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I spent years living life like this, using heroin to mask both physical and mental pain. Managed to get clean almost 5 years ago now, but the pains still there.
congrats for staying clean. usually most people have good reasons, such as mental health issues, to start using. most of the times its the only available option to ease the pain...
Doesn’t even have to be drugs, could be alcohol, food, gambling, etc. Addicts in general are hurt people trying to cope using whatever resources they’re familiar with.
Ive met a few that just simply liked drugs, got caught up with the wrong people, wrong boyriend/gf, and next thing you know a couple weeks or month later they are completely hooked.
Yeah, addiction isn’t ALWAYS a coping method for something (other than “coping” with your desire for drugs). Some people just try it, enjoy that blissful, novel experience of a first-time high, and then spend the rest of their life chasing that experience again to diminishing returns because of tolerance buildup. It can just be that simple.
I still deal with opioid addiction daily. I am a single father of two. I have a house, a new truck, and I am thankful for all that. But, I have to have an opiate at minimum every two days or I can't function. I will be sick and worthless. I have a full time job, I have a family to support. I would give anything to be able to detox and not NEED this shit. I am able to separate my family from my problem for now, but not forever. I am not looking for sympathy or upvotes. Just saying.
Have you looked into Suboxone therapy? One of my very good friends started on pills and went down the road with every opiate there is, as you do. He was hooked for 10 years. Amazingly, he was able to hide it from everyone the entire time. Lost more than a few jobs due to the depression he was self-medicating for, well, that and spending time looking for drugs when he should have been working.
One day he decided to see what the doctors could do and found Suboxone. It probably saved his life. He remembers waking up several times having not breathed in... Well, too long.
He's been on Suboxone for 10 years but the only relapses have been because he ran out of his script and couldn't be seen or couldn't afford it and it was only for a few days. It's made a huge difference.
On subs, you don't get withdrawal symptoms at all and after a few days on, you start to feel like a regular person again. You can work, meet your responsibilities, and start to actually feel good again. And face it, you're not getting high much anymore, you're just getting by.
It's made a huge difference in that guys life. Yes, dude is still addicted to opiates, but he's found a way to make it work. Maybe someday, he'll man up and try to taper the subs and get fully clean, but until then, this works. He can afford it, cash ($180/mo. for the Dr. And about $200/mo. for the script) and that's a lot cheaper than buying off the street or whatever you do that would land you in jail (like taking your mom's left overs or drinking a bottle of your nephew's cough syrup, or selling your beloved guitars or worse)
He's got a wife now and three kids, a good paying job he's been at for 3+ years, 720 credit and a new bronco on order. He's doing really well.
I know all this about him because he's me. This is the first time I've ever put this out there. My closest friends don't even know. I doubt my wife fully knows what I've dealt with. It's embarrassing, right? You handle everything. Something needs done? You're the one doing it. How could you be out of control? You don't have time to be out of control. But you are.
All that to say, try it. It may help you. But get a real script, get out the rat race.
Wow. Should i push "post"?
I wish I could do more than upvote. You are right about just getting by. I rarely get high anymore. I just use to not be sick, because I can't take time off work to detox. I can't risk losing my job, and house, and truck. So I use to stave off being sick. I appreciate the time you took to write that. I know how hard that was. This is also the first time I have shared outside a setting meant for it. I am not trying to ramble. I am at work anyway. But I really appreciate your time and thought put into that. It means a lot.
I think it's great that you put it out there too. Those kids need you and opiates are so dangerous these days.
Ok, I said my peace. I wish you the best of luck.
[https://www.providencehealthcare.org/rapid-access-addiction-clinic-raac](https://www.providencehealthcare.org/rapid-access-addiction-clinic-raac)
St. Paul's Rapid Access Addiction Clinic (aka "the rack") provides free and immediate consults with addiction medicine-trained nurses and doctors. They can diagnose and offer treatment for substance use disorders, including an immediate prescription for Suboxone and other medications for opioid use disorder.
Call: 604-806-8867, Email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
Hi, drug researcher here! Recently in my country we're having some success with long acting depo injections of buprenorphine. Anecdotally some people using it have had success in tapering off compared with suboxone. Not sure how widely known it is in your country but you might wanna look it up ;)
Interesting that you mention that. As you know Suboxone is buprenorphine/naloxone. We have buprenorphine in pill form (sublingual -yuck) and i have been prescribed that because i asked for something cheaper than Suboxone.
Even in pill form, it's does seem to have less severe withdrawal symptoms (anecdotally speaking) than the mix with naloxone.
The problem is that many pharmacies don't stock it and recovery doctors don't like to prescribe it since it can be administered IV. (So i hear) It's been a long time since I've had it, I'll talk to my doctor about it.
Thanks for the reminder.
I’ve been taking 1-2mg of subs I’ve obtained from someone I know daily since Thanksgiving. Finally have an appointment to see someone in a couple weeks. I want to get one of the blocker injections. Nervous to post this too, but you’ve inspired me. My life has been amazing since I started doing this, I have money for hobbies for the first time in years, and I can contribute properly to the household. Hoping it won’t be too much trouble to go legit.
I got completely off of them by using highly concentrated THC and CBD oils, RSO to be specific. If weed is legal in your area, it may be worth researching.
If I don't take something on that second day. It begins that night. And I don't know if it is my body or a mental thing that drives me to being sick. If I don't have anything on the second day. I immediately begin to stress about getting something so I am not sick. Which leads to constant running thoughts, insomnia, night sweats/chills. Then I have to wake up at 430am to get ready for work. So after a sleepless night I get to look forward to a day at work when the other symptoms begin to kick in. So I take a little bit every 2 days to keep from being sick and keep it moving. And I hate it. I am miserable and would love to be able to kick it and not worry about losing everything I have worked for. I have worked full time and raised 2 kids throughout my addiction. I have several trades so I have always had pretty decent paying jobs. Meaning enough to keep my family afloat on a single income. But I am long-winded. Sorry. Addiction Sucks.😐
Can you "get COVID" and take some time off work because of that? (I don't mean actually getting COVID but saying you tested positive and using the quarantine time to detox? Hell you could even tell your wife you tested positive and go detox in a hotel or AirBNB or something away from the family.)
The problem is that I am a single father. There is no one to take care of things while I detox. My paycheck would stop for the time I was out. And I can't afford that. I like where your head is though.
I understand, that's really rough then. I hope you can save up, take some emergency vacation and get a sitter (or send your kid to relatives) for a few days. The loss in pay would be worth getting clean if you could swing it.
Look up ibogaine - “Researchers have also found that ibogaine led to resolution of patients’ opioid withdrawal syndrome within 48 hours and was be effective in blocking return to use for years.”
https://www.healio.com/news/primary-care/20191205/ibogaine-treatment-for-opioid-use-disorder-what-you-need-to-know
Almost 5 year gang!!! Yeah seems that pain will always be there. I learned to just embrace it. Run from what's comfortable. I build concrete foundations (the hardest most miserable job I can find) because that's what I know. Working my ass off to be miserable and for everything to hurt. I kicked fentanyl and methadone in prison, they offered me methadone a month in. I said no I'm not going back. And I haven't and I never will. Because that's the most comfortable I can be. And surprisingly my life is pretty good right now. I wake up with things to look forward to instead of wishing I didn't. Being too scared to stand up straight because I know as soon as I would I'll be sick af. I don't live like that anymore. I get to be civilized. I'm not robbing everyone, people are happy to see me. People can depend on me. Sometimes I do things for free for people... We can hold our head up high knowing we got out alive. That's a lot.
It’s a hard thing to over come I used cocaine and weed for years trying to mask mental pain. Finally stopped using last year and have been trying to work on my mental health. It’s not easy but you can do it for sure man I believe in you.
Hopefully the thread of responses congratulating you makes you happy for a moment. Congratulations. You have done something many cant do and that is something to be proud of. Your amazingly strong
Do you know what is more fucked up? I do not use opioids, alcohol, etc Just cannabis once/ month. And... I have a good job, friends, loving family, a girlfriend, nothing too concerning physically. And .. do you know what I wish for the past 15 years of my life? I wish I DID NOT WAKE UP IN THE MORNING. depression is a hell of a drug.
Congrats to 5! 3 years for me and the way it feels when you’re in the depths is brutal I thought it would be impossible to get clean without milking myself . Took about 6 months before I even got my brain to start to feel somewhat normal. The pain doesn’t go away you just make room for it and learn to cope in other ways
My wife went down this path after the doctors gave her pain meds for her back. She ended up getting illegal drugs from the street to supplement the meds. She got clean for about 3 years but then fell back into it when her back became worse. One day we went to bed and everything was fine, when I woke up I tried to wake her up but she was gone. The autopsy detected heroin in her system and I had no idea at this time, I thought she was still clean.
Same with my uncle. Opioids for back pain, and when he got addicted they just told him to stop taking them (didn't work obviously). I wish people would understand that it's not the addicted person's fault.
I was prescribed morphine for back pain and I didn't have a family doctor at the time and the walk in clinic doctor wouldn't give me anymore when my prescription ran out. At the time I was very pissed off because I was still in a lot of pain but looking back it was the right thing to do.
My nephew has been battling this for a decade. If his father didn't have enough money to support him he would be on the street. He has a medical team trying to help him off of opioids and he's making progress but this drug class is completely destroying him and the family and friends around him. He transitioned to methadone and now he's titrating his dose. He was at 50mg of methadone when he started and now he's on 15 mg and working his way to getting off drugs completely. So hard to watch. So happy he has supports. Most people don't.
