I don't know if I can do this...
 

I don't know if I can do this. I relapsed again after having 46 days clean. What can I do to stay sober? I'm trying. I ended up abusing my medicine again. The dosage isn't strong enough and I took three of them to help focus. I'm on a pediatric dose right now. Maybe I'm just rationalizing this. I need help. Please. Why oh why can't I do this?

Hi,

My suggestion is to talk to your dr. I'm not sure what the medication is for, but if it's not working well for you, talking to your dr, rather than upping the dosage on your own is probably the way to go. Maybe there is another option that would work for you.

A relapse isn't permanent! It doesn't mean you're broken! 46 days is an amazing accomplishment. It sounds like talking to your doctor is a good idea.

Thank for posting, and just get through today!

You know I had myself so upset about this it didn't even occur to me to talk to my doctor. I know it wasn 't a huge relapse to using cocaine again, but I guess it was still a relapse nonetheless. I think. Wouldn't you say? Something I'm doing just isn't working.

Thanks for listening and I will talk to my doctor. My dose is not enough. I take it for ADHD. Ritalin. I don't snort it, but I did take 3 today instead of 1. A slip. I just don't want to go back to the way things were before, so I'm freaking out at every little thing. Overanalyzing it.

I agree with talking to you doctor about your meds and the doseage. And, as was said, your relapse isn't permanent. Start anew tomorrow. Yes, you CAN do this. I just had the urge to drink but with the help of my friends here I've gotten past it. So can you. Start again tomorrow. (((hugs)))

What can I do to stay clean, particularly when I have to take meds? I'm bipolar so when I'm manic, I'm more likely to abuse drugs like cocaine and ritalin to make me more manic. And sometimes I'm not in my right mind.

Sorry for rambling, thanks for listening and any advice would be appreciated.

Hi sober someone

I don't think anyones particularly in their right mind when they make the choice to do something they know is harmful to them.

Support helps me a lot - do see your yr Dr, do keep posting here, and maybe think about other face to face support avenues as well?

This is a pretty good list of support groups to be starting off with.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...i-recover.html

You can also read/post in the substance abuse forums - we have other people with similar problems to yours there

...and I see you've found that already LOL. Good stuff.

Substance Abuse - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information
D

You learned some tools that allowed you to stay sober 46 days....pick those tools up again and keep looking for more :)

Everyone has had some great advice so far! I just wanted to mention though, that if I were you I would consider talking to your doctor about going on another type of medication for your ADHD. If you truly need medication to function with your ADHD, I would try some other options they have because ritalin is almost identical in chemical structure and effects to cocaine, so it is definitely not something that you want in your reach if you are recovering from a cocaine addiction. There are non-stimulant medications available for ADHD, as well as some other stimulant ones that aren't so similar to cocaine. Don't stress out too much though, 46 days in INCREDIBLE! GOOD JOB!! I definitely would talk to your doctor and consider switching to a different type of medication. Good luck!

SoberSomeone in regards to the meds, speak to your doctor.

A question if I may, is the doctor who prescibed this med for you aware that you are a recovering coke addict? It is crucial that we alcoholics and addicts make our doctors fully aware we are in recovery, this allows them to not prescribe meds that may lead to a relapse.

SoberSomeone you had 46 days clean, that is a major accomplishment! 2 things I would suggest doing:

1. Look at what you were doing that helped you stay clean those 46 days, did you stop doing any of those things before you relapsed? If you did then you need to start doing them again and not stop doing them.

2. Now start doing some thing you were not doing before to stay clean because you thought you did not need to do it or were unwilling to do it.

The biggest aide I found in staying sober was finding other recovering alcoholics with more time sober then me and seeking suggestions and advice from them. I have found that if I do what other recovering alcoholics who have been sober for many years did to stay sober and I help other alcoholics stay sober with less time sober then me, I stay sober.

I discovered that I alone can not stay sober, but WE can stay sober together.

What were you doing to stay clean before?