rozied

I have been reading the posts by Cherbear about her fiancee's coke/crack addiction. It brought a question to mind regarding my AS's addiction. He started using coke when he was 21. About 10yrs into his coke addiction he started using crack. Oneday he must have had a very bad reation & wound up in ICU...........he tells us he has not smoked crack since that time but still admits to using coke. Now not 2 yrs ago I called him oneday & he acted insane. He was hallucinating & was extremely paranoid.
My question is looking back I am starting to think he hasn't stopped using crack he just won't admit it. My son will be 41 in Sept & is presently incarcerated for like the 8th time.
There are a few recovering coke/cracks ex-addicts here & I am sure they will know better than me.
Thanks,
Diane

Impurrfect

(((Rozied)))

I am a recovering crack addict. Although crack is made with cocaine, I never got the same effect from both. Cocaine would speed me up, but not really get me high. With crack, I definitely got high.

The bad thing about crack, is people can put other things in it when they make it. You have no idea what's in it. That may have been why he had a "reaction".

I don't really know if cocaine, itself, makes people paranoid because, honestly, I've never been around anyone that does it much. Crack, on the other hand can make you extremely paranoid. I never had hallucinations, but I know some people, when smoking crack, would say "did you hear that?" when there was nothing to hear.

I've seen people smoke and go running out the door, or just stand in the same place, like a statue, for 10-15 minutes, and just about everything else. It really does affect different people in different ways, and like I said, it depends on how it's made.

Hopefully someone will come along that knows more about cocaine.

Hugs and prayers!

Amy

hello-kitty

Ditto to what Amy said. Some people get super psychotic when they smoke crack. Some people appear a bit more sane. I've also seen people get very paranoid after snorting a ton of cocaine. But not nearly as often and the paranoia was not as extreme as after crack use. Either way, it's the same drug. MOST people cannot go back to just snorting it after they experience smoking it. The high has too much of a pull. Just seeing cocaine would be a trigger to think, "we could just cook up a little..." and there is no such thing as using just a little... I used to call it the s'mores. Once you start, you gotta have s'more."

greeteachday

My oldest daughter never did crack, but she did use coke, especially when drinking. One year (Easter Sunday morning; those are times I particularly remember) I got a call that she was in the emergency room. She had been alone in her apartment after spending a night drinking and doing coke with some people and freaked out....She thought she had been attacked; neighbors heard her screaming and called the police. No one was there and there was no evidence of anyone having abused her. Her heart had been affected by the amount of coke in her system and she was hospitalized for a couple of days.
When I look back, I realize the denial I lived in. I was scared to death, spent every moment possible with her in the hospital , but still told myself she had partied too much, just this once (because I believed this was the first time using coke like she said) and this would be a lesson learned.

So yes, I think too much coke can cause paranoia. But I don't think it really matters...a drug is a drug and addiction is addiction. If his use is causing problems that affect his life, it is obviously a problem. And its effects on you are a problem too. Glad you are back reading and posting. It is time to take care of Mr and Mrs Rozied...you both deserve the best!!

Lobo

My daughter was a maniac on crack. She was mean, paranoid, and looked like the devil.
To me that is one of the worst drugs I have ever seen her on. I remember her searching the house for hidden cameras and pulling shades down. So sad to watch someone go completely out of their mind.

I pray to God that I don't have to see that again.

Take care of yourself Diane..........Luv ya...........Lo

rozied

Thanks Amy, Hello-Kitty & Greet, Thank you for writing & I think I must clarify myself here. I am just as upset with him be it crack or coke, he is an addict, has lost so very much from his drug use, and I pray he wouldn't use anything.
Why I posted this question was he has been telling us he doesn't use crack anymore & I don't believe him. As Hello-Kitty said once a coke user tries crack they want the intense high it gives. The way he was acting that day I knew it had to be crack.
I hope others that have experience wiith this will post.
Thanks Again,
Diane

lightseeker

I've only done cocaine and from the sound of what RAH tells me about crack it's hard to believe that it is the same substance. He had done cocaine for years and then, literally, after the first hit of crack he said that he knew right then that he was done for....it was all over and he knew it. He said it was like a prolonged, all over, organism. I know when he was doing crack he sounded completely insane.

marle

My daughter's abf used coke for many years and managed to be functional. Once he tried crack any semblance of function was gone. He still makes a lot of money but that is because he is independent and his boss is a friend. He spends every cent he makes on crack. In fact my daughter was saying that between the two of them they spend $300 a day on crack and heroin. But my daughter has told me that he is not the kind that gets all bugged out and paranoid. Hugs, Marle

rozied

Thanks LgtSeeker & Marle,
Marle I know my own son managed to function on coke for quite a few yrs also, then when he went to crack everything went totally down. You see he tells us ever since he od'd on crack he doesn't use it BUT I don't believe him anymore. Once last yr I called him & I was so totally out of it, saying things that sounded out of his head, I wanted to go see him cuz he scared me so much. At that time he lived about 40 miles from me so Jim & my son Chris wouldn't let me go. I debated whether to call 911 then Chris told me this was how he gets & it would wear off & it did but it scared the c__p out of me.
I tell you the drama of addiction I could live without. Life is too precious & short to waste it in that condition. I cannot understand it for the life of me.
Love,
Diane