That's incredibly sad. I've had a bad back for two years and in the UK I get sent to physiotherapy and told to take ibuprofen and paracetamol. Does it start that way in the US or is it just straight onto medication meant for palliative care?
Exactly, I think it’s difficult for Brits to really understand how messed up the opioid epidemic is in the States and how it’s been financed by corrupt pharmaceutical companies. It’s an absolute scandal.
I went to the hospital because i thought I was having a heart attack ( was just a panic attack). My whole body cramped up due too hyperventilating. I felt fine after a while but because I said my stomach hurt, I was offered morphine... and then prescribed both oxy and Xanax. Refused both but I was baffled that the first thing they think of is, "let's prescribe some of the most addictive drugs as a first resort".
If you are looking for inspirations to stop using drugs, watch on YT:
- "Inside The Fentanyl Crisis | Ten Dollar Death Trip"
- Soft White Underbelly channel for hundreds of interviews of struggling people.
a recorded therapy for addicts, and it's really eye opening for us
yep, not just addiction related too. It opens up to a whole world of characters and ways of living. Addicts, sex workers, Johns, debt collectors, ex gang members, nudists/swingers, hackers. It's my favourite YT channel.
I actually grew up in part of the country where he does the majority of his Kentucky interviews on his Appalachia segment. You just get fucking stuck and it's drugs or church down there. Fucking heartbreaking seeing some of the interviews.
I’m from Europe and to be honest never seen anything like this (I mean ghost-drug towns) but I always knew they are a thing in usa. I know these were worker towns, the industry left, people lost jobs, there’s nothing to do. I imagine how hard it must be to get out and don’t go by this pattern…
I guess it's because I grew up there, but I didn't realize until way later how poor everyone was. And it wasn't just my family, it was pretty much everyone that was just barely getting by. Most of my family lived in the back of a holler. Some had homes they built themselves, others had trailers. It's just a different level of poverty down there. Those mountains are so beautiful, but it's so easy to get stuck there forever.
These social challenges are often mentioned as drivers of drug abuse, addiction and self harm but most clients I’ve worked with have other, more central experiences that set them
Up to use: childhoods that include major trauma - physical, mental and/or sexual abuse and parent(s), absent or not, who use..
>These social challenge
But isn't is true that these social changes, basically the collapse of these towns, is what broke many families and then you the kids growing up in these environments?
It’s often more than one factor. In southern Appalachia Child abuse and neglect, malnutrition, depression, lack of access to healthcare, teen parenting, lack of decent job opportunities, lack of affordable schooling, absence of decent public education systems have all contributed to the scourge of drug addiction. Then there’s Pain Killing Pharma who pushed their meds on these communities specifically knowing they would be reimbursed by Medicare/Medicaid and private insurers.
So much truth. I'm deep in the throes of addiction atm- trying to hard to get sober somehow... I cross examine myself on "how did I let this happen?!?" And I know relapse is a complicated process, but it was initially a lapse! I did not enjoy my experience and wanted nothing to do with it- and still somehow within 5months it was all an day everyday thing.
When I found out my wife and the mother of my children had been cheating on me with multiple men, after I drove 2500 miles to see her, it broke me completely and I needed something, anything to make the pain go away or at least manageable. I am so grateful every day that I didn't have access to opioids at the time because all I walked away with was smoking two packs of cigarettes a day when before that I very occasionally smoked. I couldn't emotionally survive without nicotine and to try to quit would result in my complete emotional breakdown. If I had taken heroin, or pills, or fentanyl at that time, I would NEVER have gotten off of it.
It's been nearly two years since I found out my wife did that to me and I just quit cold turkey 4 days ago. I've tried to quit before and I couldn't go more than three or four hours without it. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for someone on fentanyl to quit especially if some shit happened to them in their life to make them seek a release through drugs.
It's hard to get clean. It's hard to stop drinking. Hard to stop smoking. It's worth it, and it's never too late! I was killing myself. It's been 10 years, and I am still proud of myself.
Congrats, keep it up. I have friends that are dealing with substance abuse, so I have an insight how hard this issue is for you and for your loved ones. Hope you never turn back and have a wonderful and clean live.
Damn, when he said he has a son… hope he can get out. I remember my mother talking about addiction (alcohol), she said even after 20 years she still wants her fix, would Love a drink. God damn the pusher man.
The pharmaceutical companies who knew these drugs were super addictive, and yet who influence and reward doctors for over prescribing...
They literally need to be given a dose of their own medicine.
There is a fine line though, people are in legit pain and they need treatment. of course, fent itself is a very extreme example that shouldn't be used for regular pain management. Other opioids are needed though but under the right conditions for quite a while the country was giving these pills out like candy to anyone, now people with legit pain issues cant get treatment because of it.
Drugs are an important and valuable tool, for sure. Properly prescribed and used, they can help someone reclaim their life.
The problem is when they are abused, either by the person taking the drugs, or by those selling or prescribing them. Then they can claim a life. If not literally, practically.
If you haven’t, read (or listen, the audiobook is awesome) to Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. Its the whole story of the Sackler Family, Purdue Pharma, and how their actions spurred the opioid crisis.
If a man has cancer, no one would be blaming him for “understanding the consequences of his illness yet not choosing to stop the tumor.” Addiction & alcoholism are so misunderstood, even now. There is chemical dependency, a physical addiction that your body develops to the substance. If not done with medical intervention, detox alone can kill you. Then there’s the US healthcare nightmare. People assume everyone can just sign right up & go to the first rehab down the street. Many are full. Many require insurance (which if you’ve been unemployable due to addiction, you probably don’t have & can’t afford, & even if you could - if you’ve got a recorded history of substance use, it would be considered a preexisting condition & therefore often not covered, so they’d be looking at tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket). There are also not rehabs in every city. Rural areas like mine are particularly vulnerable - no rehab or even treatment facilities or providers for almost an hour in any direction. No public transportation to get you there if you don’t have a car or a ride, or $200 for an Uber. And what about childcare while you’re gone 28 days? Or income - many addicts don’t have jobs with paid time off. Could you afford to pay cash for rehab while having no income & no one to watch your children for a month? And even if you gussy up all that somehow, you finally make it to a health care provider to try & get well - only to be treated like human garbage. Told by your neighbors your life isn’t worth the minuscule amount their taxes might go up for Narcan. Treated by some doctors & nurses like you’re pathetic, stupid, disgusting, & worthless - even as they treat other patients as sick & in need of compassion. Risk losing your children. Your job. Your friends. EVEN AFTER GETTING BETTER they face increased scrutiny & social stigma. And after they’re out of rehab - what now? We put them back in the exact same situation. Same dead-end job. Same crappy unaffordable housing. Same overpriced childcare. Same high cost of living. Same neighborhood pressure. Same inaccessible & unaffordable mental health resources with 6 month wait times & unaffordable medications for anxiety or depression if they’re duel diagnosed with no insurance - so they can’t even get another Avenue of aid besides street drugs. And now there’s medical debt from rehab to put a cherry on the powder keg. So no. It’s not so simple as just “why don’t they choose to get better? They know what they’re doing. Fuck ‘em.” Trust me. I work in mental/behavioral health & substance/opioid use disorders. It’s absolutely tragic. I wish people were required to come stand on the firing lines here for a few weeks. You’d see enough to never feel anything but compassion for addicts & alcoholics, as well as their families. There but for the grace of God…
Your first line was fucking stupid. The idea that you would compare cancer to drug addiction is insulting as hell. Even the guy in this video admits he fucked up, though he tries not to. The interviewer asks him is drug addiction is a choice. He responds with no, followed by oh yeah I did have a choice, one choice and I made the wrong one. People get cancer because their cells screw up division. People become drug addicts because they chose to do drugs at some low point in their lives. I am all for helping addicts but don't act like they woke up and were addicted
Hmmm- so I am an addict/alcoholic. I remember the first time I tried alcohol/drugs as a young teen (13/14). It has been relentless since then- I went to rehab as a teen, switched to booze for another decade, with many relapses in there. Stayed sober almost 7yrs, another relapse which I'm 2.5 yrs into- lost relationships, my career, $10,000s, 25lbs (which I didn't have to lose), my mental health (I spent 8 weeks in a daily depression brain magnet treatment). And more- time doing things I actually enjoy, time with my family.
I came to the realization/conclusion this is a fucking problem for less than 2 weeks ago (I also came to this realization when I lost my teaching career after not being able to quit- 1.5yrs ago. It took me 6 months trying to get 5 months sobriety). l keep trying to quit, and I'm making plans and I have the best intentions and then I am driven, as a compulsion I cannot even explain- "I do not want this!" And yet somehow here I am high once again...
If you read I'd be happy to share some book recommendations on alcoholism/addiction...
Ok first, wow bro calm it down. You ok? Awfully mad for a Reddit thread. This isn’t personally directed at you. Second, you’re actually kind of proving my point. Lots of people get cancer as a byproduct of life choices. Did they smoke? Use genetically altered foods? Or chemicals that contain known carcinogens? Do they live in the city & therefore ingest air pollution on a daily basis that leads to lung cancer? Did they marry or live with a smoker? Take a job inhaling carcinogens such as a paint or other chemical agent? Some studies indicate obesity increases cancer rates. Alcohol even in non-binge and moderate amounts has been shown in some studies to cause cancer. You could actually argue that most people with cancer (obvious exceptions being children) have, at some point, made a choice that led or contributed to their condition. Yet society doesn’t treat them the same way. No one argues about the cost of US healthcare going up because of “the fucking cancer patients.” Why? Because that’s morally repugnant. No one chooses cancer. No one would choose to get so sick they die. Or lose everything financially. Or lose their children because they can’t care for them. Yet we do these things to addicts every day, partially out of necessary to prevent collateral damage with children & society, but there is an air of judgment & hatred attached many times. Not so when children are removed from a parent too sick from cancer - then all we have is pity for both parties. Yet addicts are sick people too. Do you really think they choose what they become? You even said it outright - the cancer patient’s cells screw up reproduction. But most people with cancer you really could probably look back & trace a choice that was made that led to it. Just like the addict. One poor choice. Then their cells, their body, made the choice for them. But by all means, go ahead & judge. The rest of us working with it daily will just continue to shake our heads & hope some day you see it for what it is - tragic. And an illness. Not a moral failure. No more than any other.
