Herion Cravings

[Barbara]

I have relapsed after 10 years of clean time. It started around Christmas time as I was going through great emotional pain with family members. Well I picked up and snorted a bag of dope. I have been snorting about 2-6 bags a day since Jan and it is now the end of March. I have quit twice during that period for a week but would start doing it again. I just love the feeling as every addict does. Now my question is if I withdraw myself from this how long should I go through withdrawel sympthoms and what should I expect? I really want to stop and I did if before but I feel so much weaker now.......Barbara

[FLaddict]

Where do you live??  He needs to find a program that is dual diagnosis that specifically caters to people with other issues that are on meds.

[lonely21]

I am a 26 year old sister of a heroin addict.......  it is very painful to see what my parents go thru everyday . I have tried everything to help my brother but nothing seems to matter, Although he suffers seizures and is on medication nothing matters to him

can anyone help me find a place for him to get help ?
he is on  medication ;  depakote , any suggestions?????????

Lonely...

[Kelly Fenbgier]

LISA, I'M IN THE SAME BOAT AS YOU EXCEPT I JUST MARRIED HM AND HE HAD BEEN CLEAN FOR 7 MONTHS AND STARTING USING 2 DAYS AFTER THE WEDDING. THIS IS DEVESTATING TO ME AND OUR NEW MARRIAGE.......I HAVE BEEN CLEAN FOR ALCOHOL FOR 16 MONTHS AND I GAVE THAT PROMISE TO HM AND I HAVE KEPT IT! MY HUSBAND CAME RIGHT TO ME AND TOLD ME HE USED AND IS GOING TO GO BACK TO OUT-PATIENT TREATMENT. THE HARD THE IS THEY SAY THEY WILL STOP BUT, REMEMBER ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS! HE HAS AT LEAST TAKEN THIS 1ST STEP. IF THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO AMMITT TO WANT TO QUIT, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, YOU CAN'T YELL AND NAG THEM AND FIGHT IT WILL MAKE THEM WANT TO DO IT EVEN MORE. IF YOU HAVE GOD IN YOUR LIVES, I SUGGEST YOU TALK TOGETHER TO A PASTOR OR GET HIM TO TRY AN OUT-PATIENT GROUP. WE ARE DECIDING THAT IF THEIR IS ACTION OF IMPROVEMENT IN 6 MONTHS I WON'T LEAVE HIM, BUT LISA YOU HAVE TO HAVE TUFF LOVE AND I ME TUFF LOVE THAT'S EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO LEAVE HIM, IT'S HARD BUT, YOU WILL GO DOWN RIGHT WITH HIM! ALSO WHERE HE IS GETTING FROM PLACES, THE PEOPLE HANGING OUT WITH SO ON, THOSES ARE ALL TRIGGERS. I'LL SAY IT AGAIN GOD IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN SAVE HIM, NOT YOU. PRAY ALOT, PRAY FOR HIM TO HAVE CONVITION PUT ON HIS HEART AND FOR GOD TO REMOVE THE BLINDERS OF HIS EYES TO COME INTO THE LIGHT. THE ONE WHO HAS HIM IS THE DEVIL AND HE WANTS TO DESTROY HIM AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP. I LOVE BEING SOBER I HAVE NEW FRIENDS, I  KNOW MY TRIGGERS AND I JUST KEEP PRAYER AS MY TOP PEROETIY. YOU HAVE NO CLUE HOW THE POWER OF PRAYER IS UNTIL YOU TRY IT, ASK GOD NOW FOR YOUR HELP, TALK TO HIM JUST LIKE YOU TALK WITH A PERSON., YOU WILL BE AMAZED WHAT WILL HAPPEN. HE WILL LEAD PEOPLE IN YOUR BOYFRIENDS DIRECTION, AND START GIVING HIM AWAKE UP CALLS. US THE GIRLFRIENDS OR WIFE'S THEY DON'T WANT TO HERE US, SO PLEASE LISA TRY PRAYER GIVE IT SOMETIME, AND YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  GOD BLESS YOU AND I WILL PRAY FOR YOU TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lisa]

HI MY NAME IS LISA AND I HAVE A BOYFRIEND WHO IS ON HERION.IF ANYONE KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO HELP HIM PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME AT ***@**** I WOULD REALLY LIKE HIM TO STAY CLEAN BUT I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT MORE I CAN DO.
IN NEED FOR HELP OR SUGGESTIONS
LISA

