The Addiction Help .com

When people get off of the drugs what kind of damage has been done?

pain receptors weaken.. youll feel more pain because endorphins are lacking..

2007-10-11 07:07:01 by Dynamic H

Opiates: hydrocodone, oxicodone, oxicontin, percacet, lortab, vicodin, dimerol, morphine, heroine, methadone, suboxone....apet4u2hold#39;s webcam ...

I don't know how long term you are thinking, but I have been on suboxone for 9 weeks (not extremely long) and whenever I take it, it seems to "boost" my mood. My depression is not bad, but my mania is occasionaly there.

Did you know this? "A clinical trial conducted at Harvard Medical School in the mid-1990s demonstrated that a majority of unipolar non-psychotic patients with major depression refractory to conventional thymoleptic antidepressants could be successfully treated with buprenorphine. However, psychological distress is currently not an approved indication for the use of any opioid, and legally it falls in a "grey zone" that is technically legal but a doctor could still face charges regardless (but not for off-label scripting in itself, simply being singled out by the DEA, who prosecute doctors often for using controlled substances for approved uses ("too much")."

-Which is too bad b/c no anti-depressant I have ever tried, which is many, worked as well as suboxone for treating it. (Though, I am prescribed suboxone for drug addiction).

2007-08-10 06:45:12 by pheggie101

Price: $181.50

is back... i don't know how to handle this.. our wedding reception is next weekend and my birthday is tomorrow.. he spent 750 dollars in the past month on them.. what can i do to help him.. im just so hurt and crushed right now..

i know the effects drugs have on your brain.. and i dont know what to do..

we are healthy and work out besides this.. it is completly unexpected.. advice please?

:(

so are you married or not?? if not hold off and tell him he needs to get some help because thats not what you want in your life and if he loves you he will seek help. ohh and happy birthday.

2008-04-15 11:14:54 by 12/10 ♥ JUST MARRIED! ♥

Me and my fiance were so prepared for this child.
It's finally settled in that I no longer will be a mother.
And it hurts deeply.
It feels like some one stole my unborn child from me and I will no longer get it back.

With that said, I find myself taking hydrocodone pain relievers since then. Such as vicodins, lortabs, and norcos almost everyday. I can handle it when I don't have them, but when I do, I just want to take them. It's never been this serious, and I don't now what to do.

But what are the long term effects of taking opiates? The only thing I've came across is liver damage...right?


Are there any websites, support groups, or books I can look into? Any advice?

in february of 2007 i lost a baby. i was depressed for months. all i wanted to do was cry and sleep. i thought there was something wrong with me and thats why it happened. or that i didnt deserve children. but ive learned that misscarriages happen for a number of reasons. from stress to something being wrong with the baby and ur body taking care of it on its own. ill never really know why mine happened but thats something i had to get over. i shouldve went to counseling but instead i did pretty much what ur doing. and it helps to a point but then it does have its bad side affects. especially if u ever want to try again. i got pregnant again around november 31rst of 07. and the entire time until the moment i had her i was constantly scared i was gonna lose her. but other than having to have a csection bc she didnt flip she was fine.
as for the side effects here is what ive found and where:
Vicodin: not only liver damage but also liver failure
http://www.cirquelodge.com/VicodinAddiction/index.php
Loratab: Repeated use of Lortab can cause long-term side effects, changing the way the nervous system functions.
and the link lists a crapload more side effects that can happen
http://www.lortabaddiction.com/l-side-effects.htm
Norco and vicodin are pretty much the same but none of them are good for you to take long term...

here are some support groups:
http://www.amysangels.com/
http://www.inciid.org/forum/index.php

this one looks the best tho:
http://dailystrength.org/c/Miscarriage-Stillbirth/support-group


if u need any more information or anything just leave me a message, id put my email address on here but i dont want everyone who reads this to have it.

2008-11-29 15:17:54 by MeggyS

I have been using opiates for over a year now, sometimes with a perscription sometimes with out. Oxycontin has been my main obsticle and being that it nearly costs a dollar a milligram it can cost up to $100 just for one day. I have not been using everyday but every chance I get money thats where almost all of it goes. My mom is aware of this addiction and I have been trying to stress to her that this is a very hard one to break. I have used marijuana, adderall, benzodiazapines, and other perscription medicine. Opiates have this grab on me that is very hard to quit.

Withdrawls are the worst, I dont feel like doing anything, I get these unstopable cravings, and I feel very depressed. Not having insurance that covers rehab I told my mom that going to the Methadone clinic would help all my cravings and withdrawls and that I can slowly get off Methadone. My mom said that "you cant use another drug to get off a drug" Apparently she knows people that have used Methadone for pain problems and it has had very bad side effects and could cause cancer? thats what she told me. She said that I should go to NA meetings but I have been and it hasnt been all that eye opening for me.

Is there another route or will I just have to go on the Methadone program without her knowing? I am of legal age to do so.

