate programs for different addictions- and an emphasis on on lifestyle changes- always being willing to reflect and be honest- and seek help if relapse is haunting. so ~heroin addicts?~can they recover?
My daughter is a heroin addict. She has been an IV addict for almost 4 years now. % times in rehab and 15 times in detoxing. she cant quit and her friends tell her dont even try. She now has 2 felonies over it. I have lost all hope. She has stolen, stripped, panhandled, and whatever i dont know about. Now, she is living and dating her heroin dealer for drugs. I got a text from her today "I cant quit. I will just end up disappointing you guys again" she has tried to quit 15 times now. I havnet seen in her 6 months now due to the fact that i almost lost my life over it and cant do it anymore. I HAVE LOST ALL HOPE MY DAUGHTER WILL SURVIVE THIS ADDICTION!!!!!
I agree with a previous post. There isn't any help for heroin addicts. Most don't have jobs and if they do its dealing or selling there bodies. They have state insurance and its HARD to get into detox or treatment and if you do you can only do 2 months max. Heroin addicts need more than a year.
Im addicted to heroin and it's horrible I try to stop so many times but I just keep running back to it :( I have to hide it from my wife and I feel like shit. Of course it started with Oxycodone. Every time I quit I start using again because it's just so good. I am about to do another bag right now screw it
Reply to the ADDICT post & "about to do another bag"..
hi! i DO APPRECIATE the YOU ARE HONEST - [you have to hide it from your wife?] and feel like shit. You are expose raw truth here in a post: so, do you think if she knew the truth, she would stand by you and THEN you may seek hard-core rehab? or is the addiction more like an affair? and if so~?this romance has a love-rush like no other? just curious- i haven't ever touched H- but heard it taken[he 1st hid in the bathroom and snorted it] and seen it in its symptoms once moved to iv shooting[red face, dry mouth, not look me in the eyes]=i ask and sometimes he tells the truth[i always try peace, love n understanding]..so many years. now in out-of state rehab [for 1month so far], and JUST talked to him= he is drunk while i write.k. from my good friend
when? one says:
Clowntime is over: Time to take cover, while others just talk and talk,
somebody's watching where the others don't walk.
A voice in the shadows, says that his men know, he don't step back as expected,
he's otherwise and unprotected.
Almost too good to be true…
[Who do you? Why do you? What do you do?]
While everybody's hiding under covers, who's making lover's lane safe again for lovers?..............................
I was on heroin and crack for 12 years now been clean for nearly 4 years have a new house,life ,friends and work in the drug and alcohol services I believe what you have wrote is partly negligent giving addicts no hope to even attempt a recovery. There,s plenty of us living our lives and at last getting a chance to appreciate what we now have. If your still alive there,s still hope that things can change.
hi Paula, in my last post, i admit i have over-generalized and there is HOPE- i agree. i am truly happy for your success and understand how you could read what i last posted as "partially negligent"= please except my apology to you.
i however have know folk who died from being addicted. i am still engaged to a man who has used opiates for 12 years[methadone, oxycontin,H,suboxone and back to H~ and before that he was drinking booze and using meth-[in other words been and addict since age 12 and now is 42= so], 30 years an addict yet i do support him.
i have had friends whom i was introduce to me through my partner, and these friends died from o.d.s- 4 in the last 1 year-[ when outta rehab they relapsed and crashed].
it took2 o.d.s for my partner to finally admit he needs care for himself - [then be able to help his young sons as well].
.. i also am close to my brother in San Fran who directs an inpatient facility w/n a major SF hospital= he has a PhD in psych, and since a director- does not need take clients - but he does because he is passionate at helping tailor programs to the client's needs- and he does care- he says if he only gets thru to 1 in every hundred- that is better than zero.
sounds like addiction is similar to cancer- people need individual assessment- time, duration, intensity/drive and history of lifestyles/ for how long behavior occurs [and root causes w/ addiction are generally psychological. says rehab psychologists/drug therapists know the odds particularly in congruent to the factors - all are parts of the whole in assessment.
there is a preponderance of people who [even though they want so much to 'clean up' ~ simply come up empty when it comes to actualizing and continuing lifestyle changes- and w/ opiates the rates of success for new life w/no relapse or such is more the exception than the rule.
