Old 08-23-2003, 08:59 AM
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HELEN'SDREAM
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 2
What are the withdrawal symptoms of Crack

My husband used cocaine 20 years ago, long before I met him. He said he was a heavy user but managed to stop. We have been together for over 13 years. For the first 8 years he used alchol & pot moderately. In the 2 years his use use of alchol & pot has been steadily increasing. I found that I was drinking far too much & went into detox & started going to AA. On New Years eve he went partying with friends & family (I stayed until midnight then took my daughter home). He decided that he didn't want to end the night & decided to go looking for crack. Of course he came home in the morning with a BS story but later confessed everything that had happened with the promise that he would never do it again.

Needless to say it didn't stop, instead in the last 8 months it has escalated into a full blown addition. I was blind to a lot of it, now I have learned to recognize the signs he can't hide it from me. I finally left & started to give up the apartment. He hit a bottom then, no place to go, no family (me, our daughter, his sisters), maxed out his job credit cards, hocked all his work tools & equipment. The end result is that we sat & talked, he admitted he had a problem & was willing to do whatever it took to solve it. Now his work knows & he is on a month suspension ( thank God his job isn't totally lost). He called NA and they suggested he try meetings 1st before going into treatment. He went to one meeting - I went with him. This is in the last week, on Wed. he pawned his tool box & bought $50 of crack - said that was it - he slipped. Last night he said he thought he could wean himself off by using $20 & going to bed -- I told him there is no such thing as weaning but he had to try. Now he agrees that there is no weaning & wants to go to 2 meetings today. He dosen't think the meetings will help but is willing to try it.

My question is - what are the withdrawal symtoms of crack, what can I expect & how can I help him get through them. He wants to try this way first, if it fails then he will go to a treatment center but his not working for a month will put a heavy financial burden on us. Any info & help you can give will be wonderful.
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