Aa
My lost life
Does anyone ever truely get off Lortab and live a normal life. My husband has been a Lortab addict for ten years... he has lost everything to have this pill. He was a really upstanding man at one time.... After the person's brain is rewired to be on the pill, do they ever really make it back?
Let's do! I will definately be spending at least one night...probably two. It's a 4 hour drive one-way, so I hate doing it all in one day...8 hours of driving is too much for me to do alone unless I absolutely have to. Crabs and a meeting...WHAT could be better??
See you in a couple of weeks!
xoxoxo
Rosie
See you in a couple of weeks!
xoxoxo
Rosie
i keep re-reading your post....you both have no idea how that helps us here...i am on day 20, and by far it is not easy..i have cravings but they dont' last long and usually what i do it jump on this forum and read...and read...
Rosie--your husband is a wonderfull person, who must love you with his whole heart...That doesn't come around alot..
i feel that way about my husband , and feel very lucky..
again, thanks for posting
let me know when you are coming in, so we can get together, i can't wait!!!!
r2r
if you spend the night at your mom's maybe we can go to a meeting..:)
Rosie--your husband is a wonderfull person, who must love you with his whole heart...That doesn't come around alot..
i feel that way about my husband , and feel very lucky..
again, thanks for posting
let me know when you are coming in, so we can get together, i can't wait!!!!
r2r
if you spend the night at your mom's maybe we can go to a meeting..:)
ALL of the stories posted here have helped me tremendously. People picture "addicts" as people who are unkempt, unsuccessful, no family, no friends and living in the streets..........................they don't picture people who are functioning addicts.
These stories have made me know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I will be ok, that I am ok..................and that I am strong for doing this. I am not weak, weak would have been to never face the fact I was an addict , weak is escaping with more pills instead of looking at the pills as the demons they are.......................strong is what we have done. Nobody knows the incredible strength this takes unless they have done it!
I personally need to "be" with other addicts because all the support and counsel in the world it great, but nobody can really get me unless they are like me and I AM an addict.
Blessings to all here, you have all helped me get do this,
Karen
These stories have made me know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I will be ok, that I am ok..................and that I am strong for doing this. I am not weak, weak would have been to never face the fact I was an addict , weak is escaping with more pills instead of looking at the pills as the demons they are.......................strong is what we have done. Nobody knows the incredible strength this takes unless they have done it!
I personally need to "be" with other addicts because all the support and counsel in the world it great, but nobody can really get me unless they are like me and I AM an addict.
Blessings to all here, you have all helped me get do this,
Karen
Thanks..CATUF's post inspired me to take a look back. My story is so long and sordid I've never wanted to bore people here with it. The most important part is where I am today. I'm so glad you have the kind of love in your marriage that I do...it's a wonderful thing!
Yes..we're actually going to end this "extended" honeymoon this week! LOL
We're leaving Florida to head home on Wednesday. We're kind of like that...we just do whatever we feel like doing. We always end up extending vacations if we're having a good time. I guess that's one of the benefits of working for yourself...you can be off as much as you want.
Yes..we're actually going to end this "extended" honeymoon this week! LOL
We're leaving Florida to head home on Wednesday. We're kind of like that...we just do whatever we feel like doing. We always end up extending vacations if we're having a good time. I guess that's one of the benefits of working for yourself...you can be off as much as you want.
Wow Rose - what a beautiful story!!
And what a wonderful man!
My husband basically went the same route, (although he had no idea that I had been taking his pills) and gave me full support that included going to tell the doctors, etc. It means so much to have that support form someone who loves you unconditionally!
Congrats on your marriage - your new life -- and moving on!
Are you guys ever going to come home from that honeymoon?? Must be having too much fun! <>
And what a wonderful man!
My husband basically went the same route, (although he had no idea that I had been taking his pills) and gave me full support that included going to tell the doctors, etc. It means so much to have that support form someone who loves you unconditionally!
Congrats on your marriage - your new life -- and moving on!
