60 days, drug thoughts and brain chemistry
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Montclair, NJ
Posts: 51
60 days, drug thoughts and brain chemistry
This week my girlfriend told me that she spends most of every day thinking about how she wishes she could get high, and imagining how she could go about doing it. (It would not be even mildly difficult.) She said that if she were not on vivitrol she would have relapsed weeks ago. It does not help that there are nearly constant reminders of the availability of drugs. Yesterday she spent Thanksgiving with her brother (drug addict), her mom (alcoholic) and stepdad (alcoholic in recovery), and she was immediately reminded that one of her past drug dealers lived in the same apartment complex one courtyard away from her brother's apartment. Frankly, she has so many drug dealers it's difficult to see how she can go anywhere without thinking about them. She is "clean" today 60 days.
This is quite a bit different from what she was telling me up to a week ago, namely, that she was feeling great and that apart from a little anxiety in the morning she hardly thinks about drugs at all. Now she admits that she is almost never NOT thinking about drugs.
In one sense I'm glad she confessed this, because at least she's being "real". She's never told her clinician this, apparently, so her clinician is giving advice with a completely wrong understanding of what's going on. She does have her sponsor and she says she's straight with her sponsor, so that's good, if true.
I was originally going to post this to ask what, if anything, I can do to help deal with this, but as I wrote it I realized the obvious answer is "nothing" -- I can just watch helplessly and hope things get better. Part of my problem is having never used drugs, I cannot understand the desire to get high at all. I'm probably the worst person in the world to be her boyfriend. I'll never "get it."
(Although I do have one question in this regard. Would it be better to return to work, just a distraction from constantly thinking about drugs, or would it be worse? Unfortunately, if she came back to the same job, the work location is very near an open drug market where she regularly got drugs.)
But I am curious whether anyone here has looked into the brain chemistry of early recovery to understand better what is going on. I've heard that one problem is that dopamine levels are completely depleted (she has about 15 years of drug use and about 6 years of being a hardcore opiate addict, heroin and oxy). I've also heard that it can take two years for the dopamine levels to be restored. Is that true? If it's two years, and that's what's driving her cravings, it's hard to see how anyone can avoid relapsing.
I've also heard vague statements about "white matter" in the brain being affected, and also the brain's "wiring". I have no clue what "white matter" is, and I'm not sure what is meant by the references to the brain's "wiring" (I know brains don't have actual wires in them). Can anyone shed any light on these issues --what is white matter, how is it affected, what about the brain's "wiring"?
Does the brain self-repair over time (other than the gradual increase in dopamine levels)? How long does it take? For someone like my girlfriend who has been using opiates this extensively, is there a possibility of permanent brain damage? How would it be manifested?
This is quite a bit different from what she was telling me up to a week ago, namely, that she was feeling great and that apart from a little anxiety in the morning she hardly thinks about drugs at all. Now she admits that she is almost never NOT thinking about drugs.
In one sense I'm glad she confessed this, because at least she's being "real". She's never told her clinician this, apparently, so her clinician is giving advice with a completely wrong understanding of what's going on. She does have her sponsor and she says she's straight with her sponsor, so that's good, if true.
I was originally going to post this to ask what, if anything, I can do to help deal with this, but as I wrote it I realized the obvious answer is "nothing" -- I can just watch helplessly and hope things get better. Part of my problem is having never used drugs, I cannot understand the desire to get high at all. I'm probably the worst person in the world to be her boyfriend. I'll never "get it."
(Although I do have one question in this regard. Would it be better to return to work, just a distraction from constantly thinking about drugs, or would it be worse? Unfortunately, if she came back to the same job, the work location is very near an open drug market where she regularly got drugs.)
But I am curious whether anyone here has looked into the brain chemistry of early recovery to understand better what is going on. I've heard that one problem is that dopamine levels are completely depleted (she has about 15 years of drug use and about 6 years of being a hardcore opiate addict, heroin and oxy). I've also heard that it can take two years for the dopamine levels to be restored. Is that true? If it's two years, and that's what's driving her cravings, it's hard to see how anyone can avoid relapsing.
