losingtococ

Hi,

My husband is the addict and I sometimes have a hard time figuring out if he is high. Mostly I can tell by his eyes. My question is do the side effects of congestions and staying up all night usually happen the day of taking cocaine?
I swear he came home from work high. He was up all night, but according to him he was sleeping, but must have been talking to me in his sleep all throughout the night when I would talk to him. And of course he was congested.

Any help?

Thanks

Moontime

When I did coke, I would be up the day of. Now with speed, he can be "up" a day or two afterwards.

findinganewme

ABSOLUTELY ... that is exactly what that drug does. Some people take it purposely to keep them awake ..... if they're partying or whatever!

It can also cause one to hallucinate and perhaps be talking to you and in the morning he will remember ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Congestion is definitely a clear sign! Many addicts keep Sudafed or anti-congestion meds to help that. They also keep nose spray on hand.

I don't want to scare you, although I believe you're already scared .... but it's a very dangerous drug (as I'm sure you know) ..... another common symptom is black outs ..... and again, they won't even remember.

I don't know how often he's using, but I would monitor or check on him (don't confront him though .... sometimes they can get upset (I don't want to use the word violent .... because not everyone gets that way).

The other thing you should concern yourself with is if he's using a lot or frequently, WITHDRAWAL can be even more dangerous than the drug.

This is NOT a professional speaking, and it's only from experience (sadly .... GOD forgive me) and observation that I know this.

Also, sometimes they STOP talking because their jaw sort of gets numb or locked (don't know quite how to explain it).

I believe that if his eyes are red then he's using quite a bit. I had an awful addiction to it, but my eyes were never really blood shot.

I hope I've helped somewhat.

I'm sorry he and you are experiencing the life of what this AWFUL drug can do.

Get him help if you see it's out of control, because he cannot admit or accept that he has a problem or an addiction. You may want to check w/professionals about that .... because I don't want to advice you on anything that I'm not in a position to do. MY comments are purely, as I said, my experience and those I used to call *friends!*

Take care! I hope you can get him off it!

Much love,
Maria

losingtococ

Hi Maria,
Thanks for the information. We have been dealing with this off and on for a while. His eyes are usually just dilated, not really blood shot. I can almost tell when he walks through the door, his eyes are so black and usually the pupils are small and I can see the blue when he is not high. He has started a 12-step program. Tuesday was his third time going and he went without me to confess that he had gotten high on Monday. I was just thinking if he got high on Monday would the congestion last all the way until Wednesday night and the staying up all night Wednesday. He did come home from his meeting and confessed to me that he did get high which is a big step for him because he never wants to talk to me about it or discuss anything about his thoughts on his drug use or cravings. I am happy that he confessed. It just feels like a step forward in that he is admitting that he has a problem. But I almost feel like he is still lying to me and actually got high again after telling me that he wants to continue the 12-step program and he will call someone there if he has cravings.

findinganewme

I don't know about congestion lasting for three days .... but I suppose it could. Maybe someone else might give some input here.

It is a good step that he stop to you and confessed. I know it's hard to do what I'm about to say, but don't take it personally when he doesn't or he lies about it. What you have to TRY to understand is that it affects the memory in a big way (again, this is just my opinion/experience) .... I had such memory losses that it frightened me. I didn't recall even using the drug sometimes. When I was introducted to it 3 years ago, I thought, well, OK I'll just try it .... no biggie ..... I'm not an addictive person. WRONG! Once you get hooked, it HOOKS YOU. First you start with a small amount ... then more ..... then it seemed as if I needed it ever 15 minutes! IT almost destroyed my life ..... I don't want the same thing to happen to your husband.

The real killer for me was that I truly truly believed that my *dealer* was my *FRIEND* .... NOT!

I am not taking his side or making excuses, I can just tell you first hand that it's an awful addiction/habit to kick! It takes a hold of you in a way that you have to have more and more. Imagine what that does to your money!

I curse the day I was EVER introduced to it.

I also wished I had gotten professional help ..... trying withdrawal on your own is not only HELL, but can be dangerous (I THINK ..... again check w/a professional). It was for me ..... I actually thought I was dying!

Wishing you success in helping your husband. It's not easy .... for either of you!

All my prayers go out to you!

Maria

losingtococ

He used cocaine before I met him and had told me that if anyone had ever offered it to him for free he would take it. And sure enough after probably 7 years of being clean an ex-co-worker, who he thinks is a friend, who only wants his money, gave him some. He had stopped for about a year and a half and now came into some money after his dad passed and started back again. I do see the memory loss. I still am not convinced that he thinks he has a problem. He thinks he can stop at any time and I know he is hooked. Since starting back up, he has maybe gone two to three weeks without it. He has given me his money to keep elsewhere, but now he is trying to think of ways to get money. This last time a customer gave him a tip at work and he had to buy the drug. Last night he got his last dispersement of his dad's estate; he gave me the check and asked me to put several hundred dollars in his savings account. I laughed. He didn't put up a fight.
The sad thing is he seems more like a normal person when he is high. He doesn't let every little thing bother him. But I am sure when he starts having withdrawals he gets very irritable and crabby and angry at the world which seems like his normal self.