gorrie

My AB is what I would consider a binge user. Oxys and/or cocaine.

He can go for days and up to 2 weeks without using, payday will come and he blows it all in a night.

Granted if AB gets his hands on a script of oxys he will take a large dose all day every day until the script is gone (a month script will last a month).

Anyway - I am wondering if anyone had any experience with this type of use and what treatment options might be beneficial.

IvanKatz

Binge ALWAYS to turns to daily. Once it does - he's finished! He'll hock, sell, trade, lie, scam - whatever he can get his hands on when this happens. Believe me when I say this WILL happen!
Unless he stops now!

Onewithwings

I was a binge user too, and it turned to daily use with time. It really doesn't matter, both sorts of users will usually need some sort of help! What sort of help is different for everyone. Some need an intervention, family support, detox, rehab, NA/AA, halfway house, etc, all sorts of options. Does he want to stop? The sad thing is, people will continue using until they reach a bottom. He might not be there yet, in which case, there's not much you can do. If it is bad enough, you can stage an intervention or give an ultimatum, but first, I'd try talking about it with him. Maybe he will see the damage he's doing and get help. If not, do whatever you can, and pray that he will one day do the rest.

NoWhereGirl

2nd what's already been said. I used to be like this, the binge user "weekend warrior" turned daily user just to keep from getting sick when it stopped being fun, now trying to recover. It will happen. Believe me and everyone else here who says the same thing. I too said it wouldn't happen, that I could handle it, that it wasn't a problem -surely no worse than going out drinking one night right? HA! Those suckers sneak up on you and steal your life before you realize what happened while you were chasing that dragon because just a binge won't be enough after awhile. Sure enough, fast forward a couple years and finally admitting I had a problem, now I'm working on recovery and wished I would have stopped while I still could. It seems all fun and games until it isn't and an ugly addiction is where one generally ends up.

So sorry; hopefully he can get help or you can invervene, or someone can, to make him realize before it's too late because it generally doesn't get better on it's own.

IvanKatz

G - Believe us all when we say it's not "IF"... It's a matter of when...
We know - When I was first prescribed the meds, I didn't need them very often. As time went on, the time between taking doses grew shorter and shorter.
Not so much because of the pain, but because I "needed" them more and more.
You have no idea slippery this slope is!

gorrie

Thank you for the replies.... AB was a daily 24/7 user for almost a year about a year ago. Since then he has become a weekend warrior of sorts.. there have been periods of him scoring a script and then goes back to using every day for a week until he has blown that script. Then he goes back to using oxy's on paydays (normally buying one or two doses).... and lately on paydays he has been blowing his whole paycheck on cocaine.

I know with time and the right circumstances he will go back to daily use again.

he is on the verge of recovery, but i don't think he is quite there yet. Talks about meetings and treatment but not a strong follow thru.

I am not trying to control or change him - cause I know that I can't.

The only thing he has followed thru with is starting methadone maintenance yesterday. I strongly believe that methadone can help some addicts with leading more productive lives - personally I do not think it is the best route for AB. But it is out of my hands.

I feel it is more of just drug seeking behavior for him.