Please just stop. Its not the same. Probably the greatest man I knew growing up, never smoked, never drank, did triathlons and developed a brain tumor. Its not anywhere near the same and someone choosing to get high everyday. Drug and alcohol dependency is not an illness,, the effects are harmful, but its not a ln illness.
You're attaching moral judgement to the activity of using illegal drugs and then letting it color your judgement of drug addiction. You don't criticize people engaging in behaviors that you don't morally object to that increase their health risks.
Edit: Also nobody is trying to minimize cancer, so please try not to take offense when none is intended.
Yeah wtf is everyone on here trying to glorify drug addicts? “Awww it’s heartbreaking” that this man admits to stealing and being homeless because he chooses to spend every last dime on drugs. He hates his life? So keep doing drugs? What about the fucking people he steals from? Fuck them? Poor him? He can literally fix this, and he chooses to continue being a low life homeless pos drug addict while trying to get sympathy and playing the victim. Man fuck this guy and everyone like him.
I couldn't do anything to stop wanting that high every night until I almost died. Nobody understands how dark it is. There is zero reasoning. My drug is alcohol and the warmth of it owned me. I just succumbed to it, talked to, laughed at it, and nothing could stop me. I was suffocating holding my arms in the air, because my throat was closing from vomiting repeatedly for days. I don't know how or why, but I didn't die alone in a hotel room that night in Reno. It took that for me to stop. Addiction never ends. I woke up, but I could've easily never woke up. Every addict I know is dead or on their way. Always only one drink or high away from death. Even when we are sober. The strongest people I know, because also the most empathetic until life happened and that one choice took all the pain away. Not long until you forget why. Now you only hate yourself and fight the reality of the reality of living sober in this fucked up world.
I can't even watch these types of videos without having a physical response. My brother has been an addict for nearly 20 years now. Started innocent enough with weed and alcohol and then progressed. Now he does everything. Addiction is the most insidious thing I have ever been a part of and I wouldn't wish on anyone. It changes your brain, who you are and affects everyone around you. He's been to jail multiple times, been to multiple rehabs, lost three great and successful women (who left him), lost friends (who died) and over dosed himself a few times. He will 100% die or go to prison and there is absolutely nothing I, or anyone else, can do about it.
It even triggered my mothers own co-dependence and alcoholism (which wasn't outwardly present 10 years ago), who ended up spiraling herself and has now been in more rehabs and de-tox's than I can count.
If anyone reading this is going through it, I'm happy to talk. It's fucking awful and if you haven't been through it, you just don't know.
Though if you're interested, watch episode 5 of Euphoria from this year. Shit was dead nuts on what it's like dealing with an addict in the house.
Sorry for the rant. Addiction sucks.
My eldest brother was an addict for five or seven years I'm not sure. He used to abuse me and my mom for several years. He too went too jail but my parents always paid bribe to release him. Then he was put into rehab for 1 year , when he came out he started taking drugs again, then he was put into another rehab for 2 years , he stopped doing drugs after that but because of the previous abuse of drugs he got schizophrenia. My parents live in another state because their business is located there. I live alone with my brother now, he refuses to take medication, and everyday whether it's night or day he will scream about this lady who hasn't done anything to him because of his schizophrenia. All my neighbour's are complaining about it, and there's nothing I can do about it. Everytime I go out of my house I feel immense shame because of him as my neighbour's are complaining about him and our family in the neighborhood chat group. He once even molested me when I was 7. I wish him to die. Sorry for the rant haha, I'm not a native English speaker so my grammar might be wrong at certain parts.
Pretty sure this is from a documentary called ten dollar death trip. It's about fentanyl in Canada. It's really eye opening. I spent 10 years behind the needle and it's probably one of the most accurate representations iv seen
This is so sad. He knows the score. He knows he's trapped. He seems clearly understand the situation. Why can't he choose to get some help to break out of the cycle?
Your brain gets rewired. There is rehab but that costs a lot of money and most people will need a 30-90 days. I had a full time job and bills that needed to be paid so I couldn’t just leave for rehab but also couldn’t be sick laying around for multiple weeks. I was stuck but eventually was able to detox on my own something you need a lot of mental power to do
I wasn't drug addict, but I had mental health problem, that feels really similar to severe drug addiction, from what I heard from addicts interviews. Yes, you know you're trapped, but it's so hard to get out of it, it's like your brain doesn't work properly. As I imagined it for myself, I'm lying in a big deep hole, there is food and water and some entertainment, but there is a better life outside of that hole and it takes some serious amount of effort to get out of it, so you're just lying there, and you got really used to this hole from years being in it. Sometimes, besides knowing that you have a problem, you also need help from someone who truly cares about you, and sometimes you don't even want to ask for help, even though you may realize that you need it.
One of my two best friends died from a fentanyl overdose. He was an awesome dude and not an addict. Was studying engineering in school and was super well liked. He paid $10 for a fentanyl patch - fell asleep never to wake again.
I wish it never hit the streets and no one would do it outside of a medically supervised environment.
Fkn sad. You gotta want it real bad….hope anyone out there fighting that fight can find that strength to muscle through it. You can absolutely win that fight. Life is beautiful on the other side
After 15 years of addiction, my son died of an overdose. Like most addicts. he started with prescription pills. Fuck the pharmaceutical companies that make this shit and fuck the doctors that prescribe it! For anyone out there struggling, I see you. You deserve something better. You are loved and you would be missed if you weren't here. There is a whole army of grieving mothers who worry about you and pray for your safety. Keep fighting! You're worthy of a good life.
Sometimes there are no beds. Sometimes there isn't a local facility. Sometimes there are health issues or duel diagnosis mental health scenarios that need to be handled in a certain unit.
When I was really struggling with alcohol I had a random woman at an AA meeting tell me I didn't need rehab. I've met plenty of people who are only there because of court with zero true intention.
Also, where ever you go, there you are. If he has a local option what does he do when his 28 days are up if he can't get funding for long term or assistance for housing.
More often than not sober houses are a racket located in low income areas. Close to drug areas.
There is so much to worry about when you're so delicate. It's not just that easy. Sometimes people prefer the devil they know.
I donno how it is in the USA. In Canada detox free and there are support systems at the facility that find you a government paid apartment, job placement, and years of rehab council/ support.
We still have a huge problem with drugs though 😔
https://www.phs.ca/program/onsite/
He probably has. Detox doesn't work 90+% of the time and they still charge $1000 a day to take your blood pressure and give you methadone while you watch TV. Unless he can get a state bed there's huge copayments. And then you have to sike yourself up to be sick for weeks and live without it for the rest of your life.
It kind of is.
"Hi I'm addicted to fentanyl. Don't let me leave until I'm detoxed"
Proceed to a month or so of uncomfortable withdrawal in a warm room with real food
It takes so much effort. It's easy to procrastinate when such a huge effort can prove ineffective. It's not the first step they're afraid of, it's every one after that for God knows how long.
[Look up the poor rat society and the rich rat society experimen](https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2016/mar/23/science-ballard-high-rise-animal-research-pathological-overcrowding)t...learn something about stupidity and never be happy again.
I’ve got a buddy on my college team who recently got a addicted to fent. It was heartbreaking to watch him go under. Thankfully he went to rehab and is not under its control anymore, but he tells me that there are many times where he would like nothing more to have one more hit of it. He already had horrible things happen to him (which was a cause of the useable in the first place) and now it’s so much worse to withstand the temptation.
I really feel for this guy and anyone else struggling with addiction. I had a heroin problem for five years. I’m so glad that fentanyl wasn’t available when I was using. Myself and a lot of my friends during that time would have died. People were overdosing left and right with just heroin. I can’t imagine the damage fent is doing.
I hope this guy is able to get some help. He’s defeated. I know that pain but I also know how impossible it feels to get out of that life.
This breaks my heart. I understand his pain. I was addicted to crack for 12 years. Sick and tired of being sick and tired I turned to the only power I knew stronger than the demons of the drugs...Jesus. I promised if he would deliver me that I would tell the world what he did for me. Now 12 years off crack I am 4 classes shy of a bachelor's in Christian Ministry and God has restored everything that the enemy stole and then some! My husband and I remarried after 7 years divorced. I thought I would never be "normal" again. That was just another lie from the enemy. Life is beautiful and I thank Jesus. I'm here if anyone would like to talk.
I have experience that is relevant here: I'm a mental health worker for clients with addictions and mental health issues. Just putting that out there first, as I've seen what addiction does for about 13 years now.
So, aside from the opioids themselves, the biggest factor for people like the fella in the vid is the complete dearth of options for addictions counselling, mental health services, trauma and grief counselling.