Are you guys ever going to come home from that honeymoon?? Must be having too much fun! <>
Your post was very compelling. I have been struggling with hydrocodone addiction for the last 12 years. I went into inpatient detox in April and that was the 3rd time for inpatient treatment. I had detoxed too many times to count at home when I would run out of pills...it would usually last a day or two until I could get more. The times I went inpatient was out of necessity because of pressure from family/friends...not a true desire to quit. The story is a long one, but I didn't WANT to quit...the pills numbed me to emotional pain and allowed me to stay in a terribly abusive marriage that I felt trapped in anyway. It just made it more bearable. Of course, that was distorted thinking...I'm an adult and perfectly capable of doing anything I want...I only FELT trapped. Very distorted thinking, looking back on it. And, to top it all off, my now EX husband was a huge contributor to my usage. He fed me drugs to control me (only one aspect of the abuse.)
When I finally left him (about 3 years ago) I also left behind my "reason" for using...or so I thought. It was then that I realized just how addicted I was. I was no longer only taking them for "dealing with life issue" I was totally, absolutely physically addicted. I was terrified of the withdrawal and, in response to my leaving him my ex cancelled me on his insurance, and could not get into an inpatient detox. I continued using (at high, high levels at this point) just to stay out of withdrawals. Of course, distorted thinking again...my mother would have gladly paid any hospital bills related to this to help me get off. In addition, I was spending a fortune on these pills every month.
Within a few months of leaving my ex I met a wonderful man (who is now my husband...we're on our honeymoon as I write this) and then that added a whole new dimension to the addiction problem...there was no way I wanted to jeopardize this new relationship by letting him know I was anything but the perfect girl he thought he had met. Our relationship developed over several months to a very serious and committed relationship except for one problem...I was living a lie and perpetrating that lie on him. I was letting him believe I was this wonderful person he thought I was all the while hiding this hideous secret from him. We eventually moved in together and then bought a house in Houston and moved there. All this time I was using quite heavily and functioning well. He owns a business and I was working with him in both Lousiana and Texas...travelling frequently between offices in both states and raising a teen-age daughter...He thought I was super woman and so did I. Unless I really looked beneath the surface. The guilt was almost unbearable. I don't remember what finally compelled me, but I realized at some point that I HAD to be honest with him.
I sat him down for a "serious talk" and it took me an hour of tears, beating around the bush...long periods of dead silence which he refused to fill. He sat patiently, holding my hand and waiting for me to speak. When I was finally able to choke the words out, "I'm addicted to prescription pain pills" he pulled me to him, wrapped his arms around me and said, "I know." I couldn't have been more shocked if he had morphed into Winnie the Pooh. I looked at him and then he told me, "I'm glad you trusted me enough to come to me with this. Now I can help you. I've been knowing almost since the beginning and it was the one thing between us that has frustrated me the most. The fact that you didn't think you could trust me and come to me with ANYTHING. I want to be a part of every aspect of your life...good and bad. I will never turn away from you and it was very frustrating." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was sure I was going to lose him this day.
He put me into an inpatient detox which he paid for as I didn't have coverage for this. He has been the best support I could have ever hoped for. He was there continually during my detox...holding me while I vomited for days. Bringing me anything he thought I might be able to keep down. Every time I would open my eyes I would see his concerned face looking down at me. He was steadfast in his concern and love and still is. He is my watchdog and my checkpoint on a daily basis. He always asks if I'm okay, having problems or cravings. I promised him at that time that I would ALWAYS go to him, immediately, if I had a craving or urge to use.
I broke that promise in July. I was having a terribly stressful day (wedding planning nightmares) and decided I could take "one pill" and make the day a whole lot better. Well, one pill actually turned out to be two pills...and started an avalanche I was caught in for a month. Now I was a month out from the wedding and counting pills, worrying about getting pills, hiding my usage...right back where I had been. I was sick and had never been more disappointed in myself than in that moment of realization of what I had, again, done to myself and the people who love me.
I decided I HAD to 'fess up...again. I thought he would call the wedding off (if I was lucky) and end our relationship (if I got what I deserved.) This wonderful man looked me in the eyes and told me, "I suspected this was going on. What can I do? Do you need to go back in the hospital?" And then he said the thing that touched me the most. He said, "I love you, Rosie. Don't you understand that? I'm never going to desert you. What I don't want, though, is to one day be sitting in a doctor's office listening to bad test results." He was referring to lab results...liver and kidneys. He had been married before and his wife died of liver failure due to an autoimmune disease that attacked her liver.
