drug addiction

[Knuckles]

Is so very sad.

I honestly think my sister will be dead in a year. I've been preparing myself for it for quite some time now. Anyone here going through or gone through something like this? :(

[ToucanSpam]

I have not, but if you need an ear, TS is a good guy to listen.

[Knuckles]

She tried the Bill W. thing.

Been to treatment.

Been to jail.

Next stop...:(

[kaiser soze]

man, sorry to hear

what about rehab?

[Mr Films]

my cousin was a pretty big pothead for a while. until my uncle convinced my step-dad (who is a cop) to stage a fake raid on him one night.

shit worked like a charm.

[The Notorious LOL]

my brother is a terrible alcoholic. He was in jail for a month, has been to treatment many times.


Saddest thing is I think a big part of it stems from the fact that he is gay but he just cant admit it to himself.

[Knuckles]

man, sorry to hear

what about rehab?
She spent a month in rehab. She started using again three days after she got out.

She's been sent to the hospital with drug related seizures at least five times. Her brain is still trying to heal from a terrible car accient she was in two years ago.

I feel so sad for my parents. They have already lost one child. It's just not fair for them to lose another.

[kaiser soze]

She spent a month in rehab. She started using again three days after she got out.

She's been sent to the hospital with drug related seizures at least five times. Her brain is still trying to heal from a terrible car accient she was in two years ago.

I feel so sad for my parents. They have already lost one child. It's just not fair for them to lose another.

man, sounds like she's thrown in her towel...could the lose of your other sibling be a major factor in her self-destruction?

I too lost a brother, sorry to hear about your loss!

[Planetary]

man, that's rough. im sorry :(

[Waus]

Bad news. :(


I've been blessed not having anyone close to me be on any serious drugs. I have no idea what I'd do if that were going on in my family.

I'd like to think I'd just drop everything and try to help...but man, no clue.

[Knuckles]

Also, she has to want to change, there's probably not much you can do until she's ready to change her life.

I think that is the real problem. She just doesn't seem to want to change.

I think the only reason she went to rehab was to get out of jail. I just hope she get arrested again. Jail is better than death.

[Randetica]

wow thats bad

im so sorry


everything happens for a reason i guess

[jackrock]

Terribly sorry, man :( that's too sad to bare

:(

[Documad]

I am so sorry. I can't imagine how difficult that would be. Watching your parents deal with it had to be the worst.

I have a close friend who was off heroin for over 15 years and then started up again. I have no idea how he could do that. He was even a drug counselor. I didn't have to make any tough choices because he saved me that by disappearing when he started using again. He didn't return my phone calls except when he wanted cash. I gave him some before I realized he was using again. The fact of his recent using has made me question everything with him. He knew what he had on the line. He had already messed up his kids and he knows the legacy he left them, but he needs to take care of his grandkids because his kids are worse than he is. And he has a professional license at stake.

I have a huge history of alcohol abuse in my family. Who doesn't, right? I'm a bit defensive about it because I have a sibling who wants to blame every failing in her own life on it, and so I react by pretending that it didn't affect me. :rolleyes: But more and more, I see the impact (good and bad).

[QueenAdrock]

That really sucks. I think it's the same with a lot of addictions. My one friend is bulemic and has been since she was 8...recently, she's been throwing up blood and her doctor said that she's pretty much killing herself from the inside, but no matter how much therapy she gets she can't get better. I think she should be institutionalized, but she's been very secretive about her purging lately so I don't know how to bring it up.

I know it's not *quite* the same, but it really hurts to see someone you love slowly kill themselves to make themselves feel better. Even when it's at its worst, they don't see it as "that bad" and don't want institutionalization. It's been said before, but they really, REALLY want to have to help themselves before any healing can take place. :-/

[b i o n i c]

thats so sad

i have a friend who's lost like this too. im afraid of him committing a crime or killing himself. its so tough with something that can only be helped by one person's decisions

[ericlee]

man, I really don't know how to tell you and I've had my share of junk.

As it's been said before, she has to want to quit and if she doesn't then things aren't going to be any better.

I'm so sorry that I'm at a loss of words but I just hope everything goes ok.

[paul jones]

Is so very sad.

I honestly think my sister will be dead in a year. I've been preparing myself for it for quite some time now. Anyone here going through or gone through something like this? :(

sorry about your sis, knucks

thre'es some things u just can't stop unfotunatley so whatever happens....and hopefully of course your sister comes to her sisters,but if not....you've always got an friends here who care about YOU so whatever happens,stay strong bro(y)

[The Notorious LOL]

I think a lot of times for people with addiction issues there is a deeper root issue which causes it that hasnt been confronted.

[DandyFop]

Andy, I know exactly what you are going through, my friend. I've talked about it here before as well. My older sister who is 10 years my senior, was a meth addict for over 10 years and is a serious alchoholic. There were countless, countless times where the phone rang and we expected it to be a call from the cops saying they found her body. She went to jail, rehab, all of it, so I know where you are coming from. I don't think I even know the half of it either as I was fairly oblivious growing up. But as I got older I realized that while I just thought she was a crazy person, it was actually that she was on drugs.