[JH]

hey i just wanted you to know your not alone you need to go to meetings everyday if you used everyday seei am a recovering herion addict i am trying to stay sober it now has been a year since i use anything it feels good i just got my daugheter in my life arter 20mths of fighting to get her in my life for good. it wasn't easy at all. i wish i could of turn back time my daughter was born addited to methadone,coke, herion, and pot. i just wish i could of get it then but my baby is just fine!so i'll say a prayer for you and hopefully run into you at a meeting some day!!!!!!!!!! sincrley jh

[di di \ Australia]

G'Day Barbara,
              I hope that everything is going well. My name is Di. I was a heroin addict for about a year. I have 2 beautiful girls, I guess thats what made me stop, they mean the world to me.  I was never gready with the drug, but I did have it everyday just to feel normal.  I did my own detox program at home and by myself, with no help, maybe I suceeded because I didnt want to loose my children. I have been off now for over 2 years, but still have cravings, but none strong enough to make me weeken. I am very proud of myself, but up untill recently I have substituted it with Marajuna, I have'nt smoked now for a month, and I feeling fantastic.
              Anyway why I am really writing to you is because my husband is still using, we started at the same time, but he was always greader and obviously he found it harder to kick the habit, after 3 long years on it he decided to stop. He went into Hospital for a rapid detox program. This program is called the Pegasus program in Australia.  It is done by adminstring a drug called Naaltroxine intravinsly, this drug flushes the heroin out of the body within in 2 days. then you are supplied with 3 months of Naltroxene by prescription. This drug is amazing, it helps stop cravings, and blocks the recepters to the brain, which means even if you do use heroin you will not feel the affects of it. Now my husband (ex, now) took this pill everyday religously and was like the man I married.  Working, fantastic Dad again.  It was great to have him back.  But about a month ago he stopped taking the Naltroxene, and he's back on it again, Doctors recommend that this pill should be taken for a minimum of 6 months up to the rest of your life. So I think with Naltroxne and counselling, people can kick the habit for life. My hubby thought he didn't have to take the pill anymore, he thought he was stong enough without it, he also didn't follow through with all of the counselling. I really wished he had of because I still do love him dearly and the girls and I miss him dearly.  But I dont think I will ever go through trying to help him get off it again. The pain is just to overwhelming to the people who love the heroin addicts.  You just can't help, untill they ask for it, and you just never know how long that takes.
                                                    Good fortune
                                                     Di
Naltrxone tablets cost approx = Aus $50.00 week
Pegasus program casts approx = Aus $ 3000.00

[di di \ Australia]

G'Day Barbara,
              I hope that everything is going well. My name is Di. I was a heroin addict for about a year. I have 2 beautiful girls, I guess thats what made me stop, they mean the world to me.  I was never gready with the drug, but I did have it everyday just to feel normal.  I did my own detox program at home and by myself, with no help, maybe I suceeded because I didnt want to loose my children. I have been off now for over 2 years, but still have cravings, but none strong enough to make me weeken. I am very proud of myself, but up untill recently I have substituted it with Marajuna, I have'nt smoked now for a month, and I feeling fantastic.
              Anyway why I am really writing to you is because my husband is still using, we started at the same time, but he was always greader and obviously he found it harder to kick the habit, after 3 long years on it he decided to stop. He went into Hospital for a rapid detox program. This program is called the Pegasus program in Australia.  It is done by adminstring a drug called Naaltroxine intravinsly, this drug flushes the heroin out of the body within in 2 days. then you are supplied with 3 months of Naltroxene by prescription. This drug is amazing, it helps stop cravings, and blocks the recepters to the brain, which means even if you do use heroin you will not feel the affects of it. Now my husband (ex, now) took this pill everyday religously and was like the man I married.  Working, fantastic Dad again.  It was great to have him back.  But about a month ago he stopped taking the Naltroxene, and he's back on it again, Doctors recommend that this pill should be taken for a minimum of 6 months up to the rest of your life. So I think with Naltroxne and counselling, people can kick the habit for life. My hubby thought he didn't have to take the pill anymore, he thought he was stong enough without it, he also didn't follow through with all of the counselling. I really wished he had of because I still do love him dearly and the girls and I miss him dearly.  But I dont think I will ever go through trying to help him get off it again. The pain is just to overwhelming to the people who love the heroin addicts.  You just can't help, untill they ask for it, and you just never know how long that takes.
                                                    Good fortune
                                                     Di
Naltrxone tablets cost approx = Aus $50.00 week
Pegasus program casts approx = Aus $ 3000.00