I was a heroin addict for close to 30 years, with no veins left and close to death. In Jail at 45 years old I was introduced to Narcotics Anonymous and tho it took a year and one last try at control, it has now worked wonderfully for 19+ years of wonderful recovery.
It's the only thing that works, medicine, religion, psychiatry, none of these methods are sufficient.
The cold hard Truth is - without a program heroin addicts WILL die from their disease. WELL over 95% of heroin addicts will die from it. ALL my junkie friends are dead. And methadone or the other substitute drugs are NOT a program and will not save the life of a heroin addict.
The lie is dead - we do recover, but without a program such as NA we will certainly die from our addiction. ALL my friends are dead - I live Happy, Joyous, and Free. I have a new wife, family, my first child, I travel, I live my dreams and my "bucket list" is complete.
After over 19 years - I still attend meetings 3 or more times a week and always will.
Thank you Narcotics Anonymous.
If you have a family member or loved one - the ONLY hope for them is NA and anyone that tells you different has a vested interest in telling you that, and it simply isn't true.
Ray is not my real name - I have no motive other than helping because no addict need ever die. I pray for addicts to find Narcotics Anonymous - the ONLY place you find happy endings for addicts.
i admire you- thank you for sharing- and NA being a HOPEFUL HELP- thank you!
Thank you for how truthful your article is. No one can truly understand how bad it is to withdrawal from opiates and being addicted to them unless you have been through it personally. It's the worst feeling in the world. Every part in this is true, even losing your "sense of self". The effects opiates have on the brain screws up so much of the body's natural harmony, and even though it seems to numb what ever problems one might have, it completely takes away every part of a person, bit by bit.
Is heroin a death sentence? I have lived by my 30 year old sons side for 4 years trying everything I could to get him help. I am looking the devil in the eye and we are having a hell of a fight. I want my beautiful son back and like all of the users that have posted here, I get you and I understand your pain. I KNOW YOU WOULD ALL GET CLEAN IN A HEARTBEAT IF YOU ONLY COULD. A week from today my son will leave for Thamkrabok Monestary in Thailand. Look them up. They work with addicts and have an incredible tract record. It sure is cheaper than all the rehabs here (FREE). There is no more help for him in the USA, we have spent everything and the USA rehabs have a 2% success rate with heroin, yet they take our money don't they???? Suboxone, Subutex and Methadone are just another drug and another drug does what? Users inject these drugs every single day. I can be reached at l.jenson@yahoo.com and if this helps my son, even for a few years, then that is that much more time I have with him. You can email me anytime and I will let you know how this goes. May GOD TRULY BLESS all of you that have become addicts because I know you never meant too. Keep fighting, you can win. Please, I am not trying to promote this place until I know, just what we are going to try, because we are at the end of the road.
This is the gayest article i have read. It makes a point that any half brain idiot knows. Heroin hurts families.. What a waste of time
I cant believe somebody said that heroin addiction doesnt change your moral compass, but that it is an excuse for qualities that prexisted. You sir are seriously misinformed. And their experience, if a true story, is an aberration. Anyway, this a decent piece for someone who isnt an addict. But there is rwally only so much one can offer for advice unless yo
uve been in the grips of addiction, as well as the process of recovery. But...YOU CAN NOT DIE FROM THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF DETOXING FROM OPIATES.
I do agree that it is a spiritual void that creates addiction. Drug abuse is actually the symptom of a much deeper issue. Although everybodys recovery works differently. People that say that NA and AA are the only way it works are being very narrow minded. The programs are great for many people. But recovery is possible without it. The universal necessity is support systems and an undying dedication to get healthy. Chase your sobriety harder than you chased your drugs. In my experience, opiate addiction ruined my life in my 20s. I have been in recovery for 3 years and it has been a struggle. Relapse, prgram, therapy, etc. But i have slowly started to care about living and beyond my fix. I have a job, i have my family back, i write for a blog, i stay physically active, i read self help and spiritual material. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. But i realize that i am far from xured. And prepared for the possibility that i never will be.
