Hi sooners,
I often talk to other posters about how opiates are not picky about who they addict -- socioeconomic level matters not.
That said -- Drugs and alcohol may not care who you ARE, but they certainly can knock you down a few pegs from who you could BE.
Life is too short and the steps you take right now are too important to waste them on being an opiate user, no matter how much they may seem to be a "miracle drug" when you first encounter them.
You are doing the right thing to quit opiates. You don't want to be "that guy who uses opiates". Like I said before, look around you and pick out who YOU wish was an opiate-user -- your doctor? your bus driver? your neighbor? your MINISTER? Any one of those people is capable of being opiate dependent and addicted and you would never know it. But if you DID know it, what would you think about the quality of service they were able to give you?
In my profession, you just don't be an opiate user. Period. End of story. There are other ways to deal with chronic pain.
Take care.
FT