[di di \ Australia]

G'Day Barbara,
              I hope that everything is going well. My name is Di. I was a heroin addict for about a year. I have 2 beautifull girls, I guess thats what made me stop, they mean the world to me.  I was never gready with the drug, but I did have it everyday just to feel normal.  I did my own detox program at home and by myself, with no help, maybe I suceeded because I didnt want to loose my children. I have been off now for over 2 years, but still have cravings, but none strong enough to make me weeken. I am very proud of myself, but up untill recently I have substituted it with Marajuna, I have'nt smoked now for a month, and I feeling fantastic.
              Anyway why I am really writing to you is because my husband is still using, we started at the same time, but he was always greader and obviously he found it harder to kick the habit, after 3 long yaers on it he decided to stop. He went into Hospital for a rapid detox program. This program is called the Pegasus program in Australia.  It is done by adminstring a drug called Naaltroxine intravinsly, this drug flushes the heroin out of the body within in 2 days. then you are supplied with 3 months of Naltroxene by prescription. This drug is amazing, it helps stop cravings, and blocks the recepters to the brain, which means even if you do use heroin you will not feel the affects of it. Now my husband (ex, now) took this pill everyday religously and was like the man I married.  Working, fantastic Dad again.  It was great to have him back.  But about a month ago he stopped taking the Naltroxene, and he's back on it again, Doctord recommend that this pill should be taken for a minimum of 6 months up to the rest of your life. So I think with Naltroxne and counselling, people can kick the habit for life. My hubby thought he didn't to take the pill anymore, he thought he was stong enough without it, he also didn't follow through withall aof the counselling. I really wished he had of because I still do love him dearly and the girls and I miss him dearly.  But I dont think I will ever go through trying to help him get off it again. The pain is just to overwhelming to the people who love the heroin addicts.  You just can't help, untill they ask for it, and you just never know how long that takes.
                                                    Good fortune
                                                     Di
Naltrxone tablets cost approx = Aus $50.00 week
Pegasus program casts approx = Aus $ 3000.00

[Jeanne]

I have a brother that is a herion addict.  He is one of the biggest hearted people that you would ever want to meet.  He has been in rehab at least 12 to 15 times, and each and everytime he has went right back to using.  He has had blood clots in his leg and has went so far as to shoot-up in his neck.  He had been trying very hard to clean himself up, but now he has a broken shoulder and has now went back to doing the same thing as before. He has told me that he needs it to feel normal.  I want so bad to be able to help him!  But I am told that there is nothing that I can do...and that he has to do it for himself.  I have also been told that I should not let him live with my family and myself, but he has no where to go even though he is 44 years old.  Me,My husband,and my children love him very much! I will not give him money or rides to get the stuff, but I am hoping that by the Love he recieves here will help him!  He adores my children who are 7 & 3, and they adore him, and he does want to set a good example for them. So I think that maybe he will keep on trying.  I know that I do not understand how he feels, but I don't think that just because he is an addict that he should be tossed away like garbage!  He is human and needs love like all of the rest of us!  Please if you believe in God pray for him, and I will do the same for you.  Thank you and I wish you all of the luck in the world!  Jeanne @ windblown_blondie***@****   My brother's name is Patrick

[J.B. to Brian and Vicky]

Thank you for your kind comments on my opiate addiction dilema!  
Just out of frustration, I quit taking my Paxil against my doctor's advice.  Within two days I noticed a big change in my mental and physical self.  I find that I am more energetic and aggressive in my work. Things feel like they've been sped up and I am more "in charge" than before.  Also, I think a lot less about getting high to the point that even my drinking has gotten less and less over the past two weeks.  Maybe I'm too busy to think about it anymore?  I heard that antidepressants may cause some people to want to abuse substances more.  In my case, I believe this is so.  Before Paxil, I was taking Xanax which really caused me problems.  Before Xanax it was Valium.  Now I am free of all of it and like it this way!  I would say that this is a major turning point for me and it's not at all hopeless.