I stumbled across this article because i still need to remind myself of what can happen. Today i am grateful for my family and proud to feel that i am on a journey to live a real and fulfilling life.
All the talk of narcotics is making me sick. Drug users whose sole purpose is to escape reality is a true excuse of weakness in which I have no pity. I am going blind and im not smoking or injecting drugs to escape this horrible affliction. Its ridiculous to think anyone could possibly want to escape reality more than me. Going blind is the most devistating and depressing thing I think a human can go through. Hearing all this crap about how much life sucks or how bad life is just an excuse to be a selfish self absorbed addict. Its bullshit, not to mention the FUCKING HELL your families and true friends(those that rnt addicts) have had to endure. I have no sympathy for you . It is spreading aids and hepatitis throughout our community. Innocent people that have come into contact with your body fluids are given an incurable death sentence. That in my opinion is just as serious as murder. This whole thing of supporting your addicted family members is fucking ridiculous. Get a fucking grip and stop making everyone around you suffer.
^^^^ stop being such a whore lol
You can not die from heroin withdrawal! It may feel like your dying, it's the worst flu you will ever have! Been dope free for 2 years now. I still think about it daily.
Lisa, I must first say that us addicts didnt one day wake up and say "i want to do drugs and ruin the lives of everyone around us". Yes its a choice to do them, but we have a sick diesese, a dieses that not only kills us and destroys our lives, but the people around us. We, well this is comming from my experience, get so wrapped up in our drug use that we addicts dont even realize that we are hurting everyone arround us, let alone ourselves. This is the one dieses that tells us that we dont have a dieses. Its cunning, baffling, and very powerfull. Us addicts dont ask for "SYMPATHY", in your words, but we do ask for SUPPORT because we definatly cant do this on our own, atleast i cant, i cant speak for everyone. But like my counslers said, "you have to be an addict to truley understand an addict". Im sorry you feel the way you do. Im not asking that you give sympathy for the next addict, but i do ask that you keep an open mind. Oh by the way, Im Patrick L, Im 18 years old, and im a greatfull recovering addict from cleveland Ohio.
Lisa,
You do not understand heroin at all or you would not say the things you do. WHAT THE HELL DOES GOING BLIND HAVE TO DO WITH BEING ADDICTED TO HEROIN? Perhaps you are posting in the wrong area. Blind and bitter, may you find peace.
Man your article was good! One fellow said it doesnt affect your moral compass. But he is very very wrong it will rob you of all your morals. Thats what addiction does!
blind and bitter!!! hahaha
Anyway people such as her are simply displacing their anger onto a predictable target in order to raise their self esteem and host a fabulous PITY PARTY FOR THEMSELVES. You stupid asshole. This is a forum for people to discuss addiction and all that surrounds it. How would you like it if I went into your forum for the blind and started complaining that blind people don't know what it's like to suffer because it's just your eyes? Are you honestly that ignorant and lonely because if you are we are here for you. You can hate us and look down on us all you want but everyone here is either making a MAJOR life change for the better or aiding their loved one in the hellish journey that is recovery. So if you need support I'm sure anyone here would help you in a second because we've been to the fucking bottom of the barrel. We've prayed for death and lived for pain. I feel truly sorry for you and your affliction. I couldn't imagine a world without color. I'm sorry you are so bitter that you have been "shafted" in the game that is life. it's a sick and twisted game some win some lose but we are not to blame. No one is. You just suck it the fuck up and deal. and like ^^^^ said...STOP BEING SUCH A WHORE IF YOU DON"T HAVE ANYTHING NICE/NEUTRAL TO SAY THEN FUCK OFF
You certainly make a lot of claims that are false.
1. Heroin addiction IS like other addictions: smoking, gambling, sex, etc. are all physical reactions to outside stimuli. Heroin / all addicts in general (trust me, I have lots of experience) LOVE to feel "different", "worse" or "better" than anyone. That's a game of sympathy from others. Sounds more like a spiritual problem to me.
2. Heroin withdrawal will kill you: That's just medically inaccurate. The only withdrawal that may prove potentially fatal are alcohol and barbituates. Period. Heroin withdrawal will be painful, yes, but opiates are surprisingly easy on the body physically complared to other drugs (seriously!), it's the unclean utensils and lack of personal care that lead to a lot of the physical downfall of opiate addicts.