This broke my heart. I had managed to keep the usage for the month I had relapsed to a very reasonable and managable amount. I found this forum and got some advice and did a very rapid taper. I was able to quit with no withdrawal and have been off of the pills, again, for about 45 days this time.
I am hoping beyond hope that I will never relapse again. I have a great home group of N/A but haven't been to a meeting there in almost a month due to our wedding on 09/01/07 and the fact that we're still out of town on our honeymoon. I will be there with bells on the minute I get home. I have had cravings a few times, but they are only fleeting thoughts...immediately followed by rational ones.
I pray every day (every time I think about it) for God's grace for me and all the wonderful people I've met here. I pray for strenght and fortitude and for God to heal me, both physically and mentally, so that I never pick another pill up. I believe. I hope. And I try.
Thanks for sharing your story...
Rosie
When I finally left him (about 3 years ago) I also left behind my "reason" for using...or so I thought. It was then that I realized just how addicted I was. I was no longer only taking them for "dealing with life issue" I was totally, absolutely physically addicted. I was terrified of the withdrawal and, in response to my leaving him my ex cancelled me on his insurance, and could not get into an inpatient detox. I continued using (at high, high levels at this point) just to stay out of withdrawals. Of course, distorted thinking again...my mother would have gladly paid any hospital bills related to this to help me get off. In addition, I was spending a fortune on these pills every month.
Within a few months of leaving my ex I met a wonderful man (who is now my husband...we're on our honeymoon as I write this) and then that added a whole new dimension to the addiction problem...there was no way I wanted to jeopardize this new relationship by letting him know I was anything but the perfect girl he thought he had met. Our relationship developed over several months to a very serious and committed relationship except for one problem...I was living a lie and perpetrating that lie on him. I was letting him believe I was this wonderful person he thought I was all the while hiding this hideous secret from him. We eventually moved in together and then bought a house in Houston and moved there. All this time I was using quite heavily and functioning well. He owns a business and I was working with him in both Lousiana and Texas...travelling frequently between offices in both states and raising a teen-age daughter...He thought I was super woman and so did I. Unless I really looked beneath the surface. The guilt was almost unbearable. I don't remember what finally compelled me, but I realized at some point that I HAD to be honest with him.
I sat him down for a "serious talk" and it took me an hour of tears, beating around the bush...long periods of dead silence which he refused to fill. He sat patiently, holding my hand and waiting for me to speak. When I was finally able to choke the words out, "I'm addicted to prescription pain pills" he pulled me to him, wrapped his arms around me and said, "I know." I couldn't have been more shocked if he had morphed into Winnie the Pooh. I looked at him and then he told me, "I'm glad you trusted me enough to come to me with this. Now I can help you. I've been knowing almost since the beginning and it was the one thing between us that has frustrated me the most. The fact that you didn't think you could trust me and come to me with ANYTHING. I want to be a part of every aspect of your life...good and bad. I will never turn away from you and it was very frustrating." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was sure I was going to lose him this day.
He put me into an inpatient detox which he paid for as I didn't have coverage for this. He has been the best support I could have ever hoped for. He was there continually during my detox...holding me while I vomited for days. Bringing me anything he thought I might be able to keep down. Every time I would open my eyes I would see his concerned face looking down at me. He was steadfast in his concern and love and still is. He is my watchdog and my checkpoint on a daily basis. He always asks if I'm okay, having problems or cravings. I promised him at that time that I would ALWAYS go to him, immediately, if I had a craving or urge to use.
I broke that promise in July. I was having a terribly stressful day (wedding planning nightmares) and decided I could take "one pill" and make the day a whole lot better. Well, one pill actually turned out to be two pills...and started an avalanche I was caught in for a month. Now I was a month out from the wedding and counting pills, worrying about getting pills, hiding my usage...right back where I had been. I was sick and had never been more disappointed in myself than in that moment of realization of what I had, again, done to myself and the people who love me.
