Firesong

Can it really be done? I have looked at lots of websites that say it can, but they all prescribe different OTC meds/herb treatments/etc., and I don't know which ones to trust.

My friend tried to quit cold turkey at home last month. The bad symptons lasted just over 24 hours, then it got better for a couple of days (the whole process was over a 3-day weekend). Then when they went back to work they just could not function, even with the OTC meds, and started using again.

Now they are trying to wean themselves off H by taking less and less each time, and substituting with buprenorphrine, with a plan to take a week's vacation from work sometime this summer and try to go cold turkey again with 9 days to do it.

Can this possibly work? I spent that long weekend with my friend; totally clueless but just there, getting them to eat, etc. Plan to be there again for the week ... just wondering what to expect, if there is any way to have a clue about what to expect. There is no way for them to go to inpatient detox or rehab because if they take any more time off work for that they are afraid of getting fired and/or kicked out of the house (live with family).

AnvilheadII

that's a heck of way for YOU to spend YOUR week hon.

can it be done? i'm sure it CAN....as a matter of fact your friend DID the detox part once already right? here's the thing...

it ain't the QUITTING
it's the STAYING QUIT - that's the tough part. that's why your friend relapsed after going thru the whole gawdawful withdrawal process. because there is no PLAN, no PROGRAM, no SUPPORT to help him or her learn how to life a drug free life for the rest of time.

so you can be there, you can heat up soup and hold the puke bucket and put your own life on hold - AGAIN....and who knows this might become a monthly thing? you aren't the problem here, nor are you the solution.

if your friend is really serious, he or she would get some QUALIFIED help and dedicate themselves to learning how to live free from addiction. as it is the plan to "try" this again is already months away and in the meantime "try" to use less. that's a plan destined to fail.

Firesong

I hear you, AnvilheadII, and I agree with what you said about qualified help. But how and where? That would involve going in as an inpatient, right? And taking more time off work and possibly losing their job. Problem is, the job provides money to buy heroin, as well as buprenorphrine and OTC meds, and I have thought, if they want badly enough to save their life they could be willing to risk losing their job and home and going into detox and worrying about a job and a place to live when they get out. I think that is why my friend is so worried about getting fired; the job pays for the drugs.

I just don't have anyone local to talk with about this. So I'm posting here.

AnvilheadII

if they keep using, they won't have the job very much longer.

i know you want to help....but if you look at what you have shared here from a practical detached position you will see that YOU are putting a whole lot more worry and research into this than your friend. she isn't taking this seriously. it's still playtime and no big deal to her.

as far as low cost or free detox...really depends on where you live. if she has health insurance she could start with her doctor. that would be a good option.

until your FRIEND realizes just how life and death heroin addiction can be, it's going to be kind of a effort in futility.........be careful you don't fall into the role of enabler or caretaker here.

zoso77

The probability that one can successfully get off opiates cold turkey is quite low.

The probability you will be driven batsh*t crazy if you stay coupled as closely to this situation as you currently are is, by contrast, quite high.

What's in this for you?

ZoSo

Firefall

What Anvil says is true.
Your wanting it, finding how to, finding help resources will not fix them. The only way it works is when they make the choices for themselves.
The way the receptors work in the brain is the more you use the more receptors are created. Think of them as hungry mouths to feed. They never die once created by alcohol or drugs. They go dormant after detox, minimum of a month. But once you feed one, they all wake up screaming to be fed.

They need professional help.

Vale

Screaming to be fed---for the rest of the subject's natural life.
Excellent description of a hell of a frightful truth.

JustAYak

Extremely dangerous...

BlueBones

In my experience, not effectively. There's a reason they keep using. If it could be easily done at home, there would be a lot more people getting off H. I've tried this with my SO before he was ready to enter treatment last time. We spent a fortune on unisom, supplements, immodium, and all sorts of crap to get him to feel somewhat 'normal' during withdrawals. He got about 2-3 days in. It didn't work and he went right back to using.
I stressed and slept next to this writhing, shaking, puking man for days and it did nothing but cause me stress and make me needlessly hopeful.

Firesong

Yes, and treatment doesn't always help either; people go in, come out, start using again, go back in ...

And yet some people do quit and so far are staying clean, whether for one day, or one week, or one year, or one decade or more ...

I gather from the replies here so far that no one on this forum has done this and stayed clean so far ...

Ann

Detoxing at home can be dangerous, it is best done with medical help or advice. It's putting you in a bad situation because you cannot judge at what point it becomes dangerous...they are very sick and really should do it at a detox facility or under the direction of their doctor.

Good luck, I hope he wants this as much as you do. I've been there with my son and it's just not a good thing.