It used to be every few months before something would go wrong again. The most recent thing was that she and her husband got into a fight and she got arrested for domestic violence. He was also using meth at the time, and he is an alcoholic also.

The past few months have been pretty good, they stopped drinking (from what I can tell), but right now they are in Mexico for vacation and who knows what the fuck will happen. We had an intervention where I basically told her I think what my parents were too scared to say - because she's such an imposing and forceful personality. I just asked her how the fuck she could do this to these people who were the only things keeping her alive all these years. It seems as though it finally struck a chord.

But we are always, always expecting the other shoe to drop. My parents have been through so so much pain as a result. It hurts. If you ever need to talk about it, let me know.

[Drederick Tatum]

exactly what drug is she addicted to?

[yeahwho]

It's extremely tough for you I know, I'm very close to a family going through this now. My best friends sister has been an Alcoholic for years. Then she would sober up, then she would drink. Out of a family of 5 kids (Father was an Alcoholic...died from it) 1 brother died at age 30 drugs and booze, the other has been sober for 5+ years (along with myself) and his sister is now completely under the spell of the crystal meth pipe for the past 3 years.

In and out jail, divorced mother of 2 beautiful boys, home on Queen Anne Hill gone, credit cards maxed, shoplifting, Re-Hab twice and now back out on the streets. It sucks. I have no advice for you other than I know your not alone in this ordeal.

Pray for a miracle. They do happen.

[Lo_Lyfe]

Heavy. Sorry to hear.:(

[befsquire]

does she have mental health issues as well (such as major depression), and if so, was the program she went to one that does dual treatment?

i don't personally know what you're going through, but i have tons of clients going through it, and i've only ever successfully gotten help for one. but that one makes me so very, very happy that she was able to get away from it, and it gives me hope. i had another one that i thought was doing well, but two months after i last saw her, she was on the news because they found her body at a construction site (they think a serial killer targeting prostitutes may have killed her, but i think it was her boyfriend / pimp).

i watch that show intervention on a&e a lot. they send the people out of state, just to get them away from local influences. granted it isn't the addict's idea to go to treatment, which would be ideal, but it's a chance, and the show pays to get them treatment.

i'm truly sorry, knuckles.

[Knuckles]

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories, thoughts, and advice.

Beth, I actually thought about pm'ing you when some of her legal things were going on but I know you are probably very busy.

My sister has been diagnosed bi-polar by three doctors. She also has a serious thyroid condition. I've always known that something was "different" with her since she was just a toddler. She has never felt empathy the way most people do. She has always needed exitement or drama in her life. If there isn't any going on you better believe she is going to make some. Usually the drama involves a man of some kind or another. I don't even want to know how many slimballs she's been with. She just can't seem to be without one. The sad thing is she is also quite intelligent. It's a shame she can't seem to figure out a way to use her mind for something positive.

Oh, and her drugs of choice are coke and oxycontin.

[DipDipDive]

I'm sorry, Knucks. That's a tough thing to deal with.

Seems like most people in your position struggle with finding the balance between wanting to care for and help that person, while not wanting to enable their behavior or be taken advantage of, as most addicts tend to do. Just let her know that you care about her and that you're willing to help however you can, but know that there is only so much you can do. The rest is up to her.

I hope everything works out for the both of you. <3

[SobaViolence]

it's sad when a perfectly recreational thing can turn into habit then addiction.

unfortunately, some people can't be helped and then some people don't even want to be helped.

tragic, but there is very little that can be done.

just try your best. sometimes being there is all that counts.

sometimes it takes a stint in a cell.

sometimes they gotta meet their maker.

try to find peace.

shit's tough. stay strong.

[befsquire]

i'm never too busy. if you ever have a question, please ask. i'm happy to help.

whatever you do, do not let anyone talk your sister into getting onto methadone to kick the oxycontin. it's worse than being addicted to oxycontin. plus, most people find out that mixing xanax with methadone is a high that's like the first time you do heroin, every time.

[b i o n i c]

...oops wrong thread

[enree erzweglle]

Knuckles, that hurts and I am so sorry that your sister is going through that, that you and your family are too. It must be tearing you up. :(

I'm a bit defensive about it [alcohol abuse] because I have a sibling who wants to blame every failing in her own life on it...I knew someone who was an alcoholic. Everything, everyone else was to blame for his problems and if there wasn't a convenient person or scenario to blame, alcohol was to blame. In a very odd way, he personified alcohol and alcoholism and he was its victim.

He used alcohol as an excuse to do the things he wanted to do in life and to avoid doing the things that he didn't want to do. Then, he would bemoan those missing elements in his life and blame alcohol for their absence. It was vicious and circular and sometimes seemed to be a weird kind of convenient from the outside. It was hard for the people in his life because I think when they started to realize what he was doing OR when they got too close to him, he just eliminated them from his life...and then he'd blame them for not being perfect, blame them for their own personality faults, or blame them for not being the type of family and friends that he needed/demanded. It was nasty and tragic.