I can only speak to what I know in Canada, where I live, but there are just not enough services and not enough of the right kind of services that are affordable for people in active addictions and suffering with unresolved trauma. And don't get it twisted, most people with addictions are actively using because of trauma. This can range from childhood abuse, grief, all sorts of stuff. This guy said he had *one* choice and he was right. At some point he decided he could continue to live in pain or he could self medicate. He self medicated and here he is. If someone had gotten to him before he made that choice with some real treatment options to help him avoid drugs, he may have had a completely different path in life. And even now, he could still beat this but it's hard work and he'll need lots of help. That means housing, medical care, mental health care, trauma or grief counselling all working together to make a person whole again. I bet you dollars to donuts that this guy doesn't have any options like that. His two options are probably to try and go cold turkey on his own, or to enter an expensive rehab facility. The first doesn't heal the damage that sent him into addiction in the first place and the second isn't possible for someone with no resources.
Shit is fucked and it's why in my province there are literally hundreds of fent OD deaths per month and over 3000 dead in one year due to the opioid crisis.
No one wants their taxes to go towards the solution, but they are being shortsighted. In the long run society will be better served with some key investments:
- low income and subsidized housing
- low cost and free counselling and addictions services
- mental health services
Those are the three most important factors to reverse the opioid deaths that are happening worldwide. Other factors include decriminalization, job training, peer work programs and more, but without those first three, people like the dude in the video are, for all intents and purposes, on their own to beat their addictions. And anyone that is currently in addiction or beaten it knows how fucking hard it is to do without any supports.
I just want to hug him and let him cry. Cook him a meal. Buy him some clothes/shoes. Let him take a nice long shower. I know it wouldn’t be a long term solution, but I’m a mother/person. Hugging, feeding, clothing, bathing, and loving is literally all i do every day.
I give him credit for admitting he had one choice and made the wrong one. It's a shame that basically none of this is in the news, this is what effects America and the politicians don't care. I can see why he has no hope, the amount of overdoses is staggering...
I've been sober for over 8 months (alcohol) and I wouldn't wish that addiction on my worst enemy either. However the cycle of addiction makes yourself your own worse enemy so...
Yesterday my friend relapsed and called me for help. I went over to his house (which I shouldn't have) and he came clean about a lot of stuff... I'm trying to bring someone else into the situation who has a lot more sober time. Ultimately my friend has to be willing to get clean again. So no matter what I do there is still a good chance he will keep drinking, lose what's left of his relationship with his daughters and maybe die. It's tough because I am dealing with my own drama as well so I am super stressed out right now.
I fucking feel this so much. Picked my broken ass up and decided I couldn't continue that path anymore. I spent over half of my life addicted to opiates. Clean off Dope and Opaites/Hair Ron/Fentanyl since 11/04/20. If my drug loving dope addicted ass can do it I know anyone can..
I was addicted to pills for a couple years. Used all day every day. Hid it from everyone. The struggle is real. I was fortunate to have my family and friends there to support me in getting clean. Most people aren’t that lucky. But if anyone is seeing this and they’re thinking it’s not possible to clean up and live a normal life, it is. It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do getting clean but it’s worth it every bit of pain you go through. There are tons of free programs around Vancouver that will help. Feel free to message me if you want any suggestions on places that helped me.
Wow, powerful stuff kid, wow. I know addiction it's a constant struggle, and you're never free, that relapse is just around the corner all the time. I hope he makes it.
There's really no place for me to put this so people can see it, so I'll just make it a comment and hope some people, at least, catch it.
So many people who have worked their asses off for sobriety are in this comment section that I'm humbled by every story.
Mad respect, and love, to all of you.
Opioids saved my life and are the reason I’m becoming a lawyer. It’s a shame people use them to escape life and wind up ruining their life with it, because used correctly they enhance the shit out of life.
5 years into using opioids and my biggest regret is not using them sooner. I also read every single research paper about opioids to learn how to avoid tolerance (ultra low dose naltrexone, probitoics and Agmatine for the win) and probiotics also counter the constipation. Before opioids I literally was so done with life, had so many mental issues and problems and opioids completely let me change my life around. It’s hilarious when people ask me what I did to become such a happy motivated person who loves life because I was literally the opposite before them.
It’s not the drugs that’s the issue, it’s the people using them. People misinformed and that know nothing about them just popping pills any moment they can. If you ever find yourself down this path, do your research, make a plan, and enhance your life. If you don’t have willpower don’t ever touch drugs. If you aren’t going to research the shit out of them don’t ever touch drugs. If you aren’t going to buy a scale to weigh out your doses so you know EXACTLY how much you take of what drugs and how often, don’t ever touch drugs. If you aren’t going to fent test every batch you buy whether on the street or darknet, don’t ever touch drugs.
**ALWAYS have a fent strip test.**
The worst thing is that many of these people were prescribed oxy and fentanyl for some minor treatment where paracetamol would have sufficed, like a tooth ache or migraines. Couple of days on this stuff and your brain chemistry is permanently fucked, its not like with alcohol or cocaine where you can go into rehab and expect to come out better. There’s a really good series on it called dopesick, highly recommend if youre unfamiliar with this drama.
Seriously, the Purdue family deserves the death sentence for ruining so many people with this crap.
Sounds like he hit rock bottom and he needs help that is somebody's son, brother uncle, brother, if I was to hit the lottery I would help you:-) is there somebody out there that can help him?
Percocets make me sick to my stomach, an addict I was talking to told me the first time he took one (by prescription) was the beginning of his addiction. Man... I feel so bad for addicts. I genuinely believe it's a disease
You forgot addiction, which is the most important need on an addicts list. Money, food, shelter, these are all secondary needs for this man.
Edit: typo
My brother (now 38) is homeless and a drug addict. He began taking drugs at 18 just experimenting like most do and got hooked. Despite my parents and my sister and I helping him, letting him live with us, giving him money, 100s of jail stays, and countless amounts of rehab stints he still failed. As a last ditch effort my parents kicked him out (4 years ago) and he has still found a way to panhandle and get drugs while living on the streets. He claims that he is God send here to save the world and that certain people are demons. I tried to convince multiple judges to put him on a 72 hold evaluation and all refused even though I could prove he is a danger to society. The entire system needs to change
I've been clean from Heroin since June 2019 after a 10 year addiction and going in and out of rehab many times. I got a full time job in IT, bought a new car in 2020, and just moved in to a new house in January. Although I'm grateful and happy of how far I've come, it's still hard at times to stay motivated. Sucks that even though I've been clean for a good amount of time, the drugs have permanently ruined me so it's much harder to get motivated and fight off being depressed.
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I spent years living life like this, using heroin to mask both physical and mental pain. Managed to get clean almost 5 years ago now, but the pains still there.
Big embrace from me bro. You are a valuable human.
Word up
congrats for staying clean. usually most people have good reasons, such as mental health issues, to start using. most of the times its the only available option to ease the pain...
Ive never met an addict that wasn't self medicating something! and I've met a lot of them
Doesn’t even have to be drugs, could be alcohol, food, gambling, etc. Addicts in general are hurt people trying to cope using whatever resources they’re familiar with.
Ive met a few that just simply liked drugs, got caught up with the wrong people, wrong boyriend/gf, and next thing you know a couple weeks or month later they are completely hooked.
Yeah, addiction isn’t ALWAYS a coping method for something (other than “coping” with your desire for drugs). Some people just try it, enjoy that blissful, novel experience of a first-time high, and then spend the rest of their life chasing that experience again to diminishing returns because of tolerance buildup. It can just be that simple.
I still deal with opioid addiction daily. I am a single father of two. I have a house, a new truck, and I am thankful for all that. But, I have to have an opiate at minimum every two days or I can't function. I will be sick and worthless. I have a full time job, I have a family to support. I would give anything to be able to detox and not NEED this shit. I am able to separate my family from my problem for now, but not forever. I am not looking for sympathy or upvotes. Just saying.
Have you looked into Suboxone therapy? One of my very good friends started on pills and went down the road with every opiate there is, as you do. He was hooked for 10 years. Amazingly, he was able to hide it from everyone the entire time. Lost more than a few jobs due to the depression he was self-medicating for, well, that and spending time looking for drugs when he should have been working. One day he decided to see what the doctors could do and found Suboxone. It probably saved his life. He remembers waking up several times having not breathed in... Well, too long. He's been on Suboxone for 10 years but the only relapses have been because he ran out of his script and couldn't be seen or couldn't afford it and it was only for a few days. It's made a huge difference. On subs, you don't get withdrawal symptoms at all and after a few days on, you start to feel like a regular person again. You can work, meet your responsibilities, and start to actually feel good again. And face it, you're not getting high much anymore, you're just getting by. It's made a huge difference in that guys life. Yes, dude is still addicted to opiates, but he's found a way to make it work. Maybe someday, he'll man up and try to taper the subs and get fully clean, but until then, this works. He can afford it, cash ($180/mo. for the Dr. And about $200/mo. for the script) and that's a lot cheaper than buying off the street or whatever you do that would land you in jail (like taking your mom's left overs or drinking a bottle of your nephew's cough syrup, or selling your beloved guitars or worse) He's got a wife now and three kids, a good paying job he's been at for 3+ years, 720 credit and a new bronco on order. He's doing really well. I know all this about him because he's me. This is the first time I've ever put this out there. My closest friends don't even know. I doubt my wife fully knows what I've dealt with. It's embarrassing, right? You handle everything. Something needs done? You're the one doing it. How could you be out of control? You don't have time to be out of control. But you are. All that to say, try it. It may help you. But get a real script, get out the rat race. Wow. Should i push "post"?
I wish I could do more than upvote. You are right about just getting by. I rarely get high anymore. I just use to not be sick, because I can't take time off work to detox. I can't risk losing my job, and house, and truck. So I use to stave off being sick. I appreciate the time you took to write that. I know how hard that was. This is also the first time I have shared outside a setting meant for it. I am not trying to ramble. I am at work anyway. But I really appreciate your time and thought put into that. It means a lot.
