Lizzaayy

that once people use needles, whether for heroin, or pills, or what have you, it is almost impossible for them to stop?
i have been hearing that most people that use needles do not recover, or remain sober. that if they do become sober, they relapse, over and over.

it makes me sad. how is it possible to live a normal life, with a family that loves and supports you, if you are always relapsing, going back to rehab, starting all over, then relapsing again?

i suppose it would be important, to enjoy that window of sobriety they have. but then it starts all over again, and the loved ones are again devestated, and the addict is thrown into that dark place once more.

meditation

It's not true. I myself took my addiction to that level and I've got 2 years clean. There is always hope and recovery. For some it takes a couple of relapses before they are done but it doesn't mean one can't recover.

Serenity Bound

Not true. A very good friend of our family, was a herion addict.....using needles....she is now getting ready to celebrate SIX YEARS clean.

keepinon

The manager at my AD's sle had 25 years on the spoon (as she calls it) and has been sober for 11 years. My SIL has been sober for 15 years. I think that by the time people are shooting up, it's crossed a line that many wouldn't cross and they are pretty deep in addiction, but that doesn't mean they can't get clean.

WTYJill

Cynical One is correct. When my AD came back home after an OD, she was given some medication for withdrawal. It was explained to me as sort of a strong benadryl, but of course non narcotic. Low and behold, I eventually learned that she was shooting it up! The process of shooting up is addictive and they actually crave the "stick." Another former IV addict in my family said he actually took saline and shot it up a couple of times just to feel the sensation of the needle, but he has about 2 years sobriety now.

It all depends on the individual and their commitment to recovery. I've heard former IV Heroin users state that it's easier to quit that addiction than Methadone or cigarettes.

outtolunch

It is not possible to have anything that resembles a normal life while addicted or doing the relapse cycle thing.

My daughter used needles for heroin from the start. She is clean today and is expecting a child this November. The baby shower is this Sunday.

There are no universally accepted statistics on recovery due to the nature of the beast. At best, some rehabs track former guests for a few years and rely on what they are told. This does not provide long term statistics.

There was a study that tracked a group of former prison inmates for 30 years, I think.The success rate was not optimistic. It is unusual to find elderly people addicted to crack, meth or heroin. Either they eventually get recovery or do not survive.

Relapse is a part of addiction, not recovery. Relapse is a choice. Friends and families also have choices which includes getting off the roller coaster at any time.

Lizzaayy

thank you everyone for the response.
now i know what to say when someone tells me, "Oh, he probably won't make it."
maybe that's true, but maybe it's not. nothing is set in stone. =)

meditation

Sometimes people have to relapse to understand they are powerless over the addiction. It can be a learning curve or a teaching tool if the person is lucky enough to be able to make a comeback. I do think just as in co-dependency issues that relapse is part of the progress to go forward. I was not in a formal recovery program when I stopped for 9 months or a year but with each relapse I understood that my addiction started right where I left it and I had no control once I fed the cravings.

SlvrMag

I agree that the method of administration is/can be as addicting as the drug itself.

I would not agree that a person will 'never' get clean because of the way they use.

If they want to be clean bad enough, they can be.

lightseeker

my husband loved the needle....used one for 20 years. He has 5+ years clean now. He has developed insulin dependent diabetes in the last two years - and to be truthful, I see him enjoying the ritual of the needle (only now it is to inject insulin) still. He even talks about how he likes it.

I could let it drive me crazy and worry but I figure that is his own problem and not mine. What drives me crazy is that he will use the same needle for a month and jab it through his clothes. He thinks that because he used for 20 years and "nothing happened" that he is bullet proof. I've told him that when he has necrotizing fascititis that I am not coming to visit him in the hospital or take time off from work.

He might be sober but recovery is not fully in place, huh? And if mine was in place I wouldn't make mean spirited comments - but hey.....a girl has got a right to be human from time to time.

Impurrfect

(((Lizzaayy))) - most of us who "shoot up" DO get as addicted to the ritual, as to the dope, but it, most definitely, doesn't mean we'll never recover.

I know that when I saw a friend getting an IV at the hospital, my mind went "ooooh". However, part of that is because I was a nurse..and I was darned good at starting IV's, and part of it was remembering the dope I shot up. In both cases, though, that is a part of my past, and the "oooh" was quickly replaced by remembering all that my addiction has caused me to lose, and I had absolutely NO desire to use.

When we want recovery, more than anything else, we'll work hard for it. I believe that as long as someone's alive, there's hope. I also realize that they have THEIR path to walk, I have mine.

Hugs and prayers,

Amy

SlvrMag

I was a smoker of Meth. When I watch Intervention and see that, I get that "ooooh" as well. It's just a quick feeling though. Too much B.S. comes along with that pipe/needle/straw/drink/whatever!

NoelleR

Most folks here have already said it, but I just wanted to chime in with my ES&H on the matter.....sooooo, let's take it one question/statement at a time (and let's remember, this is all just from my own experience).....:

Is it true that...

1) ...once people use needles...it is almost impossible for them to stop? Absolutely NOT true;

2) ...most people that use needles do not recover? Again, absolutely NOT true;

3) ...if they do become sober, they relapse? Another falacy. So, NOT true;

4) ...(they relapse) over and over again? Again, NOT true.

So, I guess one could say that the long and the short of it is............absolutely NOT true to all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those are my answers, now here's my story. I used for many years (25+); needles always being in the forefront most of that time. I wasn't so much into the ritual as I was always of the mind that 'if it was water-soluable, then it belonged in a needle.'

When I went to my first AA meeting (I went to my first NA meeting shortly thereafter) on Monday, June 23, 1986, I made the decision to quit (it was definitely time---past time, some might have said), not just alcohol, but all the stuff I'd been putting in my body. ....and that was it!

Yep, I stopped; I quit; I recovered, and no relapsing over and over and over; in fact, no relapses atall.....Yes, I heard all the negative stuff (stuff like your questions) being spewed out when I was early in my recovery journey, and I decided to not listen to it, and to only listen to the positive (there had been enough negative in my life already; I didn't need any more). ....so, that's my story, and here I am 24+ years later still going positively forward.

Yes, the numbers regarding recovery are not good; in fact, they're pretty dismal, but (some) folks do recover. Like others have said, if a person REALLY wants recovery, he/she will work for it, and find it.....

Here's a whole bunch o positive vibes coming your way.....


(o:
NoelleR

Freedom1990

Cynical hit the nail on the head on both counts.

I was an IV drug user, and it's true that the ritual is just as addictive.

I also celebrated 20 years clean/sober this past August, so recovery is possible.

meditation

I must have missed that addiction. I hated needles as a kid, fainted the first time I had to have my blood checked for surgery. I had to force myself as a nursing student to inject an orange, nearly fainted giving my first shot and had a super panic attack starting my first IV on a patient. I was convinced I would never be a needle user. After 20 years as a nurse I lost my fear of needles. So it was nothing to be a needle user but romance of the love of the needle? I still hate them near me. I don't miss that at all on myself. I don't get the appeal of that but I respect that people might enjoy it.