Aa
Oxycontin
Hello everybody...I just wanted to put a quick question out there. As many of you already know I quit using Oxycontin Friday March 9th. Life has become much different during these past few weeks. I find myself sad and depressed one minute and on top of the world the next. I have been going to NA meetings on and off. I really havent had a good experience with the program. I call my sponcer and he doesn't return my calls. That hurts because I thought that NA was there to provide unconditional support. I get temted to use on a daily basis. The good thing is that I have a choice. I am not dope sick anymore and for that I am forever greatful! My question is this.........Many of us have been using for a very long time. We have to look at life in a whole new way. They say take one day at a time. I understand that but how do keep from falling back to our regular ways? You see when we stop using our minds tell us that we need to get our lives back on track. Get a job, do things around the house, reconnect with friends and family ect., ect. The point is thatI find myself really pissed off at the fact that I have wasted so many years just spinning my wheels. I have no direction and would really like some guidance. Any words of encouragement would greatly be appreciated. I know there are many of people out there just like me. Quiting using was the easy part....Now is when I need help. I just need a glimmer of hope! I belive that it takes tremondous support to change a persons life. My whole exsistance has been centered around drug use. How do you change a person like that? I look at every situation like how much better it would be to be high. I hope this make sence to some of you. I am really in need of help right now. I look forward to chatting with you guys. Maybe we could start up some more direct support system for ourselves. This board has helped many, many people. I think it is good to post our feelings because I think that alot of people can relate. My prayers go out to each and every one of you! Thank you in advance for your continued support! Chad
Hello.yes I recommend you take it real easy and reduce by a mere half tablet per WEEK.(no hurry is their)
"lower the Slower" means(an example here only) if you are on say 10 tablets of something and you reduce by 1 tablet that is a 10% drop and easy to handle,now lets say if you are now finally down to 2 tablets(a day) and drop 1 tablet that is 50% drop and therefore withdrawals will be more prominent(so slow it down),you may want(feel comfortable) to drop once a month before you get to this point,say at around 5 tablet a day start once a fortnight to drop half a tablet from weekly dose and when down to 2 tablets drop once a month,I think you get the Idea,I HOPE?.
Remember that when down to half a tablet a day and comfortable,when you stop that half and go to a zero dose that is a 100% reduction in dose so it will hurt the most ,you may want to take a quarter of tablet per day for a while.
I have seen people stuck on literally 1mg of Methadone per day,and they had to mix water with it and just have a sip and throw the rest away,so they had just a taste,but this seemed to me a bit Psychological so beware of that last little bit,be firm in mind when to put it out of your life and just STOP!.
Drugs Suck.Good luck Hedhurtz.
"lower the Slower" means(an example here only) if you are on say 10 tablets of something and you reduce by 1 tablet that is a 10% drop and easy to handle,now lets say if you are now finally down to 2 tablets(a day) and drop 1 tablet that is 50% drop and therefore withdrawals will be more prominent(so slow it down),you may want(feel comfortable) to drop once a month before you get to this point,say at around 5 tablet a day start once a fortnight to drop half a tablet from weekly dose and when down to 2 tablets drop once a month,I think you get the Idea,I HOPE?.
Remember that when down to half a tablet a day and comfortable,when you stop that half and go to a zero dose that is a 100% reduction in dose so it will hurt the most ,you may want to take a quarter of tablet per day for a while.
I have seen people stuck on literally 1mg of Methadone per day,and they had to mix water with it and just have a sip and throw the rest away,so they had just a taste,but this seemed to me a bit Psychological so beware of that last little bit,be firm in mind when to put it out of your life and just STOP!.
Drugs Suck.Good luck Hedhurtz.
I've heard in many cases where a side effect of methadone is weight gain, but nothing about drug (specifically narcotic) abuse making one lose one's hair. This is more likely a side effect of the stress of addiction taking its toll on his body (or just an acceleration of a pre-existing hair-loss condition).
Yes, drugs *do* age the body. Terribly. For each period of abuse, some amount of the natural life span is taken away. Of course, as each person's body differs slightly, the amount and rate of decay differs, but the net effect is the same -- a premature death. By how many months or years no one can say.
Drugs have an impact on all bodily systems, not just the brain. Some effects are more long-lasting and irreperable than others. As I stated before, however, no healing can begin -- body, mind, or spirit -- as long as the abuser is abusing any substance. Drugs are unnatural substances introduced to the body. When used properly, they can be of benefit (anti-depressants, insulin, antibiotics -- even pain medication when used properly for a legitimate condition), but when abused long-term, they invariably act to destroy the person, piece by piece.