I've also heard vague statements about "white matter" in the brain being affected, and also the brain's "wiring". I have no clue what "white matter" is, and I'm not sure what is meant by the references to the brain's "wiring" (I know brains don't have actual wires in them). Can anyone shed any light on these issues --what is white matter, how is it affected, what about the brain's "wiring"?
Does the brain self-repair over time (other than the gradual increase in dopamine levels)? How long does it take? For someone like my girlfriend who has been using opiates this extensively, is there a possibility of permanent brain damage? How would it be manifested?
Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 220
I'll speak from my experience.
My loved one was not even remotely ok at 2 months. He was an absolute mess. It was a bit better at 6 months (but not much), and then at 9 months I was really beginning to wonder if that was as good as it would get and what type of permanent damage there was. But the changes at month 11 and 12 were shocking.
Therefore, based on my personal experience, I am a huge believer in stepping away for a year and each person focusing on their own recovery. Drug and alcohol addiction is all-consuming to overcome. Stepping away can mean many different things. But ultimately it means focusing on oneself.
My loved one would discuss the job options with their sponsor. They know and understand the addiction. If she is really working the program and fully using her sponsor, they can definitely work on that together.
You don't have to sit by helplessly and worry and watch. Live your life. Love your life and your loved ones and enjoy. Life is too short!
My loved one was not even remotely ok at 2 months. He was an absolute mess. It was a bit better at 6 months (but not much), and then at 9 months I was really beginning to wonder if that was as good as it would get and what type of permanent damage there was. But the changes at month 11 and 12 were shocking.
Therefore, based on my personal experience, I am a huge believer in stepping away for a year and each person focusing on their own recovery. Drug and alcohol addiction is all-consuming to overcome. Stepping away can mean many different things. But ultimately it means focusing on oneself.
My loved one would discuss the job options with their sponsor. They know and understand the addiction. If she is really working the program and fully using her sponsor, they can definitely work on that together.
You don't have to sit by helplessly and worry and watch. Live your life. Love your life and your loved ones and enjoy. Life is too short!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In a good place
Posts: 4,482
Dopamine: all she has to do is ask a prescribing physician for wellbutrin. It's a dopamine stimulant (not narcotic). I take 300 mgs a day and my drug of choice was just nicotine.
Speaking of, I quit smoking again a couple of years ago. I woke up this morning craving a cig and it's not left me yet. I'll spend the rest of this day fighting and eventually conquering it. I can't imagine fighting off a heroin craving.
Speaking of (part 2), my recovering IV opiate addict daughter of almost 5 years, saw a huge bruise inside my right elbow yesterday. It was from blood tests and a newbie phlebotomist. I had deliberately worn long sleeves but reached up for something and woops, she saw it. I apologized for possibly triggering her but she said, for the zillionth time, it's something she has to learn to deal with for the rest of her life.
Speaking of, I quit smoking again a couple of years ago. I woke up this morning craving a cig and it's not left me yet. I'll spend the rest of this day fighting and eventually conquering it. I can't imagine fighting off a heroin craving.
Speaking of (part 2), my recovering IV opiate addict daughter of almost 5 years, saw a huge bruise inside my right elbow yesterday. It was from blood tests and a newbie phlebotomist. I had deliberately worn long sleeves but reached up for something and woops, she saw it. I apologized for possibly triggering her but she said, for the zillionth time, it's something she has to learn to deal with for the rest of her life.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: WI
Posts: 240
7 Things to do After Rehab
Formal drug treatment programs don’t last indefinitely. In fact, they might only last for a few months. It’s a time of intense work and profound learning, when a person picks up the skills that will be used in the long-term struggle for sobriety, but at some point, the person is expected to head back to the regular world once more. The work may continue for the rest of the person’s life, but the intense days spent in rehab will come to an end. Even though the surroundings might be familiar, the person has changed, and blending memories with current goals can be hard at first. These are seven steps people can take to make the transition a little less stressful.