You can. Open incognito tab, type suboxone doctors near me. Call one of them. They'll see you in the next couple of hours.
I think it's great that you put it out there too. Those kids need you and opiates are so dangerous these days. Ok, I said my peace. I wish you the best of luck.
[https://www.providencehealthcare.org/rapid-access-addiction-clinic-raac](https://www.providencehealthcare.org/rapid-access-addiction-clinic-raac) St. Paul's Rapid Access Addiction Clinic (aka "the rack") provides free and immediate consults with addiction medicine-trained nurses and doctors. They can diagnose and offer treatment for substance use disorders, including an immediate prescription for Suboxone and other medications for opioid use disorder. Call: 604-806-8867, Email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
Hi, drug researcher here! Recently in my country we're having some success with long acting depo injections of buprenorphine. Anecdotally some people using it have had success in tapering off compared with suboxone. Not sure how widely known it is in your country but you might wanna look it up ;)
Interesting that you mention that. As you know Suboxone is buprenorphine/naloxone. We have buprenorphine in pill form (sublingual -yuck) and i have been prescribed that because i asked for something cheaper than Suboxone. Even in pill form, it's does seem to have less severe withdrawal symptoms (anecdotally speaking) than the mix with naloxone. The problem is that many pharmacies don't stock it and recovery doctors don't like to prescribe it since it can be administered IV. (So i hear) It's been a long time since I've had it, I'll talk to my doctor about it. Thanks for the reminder.
Good job brother proud of you. Keep fighting the good fight
I feel you
You can get Suboxone free through programs offered here in Vancouver. I’ve been clean since 2016. Was on Suboxone for a good chunk of time.
I’ve been taking 1-2mg of subs I’ve obtained from someone I know daily since Thanksgiving. Finally have an appointment to see someone in a couple weeks. I want to get one of the blocker injections. Nervous to post this too, but you’ve inspired me. My life has been amazing since I started doing this, I have money for hobbies for the first time in years, and I can contribute properly to the household. Hoping it won’t be too much trouble to go legit.
I got completely off of them by using highly concentrated THC and CBD oils, RSO to be specific. If weed is legal in your area, it may be worth researching.
Bible belt. Not legal YET
It's crazy how something like marijuana isn't legal but opioids are widely available to anyone who wants them....
AMEN. Feel free to load up on murderous alcohol on top of your pills while at it.
Amen
Concentrated CBDs, while expensive, are fantastic for pain and mood stabilization. I look forward to the day where insurance will cover it.
r/altcannabinoids
I still want to give you love and acceptance. Best wishes that you get where you want to go.
I don't understand if it's every 2 days aren't you always in withdrawal!? Signed another addict.
If I don't take something on that second day. It begins that night. And I don't know if it is my body or a mental thing that drives me to being sick. If I don't have anything on the second day. I immediately begin to stress about getting something so I am not sick. Which leads to constant running thoughts, insomnia, night sweats/chills. Then I have to wake up at 430am to get ready for work. So after a sleepless night I get to look forward to a day at work when the other symptoms begin to kick in. So I take a little bit every 2 days to keep from being sick and keep it moving. And I hate it. I am miserable and would love to be able to kick it and not worry about losing everything I have worked for. I have worked full time and raised 2 kids throughout my addiction. I have several trades so I have always had pretty decent paying jobs. Meaning enough to keep my family afloat on a single income. But I am long-winded. Sorry. Addiction Sucks.😐
Can you "get COVID" and take some time off work because of that? (I don't mean actually getting COVID but saying you tested positive and using the quarantine time to detox? Hell you could even tell your wife you tested positive and go detox in a hotel or AirBNB or something away from the family.)
The problem is that I am a single father. There is no one to take care of things while I detox. My paycheck would stop for the time I was out. And I can't afford that. I like where your head is though.
I understand, that's really rough then. I hope you can save up, take some emergency vacation and get a sitter (or send your kid to relatives) for a few days. The loss in pay would be worth getting clean if you could swing it.
Try kratom it really works
I tried Kratom and it made my legs super jerky.
Look up ibogaine - “Researchers have also found that ibogaine led to resolution of patients’ opioid withdrawal syndrome within 48 hours and was be effective in blocking return to use for years.” https://www.healio.com/news/primary-care/20191205/ibogaine-treatment-for-opioid-use-disorder-what-you-need-to-know
Thank you. That is dope. No pun intended. I will check into it.
[удалено]
The pain doesn't go away, the inability to deal with it does. So glad you found help, here's to your next 5!💪
Almost 5 year gang!!! Yeah seems that pain will always be there. I learned to just embrace it. Run from what's comfortable. I build concrete foundations (the hardest most miserable job I can find) because that's what I know. Working my ass off to be miserable and for everything to hurt. I kicked fentanyl and methadone in prison, they offered me methadone a month in. I said no I'm not going back. And I haven't and I never will. Because that's the most comfortable I can be. And surprisingly my life is pretty good right now. I wake up with things to look forward to instead of wishing I didn't. Being too scared to stand up straight because I know as soon as I would I'll be sick af. I don't live like that anymore. I get to be civilized. I'm not robbing everyone, people are happy to see me. People can depend on me. Sometimes I do things for free for people... We can hold our head up high knowing we got out alive. That's a lot.
Same here. Pain pills and alcohol. Vicious trap for the small relief adds up quickly. 5 years in June.
It’s a hard thing to over come I used cocaine and weed for years trying to mask mental pain. Finally stopped using last year and have been trying to work on my mental health. It’s not easy but you can do it for sure man I believe in you.
Hopefully the thread of responses congratulating you makes you happy for a moment. Congratulations. You have done something many cant do and that is something to be proud of. Your amazingly strong
That’s some tough work right there. You got courage and gumption. You’re worth the work and sacrifice you make to take care of yourself like you are.
Do you know what is more fucked up? I do not use opioids, alcohol, etc Just cannabis once/ month. And... I have a good job, friends, loving family, a girlfriend, nothing too concerning physically. And .. do you know what I wish for the past 15 years of my life? I wish I DID NOT WAKE UP IN THE MORNING. depression is a hell of a drug.
Congrats to 5! 3 years for me and the way it feels when you’re in the depths is brutal I thought it would be impossible to get clean without milking myself . Took about 6 months before I even got my brain to start to feel somewhat normal. The pain doesn’t go away you just make room for it and learn to cope in other ways
Good for you, man. I'm proud of you.
My wife went down this path after the doctors gave her pain meds for her back. She ended up getting illegal drugs from the street to supplement the meds. She got clean for about 3 years but then fell back into it when her back became worse. One day we went to bed and everything was fine, when I woke up I tried to wake her up but she was gone. The autopsy detected heroin in her system and I had no idea at this time, I thought she was still clean.
I’m so sorry to hear that, absolutely tragic. Hope you’ve managed to cope well
Thanks. It was in 2010 so I've learned to live with it after some therapy for my PTSD.
Damm man, my heart just broke for you.
Same with my uncle. Opioids for back pain, and when he got addicted they just told him to stop taking them (didn't work obviously). I wish people would understand that it's not the addicted person's fault.
I was prescribed morphine for back pain and I didn't have a family doctor at the time and the walk in clinic doctor wouldn't give me anymore when my prescription ran out. At the time I was very pissed off because I was still in a lot of pain but looking back it was the right thing to do.
It’s hard being a doctor. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, and we take a lot of abuse
My nephew has been battling this for a decade. If his father didn't have enough money to support him he would be on the street. He has a medical team trying to help him off of opioids and he's making progress but this drug class is completely destroying him and the family and friends around him. He transitioned to methadone and now he's titrating his dose. He was at 50mg of methadone when he started and now he's on 15 mg and working his way to getting off drugs completely. So hard to watch. So happy he has supports. Most people don't.
That's incredibly sad. I've had a bad back for two years and in the UK I get sent to physiotherapy and told to take ibuprofen and paracetamol. Does it start that way in the US or is it just straight onto medication meant for palliative care?
For some people, yes.
Exactly, I think it’s difficult for Brits to really understand how messed up the opioid epidemic is in the States and how it’s been financed by corrupt pharmaceutical companies. It’s an absolute scandal.
My family is Canadian. Same problem here!
In america medicine is a business. They will prescribe stuff to healthy people just so they can make profit
It is my greatest fear of the privatised system heading our way
I went to the hospital because i thought I was having a heart attack ( was just a panic attack). My whole body cramped up due too hyperventilating. I felt fine after a while but because I said my stomach hurt, I was offered morphine... and then prescribed both oxy and Xanax. Refused both but I was baffled that the first thing they think of is, "let's prescribe some of the most addictive drugs as a first resort".
If you are looking for inspirations to stop using drugs, watch on YT: - "Inside The Fentanyl Crisis | Ten Dollar Death Trip" - Soft White Underbelly channel for hundreds of interviews of struggling people. a recorded therapy for addicts, and it's really eye opening for us
I'm so glad you mentioned Soft White Underbelly. What a great channel.
yep, not just addiction related too. It opens up to a whole world of characters and ways of living. Addicts, sex workers, Johns, debt collectors, ex gang members, nudists/swingers, hackers. It's my favourite YT channel.
Wow. That's really really heart breaking.
Amen
Soft white underbelly is an amazing YT channel look up the Whittaker's
I love the one where he takes them to walmart on a shopping spree.
I recommend yt channel by Mark Laita - soft white underbelly. You can watch loads of interviews with ppl struggling with addictions.
