The financial cost of drug use.

[Bodymechanic]

I am wondering how much money all of you spend on using drugs.  Right now I am spending between $250.00-$300.00 a month.  If you add that up with interest over a 10yr period the sum becomes staggering.  I would guess that I have spent almost a million dollars on drugs over the last 25 years.

[lisabet]

Thank You...I really needed your post right now.  I've been sitting here debating wheather (sp) to run down to the drug store (5 minutes away) - to buy a bottle of Jack.  Decided to take a librium, a hot bath, and try to go to sleep.  Rex, I'm really having a tough time; I counted the minutes before I took my last vic for the day. But you, and others are my inspiration...God bless this forum!

[Rex1]

Just my opinion, but the favt that you are clean carries some weight to counter the fact that you have no pills to take, at least for me.

Being clean is a lot like having this valuable collection you have WAITED SO LONG TO GET! You have it and you think about it a lot. I tend to say over and over, every day gets better, every day gets better.

The physocal pain is there, and I have had some rough days, but it has to get better from here.

Today is three weeks, BTW.

Back still hurts
Feel kinda achy
feelings and moods somewhat up and down

But hey, I am not taking drugs, and for that, its worth it!

Good luck...

Rex

[lisabet]

Congrats on your tapering effort.  I know by experience it is so hard to do.  I've tapered to 5 a day (from a 12 a day habit); I have one left to take today, and I'm counting the minutes till I can take it; isn't that pathetic?  I've cut down about 50% but mentally I'm still so wrapped up in those damned vicodins, and this is what worries me.  If I do get down to zero vics, how will I adjust to it mentally?  If you've read Southernbelles posts - she hit it right on the nail - if taking a tiny pill makes me feel better, why shouldn't I have that pill? (or something to that effect--not her exact words).  Realistically I know why I shouldn't have that pill - but emotionally I still want it. This will be my greatest battle.  Just realized this is kind of a "downer" of a post...sorry.  Just the place I'm in right now.  (Plus my son and his band are practicing in the basement and shaking the house - and I'm about to jump out of my skin right now.....) smile.   Oh, to be a celebrity and having the luxury of just checking into a detox "spa" and have people taking care of you.  That is my fantasy right now...(again, so pathetic!)...ha.   Sounds like you're doing good - are you following Thomas' recipe?  Good luck to you.  Lisabet

[HLM]

I use glass and I spend about $60 a week on it. I used to use cocain, and spent about $150 a week. I found that speed fit better in my budget. Also it didn't make me as sick to my stomach. Reading what I just wrote makes me sad! After you get all of the info on $$ spent on different drugs, you should post the results. That would be interesting to see.

[Pinkit]

My drug of choice is vicodin. I've tried codeine and darvocet, but never got the same feeling I got with the vic's. I would only spend about $100.00 a month. That's without insurance and with taking 8 es per day. Vicodin is very cheap. Atleast where I live it is. I never bought the street version though. I'm sure I'd pay a hell of alot more for that.  I'd always get scripts for it. I'm down to 3 a day now though. Feeling like ****, but it's worth it to get off these devils.

[Rex1]

Way to go. over 50% reduction. You will feel bad for a while, but I must agree with others who have said that day 5 of CT seems to be the turning point.

My back is hurting, but you know what? I guess I am not going to die from it, so I will just deal with it.

Way to go. Any chance you'll land at zero by Jan 1 with the rest of us?

Rex

[alchemist]

Its been nearly a motnth since I've used any morphine for pain.  Now that the treatment that my pain doc gave me helps control my pain, the hydro's due a fine job as far as pain control.  Its amazeing, before the treatment, I could literaly eat 3-4 hydro's every 3 hrs or so and have only a minimal effect ( I got use to the awful taste of tylenol).  Now 2x10 mgs will take care 100% of my pain for 5-8 hrs (just like the bottle says).  I cannot express how happy I am to not be in that dam fog all day long and I can see my pupils again.  However, sleeping is quite a different story, if I don't take a hydro at night (whether I need it or not) I wake up at 3 am with that awful feeling of restlesness.  I tell my wife I am dead tired from my neck up but wide awake the rest of the way down, just toss and turn till I can't stand it. I useally just get up and watch TV till its time to go to work. Currently I have extreame fatigue, like 100 lbs weights are weighing down, no matter how much sleep I can get, its never enough always want to sleep but I just cant feel rested.  I've tried Thomas's recipie but I don't know if its not working well since I still take the hydro's.

