Quitters in their 20's? 30's 40's etc..

[Josh26]

I was just wondering it seems the average age for quitting in here is not in the 20's more like mid 30's and i was curious to know why that might be? Was it because doctors were easily able and willing to give pills out without all this pill drama thats been goin on or is it just when people start to realize its affecting them or i dont know i'm just confused about it.  I feel like i'm one of the few that have quit and i'm clean in my 20's can you all shed some light on this for me and maybe tell me youre age if you dont mind that would be great
3 1/2 months clean
Josh

[Gobig]

I quit when I was 40 (still am, actually).  40 seems like a fairly common age to realize you're screwed if you keep it up.  I wish I did it in my 20s!!!!

[blueyz]

Great post Josh!  I am 32, rapidly aproaching 33.  I quit once over this last summer but started again after two surgeris.  I am three weeks out of the last surgery.  I can hear the quittin train comin'. I started in my 20's.  I had five surgeries in my 20's (non-elective) you are not talking to barbi here... and that's what got the ball rollin.  

[Carrie76]

You may have a point eliminnopee, I used for 12 yrs, used hard for 9. Interesting thought:)

[eliminnopee]

I think it has more to do with how long you've used instead of what your age bracket is.  It seems that most people here have used between 4 and 8 years.  Don't know how tru that is, just a slight observation.

[OhioVicoguy]

Ummmm, in the 50's.....addiction doesn't care about age!

[zoezsweet]

I just turned 28, and I have been taking pain pills all varietys for the last 5-6 years.  I had my first child when I was 17 and now have been married almost 11 years and now have 3 children. I do have legitimate back pain but am getting my pills from a family member.  I have been reading this forum for about 3 months and wanting to quit OC.  I recently was on day 5 clean but I was having such severe pain I went to the Dr's. Well now here I am again.  I would just like to say thanks to all the positive people out there for their posts, especially with dealing with withdrawls. I will continue to read and post.-zoe

[monk23]

i am 24. so i guess i can count myself lucky to realize my addictive personality nowthan later on in life. i have no wife or kids just my family. its hard enough like this so i have very deep respect for people that battle addiction with spouse and kids. i remember i was clean for about a year from everything even marijuana and it was the best feeling ive had since before i started using drugs when i was a teenager.

[justlikeyou]

didnt have the accident that hurt my back till i was 38, 43 now.

[PromisedLand]

I'm 57, was using vicodin in my mid 30's, quit, then started again about 4 years ago...been clean now for 45 days and I ain't going back.  I reached a point where I was tired of counting the days til I could refill, knew I was taking too many and just wanted off that whole nightmarish merry go round.

Thanks to help from folks here, particularly FLaddicat and GA guy, withdrawl period was fairly easy..I'm quite fortunate in that regard.

Jim

[Carrie76]

I am 30 and have been clean for a little over 3 weeks now. I started trying to quite when I was 28. I also think it has to do with maturity and mortality. When I was 20 I really couldnt care less about my future. I was indestructable if you know what I mean. Then I had 3 kids and the amount of pills increased to just be able to function normally. I had alot of health problems due to the pills I was taking and I realized that if I didnt stop I was going to die very soon, and my kids wouldnt have a mommy. Thats what kicked me into gear with me.

[High Noon]

I am 57. Allaboutmary makes a good point that as ones body ages there is much more frequency of aches and pains and hurts. I first hurt my back in Vietnam when I was on a ladder which collapsed.
But I was 20 years old and healed pretty quickly. I injured my back about ten years ago and went through PT, chiro, had MRI's-all the usually stuff. In many cases the pain is diagnosed as idiopathic- meaning no one can actually determine the cause- so if you are in pain the Docs give you pain medication and, if it helps, you eventually want more and need more ( a very fine line between dependence and addiction). You are 3 1/2 months clean which is terrific- stay off this stuff. There are no studies as to the actual long term effects of these drugs, however, I would venture a guess they do horrible and permanent things to body and mind. Good Luck.

I am clean for 45 days.

[allaboutmary]

Ooops You are clean 3 1/2 months that is so great ! keep it up. Sorry I screwed that up in first comment. I am still in a little bit of a cloud only day 6 for me and didnt have any sleep last night. I also didnt realize I was in full blown menapause. lol

[allaboutmary]

I am 47 been using about 4 years. I think the reason why you have a lot of older people here is you hit 40 and your body starts to hurt. You throw your neck out brushing your hair or back goes out just doing something stupid. Most people in there 40's seem to have some sort of back problem. This is also the reason i justified using. I am in pain. Yes Josh I think you are right that doctors feel we are such responsible adults and dont think twice about giving us the perscription. I certainly though i was a responsible adult.((((NOT)))) I'm sure my doctor didnt think I would be on the street buying extra pain pills, risking losing my business, my home, or going to jail. I look like such upstanding middle age women. My dirty little secret would flip some people out. Now I look around at people and wonder hmmm maybe they are addicted. I know there are alot of us out there in the shadows. lol
You are young and have so much ahead of you. You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders. GET OFF THEM NOW PLEASE.  

[beachtowel]

speak for your self.........who you calling old..........lol

[beachtowel]

outstanding Josh...do you go to meetings?

[mlconnell]

I didn't start using pills until I was 35. I'm 42 now ans still having trouble geting off of tramadol. I've probably used them a total of 2 years in all total time put together.

[FLaddict]

27now quit pills over 4 months ago... quit heroin at 19

[kyjobr]

I tried quitting in my 20's but I think that most of it is that once you hit 30 you get a sense of mortality that didn't exist before.  In my 20's I never really thought about my future that much.  Retirement etc. seemed so far away that it wasn't real.  Once I hit 30 I started to realize that my actions now are going to haunt me FOREVER and I better deal with my demons.  It also could be that in your 30's you are starting to really get a career going and some assets so you have more to lose.

[1234betterlife]

and almost 50.....stay clean josh, i thought i was clean and was for a long time. through my mid twenties and thirties, then....uh oh, there i was again, and again and again. stay strong and remember all you learned and still are as i am.

[IBKleen]

HHHmmmm..how about our 50's..LOL

Some are slower than others......