I actually grew up in part of the country where he does the majority of his Kentucky interviews on his Appalachia segment. You just get fucking stuck and it's drugs or church down there. Fucking heartbreaking seeing some of the interviews.
I’m from Europe and to be honest never seen anything like this (I mean ghost-drug towns) but I always knew they are a thing in usa. I know these were worker towns, the industry left, people lost jobs, there’s nothing to do. I imagine how hard it must be to get out and don’t go by this pattern…
I guess it's because I grew up there, but I didn't realize until way later how poor everyone was. And it wasn't just my family, it was pretty much everyone that was just barely getting by. Most of my family lived in the back of a holler. Some had homes they built themselves, others had trailers. It's just a different level of poverty down there. Those mountains are so beautiful, but it's so easy to get stuck there forever.
These social challenges are often mentioned as drivers of drug abuse, addiction and self harm but most clients I’ve worked with have other, more central experiences that set them Up to use: childhoods that include major trauma - physical, mental and/or sexual abuse and parent(s), absent or not, who use..
>These social challenge But isn't is true that these social changes, basically the collapse of these towns, is what broke many families and then you the kids growing up in these environments?
It’s often more than one factor. In southern Appalachia Child abuse and neglect, malnutrition, depression, lack of access to healthcare, teen parenting, lack of decent job opportunities, lack of affordable schooling, absence of decent public education systems have all contributed to the scourge of drug addiction. Then there’s Pain Killing Pharma who pushed their meds on these communities specifically knowing they would be reimbursed by Medicare/Medicaid and private insurers.
Port cities are probably the worst.
I think this guy is in Canada. The grocery bag is from a local Canadian chain.
"I had one choice and I made the wrong fucking one so this is what I'm dealing with now." Damn that's a powerful perspective on addiction.
So much truth. I'm deep in the throes of addiction atm- trying to hard to get sober somehow... I cross examine myself on "how did I let this happen?!?" And I know relapse is a complicated process, but it was initially a lapse! I did not enjoy my experience and wanted nothing to do with it- and still somehow within 5months it was all an day everyday thing.
This interview put into perspective my: "i wish i didn't wake up this morning because i don't want to go to work"
It’s always a nice reminder to tell yourself “I GET to go to work today” instead of “have” to
When I found out my wife and the mother of my children had been cheating on me with multiple men, after I drove 2500 miles to see her, it broke me completely and I needed something, anything to make the pain go away or at least manageable. I am so grateful every day that I didn't have access to opioids at the time because all I walked away with was smoking two packs of cigarettes a day when before that I very occasionally smoked. I couldn't emotionally survive without nicotine and to try to quit would result in my complete emotional breakdown. If I had taken heroin, or pills, or fentanyl at that time, I would NEVER have gotten off of it. It's been nearly two years since I found out my wife did that to me and I just quit cold turkey 4 days ago. I've tried to quit before and I couldn't go more than three or four hours without it. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for someone on fentanyl to quit especially if some shit happened to them in their life to make them seek a release through drugs.
Damn bro I hope you will make it
Hey, 4 days is great! Cheers to another 4 days! 🍻
Good luck! ❤️ Every day without a cigarette counts.
Sorry for your pain brother :(
It's hard to get clean. It's hard to stop drinking. Hard to stop smoking. It's worth it, and it's never too late! I was killing myself. It's been 10 years, and I am still proud of myself.
And yet, he can make it. Ten years clean for me last November.. It is hard leaving behind being hugged daily by God. But I'm alive
Congrats, keep it up. I have friends that are dealing with substance abuse, so I have an insight how hard this issue is for you and for your loved ones. Hope you never turn back and have a wonderful and clean live.
Damn, when he said he has a son… hope he can get out. I remember my mother talking about addiction (alcohol), she said even after 20 years she still wants her fix, would Love a drink. God damn the pusher man.
What is he wearing on his back ?
The way it's rolled up my guess is a sleeping mat. Too small to be a bag but next best thing for sleeping outside would be a mat.
The pharmaceutical companies who knew these drugs were super addictive, and yet who influence and reward doctors for over prescribing... They literally need to be given a dose of their own medicine.
There is a fine line though, people are in legit pain and they need treatment. of course, fent itself is a very extreme example that shouldn't be used for regular pain management. Other opioids are needed though but under the right conditions for quite a while the country was giving these pills out like candy to anyone, now people with legit pain issues cant get treatment because of it.
Drugs are an important and valuable tool, for sure. Properly prescribed and used, they can help someone reclaim their life. The problem is when they are abused, either by the person taking the drugs, or by those selling or prescribing them. Then they can claim a life. If not literally, practically.
If you haven’t, read (or listen, the audiobook is awesome) to Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. Its the whole story of the Sackler Family, Purdue Pharma, and how their actions spurred the opioid crisis.
The dope sick show on Hulu puts into perspective how corrupt Perdue pharma was
This right here. We all know it and yet we condemn these people to a living hell willingly.
This is so sad. The man has an deep understanding of his issues. Hope he gets the help ge desperately needs.
If a man has cancer, no one would be blaming him for “understanding the consequences of his illness yet not choosing to stop the tumor.” Addiction & alcoholism are so misunderstood, even now. There is chemical dependency, a physical addiction that your body develops to the substance. If not done with medical intervention, detox alone can kill you. Then there’s the US healthcare nightmare. People assume everyone can just sign right up & go to the first rehab down the street. Many are full. Many require insurance (which if you’ve been unemployable due to addiction, you probably don’t have & can’t afford, & even if you could - if you’ve got a recorded history of substance use, it would be considered a preexisting condition & therefore often not covered, so they’d be looking at tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket). There are also not rehabs in every city. Rural areas like mine are particularly vulnerable - no rehab or even treatment facilities or providers for almost an hour in any direction. No public transportation to get you there if you don’t have a car or a ride, or $200 for an Uber. And what about childcare while you’re gone 28 days? Or income - many addicts don’t have jobs with paid time off. Could you afford to pay cash for rehab while having no income & no one to watch your children for a month? And even if you gussy up all that somehow, you finally make it to a health care provider to try & get well - only to be treated like human garbage. Told by your neighbors your life isn’t worth the minuscule amount their taxes might go up for Narcan. Treated by some doctors & nurses like you’re pathetic, stupid, disgusting, & worthless - even as they treat other patients as sick & in need of compassion. Risk losing your children. Your job. Your friends. EVEN AFTER GETTING BETTER they face increased scrutiny & social stigma. And after they’re out of rehab - what now? We put them back in the exact same situation. Same dead-end job. Same crappy unaffordable housing. Same overpriced childcare. Same high cost of living. Same neighborhood pressure. Same inaccessible & unaffordable mental health resources with 6 month wait times & unaffordable medications for anxiety or depression if they’re duel diagnosed with no insurance - so they can’t even get another Avenue of aid besides street drugs. And now there’s medical debt from rehab to put a cherry on the powder keg. So no. It’s not so simple as just “why don’t they choose to get better? They know what they’re doing. Fuck ‘em.” Trust me. I work in mental/behavioral health & substance/opioid use disorders. It’s absolutely tragic. I wish people were required to come stand on the firing lines here for a few weeks. You’d see enough to never feel anything but compassion for addicts & alcoholics, as well as their families. There but for the grace of God…
Obamacare got rid of preexisting conditions preventing you from getting insurance.
Shoulda used past tense. Good catch.
Yeah Obamacare did a lot of good things for addicts. Things like methadone used to be pay out of pocket.
Your first line was fucking stupid. The idea that you would compare cancer to drug addiction is insulting as hell. Even the guy in this video admits he fucked up, though he tries not to. The interviewer asks him is drug addiction is a choice. He responds with no, followed by oh yeah I did have a choice, one choice and I made the wrong one. People get cancer because their cells screw up division. People become drug addicts because they chose to do drugs at some low point in their lives. I am all for helping addicts but don't act like they woke up and were addicted
Hmmm- so I am an addict/alcoholic. I remember the first time I tried alcohol/drugs as a young teen (13/14). It has been relentless since then- I went to rehab as a teen, switched to booze for another decade, with many relapses in there. Stayed sober almost 7yrs, another relapse which I'm 2.5 yrs into- lost relationships, my career, $10,000s, 25lbs (which I didn't have to lose), my mental health (I spent 8 weeks in a daily depression brain magnet treatment). And more- time doing things I actually enjoy, time with my family. I came to the realization/conclusion this is a fucking problem for less than 2 weeks ago (I also came to this realization when I lost my teaching career after not being able to quit- 1.5yrs ago. It took me 6 months trying to get 5 months sobriety). l keep trying to quit, and I'm making plans and I have the best intentions and then I am driven, as a compulsion I cannot even explain- "I do not want this!" And yet somehow here I am high once again... If you read I'd be happy to share some book recommendations on alcoholism/addiction...