Hugs

Firefall

Gives new meaning to "The Little Shop of Horrors"

Audrey: Feed me Seymour, feed me!

CarrieBear

my fiance and his.cousin found a detox online, it had cold turkey and warm turkey methods. it did work and he.stayed.off two weeks then decided to use because he was going into inpatient. dont say it, insanity. hes quit a few times the past year on his own but couldnt stay.quit. im hearing its true a lot of people can quit but i think it depends why they were using. they need help with why before they can end.it.for.good.

bellanoviella

They are all right. It is necessary I guess to wean yourself off with small amounts so you avoid getting sick, but it's the staying clean that's the hard part.

periwinkle123

My husband was shooting insane amounts of heroin. According to him it would be the equivalent of 500 Vicodin a day.. He recently quit within the span of like 5 days.. He took a couple days to taper down little by little. Then he went cold turkey for 24 hours. Then he used suboxone for a couple of days to ease some of the physical withdrawals. & quit that cold turkey after a couple of days. It's not easy, but it can be done.. With support and a healthy lifestyle.. There's some organic nutrients that can help the process too. I think the emotional part of the withdrawals has been harder on him than the physical. Good luck to your friend!

Firesong

Thanks, Ann and everyone!

I would like to know more about the organic nutrients and about the emotional part. How do you help with that? (I do not buy some organizations' ideas about not helping loved ones! )

My friend has quit other drugs at home so kinda knows the ropes; we both realize that heroin is one of the toughest to quit. They have quit methadone too -- I don't know whether they did that one at home or in rehab. No longer shooting up heroin, so that is a positive, IMO. If anyone here knows better, please enlighten me!

I realize the following experience of my own is probably funny, if not insulting, by comparison, but I am currently going through withdrawal from sugar. I know it can't compare, but it really is a physical as well as an emotional struggle. I get real cravings that feel like real hunger, even after I have eaten a good nourishing meal. I can eat and eat, and STILL have hunger pangs, which I know are just sugar cravings, but it is really miserable. No, it doesn't make me throw up, doesn't have me shaking or sleepless, but it's really really hard not to cave in and grab a Coke from the fridge, or buy some brownies or muffins or eat doughnuts when they're offered. This morning for the first time the cravings have subsided a little, after just about a week. But I don't know what I will do when out with friends (including this friend) when everyone else is enjoying ice cream.

Tinks65

just my two cents as the mom of an addict. I've been with my son three times as he detoxed. It is difficult but can be done. As someone else said it's not getting off, its staying off. The physical symptoms are horrific but subside. The mental kicks in and that is where the addict needs the most help. The first time he kicked we thought we were through the worst of it only to find that we were completely helpless against the beast that was running through his mind. Once the physical symptoms subside the mental battle is intense. Every minute of the day their brain is screaming at them to use. He has been in several different types of treatment programs. The one that helped him the most was a twelve step residential program. I remember when he came home the first time he was allowed a visit he told me "I've been clean lots of times, this is the first time I've been in recovery".

As for those of us who love the addict we must also find recovery. I can come alongside while he gets clean but I am of little to no use in helping him to stay clean. Only he along with the help of other recovered addicts can do that. He is currently incarcerated due to a minor violation of his probation. Upon his release his plan is to find a sober house, and re-establish a network of friends in recovery. I am hopeful for his future and mine. I have a network myself and attend a NarAnon meeting each week. He is lucky that the jail has 12 step meetings and he is working his program while locked up. He and I both have found tremendous strength in carrying the message to others. For me it is for the other moms, dads, siblings, and spouses I meet through NarAnon and him it is of course the addicts he encounters in jail.

Just a side note, he once told me that he read a book entitled "Romancing Opiates" and found it really helpful to understanding his addiction when it comes to detoxing. I've not read it but thought I'd throw that out there.

OpioPhobe

Firesong - it isn't impossible, but I must say that it is extraordinarily difficult.

If they have already kicked methadone / H in the past then they should already know what is in store. I do agree with others that you should be careful about getting emotionally invested in the quit. It is up to them to get through it.

As far as being emotionally supportive I would say to avoid comparing something that you went through to what they are experiencing. There would be a good chance that they would perceive anything you said that compares what they are going through to be belittling. I am not sure what your plans are for staying with them, but I think you should avoid a situation where you have to stay there for long periods of time (e.g. maybe stay close by and only come by at certain times of day). In fact, I think the best course is to wish them luck and just meet up with them when it is over.

stairs

I've had a family member detoxing off heroin at my house and it's something I would never participate in again willingly. It didn't "take", and caused a lot of stress and discomfort that turned out to be for nothing.

I think that the natural consequences of using are something the addict must experience in order to comprehend the seriousness of their drug addiction. They need to realize that their way of life is not working and want to change.