Best regards----- JBRO

[Barbara]

Just wanted everyone to know that I have made a choice to quit and I am a Methadone for a 6 month withdrawal program. If I feel like I need it longer I can sign up for it longer. Also the person I am living with is in detox so we are both looking at recovery and trying our best to get our lifes back on track. I enjoy the feedback I get from this Forum. The negatives attitudes and replies lately are not good and I don't know where they coming from but I hope it doesn't ruin the good that this Forum does. ......Barbara

[Brighty]

Sorry to see your comment so late. I come to this forum alot because my daughter is a heroin addict and in recovery. I often think that my fear of her relapse is worse than her fear!!! I have spent 3 years trying to learn everything I can. There is a controversial treatment with a substance called Ibogaine which is available out of the US. Go to www.ibogaine.org to learn more about it. Aside from that option, my opinion is based on observations, extensive reading, counseling and mainly talking to addicts. Seems to me that all opiate addiction is something that causes a "euphoric recall" that is totally permanent. An addict seems to forget the pain and suffering but selectively recalls the euphoria, the emotional pain killing effect of the drug. The opiate receptors in the brain "call out" for the drug and you get cravings. You want the drug to make you feel normal, not necessarily to get high. This seems to be a common denominator in this addiction. Frankly, I am not sure but there seem to be even more people struggling for years to stay off other powerful opiates which seem to have less stigma than heroin. Heroin is a quicker downward spiral because it is more powerful. My opinion though is that once addiction has set in it's all the same. Just look at all the nicotine addicts who 30 years later still feel that a cigarette after dinner would be a great treat. I view it like this... you can fill a glass and a thimble to the top with water. The glass holds more than the thimble but each is filled to capacity. That's my view of heroin addiction compared to vicodin addiction, for example. I think also that research shows that the factors involved in getting clean are very variable. It is not just the drug that was used, it's also the physiology aand psychology of each person. There'a just no way that 2 people will be alike on those factors. I've heard that the "feeling normal" you desire is simply a matter of enough time going by staying clean, being treated for depression or other un-identified physical imbalances and proper nutrition. I have also heard that some people are doomed to never feel normal again and they are the people who may need to maintain on methadone. I don't think there is just one answer to your dilemma. I also do not believe that anyone is doomed if they take a front row seat in their own recovery.  You really have to try the most integrated approach if you are really serious. To me that would mean committing yourself to a full fledged program of support groups, getting a complete medical workup, a complete psychological or psychiatric assessment, setting a schedule for yourself which includes good nutrition, recreation, work and adequate sleep. 5HTP is a supplement that raises serotonin levels and is getting alot of press now in light of the overuse of anti-depressants. You could look into it.  Spiritual development is a very important ingredient. Regardless of your beliefs, simple prayer or meditation... giving your stuff over to a greater and benign force in the universe is very comforting. I am not a doctor or a psychologist nor do I wish to be... but the fact is that there is plenty of constructive information out there for all of us to try to heal our lives even if we are not addicts.  3 addicts may all do the same things and get 3 different results but at least all 3 are trying to recover. I know this is far fetched but since time is the great healer you could always move to a place where heroin is so hard to get that it's not worth the trouble. I have heard that this is unrealistic but if you could afford to do it I suppose it's an option. I suggest it because relief from all the physical and emotional stressors in our culture would help many of us get well from lots of illnesses. Remember there are recovered addicts all over the world.. many with 30 years or more under their belts... some with lots less. So it is a healable illness and that's what you may need to keep sight of. I am sorry to not have a better reply but nobody answered you and I wanted to offer a bit of help. I will pray for you. PS- addiction has nothing to do with IQ :-)) Some of the most interesting and intelligent people I know are addicts. Lots of bright people are a little short on common sense I think :-))

[J.B. to Brian and Vicky]

I am also a narcotic addict in need of some advice.  I've only used heroin a few times when I couldn't get morphine.  I've been addicted since 1970 but was totally clean until 1994.  My wife came down with colon and anal cancer and was perscribed morphine and Dilaudid for several months.  Eventually, out of temptation and grief, I indulged myself with her meds and became addicted really badly.  In fact I started to mainline the stuff to get a bigger "kick".  After being busted for forging a script I was made to go through detox and several weeks of therapy and aftercare.  The problem is, I still have the craving and have substituted alcohol for the narcotics.