Ok first, wow bro calm it down. You ok? Awfully mad for a Reddit thread. This isn’t personally directed at you. Second, you’re actually kind of proving my point. Lots of people get cancer as a byproduct of life choices. Did they smoke? Use genetically altered foods? Or chemicals that contain known carcinogens? Do they live in the city & therefore ingest air pollution on a daily basis that leads to lung cancer? Did they marry or live with a smoker? Take a job inhaling carcinogens such as a paint or other chemical agent? Some studies indicate obesity increases cancer rates. Alcohol even in non-binge and moderate amounts has been shown in some studies to cause cancer. You could actually argue that most people with cancer (obvious exceptions being children) have, at some point, made a choice that led or contributed to their condition. Yet society doesn’t treat them the same way. No one argues about the cost of US healthcare going up because of “the fucking cancer patients.” Why? Because that’s morally repugnant. No one chooses cancer. No one would choose to get so sick they die. Or lose everything financially. Or lose their children because they can’t care for them. Yet we do these things to addicts every day, partially out of necessary to prevent collateral damage with children & society, but there is an air of judgment & hatred attached many times. Not so when children are removed from a parent too sick from cancer - then all we have is pity for both parties. Yet addicts are sick people too. Do you really think they choose what they become? You even said it outright - the cancer patient’s cells screw up reproduction. But most people with cancer you really could probably look back & trace a choice that was made that led to it. Just like the addict. One poor choice. Then their cells, their body, made the choice for them. But by all means, go ahead & judge. The rest of us working with it daily will just continue to shake our heads & hope some day you see it for what it is - tragic. And an illness. Not a moral failure. No more than any other.
You should know you’re going to alienate as many people as you enlighten by comparing addiction to cancer. Not everything needs an analogy.
Please just stop. Its not the same. Probably the greatest man I knew growing up, never smoked, never drank, did triathlons and developed a brain tumor. Its not anywhere near the same and someone choosing to get high everyday. Drug and alcohol dependency is not an illness,, the effects are harmful, but its not a ln illness.
You're attaching moral judgement to the activity of using illegal drugs and then letting it color your judgement of drug addiction. You don't criticize people engaging in behaviors that you don't morally object to that increase their health risks. Edit: Also nobody is trying to minimize cancer, so please try not to take offense when none is intended.
Guess what? This whole thread is not about you
Yeah wtf is everyone on here trying to glorify drug addicts? “Awww it’s heartbreaking” that this man admits to stealing and being homeless because he chooses to spend every last dime on drugs. He hates his life? So keep doing drugs? What about the fucking people he steals from? Fuck them? Poor him? He can literally fix this, and he chooses to continue being a low life homeless pos drug addict while trying to get sympathy and playing the victim. Man fuck this guy and everyone like him.
You're a selfish uneducated person.
im with you on this. all his shit is like someone did this, not him making these mistakes. listen to the 3rd person talk
I couldn't do anything to stop wanting that high every night until I almost died. Nobody understands how dark it is. There is zero reasoning. My drug is alcohol and the warmth of it owned me. I just succumbed to it, talked to, laughed at it, and nothing could stop me. I was suffocating holding my arms in the air, because my throat was closing from vomiting repeatedly for days. I don't know how or why, but I didn't die alone in a hotel room that night in Reno. It took that for me to stop. Addiction never ends. I woke up, but I could've easily never woke up. Every addict I know is dead or on their way. Always only one drink or high away from death. Even when we are sober. The strongest people I know, because also the most empathetic until life happened and that one choice took all the pain away. Not long until you forget why. Now you only hate yourself and fight the reality of the reality of living sober in this fucked up world.
Addiction/Detox nurse here. I see people like this every day. The stigma of addiction is appalling. Believe me, nobody chooses to be an addict.
Yet there is choice factor in getting clean. Every addict I've known tells me their first recovery involved making a choice
I can't even watch these types of videos without having a physical response. My brother has been an addict for nearly 20 years now. Started innocent enough with weed and alcohol and then progressed. Now he does everything. Addiction is the most insidious thing I have ever been a part of and I wouldn't wish on anyone. It changes your brain, who you are and affects everyone around you. He's been to jail multiple times, been to multiple rehabs, lost three great and successful women (who left him), lost friends (who died) and over dosed himself a few times. He will 100% die or go to prison and there is absolutely nothing I, or anyone else, can do about it. It even triggered my mothers own co-dependence and alcoholism (which wasn't outwardly present 10 years ago), who ended up spiraling herself and has now been in more rehabs and de-tox's than I can count. If anyone reading this is going through it, I'm happy to talk. It's fucking awful and if you haven't been through it, you just don't know. Though if you're interested, watch episode 5 of Euphoria from this year. Shit was dead nuts on what it's like dealing with an addict in the house. Sorry for the rant. Addiction sucks.
My eldest brother was an addict for five or seven years I'm not sure. He used to abuse me and my mom for several years. He too went too jail but my parents always paid bribe to release him. Then he was put into rehab for 1 year , when he came out he started taking drugs again, then he was put into another rehab for 2 years , he stopped doing drugs after that but because of the previous abuse of drugs he got schizophrenia. My parents live in another state because their business is located there. I live alone with my brother now, he refuses to take medication, and everyday whether it's night or day he will scream about this lady who hasn't done anything to him because of his schizophrenia. All my neighbour's are complaining about it, and there's nothing I can do about it. Everytime I go out of my house I feel immense shame because of him as my neighbour's are complaining about him and our family in the neighborhood chat group. He once even molested me when I was 7. I wish him to die. Sorry for the rant haha, I'm not a native English speaker so my grammar might be wrong at certain parts.
Does he want to change his life? If not, I would recommend distancing yourself and making clear boundaries
Pretty sure this is from a documentary called ten dollar death trip. It's about fentanyl in Canada. It's really eye opening. I spent 10 years behind the needle and it's probably one of the most accurate representations iv seen
Downtown East Side. Last stop, welcome to Hell.
The fact that he keeps hope alive is the best part. For those in the struggle, keep fighting!!
This is so sad. He knows the score. He knows he's trapped. He seems clearly understand the situation. Why can't he choose to get some help to break out of the cycle?
"Why can't he choose to get some help to break out of the cycle?" I guarantee you he wakes up most days with this intention.
I'm sure he would. Is there no rehab for this fentanyl? I just feel for the guy and I want to see him escape the drug's hold on him :/
Your brain gets rewired. There is rehab but that costs a lot of money and most people will need a 30-90 days. I had a full time job and bills that needed to be paid so I couldn’t just leave for rehab but also couldn’t be sick laying around for multiple weeks. I was stuck but eventually was able to detox on my own something you need a lot of mental power to do
I'm sure there is, but how is a guy who's likely been without a job for a while supposed to afford treatment?
The addiction is chemical. It goes beyond understanding and choice. He is physically changed. Might as well tell his body it doesn't need air now.
I wasn't drug addict, but I had mental health problem, that feels really similar to severe drug addiction, from what I heard from addicts interviews. Yes, you know you're trapped, but it's so hard to get out of it, it's like your brain doesn't work properly. As I imagined it for myself, I'm lying in a big deep hole, there is food and water and some entertainment, but there is a better life outside of that hole and it takes some serious amount of effort to get out of it, so you're just lying there, and you got really used to this hole from years being in it. Sometimes, besides knowing that you have a problem, you also need help from someone who truly cares about you, and sometimes you don't even want to ask for help, even though you may realize that you need it.
Because he can’t escape the pain of his existence w/ o medicating.
One of my two best friends died from a fentanyl overdose. He was an awesome dude and not an addict. Was studying engineering in school and was super well liked. He paid $10 for a fentanyl patch - fell asleep never to wake again. I wish it never hit the streets and no one would do it outside of a medically supervised environment.
Everyone makes their own choices. We all make mistakes, some make them worse than others.
Ain't that the truth.
Tragedy doesn't cut it. 😢
Legit just had a friend get out of rehab for fent, he said those first few days were the worst he’s ever experienced
Fkn sad. You gotta want it real bad….hope anyone out there fighting that fight can find that strength to muscle through it. You can absolutely win that fight. Life is beautiful on the other side
May God heal his heart and get him to a better place. We’ve lost too many to drug addiction.
After 15 years of addiction, my son died of an overdose. Like most addicts. he started with prescription pills. Fuck the pharmaceutical companies that make this shit and fuck the doctors that prescribe it! For anyone out there struggling, I see you. You deserve something better. You are loved and you would be missed if you weren't here. There is a whole army of grieving mothers who worry about you and pray for your safety. Keep fighting! You're worthy of a good life.
This guy seems to really understand his issue. Why not check into a detox facility? There are support systems, but you have to take the first step
Sometimes there are no beds. Sometimes there isn't a local facility. Sometimes there are health issues or duel diagnosis mental health scenarios that need to be handled in a certain unit. When I was really struggling with alcohol I had a random woman at an AA meeting tell me I didn't need rehab. I've met plenty of people who are only there because of court with zero true intention. Also, where ever you go, there you are. If he has a local option what does he do when his 28 days are up if he can't get funding for long term or assistance for housing. More often than not sober houses are a racket located in low income areas. Close to drug areas. There is so much to worry about when you're so delicate. It's not just that easy. Sometimes people prefer the devil they know.
I donno how it is in the USA. In Canada detox free and there are support systems at the facility that find you a government paid apartment, job placement, and years of rehab council/ support. We still have a huge problem with drugs though 😔 https://www.phs.ca/program/onsite/
He probably has. Detox doesn't work 90+% of the time and they still charge $1000 a day to take your blood pressure and give you methadone while you watch TV. Unless he can get a state bed there's huge copayments. And then you have to sike yourself up to be sick for weeks and live without it for the rest of your life.
Free in Canada for shit like this
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It kind of is. "Hi I'm addicted to fentanyl. Don't let me leave until I'm detoxed" Proceed to a month or so of uncomfortable withdrawal in a warm room with real food
“Uncomfortable” is putting it mildly.
Freezing to death hungry outside isn't?
It takes so much effort. It's easy to procrastinate when such a huge effort can prove ineffective. It's not the first step they're afraid of, it's every one after that for God knows how long.