I decided I HAD to 'fess up...again. I thought he would call the wedding off (if I was lucky) and end our relationship (if I got what I deserved.) This wonderful man looked me in the eyes and told me, "I suspected this was going on. What can I do? Do you need to go back in the hospital?" And then he said the thing that touched me the most. He said, "I love you, Rosie. Don't you understand that? I'm never going to desert you. What I don't want, though, is to one day be sitting in a doctor's office listening to bad test results." He was referring to lab results...liver and kidneys. He had been married before and his wife died of liver failure due to an autoimmune disease that attacked her liver.
This broke my heart. I had managed to keep the usage for the month I had relapsed to a very reasonable and managable amount. I found this forum and got some advice and did a very rapid taper. I was able to quit with no withdrawal and have been off of the pills, again, for about 45 days this time.
I am hoping beyond hope that I will never relapse again. I have a great home group of N/A but haven't been to a meeting there in almost a month due to our wedding on 09/01/07 and the fact that we're still out of town on our honeymoon. I will be there with bells on the minute I get home. I have had cravings a few times, but they are only fleeting thoughts...immediately followed by rational ones.
I pray every day (every time I think about it) for God's grace for me and all the wonderful people I've met here. I pray for strenght and fortitude and for God to heal me, both physically and mentally, so that I never pick another pill up. I believe. I hope. And I try.
Thanks for sharing your story...
Rosie
great post...stay with us,,u seem to have alot to give, don't leave the ones who need like me!!
I am going to look for the books
i am 19 days clean, but i also know i have a long life struggle
thanks again
r2r
I am going to look for the books
i am 19 days clean, but i also know i have a long life struggle
thanks again
r2r
I forgot to mention, I've got my upstanding man standing back. Most people are very forgiving, especially to those who overcome a serious, life-threatening thing like addiction. A very few are not, but they're not the one's who count.
I got off too.. its been over 3 months.. I still live with pain but my head is clearer and my husband is proud of me I live each day now knowing I don't have to worry about when I am gonna take my next pill..
I believe that our brains do go back to normal it takes time but it can happen
I believe that our brains do go back to normal it takes time but it can happen
I did.
So did dozens of people with whom I spent the day.
I'm at at an alumni weekend at the rehab where I spent 122 days from June to October in 2005.
LONG TERM REHAB WORKS.
An essential part of getting into sustained Recovery is simply getting off the drugs long enough for the brain to re-set, which seems to happen after about 90 days. Getting to that 90 days can be VERY tough to do unless you're in a very safe environment.
During and following active addiction, the brain chemistry is AFU. Many, perhaps most, addicts need significant treatment geared directly at the brain chemistry or it will never get back to normal. Take a look at the books: END YOUR ADDICTION NOW, by Charles Gant; THE MOOD CURE, by Julia Ross; and/or SEVEN WEEKS TO SOBRIETY, by Joan Larsen. The books can guide an addict, or someone who loves an addict, as to exactly what is needed to address the brain chemistry issues. Generally, we're talking about rebuilding neurotransmitters via amino acid supplements. I was initially inclined to view that as a bunch of health-nut mumbo jumbo. I was wrong. I think it's really critical.
A big stumbling block that is presented to many addicts attempting to change is Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome ("PAWS"). Acute withdrawal is the standard "dope-sick" business where we feel like we have the mother of all flu's x 10, and basically feel like we're going to die for a week or so, followed by a few more weeks of ZERO ENERGY. It intuitively seems like once you get past that you should be in the clear. Not so.
PAWS tends to hit the first time around 25-30 days, and then it keeps returning in cycles with a gradually decreasing frequency. A good piece on PAWS can be found at http://www.tlctx.com/ar_pages/paw_part1.htm That is from a book called STAYING SOBER, by Gorski & Miller. Another good book is STAYING CLEAN AND SOBER, by Miller & Miller.
One thing that was a huge help in keeping me clean during my first few months home from rehab was random drug screens. My wife found reasonably priced 4 or 5-panel urine screens on-line - we buy from http://www.medicaldisposablespr.com/drug_test_card.htm
I was screened ALOT during the first few months. Always at random and always close enough in time to the last test to pick up any use. The rule was (and is) if my wife says "pee in a cup," I say "thank you." Now I'm not tested very frequently, but I can be without warning and the next screen might be (and has been) the next morning.
