Posted by Impermanence on June 9, 2004, at 19:30:34
In reply to Re: Thanks Caper -Impermanence Re:ME ME ME, posted by arrie on June 6, 2004, at 19:10:26
Hi Arrie, I wasen't a heavy heroin user and I was only smoking for a few months so it wasen't too hard to come off, but I still needed help. It was the boredom after I got off the stuff that was the hardest. I was using allot of other drugs at the time so I think they had a big part to play in my withdrawals. I took 20mg of methadone for only about six weeks so again that wasen't hard to come off either, I tapered off, drank and took alot of benzos plus I was still using other illegal drugs to keep me busy. In saying that I would still advise you to stay away from methadone, you can become very dependent on this drug. Some people end up on it for years and withdrawals can be terrible and last for weeks and weeks but it depends on the person, how much you're taking, why you're taking and the help and monitoring you're getting, we're all different.
You said "I know this sounds awful, but at least with alcohol, you dont have to worry about supply." Thats the biggest problem with alcohol Arrie, thats why it's so hard to stay sober. I have went through absolute horrific withdrawals from alcohol and in pure panic drank more and more to ease the fear, this made the "absolute horrific" even more intense the next day. It's terrifying. And to make things worse, when you do get sober you are surrounded by a culture obsessed with alcohol to tempt you back to your demon. Every time I turn on my T.V. I get a beer or sprit add, every soap over here is based around a pub. Over here we have a pub culture that drinks to pass time, celebrate, drown sorrows, socialize, eat dinner, party, you name it. First thing people will say (for any reason) is "let's get the drinks in". Even Jesus drank wine lol. I know you don't drink nearly as much in the U.S. but believe me over here it's an absolute pub culture and the "supply" thing makes it very hard to ever change.
At least when you have to curtail your drugs because of whatever reason it keeps your addiction under control.It's true what you said about addicts, when you go through alot of suffering, any kind of suffering really, you become very aware of how others feel. It teaches you the value of humility and compassion. You (when not out of it!!) are very in touch with powerful emotions. Addicts have a real drive in them and when it's not being used to ingest substances it can be a great advantage in many ways. It's just sad many never realize the possibilities of the drive they waste on getting wasted!!
poster:Impermanence
thread:353951
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20040604/msgs/355225.html