    I am supposedly a very bright person with a high IQ but cannot seem to overcome this addiction.  I've been to AA on several attempts to get better but always relapse.  My longest period of sobriety was 11 months.  I was given Vicoden ES for injuries from a car wreck and there I was again!  Is it possible that some of us just can't get out of this at all?  

     Here I sit, half wanting to die and unable to bear the thought of living without something to make me feel "normal".  Yet I want to live like a normal human being and be free of this stigma of being abnormal.  I would appreciate any input about what to do as I have tried everything.  

Thank you--- JBRO

[rza]

Barbara,                                                          I too am a heroin addict.  I have been for about three years.  One of the things that sucks about heroin addiction is that you can quit for 10 or 20 years and then start doing it again and become addicted within a week.  Your brain is basically stained for life.  That's why they say 'once an addict, always an addict'.  it's very true for heroin addicts.  No matter how long you quit when you start again you are basically picking up where you left off.  That's what seperates heroin from all other drugs.  Well, that and the withdrawal is like no other drug.  I am attempting to quit again for like the tenth time and would love to talk to you about our addictions.  My e-mail is ***@**** if you would like to talk.  good-luck.

[gon]

hlpe

[Barbara]

Hi Micky D,
    Thank you for your long and informative response. Yes I to have done the 12 step program and I agree that some people should explore more. I know for myself I could never talk about my personal deep down feelings in a group setting but I could with one on one theraphy or with prayer. I believe in a God and don't try to cram it down anyone's throat. I just try to live my life the best I can and treat everyone the way I would want to be treated.
     I have still be snorted bags but I am trying to taper off. I even thougth of going the methodane route but I see people tied to that drug and it scares me. I would rather go cold turkey and be clean of everything than be chained to methadone. Now that is my personal choice and not for everyone. Just the one I want to make.
      I also live with a user and I love him. My heart doesn't want to let go but my mind tells me to break free and clean my act up. I need to make choices in my life that I don't want to but I do know I want to be clean again. I liked being FREE and waking up feeling human not chained......Barbara

[Michael]

