Lots of tough stories about synthetic opiates on here. Do your research and see. 30 days is awesome, congrats.
Yeah benji929 I gotta agree with the guys upstairs...going to sub at this point is definitely not your answer. You've got the physical side of the fight under control but the other stuff takes time and hard work. Congratulations on your month clean. From your post it looks like your life has been basically way outa whack for at least 4 years and you will need help getting to a place where you're happy and healthy all the way around. We were all looking for something and we thought we had found it in drugs but after some time that existence only proved to be horrible at best so now it's time to figure out what it is you truly want. In the beginning most of us only concentrated on the basics: staying clean, having a safe place to live, and enough to eat. This meant jumping into recovery with both feet. Going to meetings and building a network of people in recovery was tantamount. Some of us had to leave the environments we were living in and seek refuge elsewhere. Some of us had been in active addiction so long we'd forgotten how to work and it was difficult for us to find employment. After we'd been clean a while we could begin to set goals and if we stayed clean we got to see them come to pass.
You have 30 days and that's awesome. Keeping your mind and body busy will take care of the cravings. I stayed so busy the first 90 days I had no time to think about using. having too much time on your hands is dangerous...that's when you start THINKING.
You can do this. Get out, make a life for yourself, get in the best physical shape possible, learn about nutrition and how it affects you....do anything but use!!
Hey there Benji! Welcome & thanks for reaching out & asking your excellent question (I'm always grateful when someone asks & doesn't just do it because a Dr. suggests it!)
The first thing we gotta' understand is that addiction is primarily a neural &/or environmental disease. The physical part is a relatively small component. I'm not sure what you've been told about Suboxone but sometimes we get folks coming in whose Drs. have lead them to believe that Subs will stop cravings (which they won't if you've done Heroin for any appreciable amt. of time) &/or that Subs are somehow different from other opiates & simply block the effects of w/d's & the high from other opiates. This simply isn't true. Yes, it'll block the euphoria of other opiates but it is a fully synthetic opiate that stores in your tissues & binds to certain receptor sites more tightly than any other opiate. These factors make Subs along with M'done the roughest kick out there. I've kicked M'done & Subs & I've also 'kicked' H multiple times & can definitely tell you that H is an easier detox.
I'd like to resoundingly second everything my friend ActingBrandNew said above. The fact is is that there is no 'drug' -- no magic bullet -- that will save you from relapse. I know it s*cks but it's true. The fact of the matter is that we've got to change our entire way of doing, thinking & ultimately, being if we want to stay clean. I've recently found that it's TRULY the work of a lifetime.
If you really want this, you can do it!! This site is a wonderful resource & there are many generous folks here who'd be happy to share their hard earned wisdom & support you through your detox & beyond. I'd just like you to know that I was exactly where you are a while back -- asking the same questions & that I couldn't have gotten clean (so far, knock wood!!) without MH. So, please....use this forum for all it's worth. I know that H is rough but You Can Do This & You Owe It To Yourself. We're Here & we're in your corner!
"My question is, would suboxone be a good option for me right now to keep away the cravings and to lessen my chance of a relapse? even though ive been clean for about a month or so? "
NO....
Your clean right now...there's absolutely no need to take suboxone...The cravings will eventually go away but you need to be proactive in your recovery. Hit some NA meetings, go to some addiction counseling....something to help you deal with and process those cravings.
You start taking suboxone...you will eventually have to detox from that which seems like pure hell from what Ive seen on this forum. And then when you come off the Subs...you will still have cravings. You need to put the work in and go after your recovery like your life depends on it. Taking Subs....while you've already been clean for a month...is taking the easy way out that will bite you in the arse in the long run.
Im ex heroin...ex pills....ex if it breaks down in water Im shooting it up and have been clean 3+ years. To stay clean I had to be a part of my recovery and that's going to aftercare programs that help deal with things like cravings.
Learn to walk on your own...you dont need a crutch!
Always,
ABN