Your addiction history is short. Methadone is an option, but in most cases I think it's a last resort for those who simply can't ever feel normal again and may need something, possibly for life, just to feel normal. Methadone is expensive and EXTREMELY restrictive on your lifestyle. Methadone is also bar none the hardest pain-killer to kick by far because it lasts so long. Being that it can be weaned can counteract much of this but it's still very hard. Unfortunately many clinics are typically very cruel in the way they treat people as well.

If you have insurance & really don't want to try the rehab/sober lifestyle I would try out "suboxone" first with your relatively short addiction history. It's basically "methadone-lite" and you can be prescribed a 30-day TAKE HOME supply relatively shortly after starting. Compared to going into a clinic every single day and "earning" take-homes. In fact I believe suboxone works better. It doesn't work well on cravings for everyone though so you'd have to try it out. Usually those with addiction histories such as yours do very well on suboxone. Go to naabt.org and find a doctor. Call around and look for one that has an affordable rate. Getting on subs isn't cheap! (but if you have insurance 85% covers subs so in the end its about the same as methadone).

Gather up a list of what the doctors charge and what their terms are for how they prescribe etc. Unfortunately many of these doctors want nothing more than to suck the money dry from people, but there are good ones. Either way suboxone isn't cheap to start on. The closer to metro you live, the better choices you'll have. Doctors don't accept insurance for this (which is good in its own sense). Suboxone itself is still patented until about a year from now and is super expensive if you're insurance won't cover it, but still can be around the same as 'done if you do your homework and average the cost out over time. Most doctors overprescribe it BIG time and you can often get what is really a 2-3 month supply from "one months worth" which is great if you have insurance.

By the way, if you're really in search of some sort of "buzz" the legal way neither methadone or suboxone will be what you're looking for. Suboxone has an even longer half-life than methadone and is not easy to kick either, but is a good deal easier to kick than methadone.

Methadone does not cause cancer!

The truth is there is NO BEST cookie-cutter plan. You need to find what works for you. At the end of the day it's your life and if NA isn't what works for you, then so be it. Some type of support system is something you should have though.

I highly recommend at least TRYING suboxone first. Methadone definitely has its role, but it really controls your life too. After a while, you wanna go no a trip or something but don't get enough "take-homes" you have to and fill out paperwork and get an approval or go to a clinic in the town you're going to for "guest dosing" driving in day after day, just to feel some normalcy. Want to go hang out at a methadone clinic on your romantic trip with your SO or something? Not trying to be negative, just want you to udnerstand the harsh reality.

Methadone is typically for those in very deep as it is extremely hard to get off of and very controlling of your life.

By the way stop paying $1/mg for oxy you're getting ripped man! Oxy is one of the more expensive pahrms too, if you can find something else financially it'd save you a load. Of course don't mess with H if you're trying to quit.

If you really want to get clean and off everything give it a serious go somewhere for kicking, it only gets harder.

The reason you feel so bad when stopping is because your brain takes a good amount of time to repair itself. Opiate abuse causes your brain to multiply its pain receptors, then when you go without they initially go nuts (withdrawal) and then afterward they slowly start to go to sleep very slowly. The brain also stops producing its own endorphins as the same rate as it did before. So when you stop you have all these extra receptors that need pain relief and your brain not producing hardly any of its own to top it off.

So it'll probably take you a several months off to start feeling completely normal again after using. Many people believe at some point the natural production of endorphins gets to a point that it can't be repaired & this is why people need something like methadone for life, as even years off of opiates they don't ever feel quite normal. A year in you should be fine and do alright.

If you do decide to get on a maintenance program do yourself a big favor and at least try suboxone first. Methadone as a last resort. If you really want to stop at only a year in go to a detox center at least once or twice before going on methadone in my opinion.

If you relapse, just get back on, its part of recovery.

http://www.stopdrugprohibition.com/Community is a good place to discuss this stuff. It's not a forum about getting clean so much, but there are particular forum areas dedicated to doing so. However, in some cases it may be best to avoid anything that reminds you of using. Not many people understand addiction so it can be helpful to discuss it with those who do. If nothing else you can find out some information no getting started on your road to sobriety/maintenance in your area.

Good Luck

ALSO as someone has already pointed out, the person who said opiate withdrawal is all mental obviously has no clue about this subject.

Furthermore, someone mentioned you could have seizures from withdrawal. You can NOT have seizures from OPIATE W/D. They must be thinknig of Benzo W/D.
Opiate WD is NOT directly life-threatening although it sure feels like it. In the cases where someone dies from opiate WD is from INDIRECT causes, almost always dehydration. Being in a medical setting for detox is definitely ideal, but the vast majority of the time you'll survive outside. If it's a methadone detox (and possibly subs) you definitely should have someone attending to you. Since the WD lasts SO long things like dehydration become very serious. This is becoming a big problem in places like prison when people are forced to cold turkey and provided with zero medical attention. Many are dying in prison as a result.

2008-09-23 11:51:15 by Bob Job