You might want to do some fact checking before claiming expertise.
I'd also like to add, regarding those in recovery who have posted, mainly concerning preaching about how to apply spiritual principles (especially as it relates to posts by Lisa), that attraction rather than promotion could apply here.
It's pretty distasteful to talk about not judging others while telling them to "fuck off".
Also, namecalling is not a spiritual principle.
I have a 21 year old son who is a heroin/opiates addict. He has been away in rehab now for 2 1/2 months, relapsed and is now in treatment again.....this is the most painful and heartbreaking experience i have ever had in my life...my son is my heart and i will not give up on him but i am feeling hopeless at this moment. I miss him dearly as he lived with me..and i am praying to God that he can get sober and accept sobriety in his life...he is sooo young and sometimes i think that may be his downfall right now-his age...i cannot let him go he is my son...and i will keep helping him get into treatment centers..whatever it takes...i am hoping something clicks in him and helps him stay clean...i am afraid of him being away and relapsing and also afraid of him coming home...i am afraid for him and i am heartbroken and trying to have some faith that he will recover....but heroin addiction is strong and he has to learn to fight that demon...i am scared for my son...my heart goes out to other families in my situation...it is heartbreaking....my best to all
thank you for your post hopeful. my son is twenty three and has been in three rehabs. today after his second relapse he ODed. thankfully a stranger called 911 and saved his life. i don't know what to do. sadness, anger, despair and absolute devastation overwhelm me. he is a brilliant, creative and incredibly smart young man. this disease is a nightmare for him and all who love him. i'm at my wits end and don't know what to do. after the second relapse we did not let him move home. he slept in his car for two nights. two nights i did not sleep. i waited anxiously for a phone call he made it to work. my heart is breaking. after the OD i brought him home. i know he's safe tonight. he plans to move back into an SLE on sunday when he pees clean. i wish we could all wake up from this nightmare called addiciton.
A drug addiction does change who you are and your actions. Just because a person steals, lies or cheats to get drugs does not mean this is who they are and have always been. Drugs alter your mind and most addicts do things while abusing substances that they are ashamed of after getting clean. When you are an addict and by addict i mean you are a person that has the actual disease of addiction and not just that your body is physically dependent, you are in survival mode and you do what you have to do to get drugs to stay well. After a time of using drugs an addict no longer gets high, but they have to seek the drug to stay merely stay well. That is the insanity of addiction. An addicts brain is different than someone who is not an addict and it is a constant internal struggle. An addicts brain will rationalize its actions or why it's ok to use just one more time. Alana who commented up above is clearly not an addict so please Alana don't speak on addiction since you clearly have no idea what an addict actually goes through in their own head and the internal struggle they will fight for the rest of their life once they have taken that first hit. To say a drug addiction doesn't change who someone is and if someone wasn't a liar or a thief to begin, having a drug addiction wouldn't make them become that is just plain ignorance
I have been struggling with heroin addiction for three years, I started using because i was self medicating for my anxiety and depression, my siber waking mind is such a miserable existance and when i use opiates I dont feel high I feel normal. now its out of controll, my people dont understand that its not personal and its not like I choose to use , I need to to make the hell my life has become go away even if for a moment. I do things I never would have in the past just to get well and the lies that I tell are awful. I want to detox and nip whatever mental problem that is the root of this fixwd and am willing to do what it takes.I want to know if anyone out there can relate to what i am going through
sorry for misspelling i am emotional right now thanks
methadone . U were right on point with everything,being some1 who hasn't really experienced this addiction 1st hand.
^^I had more written in
My comment b4 methadone
Idk why it cut it out?
Just so u know. That's why
It doesn't make sense:(
SteveoMc 21 months ago
Wow! What a nasty thing this drug is. I have several close encounters that were terrible. I will spare the details but, it is so baffling an addiction, it is hard to comprehend.
I never have had any personal experience with the stuff, but clients, friends, and acquaintances. Those videos are incredible.
Thanks for sharing and enlightening.