The beauty of the drug screens is that they forced me to view ANY decision to use as what it in fact it really was - a decision to throw my life in the toilet. When I relapsed in the past, I never made the decision to return to my former levels or frequency of use. It was always going to be "just a little" and "just this once" or "only now and then." I never wanted to return to the living-death of active addiction, but I just need SOMETHING to get me past whatever rough spot I perceived at that moment. From a distance, and with an unimpaired mind, it might be easy for anyone and everyone to see that it the addict picks up again (at all) that he's soon going to be right back where he was. But it honestly does not feel like that's the truth (or even a possibility) when you're the one who feels like he really needs just a bit.
Anyway, the random/frequent tests pulled the rug out from under that all too common bit of self-deception. There could be no such thing as limited, and therefore safe, use. Any use was certain to have me busted. I was (and am) on a one-strike rule (both at home & work), so being busted would just be it. It took some time before I didn't need the certainty of detection to keep me clean. Now I can get by with just the certain knowledge that any use by me will start the whole train rolling again, and it will keep on rolling regardless of what I want. Any use will reactivate my addiction and if my addiction is active I can't control anything about it.
Meetings, meetings, meetings --- NA or AA (I go to AA). As both programs have long suggested, and a recent Time magazine says is supposrted by good science (see http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640436,00.html ) a newcomer will be GREATLY helped by attending 90 meetings in 90 days. I hit at least a meeting a day for the first 250 days, now I average 5 a week.
I was an upstanding man before a serious injury exposed me to the opiates to which I all too soon was addicted. The injury was healed and the pain was gone in a couple of months, but by then I was in a relationship with the pills that I couldn't quit . . . It really got to be quite a mess. During the last few years of use the pills did nothing positive except keep me out of withdrawal. On the negative side they simply destroyed me on every level. I became mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially bankrupt. I lost my house, my practice, my reputation, my dignity and my self respect. I'm not sure how I didn't loose my wife and our four wonderful kids, but she forced herself not to act on the anger and betrayal that she felt (with good cause) and treated me like I was a very sick person who needed serious help immediately (whether I wanted it or not).
Sorry to ramble on so long, but what you wrote (especially on a visit to my rehab) really reminded me of where I was not all that long ago. I promise you, I was pretty much as hopeless and helpless as I could be . . . I was literally, in danger of dying.
Today, I am in better condition mentally, emotionally and spiritually than at any time in my life -- not just better than during my active addiction, but better condition than ever. I'm almost 50, so I think it would be a stretch to say that I'm in better physical condition than ever, but I'm clearly in the best condition for my age that I've ever been in. Also, I'm in the best condition that I've been in at any time since I was in my early 20's and just out of the Marine Corps. Financially . . . it's getting better. I'm almost out of the HUGE hole dug by my active addiction.
There is a passage in AA's Big Book called "The Promises," which is much loved by many. I used to think it was, at best, a pipe dream. I don't think that anymore, the Promises have come true for me and they can come true for anyone who is willing to surrender to Recovery.
THE PROMISES
"If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them."
My advice would be to get him into rehap for as long as possible and then adopt a no-prisoners attitude with the disease.
I wish you well and I will pray for you.
CATUF
Day-837
So did dozens of people with whom I spent the day.
I'm at at an alumni weekend at the rehab where I spent 122 days from June to October in 2005.
LONG TERM REHAB WORKS.
An essential part of getting into sustained Recovery is simply getting off the drugs long enough for the brain to re-set, which seems to happen after about 90 days. Getting to that 90 days can be VERY tough to do unless you're in a very safe environment.
During and following active addiction, the brain chemistry is AFU. Many, perhaps most, addicts need significant treatment geared directly at the brain chemistry or it will never get back to normal. Take a look at the books: END YOUR ADDICTION NOW, by Charles Gant; THE MOOD CURE, by Julia Ross; and/or SEVEN WEEKS TO SOBRIETY, by Joan Larsen. The books can guide an addict, or someone who loves an addict, as to exactly what is needed to address the brain chemistry issues. Generally, we're talking about rebuilding neurotransmitters via amino acid supplements. I was initially inclined to view that as a bunch of health-nut mumbo jumbo. I was wrong. I think it's really critical.
