Do cravings/urges diminish significantly after a certain time period?

[Rex1]

Dr. Horvath,

I have read the info on your site - helpful stuff! (really!)

The one answer I did not find is whether there is a certain threshold point, like a month, or a year, in which your cravings to use significantly diminish. I know a person's pain and physiology has a lot to do with it, but in your experience, is there a common denominator time length when this happens? I would be interested in opinions from from my friends here too.

I am now seeing what everyone says about gettng clean being easier than staying clean, like getting clean was easy! Easy like a root canal followed by a gasoline enema!

Over the last two days, I have hourly knock down - drag out sword fights with myself over getting some relief with the lowest dose of Vicodin possible. It goes something like this "You are in pain, get some relief and just keep your dose low". "You fool, you are a drug addict. One pill per day means 12 pills per day eventually".

With God's help and the folks here, I have won both days. I am now at day 32 - no narcotics whatsover. Will this get any easier after a month, three months, 6, a year?

Thanks for the help.

Rex

[disjointed]

Dear JBB,

I note that you seem to be getting slightly different advice from someone else on this board, but I wonder if you would consider the possibility that your worst danger is that of 'going back on the gear' rather than the discomfort and unhappiness which you attribute to your naltrexone?

I presume that you has some kind of psychological or medical assessment before having your implant.  If so, whoever supervised your assessment must have agreed that there was a risk that, without the naltrexone as an IMPLANT rather than in tablet form, you might succumb to temptation and one day 'forget' to take your pill, thus allowing you to weaken further and go out to find your dealer.

Are you sure that, behind your current feelings of 'depression', there doesn't lurk the fact that you now have to deal with real life, with all it's hard edges, disappointments and frightening choices, instead of the fake happiness inside an opiate cocoon which the drug used to give you?

Due to my upbringing and the people I mix with I am very close to many 'druggies' past & present - can I give you 3 examples to indicate the dangers you may face + the opportunity you may have.

1) The 27 year old daughter of a close friend of mine died at the end of November last year, with no apparent cause of death, leaving a lovely 8 year old daughter of her own.  My friend is still waiting for the cause of death to be established, due to the slowness of the pathology service in the British National Health Service.  But we are fairly certain what the result will be, given that she was an injecting heroin addict.

2) Another close friend, a woman of great determination, de-toxed herself from heroin a few years ago, and then discovered that she had hep C and is likely to have serious health problems into the future.

3) A third friend of mine is in his 3rd year of de-tox using naltrexone implants.  The implants have cost a lot of money but less than what the drug was costing him.  Even though he was very distressed at first and found coping with life without opiates in his system very hard, he is now becoming happier and more stable.

JBB, have a close look at your real motivations, then look at the life and health expectancy for heroin users.  Only then consider the advice that some may give you to abandon or even 'cut out' the implant which may be protecting you from returning to a habit that could so easily be yours again.

Best Wishes,

Disjointed

PS - So far as I know the theory that naltrexone itself, rather than the inability to access the 'pleasurable' sensations caused by heroin, methadone etc, causes depression has no firm scientific basis.

[mrmichael67]

I went back and read that you were on a three month pellet.  I was thinking you were on it for three months at one month intervals.  The person who was here previously had them replaced monthly.  It doesn't make a difference one way or the other.  Are you almost due for a new one?  If so, just don't get a new one and see how it goes.  Like I said, you can always get another one.  If I had one in me and I knew what I know now and by other evidence I have seen, I would get it out of me.  There isn't anything physically dangerous that is going to happen by doing it.  YOU have kept yourself clean these past three months.  After all that work, it is time to start reaping some rewards.

[hippy]

i saw jhon browns body's question and i was hopeing
you would anwswer him, i did want to post smoething to him but i was afraid i might say something about which i know nothing
the pellet,

peace!!!!!!!

[mrmichael67]

And, please keep us informed of what happens as that info would be very valuable.  If you can, e-mail me at ***@****.

[mrmichael67]

Is it possible for you to go a month without the pellet?  You can always go back, but if going off of the pellet makes you feel better, then you are golden.  I can't remember the user name of the person for the life of me, but I do know that person would start to feel much better when it was time for the new pellet.....the old one was finished and his endorphins weren't being antagonized.  If I were you, I would try to experiment and go without for one month.  If it works, great.  If it doesn't, go back on it.  Anything to get rid of that feeling you are experiencing, right?  Well, you know what I mean.

[saveyourself]

Great post, hippee

I always liked the lines for the first 3 steps, I can't, he can, I think I will let Him.  Hope everyone is doing good.  It 's 3am, but hey got 4 hrs sleep in a row, finally. I am slowly feeling better, I had to even go to work today to settle a problem one of my project managers could not resolve.  I am just glad it was today and not lsast week,  I mean it when I say I can not function in WD.

I still got a long ways to go before I feel human again. I will just take it a day at a time and work a program to the best of my ability.  This relapse really took a heavey toll on my body, I have gone through WD over 50 times in the last 30 yrs, whoever said that as your number of withdrawls add up, they do become much more intense and last a lot longer, tommorw is day 21 and I figure it can only get better as long as I don't pick up.  It feels like 3 months has gone by, all of them painful, of course thats just the lunatic in my head, I will see you guys on the bright side of the moon.  With the exception of one word, who recognizes that line. Clue, it was from the 70s, no cell phones, home computers, lots hemi charged machines and every girl was nice.
I am sounding like my Dad and his old days.  Things just seemed a lot slower then,  all the technology I have and own is nice, But I am tired of the rush, rush rat race.  On that happy thought ,I am goig to try to get some sleep.
Strength and Honor