No, Susanlea, you are not a f***ing *****. His addiction calls you this because you were calling attention to it. I don't know how many times in the course of arguments with my wife I made statements to the effect of "The drugs don't have anything to do with it!" when, of course, they had everything to do with it. The disease of addiction is a slow means of commiting suicide. Most addicts have strong, painful issues in their lives which have gone unresolved. Instead, we chose to self-medicate with substances that at least briefly let us experience joy, if artificially. The downside is that the drugs we take to kill the pain will also kill us if we go on using them long enough. Addiction is no more or less than a long, slow, cruel and unusual form of suicide practiced by those who believe that they not only deserve to die, but need to be slowly tortured to death.
Lastly -- the methadone may, perhaps, make this man into a "functional addict" (if there is such a thing, which I doubt), at least for a time. . .but he will never regain any kind of emotion or spiritual connection with himself or anyone else until and if he decides to face his internal demons, whatever they may be, and completely change his life.
I'll get down off the soapbox now. Thank you for bearing with me. I will be praying for you and all who are hurt so badly by this disease. As always, let me know if anything I've said has helped.
Peace,
Pelle
Yes, drugs *do* age the body. Terribly. For each period of abuse, some amount of the natural life span is taken away. Of course, as each person's body differs slightly, the amount and rate of decay differs, but the net effect is the same -- a premature death. By how many months or years no one can say.
Drugs have an impact on all bodily systems, not just the brain. Some effects are more long-lasting and irreperable than others. As I stated before, however, no healing can begin -- body, mind, or spirit -- as long as the abuser is abusing any substance. Drugs are unnatural substances introduced to the body. When used properly, they can be of benefit (anti-depressants, insulin, antibiotics -- even pain medication when used properly for a legitimate condition), but when abused long-term, they invariably act to destroy the person, piece by piece.
No, Susanlea, you are not a f***ing *****. His addiction calls you this because you were calling attention to it. I don't know how many times in the course of arguments with my wife I made statements to the effect of "The drugs don't have anything to do with it!" when, of course, they had everything to do with it. The disease of addiction is a slow means of commiting suicide. Most addicts have strong, painful issues in their lives which have gone unresolved. Instead, we chose to self-medicate with substances that at least briefly let us experience joy, if artificially. The downside is that the drugs we take to kill the pain will also kill us if we go on using them long enough. Addiction is no more or less than a long, slow, cruel and unusual form of suicide practiced by those who believe that they not only deserve to die, but need to be slowly tortured to death.
Lastly -- the methadone may, perhaps, make this man into a "functional addict" (if there is such a thing, which I doubt), at least for a time. . .but he will never regain any kind of emotion or spiritual connection with himself or anyone else until and if he decides to face his internal demons, whatever they may be, and completely change his life.
I'll get down off the soapbox now. Thank you for bearing with me. I will be praying for you and all who are hurt so badly by this disease. As always, let me know if anything I've said has helped.
Peace,
Pelle
Thank you. That's how he has become, non-emotional, except for anger, and always tired. My 10 year old's best friend was accidently killed last summer, his brother and him were playing with a gun. This was tragic, my son felt awful and cried, cried, but my partner told him sternly that he needs to tuffen up and men don't cry. He seems to be dead inside. People have commented that he has no personality. He has no life. We can't even talk without an argument about (my addiction has nothing to do with us)but it has everything to do with it. To him I'm nothing but a f-ing *****, maybe I became one, for trying to help him through this. Now he has the peace he wanted, his mother will take care of him just like I did. Maybe now he'll see his 4 kids that he's ignored for the past 2 years. Maybe now he won't miss 3 months of work again, maybe now he won't be in so much pain, throwing up, jittery, fever, the withdrawals on oxy's were terrible. Now that he's on methadone, maybe he can be a functioning addict. One more question? Do opiates make you lose your hair? His hair was thinning, he has become very pastely looking, and he's gained some weight. He used to be in such great shape, but now he looks 10 years older. Do the narcotics age you? He's been doing somekind of drug for over 25 years, acid, crack, pot, coke, ludes, alcohol. He occassionaly still smokes pot, but drinking 1/2 a beer makes him sick. Is this all catching up with him now. I'm so afraid he's going to die. Last year the Dr's. said(when he was in detox) that if he had continued like this, he would have been dead in 6 months, his body was so toxic. I wished he had stayed in program, his sponser, but he says he can do it on his own. He seems to be losing everything, and doesn't care. I'm so proud of addicts who want and try to change. That shows they still have feelings. We all have to have hope, because when hope is gone, we have nothing....God Bless.....Love Susanlea
I finally read your post and I thank you greatly for responding. I just started work again and I couldnt get back. So, I have to take a half a pill less a week? Or a day? I don't even count the damn amount that I take. So what is "Lower the Slower " mean? I'm all confused. If I only take a half a pill less a day, how is that gonna help? I know that I'm rambling, but I'm so excited that someone may help me (you). Get back. Thanks
I'm sorry to have gotten so wrapped up as to have ignored one of your main questions. As to the endorphins and the function of the brain altogether. . .I'n no neurologist, but as I've had it explained to me by a long-time professional substance abuse counselor: use of any substance produces changes in the physiology of the brain. The longer-term the use, the more changes take place -- and as a result, the longer it takes once the user comes clean (stops using substances of any kind completely) for the brain to repair itself. I understand that the average time it takes for most abusers in the mild-to-moderate category to completely "normalize" the brain is anywhere from twelve to eighteen months (although improvements begin almost immediately -- this is, of course, if no irreperable damage has been done). But things like memory and the ability to experience emotions appropriately (or even recognize them for what they are -- I went days at a time early on in my detox process in an edgy, angry, irritable mood until I realized that I simply needed to cry, and a great deal, after which I felt much better) are things that I can expect to struggle with for well over the next year or so.