1. Find Sober Friends.
Addictions often form through the influence of other people. Studies on teens, such one published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, clearly demonstrate that peer pressure is a powerful motivator for drug use, as those teens who spend time with pro-drug friends are more likely to use when compared to teens who spend time with sober friends. The same could be said for adults. Those who have friendships built on drugs may find it hard to go to parties, share meals, or otherwise interact and stay sober, as the temptation to use might grow and spread. Sober friends can be vital, as they may be willing to engage in fun activities that don’t involve substance abuse. Temptation levels might fade when people are surrounded by others who are sober.
2. Evaluate the Neighborhood, and Move if Needed.
For some people, the old neighborhood contains a plethora of reminders about substance use and abuse. They may be walking by their drug dealers on a daily basis, and the street corners, local bar fronts, and green parks might remind them of the times they spent getting drunk or getting high. These memories can be powerful triggers for addiction cravings, and they could be too much for people to resist. Other people may find that their homes are, similarly, unsafe. For example, a study in the journal Substance Use and Misuse found that female heroin users often lived with a current user or a former user. When rehab is over, these people might return to homes filled with drugs, and a relapse might quickly follow.
Moving to a new neighborhood can push the reset button on cravings, providing the person with new vistas and new opportunities to explore. The neighborhood might be safer, with fewer available drugs, or it might just be different enough to push the old memories away. If the old neighborhood is unsafe or it’s too hard to live under the burden of memory, moving might be an apt choice.
3. Keep Follow-up Appointments.
Drug rehab programs sometimes work on a stair-step model, where the care provided becomes less and less intense until the person is handling sobriety alone, without assistance. Often, this means that people must head to appointments with counselors in the early days of recovery, even though the formal rehab program is over.
Therapy might help people to:
Process feelings regarding work
Deal with family transitions
Handle relapse triggers
Set goals for the future
Strengthen skills
Life can get hectic and demands on time can build and build, but skipping follow-up appointments isn’t advisable. The work should continue, and each appointment should be considered vital to long-term success in sobriety.
4. Focus on Mental Health.
Returning to an old routine can bring stress and anxiety, especially if people are dealing with an intense craving for alcohol or drugs, and it can be easy to focus on the negativity. Sadness can build and build until a relapse seems not only possible but also certain. Finding a moment in each and every day to do something positive could be vital. A few moments of morning meditation could help the clouds of anxiety to part, for example, and that could bring the person the peace needed for the rest of the day.
Exercise might also play a key role. While researchers aren’t quite sure how mental health and physical activity are linked, the Mayo Clinic reports that depression and anxiety levels can lower when a person exercises regularly. Taking a walk with the dog, swimming a few laps in the pool or lifting weights in the basement could all provide a little boost to mood, and these actions could also help a person feel just a little stronger and a lot healthier.
5. Find a Support Group.
Drug rehab programs often utilize support groups, including Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous, as programs like this can boost a feeling of affiliation and help people to achieve and maintain sobriety. When rehab is over, it can be tempting to skip meetings in favor of talking with family and friends on an informal basis, but attending support groups could provide benefits that casual talks cannot.
In a support group, people are still learning about addiction and they’re tapping into a network of people who have dealt with their own addiction issues. They have a robust roster of people to talk to, and a goal to work toward. The meetings can be inspirational, and they can allow the person to say things that the family simply might not understand. In other words, meetings shouldn’t be skipped. They’re a necessary part of the healing process.
6. Help Someone Else.
n rehab, people spend a significant time talking about what they’ll need to do to improve their individual lives, but research suggests that helping someone else could be a vital part of the recovery process. For example, a study in the journal Addiction found that helping others achieve sobriety reduced the risk that recovering drinkers would binge drink. By helping others, they were able to share experiences and remember what it’s like to struggle for sobriety. This allows petty daily concerns to float away, and it might make the person work even harder to maintain the gains earned in drug rehab.
