a few questuions please

[debpug]

My husband who I love dearly is using crack,snorting coke,oc's,vikes,perks, he told me today that he thinks the only way out is to get methadon ,has anyone had any luck with it? I read it is worse than drugs.Also, since starting crack he is mean, not very clean, and is always out trying to get it. Did anyone do the same?

[anvilhead]

hate to break it to ya, but methadone is not a treatment for cocaine or crack.........in my experience as a recovering crack addict the BEST way is to put down the pipe and not pick it back up again, and do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn't happen!

crack is a mean *ss drug...and a b*tch to get off of, but it can be done. the addict has to be ready and willing to do whatever it takes. rarely does one just up and quit crack on the first attempt...it does such a number on the brain, more than the body in many ways.....IF he truly wants to get clean, he can. recovery doesn't get delivered to our doorstep tho, we gotta go out and get it!

[debpug]

So what do they use methadon for? Is there pain from stopping crack? He said he has been using crack for 2 months, does it make a difference how long you use it?

[chiynita]

I am a 14 year crack addict. It has taken me since my first few months to get this far.
I am only 38 days clean after many many attempts.
Methadone is used for opiates..Such as heroine..and pain killers. Like oxycontin and such.
But crack ..Like anvil said is a Monster.
It will make you do things unimaginable.
And once you get going ..There is no wanting to stop until you just pass out and cant go anymore.
I have been up with no sleep for up to a week beore.
Average 4 or 5 days.
I cant even explain in a short amount of time or put into words how this drug has affected my life.
I dont think there is physical pain from withdrawl. But everyone is different.
It's nothing like coming off opiates and alcohol where you need medical supervision.
At least not for me.
The only physical pain for me was when i had urges and it makes you sick like your gonna throw up and very anxious.
Thats my input.
If he has been only doing it a few months. He better get some help now. The farther you get into it. The harder it is to get off.
And the more involved you get into the enviroment the harder it gets.
The enviroment can be addictive too.
I wish you the best.

[Aducksdelight]

I am an opiate addict and so I was given the choice to go on methadone to detox. I had read many horrendous things but also some postive results about methadone treatment but in the long run, I decided that it would better teach me a lesson and save me grief in the future, if I kicked them cold turkey. It was one of the worst experiences of my life but I got through it. Your husband won't get methadone for crack but he will for opiates if they determine he is a candidate. I alwyas suggest going through it cold.

[Sugah]

Below is my experience, observations, and opinion:

I abused cocaine & crack cocaine for many years, and at one point (for about three years) had an $8-12 grand a month habit. Yes, there was pain in withdrawal, but it was primarily mental pain. The obsession of getting and using more was very strong, but for an addict, it doesn't matter what the substance is. That obsession, if nothing more is done than removing the drug, happens with any drug. The actual physical symptoms of coke/crack withdrawal were minimal: some disruption in sleep and irritability.

Withdrawing from opiates, on the other hand, feels like a really, really bad case of the flu, if the physical dependence is severe. IMO, replacing opiates with methadone treatment is merely delaying the inevitable, that physical withdrawal. I don't personally know anyone who had a successful recovery until they were free of all mind/mood altering substances. I've heard they exist. I just don't know of any. The last friend I had who went to meetings to work on his recovery while being on methadone blew his brains out when he had to finally face the consequences of his actions. I have another friend with long term (18 years) recovery who was on methadone for almost five years. Rather than face the detox from methadone, as his insurance was due to run out, he went back to shooting heroin, and once the methadone was out of his system, he went through detox from the dope.

For the record, I did a cold-turkey detox from opiates, valium, and coke. Glad I didn't accept the crutches. I don't think I'd be clean or even alive had I not done it that way.

The problem with methadone clinics is that, like any profit-motivated business, they want their clients to stay on it as long as the insurance pays for it. And they want the client on as high a dose as possible. They bill more that way. What becomes of someone when the insurance runs out isn't their concern. At least, that's how the clinic in this area is run.

Bottom line....your husband has to want to get clean. Or, he has to keep going until he ends up dead or in jail and has no choice but to get clean. Gathering information and offering him your support is wonderful, but if he doesn't really want to stop using, like most addicts, he's likely to do whatever it takes to keep using by whatever means he's able to.

If he's willing, there are places all over that will clean him up. Whether he chooses to remain that way is up to him. There's lots of help staying clean available to him, too.

Peace & Love,
Sugah