A big stumbling block that is presented to many addicts attempting to change is Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome ("PAWS"). Acute withdrawal is the standard "dope-sick" business where we feel like we have the mother of all flu's x 10, and basically feel like we're going to die for a week or so, followed by a few more weeks of ZERO ENERGY. It intuitively seems like once you get past that you should be in the clear. Not so.
PAWS tends to hit the first time around 25-30 days, and then it keeps returning in cycles with a gradually decreasing frequency. A good piece on PAWS can be found at http://www.tlctx.com/ar_pages/paw_part1.htm That is from a book called STAYING SOBER, by Gorski & Miller. Another good book is STAYING CLEAN AND SOBER, by Miller & Miller.
One thing that was a huge help in keeping me clean during my first few months home from rehab was random drug screens. My wife found reasonably priced 4 or 5-panel urine screens on-line - we buy from http://www.medicaldisposablespr.com/drug_test_card.htm
I was screened ALOT during the first few months. Always at random and always close enough in time to the last test to pick up any use. The rule was (and is) if my wife says "pee in a cup," I say "thank you." Now I'm not tested very frequently, but I can be without warning and the next screen might be (and has been) the next morning.
The beauty of the drug screens is that they forced me to view ANY decision to use as what it in fact it really was - a decision to throw my life in the toilet. When I relapsed in the past, I never made the decision to return to my former levels or frequency of use. It was always going to be "just a little" and "just this once" or "only now and then." I never wanted to return to the living-death of active addiction, but I just need SOMETHING to get me past whatever rough spot I perceived at that moment. From a distance, and with an unimpaired mind, it might be easy for anyone and everyone to see that it the addict picks up again (at all) that he's soon going to be right back where he was. But it honestly does not feel like that's the truth (or even a possibility) when you're the one who feels like he really needs just a bit.
Anyway, the random/frequent tests pulled the rug out from under that all too common bit of self-deception. There could be no such thing as limited, and therefore safe, use. Any use was certain to have me busted. I was (and am) on a one-strike rule (both at home & work), so being busted would just be it. It took some time before I didn't need the certainty of detection to keep me clean. Now I can get by with just the certain knowledge that any use by me will start the whole train rolling again, and it will keep on rolling regardless of what I want. Any use will reactivate my addiction and if my addiction is active I can't control anything about it.
Meetings, meetings, meetings --- NA or AA (I go to AA). As both programs have long suggested, and a recent Time magazine says is supposrted by good science (see http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640436,00.html ) a newcomer will be GREATLY helped by attending 90 meetings in 90 days. I hit at least a meeting a day for the first 250 days, now I average 5 a week.
I was an upstanding man before a serious injury exposed me to the opiates to which I all too soon was addicted. The injury was healed and the pain was gone in a couple of months, but by then I was in a relationship with the pills that I couldn't quit . . . It really got to be quite a mess. During the last few years of use the pills did nothing positive except keep me out of withdrawal. On the negative side they simply destroyed me on every level. I became mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially bankrupt. I lost my house, my practice, my reputation, my dignity and my self respect. I'm not sure how I didn't loose my wife and our four wonderful kids, but she forced herself not to act on the anger and betrayal that she felt (with good cause) and treated me like I was a very sick person who needed serious help immediately (whether I wanted it or not).
Sorry to ramble on so long, but what you wrote (especially on a visit to my rehab) really reminded me of where I was not all that long ago. I promise you, I was pretty much as hopeless and helpless as I could be . . . I was literally, in danger of dying.
Today, I am in better condition mentally, emotionally and spiritually than at any time in my life -- not just better than during my active addiction, but better condition than ever. I'm almost 50, so I think it would be a stretch to say that I'm in better physical condition than ever, but I'm clearly in the best condition for my age that I've ever been in. Also, I'm in the best condition that I've been in at any time since I was in my early 20's and just out of the Marine Corps. Financially . . . it's getting better. I'm almost out of the HUGE hole dug by my active addiction.
There is a passage in AA's Big Book called "The Promises," which is much loved by many. I used to think it was, at best, a pipe dream. I don't think that anymore, the Promises have come true for me and they can come true for anyone who is willing to surrender to Recovery.
THE PROMISES
"If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them."
My advice would be to get him into rehap for as long as possible and then adopt a no-prisoners attitude with the disease.
I wish you well and I will pray for you.
CATUF
Day-837
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