Hey Barb:
   I am not now, nor have I ever been addicted to Heroin. Just so you know. I did al of the popular drugs in the sixties, lot of drugs. I saw a cartoon in the New Yorker back then; a guy was being offer a toke off a joint at what looked to be a fairly upscale party. The punch line went something like "No, thanks. I'll just get drunk like the good Lord intended"
   As the sixties waned so did my major involvement in drugs. I kept a bag of smoke around for a rainy day ( I lived in Seattle at the time), but my drinking increased geometrically with each month that passed. Finally, I got sick enough and had burned enough friends (enablers), that I felt I had to do something. My third marriage was going down in flames, my job was hanging by the thinnest threads.....you know the story.
   I went to one of the twelve step programs. Long story short. I cleaned up, both drugs and booze. I transformed back into the person I had been. I changed careers, went back to school, earned several degrees, and went to work in my new career.
   The twelve step program (ready now for the blasphemy) did nothing to touch the root causes of my disorder. Don't get me wrong....I'm grateful. The twelve step programs and people where there when I needed them. I doubt that I could have stopped on my own and the support was wonderful On the other hand if an aircraft mechanic asked you for a 9/16th box end wrench to take the cowling off an ailing engine and you handed it to him/her and then to their next request for the next need tool you replied "Nope, the one tool is the only too you'll ever need....if you apply it properly there is nothing you can't fix with it....period, end of report," that person would think you nuts. The real horror is when, by shear dent of peer pressure and repetition, you get that mechanic doubting his own sanity and trying to make sensitive adjustments normally requiring jewelers screwdrivers with that bulky 9/16ths box end.
   After thirteen clean years I went back out. Granted I was working only a marginal program at the time. I was also on the Dean's list at the college I was attending and working part time. Stress. I went out on Crack. I was so proud of myself that I didn't drink. At first anyway. After two years I did start drinking. My crack habit had gotten extensive and booze was the only way I could come down.
   I stayed out just over thirteen years. Crack is the most scandalous drug I've ever associated with. I lost almost everything years ago to booze, but in truth booze had only taken me to my knees, Crack took me to the curb. I had little more than the clothes on my back.
   I called an old AA buddy. He told me that he was going to a convention in Seattle, the city where we'd met years before. I was in L.A. at the time and had no idea how I was going to get to Seattle. I was fresh out of the hospital....my organs were in revolt bigtime. The long and short of it was I got to Seattle. I hooked up with my friend. We went to meetings at the convention. I hated them by now. I thought I'd heard it all. I hadn't thought about a higher power in years. I couldn't even bring myself to say the word in my own mine. Definitely no prayer in my life. I wasn't then, and am not now a "Christian" person. I had become a "Spiritual" person and that alone provided most of the pain I was experiencing at the moment. My buddy and I walked into a meeting and just as we got settled in a young American Indian girl got up to speak. She admitted that she only had two days clean, about what I had at the moment due to my two day trip to Seattle. My hearing was still set on major ignore mode. Something she said broke through the haze and denial. She was talking about her experience with the Great Spirit ( the higher power of her understanding) she was saying...."the spirit who moves through all things both animate & inanimate..." chicken skin the size of small pebbles rose up on my skin like I'd witnessed the Texas Chainsaw Murders and now the chain saw was coming my way. Electrified would be another way to say it. I had not been able to bring myself to say the word God even in the relative scantily of my own mind. But, all of a sudden, I had a new approach. An approach given me by a girl not of my own culture and less than half my age. In my program arrogance in days gone by I'd have dismissed anything she might have said saying myself that I'd probably spilt more booze on my tie than she'd drunk in her life....what the hell could she know????
Well, bless her heart, and thank God, she brought me the key to my own salvation, one that I'd discarded some time ago.
I did go back to the twelve step program. I got what they call dry. I wasn't drinking or sucking the pipe. I woke up one day though, after about six months clean and sober. I was on the beach at Lanikai on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.  To me it was one of the most powerful of many powerful places throughout the islands. I did a lot of reflection there, and received answers when I was still enough. That's not a mystical place, "still enough" it just means that I'd been able to lower the volume on the constant "IwantIwantIwantIwantIwantIwant" that usually went on in my mind. It occurred to me that now, on my second time around, back safely in the arms of the twelve step program, I was doing exactly the same things I'd always done. I had always taken the program seriously and worked it the best that I was able, I was doing so now. The program phrase ...."doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a good definition of insanity" started playing in my mind. That's what I was doing and in the past it had left me with unresolved problems that actually sprung from my pre-booze years. Of course AA couldn't address them!
I'd been hearing snippets of information about a thing that people were calling "second stage recovery." The idea was that after you put down the booze and/or the drugs, and worked through the steps you might be ready to look at some of life experiences and the pain they brought that booze & drugs had become the answer to.
I started a CODA group on our side of the island. We worked through the material which was pretty varied and scarce at the time. A group of us got together and met for a year and worked through a book and related workbook put out by one of the pioneers in the field. The hardest thing I had to accept was that these issues were senior to my alcoholism and drug addiction. That was not the party line in the twelve step world. The next really difficult thing to grasp was that recovery was the natural outcome of doing this work. I look at it now and say that anyone who is willing to do the work can achieve recovery in five to six years. Some will need to work with professionals, some will not. The twelve step universe doesn't support anything but temporary reprieve. At twenty years clean and sober you are considered just as susceptible to relapse as a person with twenty days.
So, Barbara, should you go through it all again? Hell yes! But by the same token don't just automatically figure that your failure was yours because you are, after all an inferior person....damned druggie...dig it? Stay away from the drug. You can only cruise the realm of personal recovery if you are sober & drug free. Use the cow ( Docs, programs) to get clean & sober, just don't try to get silk thread or laurdry detergent from them. Ongoing sobriety and recovery is possible, you just need to look where they are...not where they are supposed to be. Good luck, God bless.........
Mickey-D

PS Because of bad hips (both replaced last year, I got hooked on Oxycontin. I'm withdrawing now, cold turkey.......I can dig it.

[brian]

Your withdrawal will be very similar to that of those addicted to prescription narcotics.  Three or four days of acute symptoms (severe flu-like) and 4-7 days of lesser symptoms.  Afterwards, expect some mild depression, anxiety and cravings.  If you can, get some help from an addiction doctor to ease the withdrawal.  You could try slowly weaning yourself down off the heroin, but it is harder to do than with pills.