[DandyFop]

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories, thoughts, and advice.

Beth, I actually thought about pm'ing you when some of her legal things were going on but I know you are probably very busy.

My sister has been diagnosed bi-polar by three doctors. She also has a serious thyroid condition. I've always known that something was "different" with her since she was just a toddler. She has never felt empathy the way most people do. She has always needed exitement or drama in her life. If there isn't any going on you better believe she is going to make some. Usually the drama involves a man of some kind or another. I don't even want to know how many slimballs she's been with. She just can't seem to be without one. The sad thing is she is also quite intelligent. It's a shame she can't seem to figure out a way to use her mind for something positive.

Oh, and her drugs of choice are coke and oxycontin.

Jesus, I think our sisters are twins or something. Mine is also depressed/bi-polar and has had these issues since she was born. My parents just assumed that's how all kids acted, and they were scared as fuck to have another, then my brother came a year and a half later, and was the most demure little baby. My sis has also dated every disgusting slimebag drug addict ever. And she is quite an intelligent person, and very talented in the art of baking which she seems to finally be exploring a little bit. Blah. So hard to see someone you love go down the drain. :(

[enree erzweglle]

So hard to see someone you love go down the drain. :(This is the part that hurts inside the most. The family and friends, man, they are just along for the ride and how absolutely awful for them, for everyone, really, but particularly for the well-meaning family/friends. :( I am so sorry that you guys have to deal with this. Your families are lucky to have people who care.

[Videodrome]

whatever you do, do not let anyone talk your sister into getting onto methadone to kick the oxycontin. it's worse than being addicted to oxycontin. plus, most people find out that mixing xanax with methadone is a high that's like the first time you do heroin, every time.
i saw a documentary on that. thing was the people couldn't kick the methadone. they would just keep increasing doses, then mix with other prescription drugs. it was like a whole new addiction.

[Echewta]

I'm sorry to hear about this Knuckles. I had a sister that got into some very heavy drugs, left home, rehab, almost went to jail, etc.

PM me if you ever need to. She made it through.

[beastieangel01]

I have an Aunt who has over 8 kids (to be honest, I lost track of any others). She has been on drugs for a long time, in and out of jail, and ALL of her children were taken away from her. She's gone to rehab many times too, and all of us (family) tried to help.

My childhood best friend was on drugs and my family and I took her in for a while and helped her out. She, fortunately, got better. She is doing well now.

I don't know what it is, but sometimes I think that deep inside the person has to WANT beating addiction. If they let it consume them, down to the core, you cannot really help them. Which is not to say that you shouldn't try, just, it's more difficult I suppose.

It's sad. I'm sorry.

[mickill]

whatever you do, do not let anyone talk your sister into getting onto methadone to kick the oxycontin. it's worse than being addicted to oxycontin. plus, most people find out that mixing xanax with methadone is a high that's like the first time you do heroin, every time.
I agree. Methadone isn't a good idea.

My brother is an off and on heroin addict. The last time he (admits to having) used was about 6 months ago. In the last 8 years, I don't think he's ever managed to stay fully clean for more than a year at a time. It's been about two years since he used daily, though. I struggle with keeping him in my life all the time. Not because I hate him, which I feel like I should, but because I can't trust him. And because I'm tired of this. He's done everything...lie, steal, manipiulate. And I've had to go through it all with him. From finding out he pawned my mom's jewelry (including her wedding ring) to seeing his best friend pass away. The friend was found in his car with a needle in his arm in a parking lot, a year after my brother introduced him to the drug. He had a three year old son at the time. This isn't everything. I'm ashamed of a lot of the things he's done over the years.

He was using methadone to clean up for pretty much an entire year, which he claims is what his doctor insisted upon. I never know what to believe with him, so I just keep him at a distance these days. I do let him see my daughter, not that he really tries to, but I've never left him alone with her ever.

I empathize with what you're having to deal with, Knuckles. I agree that people have to want to change in order to do so. I don't think my brother will kick his habit for good until he changes his lifestyle, which he's made little effort to do. It's the same cycle over and over, basically.

I don't have any actual advice because, yeah, I'm kind of giving up, myself. But I do know how you feel. Sorry I have nothing better to offer.

[abcdefz]

It's really hard to break an addictive cycle, because your body/mind/spirit is really relying on that comfort it gets from the drug of choice. Denying yourself the drug for a long enough time to withdrawal from it is a lot like the death of a best friend, and it eats at you unless you keep occupied with other stuff. Very, very hard.

I think it can be imposed upon people, but they really have to walk it out at some point.

[enree erzweglle]

These stories are so sad but it's uplifting to see how many of these people with problems have caring family. That said, man, it's a slipperly slope for families/friends to know what to do and then to do only the stuff that's going to help. As a parent, I think the hardest thing in the world would be to watch your kid slide like that. Instinctively, you want to do whatever you can to help your kid or to make sure he just survives and I imagine the boundaries get muddied in those sorts of struggles.