Need Some Information Please

[katie44]

I have a 19 year old AS , been through it all with him and we are no longer going to enable him ( or at least try not too) he is going in to a 1 year program in two weeks and it is some distance from us. We know this is his battle. He claims his drug of choice is cocaine however recently I know he has been smoking crack. He has told me he is trying to detox himself. Last night at 2:00 am in the morning I heard a huge crash in the bathroom. I went in to check on him he was laying on the bathroom floor covered in vomit, not to be to graphic but blood in it also. I tried to pick him up and he was covered in sweat and shaking. Even his eyes were rolled back. Ive never seen him like that before. I wanted to take him to emergency or call an ambulance but he would not go. He said he was detoxing. I did not get back to bed the rest of the nite checking to see if he was breathing. Is this detoxing from crack or cocaine? could it be another drug? Could he have been on something else.?
can detoxing give you a heart attack? I never want to see anything like that again.Please if some one could give me some feed back it would be appreciated Thankyou

[Ultra-addict]

I can't say that I know very much about crack or cocaine, other than what I learned from people that I was in treatment with. As best I understand, and I very well could be wrong, is that you don't really detox off of cocaine or crack. That it is not so much a physical addiction, but more so an INSANELY strong psychological addiction. Again, this is just going off of what I heard from people who were in treatment for cocaine/crack addictions, so this may be coming from way out in left field. God Bless you and stick around here. You will get an awesome education in this disease!!!

[marle]

Katie, You could always google crack withdrawal and look at the symptoms. I know that smoking crack can cause seizures. Or he may have used something else in addition to the crack that is causing withdrawals. My daughter's boyfriend uses alcohol, pot, xanax, opiates and crack. Crack is his DOC, but he uses the other drugs to bring him down from the crack. So I would suspect that something else is at play here. Marle

[anvilhead]

crack was my DOC (well heck what wasn't really.....??) and what you describe sounds more like someone who just od'd on crack, not detoxing. see cocaine only lasts in the system about 3 days.....it assimilates and dissapates quite rapidly.......at this time there is no drug for cocaine withdrawal....

you say he's going to a program in two weeks.....i guess just hold it all together with spit and baling wire til then.....and make him clean up his own puke. a real common thought process we addicts get when we think about quitting, for good, is to go out with a bang, have one last blast. lotta addicts never make it to "quit" that way.........

man you sound like an awesome mom! hang in there!!!!

[Ten Chips Down]

Owwie Katie. Eeeh. That's... that, yeah.

Originally Posted by katie44

I have a 19 year old AS , been through it all with him and we are no longer going to enable him ( or at least try not too) he is going in to a 1 year program in two weeks and it is some distance from us. We know this is his battle.

Ok. First, you sound extremely fortified against his problem and well educated as to boundares and responsibilities. So that's a clear head-start for you, mom.

"He claims his drug of choice is cocaine however recently I know he has been smoking crack."

Same thing. Crack is just "rock cocaine." Smokable and more potent.

"I tried to pick him up and he was covered in sweat and shaking. Even his eyes were rolled back. Ive never seen him like that before. I wanted to take him to emergency or call an ambulance but he would not go."

Seizure, Katie.

"Is this detoxing from crack or cocaine? could it be another drug? Could he have been on something else.? can detoxing give you a heart attack? I never want to see anything like that again."

As Anvil says it is not a straight, simple detox from crack, no. As to what it is - impossible to say. As to what it might be - could be an OD from crack alone... again, like our Anvil says.

...I worry helplessly for the two weeks ahead of you. It cannot be an easy road. I find it hard to even imagine--I'm a single guy. You're a mom. I can't even start.

Ten

[freshstart]

We can't diagnose here. Your son needs to be taken to a hospital. If an ambulance shows up at your door and he's in that condition they will treat him. That could be an overdose of cocaine. I've seen it happen like that. He needs medical attention.

[wolflvr]

I would definitely call 911 if this happens again. I dont know why it is happening but I do know, as you do, that this isnt normal and could lead to a seizure he doesnt recover from, heart failure, coma and even death. Im not saying these things will happen but I would hate for even one of them to happen and you feel horrible the rest of your life because he didnt want you to call yanno? If you call he has to face the dr's etc. about his problem and they will know what is causing it..maybe he isnt ready to do that or there is more to what he is doing. I admire your strength through this yet am sorry you have to go through it at all. Iwill keep you and your son in my prayers and I hope he gets the help he needs ASAP. He is a very lucky man to have you as a mom.

[jnell291]

Hello, I watched my boyfriend abuse crack/cocaine for a while and I myself have done cocaine. I know crack is totally diffrent though. I don't think that you get a detox from crack. My boyfriend and I are recently recovering from oxycontin abuse witch is like heroin. Now that is a detox! My boyfriend said he never detoxed physically from crack but it was more of a mental thing. Well I hope everything goes okay.

Jnell291

[jnell291]

I hate to be blunt but my boyfriend just said he was probably using when this happened. It was probably an overdose. I will pray for you.

[katie44]

Thanks everyone for your input. Sometimes I feel so blinded when it comes to drugs. next time god forbid there is a next time I will call an ambulance. I cannot go through that again. He is going to drive me crazy I just want him out of the house.

[parentrecovers]

call 911, katie - you're over your head and so is your son?

and i would call the program he is going to in a few weeks and ask for advice or maybe even an earlier admit date? just a thought..

blessings, k

[Ten Chips Down]

Absolutely - I was going to say that myself. This behavior is very relevant and timely history for the place he's headed to, and one would think it should be relayed.

[im2sweet4u1983]

I have detoxed off crack cocaine quite a few times and have seen many other detox off it also and its nothing like that. My guess would be heroin. that is what its like to come off of heroin, Vomiting, shaking, sweating etc. Detoxing off of crack is more like being a little aggervated, restless, and a little angry and uncomfortable but nothing like you talked about. I would look for track mark or he could have smoke it. But thats what it sounds like to me, its not just crack

[im2sweet4u1983]

oh or like stated above he could have overdosed being as he is about to go to a treatment center and wanted to get as high as he could and that could have happened and when it comes to dugs being his mother there is an act you can sign to have him mefically admitted for drug abuse and he has no choice but to be seen my a doctor. Its kinda like a baker act but just related to drugs.

[ElizabethJMA]

It's called the Marchman Act. But I think they only hold you for 72 hours and it usually just makes the person angry. It's really not enough time.

[northbelle]

Wow , all I have to offer you are some prayers..but I have heard it is some pretty powerful stuff.!
love northbelle

[jnell291]

Hope everything is going ok. I am praying for you and him!