Support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous make this kind of mentoring easy, as most programs ask senior members to take on younger members and counsel them in a one-on-one fashion. However, helping could take many forms. In fact, some forms of helping don’t have anything to do with addiction at all.
People could:
Volunteer at an animal shelter
Mentor a child in need
Visit seniors in elder care facilities
Participate in a community garden
Giving back and doing good makes the heart feel full and happy, and this could be just the sort of sensation a person needs in order to maintain sobriety when the rehab program is complete.
7. Stay Alert for Signs of Relapse.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, addiction is a chronic illness, and as a result, 40 to 60 percent of people who have an addiction relapse at least once. This doesn’t mean that addiction treatment isn’t effective, but it does mean that people with addictions will need to amend their lives and be on alert if they’d like to keep the problem from coming back full force. For starters, they might need to know where a relapse, for them, begins. For some, it’s a feeling of sadness or loss. For others, it’s a sensation of happiness or invincibility. These thoughts swirl and swirl, growing stronger and stronger, until a relapse takes place. Capturing and identifying the thought is the key to stopping the relapse. When those thoughts are in place, the person can go back to therapy, visit a sober friend, catch a meeting, or otherwise deal with the issue and stop the cycle.
Friends and family members might also be helpful here, as they might also know what a relapse looks like and how it typically starts. They can’t be expected to step in and stop a relapse from taking place, but they can speak up and speak out when they sense trouble, and this might be the prompt that pushes the person to find more intensive treatment.
Taken from 7 Things to do After Drug Rehab
I myself got this information from a 13 year clean RA who runs another forum. I can't help you with the chemistry but I have another site you might be interested in.
What is Heroin? How is Heroin Made? What is Heroin Made of? - Drug-Free World
Formal drug treatment programs don’t last indefinitely. In fact, they might only last for a few months. It’s a time of intense work and profound learning, when a person picks up the skills that will be used in the long-term struggle for sobriety, but at some point, the person is expected to head back to the regular world once more. The work may continue for the rest of the person’s life, but the intense days spent in rehab will come to an end. Even though the surroundings might be familiar, the person has changed, and blending memories with current goals can be hard at first. These are seven steps people can take to make the transition a little less stressful.
1. Find Sober Friends.
Addictions often form through the influence of other people. Studies on teens, such one published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, clearly demonstrate that peer pressure is a powerful motivator for drug use, as those teens who spend time with pro-drug friends are more likely to use when compared to teens who spend time with sober friends. The same could be said for adults. Those who have friendships built on drugs may find it hard to go to parties, share meals, or otherwise interact and stay sober, as the temptation to use might grow and spread. Sober friends can be vital, as they may be willing to engage in fun activities that don’t involve substance abuse. Temptation levels might fade when people are surrounded by others who are sober.
2. Evaluate the Neighborhood, and Move if Needed.
For some people, the old neighborhood contains a plethora of reminders about substance use and abuse. They may be walking by their drug dealers on a daily basis, and the street corners, local bar fronts, and green parks might remind them of the times they spent getting drunk or getting high. These memories can be powerful triggers for addiction cravings, and they could be too much for people to resist. Other people may find that their homes are, similarly, unsafe. For example, a study in the journal Substance Use and Misuse found that female heroin users often lived with a current user or a former user. When rehab is over, these people might return to homes filled with drugs, and a relapse might quickly follow.
Moving to a new neighborhood can push the reset button on cravings, providing the person with new vistas and new opportunities to explore. The neighborhood might be safer, with fewer available drugs, or it might just be different enough to push the old memories away. If the old neighborhood is unsafe or it’s too hard to live under the burden of memory, moving might be an apt choice.
