worried about my teenager

[worried_mother_in_alaska]

Hello,
I just found out recently that my 19 year old son, soon to be 20, has been taking Oxycontin for a few months now. He did finally talk to his auntie, my sister, who he has been staying with in Utah for the past couple years, about his addiction.  He is in the process of moving back to Alaska in jsut over a week.  He has been trying to stop taking Oxycontin, but the sid effects have been very aweful! He is willing to talk to someone, but no insurance and me not being there, makes it hard for me to help him. I am not sure if he should withdrawl slowly or just stop. He will be driving from Utah to California the end of next week to catch a flight from Cali to Alaska. I am very worried that being in a vehicle with 6 others on a day and a half car ride then several hours on a flight to Alaska is going to be extremly hard on him. Is there anything I can do to help him through this time? I am affraid that he is not going to stop if he continues this vomiting and horrible shakes and sweats.  Any help would be very much appriciated. I am not even sure what direction I can go up here to try to get him set up in a program. But, I will be checking it out tomorrow...I am thinking there is like a narcotics annonomous or something....

Thanks for any input!

[whitie]

not a good call right now, have him go to a meth clinic as a secondary option, if he cannot get any for the trip. I agree with the others, best to try and wean down for the trip, if he can manage. hes going to be very sick,especially from oxies ,I am sorry to say this. but he can do it, just have to pick the right time and place.

[J_u_D_e]

Well it's a good thing that your son has finally opened up about his problems on addiction.  It seems that he is also interested in seeking treatment for it.  He should probably get counseling first in order to determine the factors that led him into using oxycontin.  And if things get worse, going to a rehab center facility would be the best decision he could make in order to recover and have a good life again.

National Hotline Intervention and Treatment Referral
http://www.nationalhotline.org/

[flmagi]

Traveling/driving + withdrawals = trouble.
Going cold turkey will take about a week to get thru. This is definitely a bad time to be traveling and especially driving.
I would really recommend staying put until he gets thru the withdrawals or holding off on quiting until he gets to Alaska.
Keep posting here and when your son gets to Alaska, have him post on this forum. He'll get tons of support here.
Good luck to you both.

[IBKleen]

Hi Mom and welcome,

You are in the right place. I have to agree with Mary that he should hold off on his decision to go off the drugs until he gets to Alaska.

I would not normally recommend that to anyone but this is different. You want him to be successful in his detox so it is not a good idea to add in any extra burden at this point. Once he is settled he can begin either a taper or make the decision to go cold turkey.

When he arrives and is ready let us know and we can give you good information on methods and supplements to help ease the withdrawal process as is mentioned above.

Good luck to you both and hope to hear from you.

[scaredmom330]

My heart goes out to you. You have come to the right place. There are so many wonderful and caring people you will met here. Check out the Thomas Recipe and Amino Acid protocol. There are at the bottom right of the page. It isnt gonna be a easy thing but if he is willing it is doable. Take care and pm me anytime. Post and keep posting questions and read other threads.

[allaboutmary]

It's great your son wants to get clean, but I sure wouldn't want to detox while traveling. The bathroom issues will no doubt slow them down. In this case it might be a good idea for him to taper until he is settled in Alaska. It's also a great idea to have him go to N/A etc.  Keep reading and posting. It helps a lot.