The key here is, this "repair" process only begins once the user *stops using completely* -- in other words, if your other is still using methadone, the process will not have a chance to even begin, since methadone produces the same changes in the brain as other substances like it.
I know this isn't the greatest news in the world, but it is the truth as I understand it. Let me know if anything I've said is unclear, and I'll try to clarify (tough to think staight being a recovering junkie as it is, let alone with two kids running around in the background for sound effects!)
Peace,
Pelle
The key here is, this "repair" process only begins once the user *stops using completely* -- in other words, if your other is still using methadone, the process will not have a chance to even begin, since methadone produces the same changes in the brain as other substances like it.
I know this isn't the greatest news in the world, but it is the truth as I understand it. Let me know if anything I've said is unclear, and I'll try to clarify (tough to think staight being a recovering junkie as it is, let alone with two kids running around in the background for sound effects!)
Peace,
Pelle
Your boyfriend sounds a lot like I was during my abuse of opiates -- withdrawn, distant, unwilling (and unable) to share physical or emotional closeness with others. . .the plain fact of the matter is that when we (addicts) are high, we are satisfied enough with the sensations of our brain that we don't *need* any of the other things (like love and companionship), and that when we are not high, we are usually angry, hostile, and preoccupied with finding the next dose of our drug of choice.
I fail to see the value of methadone "maintenance" for any kind of drug abuse. In my opinion (and *only* my opinion), it seems to be merely substituting one drug for another. It seems vaguely like a kind of conditional surrender to one's addiction, in that the addict is not promising to change anything about his or her life except to say, "Well, there's no hope for me, I can never stop using *something*, so I'll switch to something legal that is more socially acceptable than what I've been using." I'm sure that methadone is the only answer for some who are beyond any other hope. . .but it just seems like a sad kind of half-life which I would never want for myself.
As to what you can do for yourself and your kids -- I believe that you are doing the only things you can at this point. Attending to your own recovery through Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, or Codependents Anonymous is the healthiest and most reasonable choice right now, whatever your signifigant other should decide about his own life. My own wife has shared with me that she had a detailed "escape plan" in place in the event life with me should become unbearable or outright dangerous. I have no illusions that she still does not have one, or that some part of her will not always be in that mode of thought, no matter how long I stay clean. The damage we do to those we love the most as addicts may never truly be undone -- in the best of circumstances, perhaps we may be able to build a bridge back to one another. But that takes work from both sides. This particular bridge is one that cannot be completed from one side or another -- both must work towards the middle. By working your own recovery, you are building from your end. Unless your partner begins his own work, however, you will have to be content with the fact that your own recovery will give you back your own life. I hope this perspective from an addict's point of view has been helpful. Please let me know either way. I come here often to remind myself why I quit using in the first place, and hopefully to offer my experiences to others who may be interested.
Peace,
Pelle
I fail to see the value of methadone "maintenance" for any kind of drug abuse. In my opinion (and *only* my opinion), it seems to be merely substituting one drug for another. It seems vaguely like a kind of conditional surrender to one's addiction, in that the addict is not promising to change anything about his or her life except to say, "Well, there's no hope for me, I can never stop using *something*, so I'll switch to something legal that is more socially acceptable than what I've been using." I'm sure that methadone is the only answer for some who are beyond any other hope. . .but it just seems like a sad kind of half-life which I would never want for myself.
As to what you can do for yourself and your kids -- I believe that you are doing the only things you can at this point. Attending to your own recovery through Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, or Codependents Anonymous is the healthiest and most reasonable choice right now, whatever your signifigant other should decide about his own life. My own wife has shared with me that she had a detailed "escape plan" in place in the event life with me should become unbearable or outright dangerous. I have no illusions that she still does not have one, or that some part of her will not always be in that mode of thought, no matter how long I stay clean. The damage we do to those we love the most as addicts may never truly be undone -- in the best of circumstances, perhaps we may be able to build a bridge back to one another. But that takes work from both sides. This particular bridge is one that cannot be completed from one side or another -- both must work towards the middle. By working your own recovery, you are building from your end. Unless your partner begins his own work, however, you will have to be content with the fact that your own recovery will give you back your own life. I hope this perspective from an addict's point of view has been helpful. Please let me know either way. I come here often to remind myself why I quit using in the first place, and hopefully to offer my experiences to others who may be interested.
Peace,
Pelle
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