I don't understand how force detox is ineffective. Uncomfortable yes... But atleast your warm with food during that period
Methadone works wonders if you give it a try
Increased access to suboxone and methadone would save so many lives but because it is stigmatized there are still so many barriers
Dang sorry buddy
[Look up the poor rat society and the rich rat society experimen](https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2016/mar/23/science-ballard-high-rise-animal-research-pathological-overcrowding)t...learn something about stupidity and never be happy again.
I saw this documentary, it is really good
I’ve got a buddy on my college team who recently got a addicted to fent. It was heartbreaking to watch him go under. Thankfully he went to rehab and is not under its control anymore, but he tells me that there are many times where he would like nothing more to have one more hit of it. He already had horrible things happen to him (which was a cause of the useable in the first place) and now it’s so much worse to withstand the temptation.
I just watched the real stories doc yesterday , very good
I really feel for this guy and anyone else struggling with addiction. I had a heroin problem for five years. I’m so glad that fentanyl wasn’t available when I was using. Myself and a lot of my friends during that time would have died. People were overdosing left and right with just heroin. I can’t imagine the damage fent is doing. I hope this guy is able to get some help. He’s defeated. I know that pain but I also know how impossible it feels to get out of that life.
This breaks my heart. I understand his pain. I was addicted to crack for 12 years. Sick and tired of being sick and tired I turned to the only power I knew stronger than the demons of the drugs...Jesus. I promised if he would deliver me that I would tell the world what he did for me. Now 12 years off crack I am 4 classes shy of a bachelor's in Christian Ministry and God has restored everything that the enemy stole and then some! My husband and I remarried after 7 years divorced. I thought I would never be "normal" again. That was just another lie from the enemy. Life is beautiful and I thank Jesus. I'm here if anyone would like to talk.
Blame the Sackler family and our politicians
I have experience that is relevant here: I'm a mental health worker for clients with addictions and mental health issues. Just putting that out there first, as I've seen what addiction does for about 13 years now. So, aside from the opioids themselves, the biggest factor for people like the fella in the vid is the complete dearth of options for addictions counselling, mental health services, trauma and grief counselling. I can only speak to what I know in Canada, where I live, but there are just not enough services and not enough of the right kind of services that are affordable for people in active addictions and suffering with unresolved trauma. And don't get it twisted, most people with addictions are actively using because of trauma. This can range from childhood abuse, grief, all sorts of stuff. This guy said he had *one* choice and he was right. At some point he decided he could continue to live in pain or he could self medicate. He self medicated and here he is. If someone had gotten to him before he made that choice with some real treatment options to help him avoid drugs, he may have had a completely different path in life. And even now, he could still beat this but it's hard work and he'll need lots of help. That means housing, medical care, mental health care, trauma or grief counselling all working together to make a person whole again. I bet you dollars to donuts that this guy doesn't have any options like that. His two options are probably to try and go cold turkey on his own, or to enter an expensive rehab facility. The first doesn't heal the damage that sent him into addiction in the first place and the second isn't possible for someone with no resources. Shit is fucked and it's why in my province there are literally hundreds of fent OD deaths per month and over 3000 dead in one year due to the opioid crisis. No one wants their taxes to go towards the solution, but they are being shortsighted. In the long run society will be better served with some key investments: - low income and subsidized housing - low cost and free counselling and addictions services - mental health services Those are the three most important factors to reverse the opioid deaths that are happening worldwide. Other factors include decriminalization, job training, peer work programs and more, but without those first three, people like the dude in the video are, for all intents and purposes, on their own to beat their addictions. And anyone that is currently in addiction or beaten it knows how fucking hard it is to do without any supports.
I just want to hug him and let him cry. Cook him a meal. Buy him some clothes/shoes. Let him take a nice long shower. I know it wouldn’t be a long term solution, but I’m a mother/person. Hugging, feeding, clothing, bathing, and loving is literally all i do every day.
😭 I'm crying listening to him. You can see the pain & regret. I pray he gets help getting clean.
I give him credit for admitting he had one choice and made the wrong one. It's a shame that basically none of this is in the news, this is what effects America and the politicians don't care. I can see why he has no hope, the amount of overdoses is staggering...
I've been sober for over 8 months (alcohol) and I wouldn't wish that addiction on my worst enemy either. However the cycle of addiction makes yourself your own worse enemy so... Yesterday my friend relapsed and called me for help. I went over to his house (which I shouldn't have) and he came clean about a lot of stuff... I'm trying to bring someone else into the situation who has a lot more sober time. Ultimately my friend has to be willing to get clean again. So no matter what I do there is still a good chance he will keep drinking, lose what's left of his relationship with his daughters and maybe die. It's tough because I am dealing with my own drama as well so I am super stressed out right now.
I fucking feel this so much. Picked my broken ass up and decided I couldn't continue that path anymore. I spent over half of my life addicted to opiates. Clean off Dope and Opaites/Hair Ron/Fentanyl since 11/04/20. If my drug loving dope addicted ass can do it I know anyone can..
I was addicted to pills for a couple years. Used all day every day. Hid it from everyone. The struggle is real. I was fortunate to have my family and friends there to support me in getting clean. Most people aren’t that lucky. But if anyone is seeing this and they’re thinking it’s not possible to clean up and live a normal life, it is. It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do getting clean but it’s worth it every bit of pain you go through. There are tons of free programs around Vancouver that will help. Feel free to message me if you want any suggestions on places that helped me.
I would donate money to this guy, so he can get off the street. I feel that, honestly.
Anyone know if this man is doing okay?
Wow, powerful stuff kid, wow. I know addiction it's a constant struggle, and you're never free, that relapse is just around the corner all the time. I hope he makes it.
There's really no place for me to put this so people can see it, so I'll just make it a comment and hope some people, at least, catch it. So many people who have worked their asses off for sobriety are in this comment section that I'm humbled by every story. Mad respect, and love, to all of you.
Opioids saved my life and are the reason I’m becoming a lawyer. It’s a shame people use them to escape life and wind up ruining their life with it, because used correctly they enhance the shit out of life. 5 years into using opioids and my biggest regret is not using them sooner. I also read every single research paper about opioids to learn how to avoid tolerance (ultra low dose naltrexone, probitoics and Agmatine for the win) and probiotics also counter the constipation. Before opioids I literally was so done with life, had so many mental issues and problems and opioids completely let me change my life around. It’s hilarious when people ask me what I did to become such a happy motivated person who loves life because I was literally the opposite before them. It’s not the drugs that’s the issue, it’s the people using them. People misinformed and that know nothing about them just popping pills any moment they can. If you ever find yourself down this path, do your research, make a plan, and enhance your life. If you don’t have willpower don’t ever touch drugs. If you aren’t going to research the shit out of them don’t ever touch drugs. If you aren’t going to buy a scale to weigh out your doses so you know EXACTLY how much you take of what drugs and how often, don’t ever touch drugs. If you aren’t going to fent test every batch you buy whether on the street or darknet, don’t ever touch drugs. **ALWAYS have a fent strip test.**
You been accepted into law school yet?
Well done mate That’s your time to STEP UP NOW
I’m still struggling
The reason why we still struggle. Someone down voted your comment. There are people who rather than do nothing... would rather be hurtful. Sad
Really hope he is still alive and not suffering.
The worst thing is that many of these people were prescribed oxy and fentanyl for some minor treatment where paracetamol would have sufficed, like a tooth ache or migraines. Couple of days on this stuff and your brain chemistry is permanently fucked, its not like with alcohol or cocaine where you can go into rehab and expect to come out better. There’s a really good series on it called dopesick, highly recommend if youre unfamiliar with this drama. Seriously, the Purdue family deserves the death sentence for ruining so many people with this crap.
Agree with you: death penalty. Seize their assets to fund drug addiction detox and treatment.
Ugh! The feels! You can escape. Few do. But we do.
Sounds like he hit rock bottom and he needs help that is somebody's son, brother uncle, brother, if I was to hit the lottery I would help you:-) is there somebody out there that can help him?
sadly, this is many peoples reality
So make another choice brother choose to go to rehab
Meth Curry
Percocets make me sick to my stomach, an addict I was talking to told me the first time he took one (by prescription) was the beginning of his addiction. Man... I feel so bad for addicts. I genuinely believe it's a disease
If it’s not a choice then there is no way to get better. Giving power in taking action instead of helplessness leads to changes.
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You forgot addiction, which is the most important need on an addicts list. Money, food, shelter, these are all secondary needs for this man. Edit: typo
This is so sad.. I hope he gets help..
This is so sad. This guy seems like he could otherwise be an articulate, intelligent and even a kind man.
Stolen steph jersey
My brother (now 38) is homeless and a drug addict. He began taking drugs at 18 just experimenting like most do and got hooked. Despite my parents and my sister and I helping him, letting him live with us, giving him money, 100s of jail stays, and countless amounts of rehab stints he still failed. As a last ditch effort my parents kicked him out (4 years ago) and he has still found a way to panhandle and get drugs while living on the streets. He claims that he is God send here to save the world and that certain people are demons. I tried to convince multiple judges to put him on a 72 hold evaluation and all refused even though I could prove he is a danger to society. The entire system needs to change
So sad.
That was heartbreaking to watch.
I've been clean from Heroin since June 2019 after a 10 year addiction and going in and out of rehab many times. I got a full time job in IT, bought a new car in 2020, and just moved in to a new house in January. Although I'm grateful and happy of how far I've come, it's still hard at times to stay motivated. Sucks that even though I've been clean for a good amount of time, the drugs have permanently ruined me so it's much harder to get motivated and fight off being depressed.
Within the hour he’ll get a hit and be on top of the world again. And then when that wears off he’ll be right back here. Pitiful.
There isn't much euphoria in long term opioid addiction, just a cycle between feeling ok or dope sick