[kell737]

Afternoon everyone.  Gosh, if I sat here and counted up all the money I spent on Percocet it would take days!  I was spending about 550 a month..... MORE than my house payment.  Yea, I know , 4 months clean now has saved me alot of money. LOL    Hope everyone is doing well, it's good to be back with you all again.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

~Kell

[hellbent]

I was on that dose for almost a year (Give or take, it's fuzzy looking back). The reason I took so much was that I was on them for a loooong time, steadily, and that's what I needed to get any kind of glow at that point. Pretty scary.

Coming down, I was able to taper to about 6-7 80's a day. Then I did 21 day methadone detox. Then I went c/t, but I also had the benzo addiction that I just had to stop cold. I think that the benzos were actually worse than the Oxy as far as w/d effects, especially long - term.

I'm still not back to normal - It's hard to know what you've lost after being on them for so long, hard to remember who you were before. I still don't sleep very well, don't have all my mental energy. It's still coming back though.

[alchemist]

I was reading you post, wow I cannot believe it, you were taking nearly a gram of oxycodone a day, I think that is the most I have heard anyone taking a day on this forum.  I got to hand it to our bodies to be able to ajust and adapt to a lethal amount of medicine.  Did you have to do it cold turkey from that amount?
If you did, let me tip my hat to you, it must have been a terrible ordeal to go through.  I've cut out all the morphine from my pain meds (90 mgs/day) and been dealing with my pain on just the hydro's (4/10mg/day) and the withdrawal from that was bad enough.

[hellbent]

At the height of my habit, I needed 10 OC 80's a day, at 14 bucks a pop. Cheap prices, but very expensive when you consider the overall amount I had to spend. I also took 4-6 klonopin 2mgs daily at $2 each...so that's $150 a day, every goddamn day.

I know I went through at least $100,000 in the last 3 years of my run, just on street pills. And it wasn't until I lost my job and was facing a big 0 in my bank account that I could find the strength and willingness to quit. And I am still trying to recover financially, 7 months after quitting.

God it's nice not be a slave to drugs right now!

[Rex1]

My insurance covered most of it, except when I would come up short, which was once a month or so.

When I came up short, I would have to pay cash of course, because the Insurance would be tracking one script, and I would have another from my gen pract. and use a different pharm., where I would pay cash.

Vicodin was my only deal and I never bought street drugs...
I would estimate with the copays and cash it was $100-150 a month, so right around $2K/year.

As Jeff Spicoli from Ridgemont High would say:

"Righteous Bucks!"

Rex

[lisabet]

Good topic.  At my highest intake I was spending anywhere from $300-500 per month. Since I've recently been laid off from my job, there's no way I'd be able to maintain that even if I wanted to.  As of today, if I remain my tapering quantity of 6 hydros a day for awhile, the cost will be half that.  It actually makes me sick to think about how much I've spent in the past year or so.  That alone should be enough to make a reasonable person quit. Of course, we all know addicts aren't known to be reasonable...smile.  Again....Great topic!

[hippy]

good morning, alway nice to read your post.
for three years i spent about 1600.00 a month.
one of the ways i broke that cycle was by giving my money to my wife,for 13 years we had seperete bank accounts and it worked wonders for our marrige but the in the end it was bad for me.
when it came to buying pills in 99 because the doctor siad
i was ok and did not need them for pain, he was wrong.
being in severe pain and having to work and live is very
difficult  when a doctor just cuts you off meds that you took for 6 months. on top of being wrong about my pain.
those situation are difficult, thank god i am pain free
right now.
peace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!