3. Keep Follow-up Appointments.
Drug rehab programs sometimes work on a stair-step model, where the care provided becomes less and less intense until the person is handling sobriety alone, without assistance. Often, this means that people must head to appointments with counselors in the early days of recovery, even though the formal rehab program is over.
Therapy might help people to:
Process feelings regarding work
Deal with family transitions
Handle relapse triggers
Set goals for the future
Strengthen skills
Life can get hectic and demands on time can build and build, but skipping follow-up appointments isn’t advisable. The work should continue, and each appointment should be considered vital to long-term success in sobriety.
4. Focus on Mental Health.
Returning to an old routine can bring stress and anxiety, especially if people are dealing with an intense craving for alcohol or drugs, and it can be easy to focus on the negativity. Sadness can build and build until a relapse seems not only possible but also certain. Finding a moment in each and every day to do something positive could be vital. A few moments of morning meditation could help the clouds of anxiety to part, for example, and that could bring the person the peace needed for the rest of the day.
Exercise might also play a key role. While researchers aren’t quite sure how mental health and physical activity are linked, the Mayo Clinic reports that depression and anxiety levels can lower when a person exercises regularly. Taking a walk with the dog, swimming a few laps in the pool or lifting weights in the basement could all provide a little boost to mood, and these actions could also help a person feel just a little stronger and a lot healthier.
5. Find a Support Group.
Drug rehab programs often utilize support groups, including Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous, as programs like this can boost a feeling of affiliation and help people to achieve and maintain sobriety. When rehab is over, it can be tempting to skip meetings in favor of talking with family and friends on an informal basis, but attending support groups could provide benefits that casual talks cannot.
In a support group, people are still learning about addiction and they’re tapping into a network of people who have dealt with their own addiction issues. They have a robust roster of people to talk to, and a goal to work toward. The meetings can be inspirational, and they can allow the person to say things that the family simply might not understand. In other words, meetings shouldn’t be skipped. They’re a necessary part of the healing process.
6. Help Someone Else.
n rehab, people spend a significant time talking about what they’ll need to do to improve their individual lives, but research suggests that helping someone else could be a vital part of the recovery process. For example, a study in the journal Addiction found that helping others achieve sobriety reduced the risk that recovering drinkers would binge drink. By helping others, they were able to share experiences and remember what it’s like to struggle for sobriety. This allows petty daily concerns to float away, and it might make the person work even harder to maintain the gains earned in drug rehab.
Support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous make this kind of mentoring easy, as most programs ask senior members to take on younger members and counsel them in a one-on-one fashion. However, helping could take many forms. In fact, some forms of helping don’t have anything to do with addiction at all.
People could:
Volunteer at an animal shelter
Mentor a child in need
Visit seniors in elder care facilities
Participate in a community garden
Giving back and doing good makes the heart feel full and happy, and this could be just the sort of sensation a person needs in order to maintain sobriety when the rehab program is complete.
7. Stay Alert for Signs of Relapse.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, addiction is a chronic illness, and as a result, 40 to 60 percent of people who have an addiction relapse at least once. This doesn’t mean that addiction treatment isn’t effective, but it does mean that people with addictions will need to amend their lives and be on alert if they’d like to keep the problem from coming back full force. For starters, they might need to know where a relapse, for them, begins. For some, it’s a feeling of sadness or loss. For others, it’s a sensation of happiness or invincibility. These thoughts swirl and swirl, growing stronger and stronger, until a relapse takes place. Capturing and identifying the thought is the key to stopping the relapse. When those thoughts are in place, the person can go back to therapy, visit a sober friend, catch a meeting, or otherwise deal with the issue and stop the cycle.
Friends and family members might also be helpful here, as they might also know what a relapse looks like and how it typically starts. They can’t be expected to step in and stop a relapse from taking place, but they can speak up and speak out when they sense trouble, and this might be the prompt that pushes the person to find more intensive treatment.
