Starting Methadone Program Soon

Madhatter, you are taking a first step toward recovery. Let the methadone program help you to get your life balanced. (Listen to PhillyRy, he seems to know the ropes of methadone.) Do Not go up on your dose, there is NO reason to go up unless you want to make your addiction worse. When things have settled down for you look into a Detox program. It is no where near as difficult as other addicts would have you believe and there are good, strong programs that can give you support. You can probably find a sponsor in and "open" AA meeting by getting to know the folks. With proper medical detox and strong follow up with a sponsor you can overcome the compulsion to use and never have the cravings again.
Best wishes.

 

Except this thread was two years old.

I do agree about being careful w upping methadone doses. I was on methadone before I switched to subs the first time and many ppl who went to the clinic I went to kept upping their doses to crazy levels. Lots of ppl nodding off and stuff during the group meetings we had there.

But I disagree about it being hard to get off methadone. It's POSSIBLE but it's NOT easy.

 

I did not say that it was easy to get off of methadone. It has an extremely long half-life and requires prolonged detox, with symptoms lasting longer than detox from a short half-life drug like heroin.
PS, This applies to benzos as well. Xanax is probably the most commonly abused today and is a longer detox than Ativan or Valium. Curiously, very few people abuse chlordiazepoxide, (Librium), and even with a moderate half life it is not a long detox for most.
Benzo withdrawal is quite dangerous if not medically supervised. Seizures are not uncommon in "cold turkey" withdrawal and can occur for some time after being drug free. Alcohol has similar problems after prolonged use.

 

This is a message for the community as a whole and should not be interpreted as a personal attack on any level or further should not be inferred as commentary about specific events or specific localities.

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But drugs. They were once how I could relate. I've tried them, to fit in I guess. Acid... I had a lot of it. That's important to understand if you want to know who I am. The acid was there. A lot of it was there for a little while anyway; though likely no one was keeping track. I wasn't keeping track...

I remember the damned lava lamp, that...



But the other thing that's interesting to know is that I did heroin. There is a certain amount of nostalgia with that which is initially difficult for me to dismiss. This was around 2006, and I did it a whole 1 time... What I remember was falling asleep, trying to drive, throwing up, and going to the hospital later. It wasn't particularly memorable, but I remember getting through it.

Looking back, I don't really remember liking it all that much. But I liked feeling a part of something. I could easily listen to Seattle rock music without feeling a little left out. I'm not picking on Seattle, but that's what I'm inferring in the moment...

But people change, the music takes a new meaning and ultimately I was able to decide that it wasn't a good option for me.

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Goodbye, heroin. Goodbye drugs...

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Naloxone Injection: MedlinePlus Drug Information

Apparently there is a drug you can keep around if you are doing heroin that will save your life if you overdose.

Here is the conundrum: Am I saving a life, or enabling an addict?

There are also needle exchange programs. Condoning?

I'm not a proponent of drugs. I'm a former drug user. Former alcoholic. My position isn't very stable though. I'm not going to NA. Ever. But I like NA. That's okay. And I'll be okay.

If you know who I am, please don't worry. But also, please don't hope that I'll somehow reach the conclusions that maybe you were able to reach, or that I'll miraculously come to find a better path forward. I am wholly divested from organized religion in my heart and in my mind. I know God, yeah... But I don't know you; nothing personal.

Please, don't ask me to evaluate my life - I already did... Thanks. It's my personal right to live free from interruption and constant intervention.

That's all.

The main thing? Don't bother me, and don't do drugs; it's not worth it.

 

Well done Soul. x

 

I've even done this, though only a handfull of times...:

Biden administration to spend $30M on crack pipes to promote racial equity (msn.com) (crack... not thirty million in 'addict relief')

How hard is it to find a pipe, and what is the point of providing one? Political stunt? Probably not.

These addicted people are people; something that is too frequently forgotten because our window got broken when they stole our laptop to buy drugs or alcohol (probably drugs, huh)...

Well, that has my attention. It cost me $400 to repair, and now I'm frightened too.

Not cool.

But there is a problem. And part of the drug problem that usually gets forgotten (even by me) is the problem of crack use, addiction, and overdose.

let's pause for a moment of intermission: CRACK KILLS YOU.

Now, you probably already knew that and it's almost redundant except for the article there... ^

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When you provide a pipe, I think you're saying more than just "here". You're telling that person something too. You understand. Maybe only because you remember how hard it was to stop typing "xxx.com" the first thing when you turned on your desktop PC around Y2K... Maybe because your cardiologist told you that you needed to lay off the red meat, burgers and fries, beer, salt, or other or you're going to die.

Whatever it may be, you too have seen the difficulty that is faced. It's not easy to put down that pipe.

Well, I think what the administration is saying here is "you are not forgotten" and "help is on the way".

The more that we are aware that these people matter, that they are relevant, and remain a prevalent concern in the hearts and minds of their families, friends, colleagues, and lovers, the more that we have a strong sense of community, social validity of ourselves, and our soul and spirit shine in more of what we do; even when we're a FOX news anchor.

 

WOW well done for writing that. x

 

In treatment circles there is the concept of harm reduction….I think needle exchange programs certainly qualify. I agree with the comments Soul made; it’s not easy. I’m lucky, a trip to rehab, about 5,000 12 step meetings, LOTS of support from my spouse and others in the program worked for me. After 30 years clean and sober I really don’t think about drinking anymore, but I still occasionally get drinking dreams. So I know my disease is still out there doing push-ups.