Taken from 7 Things to do After Drug Rehab
I myself got this information from a 13 year clean RA who runs another forum. I can't help you with the chemistry but I have another site you might be interested in.
What is Heroin? How is Heroin Made? What is Heroin Made of? - Drug-Free World
Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: WI
Posts: 240
Here I believe is what you were asking for about how heroin changes the brain: Heroin Effects on the Brain – Dangers of Heroin Use
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Montclair, NJ
Posts: 51
The 7 things to do post is really helpful, thank you. She is doing some of things, but not all of them. I don't think I'm comfortable sharing this with her right now, because I'm trying to avoid any advice giving and I'm trying to stay away from her recovery. But these are all great ideas to keep in mind.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: W Washington
Posts: 11,589
so as not to clog up your thread, this link Flare Up Periods was very helpful to me when I first trying to get off crack. it has a nice chart about how endorphine levels have been affected and how they begin their slow climb back to "normal."
for an addict, using or in early recovery, thinking about drugs and wanting to use drugs IS normal. the brain HAS been rewired, all those little snynapses march to a single drummer....dope. EVERYTHING becomes a trigger, everything is an excuse to get high. and it takes a long time and lots of persistence to retrain the brain, to defuse those triggers, to change our thinking.
my experience was with crack....and that was one mean hombre, akin to demonic possession I swear! saying NO, riding out the cravings, dealing with the using dreams, or the damn intrusive thoughts - hell the voices that would scream in my head.....not exactly Disneyland! but the farther I got away from it, the less it haunted me. I know it CAN be done. both my husband and I are over 8 years clean off that crap....but we didn't waltz into recovery hand in hand. he wasn't on board with the whole NEVER AGAIN thing...even a few years in he still withheld the "right to use" under the right circumstances. that thinking has long since changed. thank god!
for an addict, using or in early recovery, thinking about drugs and wanting to use drugs IS normal. the brain HAS been rewired, all those little snynapses march to a single drummer....dope. EVERYTHING becomes a trigger, everything is an excuse to get high. and it takes a long time and lots of persistence to retrain the brain, to defuse those triggers, to change our thinking.
my experience was with crack....and that was one mean hombre, akin to demonic possession I swear! saying NO, riding out the cravings, dealing with the using dreams, or the damn intrusive thoughts - hell the voices that would scream in my head.....not exactly Disneyland! but the farther I got away from it, the less it haunted me. I know it CAN be done. both my husband and I are over 8 years clean off that crap....but we didn't waltz into recovery hand in hand. he wasn't on board with the whole NEVER AGAIN thing...even a few years in he still withheld the "right to use" under the right circumstances. that thinking has long since changed. thank god!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: W Washington
Posts: 11,589
yes. maybe not EXACTLY every 30 days, but close enough!! actually that was what got me googling. just for me I found it somewhat reassuring that it was part of the recovery PROCESS and after a time I was able to view those flare ups as a sign that my brain WAS healing....kinda like labor pains mean the baby's coming - ok maybe that was a stretch!
the key is to NOT USE NO MATTER WHAT. and that of course is up to the addict. for some they adopt NEVER AGAIN and that works....for others it's easier to just think ONE DAY AT A TIME. when the cravings hit, sometimes it's just the next five minutes.
the key is to NOT USE NO MATTER WHAT. and that of course is up to the addict. for some they adopt NEVER AGAIN and that works....for others it's easier to just think ONE DAY AT A TIME. when the cravings hit, sometimes it's just the next five minutes.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Montclair, NJ
Posts: 51
I felt OK printing out the flare ups link and showing it to my girlfriend, and like you, she found it very comforting. So many of the symptoms match up to what she is experiencing and manifesting, and the correspondence to the "schedule" is almost spooky. Who knows? She happens to be having a "flare up" this weekend. For me, knowing this "brain chemistry" thing is going on is really helpful in "getting" her. Thanks for your post -- super helpful.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
