need advice about family member with severe addiction

Desert Hydro · Apr 14, 2012

not exactly sure where to post this, but ive got a family memeber who is addicted to pain pills. not the baby shit either. like the worst of the worst. not entirely sure how bad it is but i know its not good. gotten to the point where all is lost. house, family, kids, the works. stealing and lying to get money to support it. apparently its been going on for quite some time now. i dont know what to do. family has tried everything. taken him in. sent to detox. not sure where reality ends and the lies begin anymore.

just looking for advice on what to try. it seems like the thought of losing your family would be enough to keep you off but apparently it isnt for some of us.

if only he had been prescribed mmj instead of heroin in pill form...........

RetroGrow · Apr 14, 2012

All you can do is try to limit the destruction by standing by him when he is down.
He has to find his bottom and pick himself up.
No one can do it for him.
However, there are treatments today for narcotic addicts that limit or erase the withdrawel symptoms.
It's hard to reason with someone when they are not thinking straight.

rives · Apr 14, 2012

As a chronic pain patient that takes morphine, I can certainly sympathize with his plight. While I think morphine is virtually a health food compared to oxy, there are enough similarities to scare the shit out of me. The first thing that I think would need to be dealt with is whatever got him the Rx in the first place - if he is a chronic pain patient, then something is going to need to be done to deal with that. Many people don't understand that what drives us to this shit in the first place (the genuine pain patients, not "recreational" types) is that it gets to the point that life simply isn't worth living if you hurt that badly all the time.

If he got access for bogus symptoms, then the task ahead is possibly a little easier if he gets to the point that he genuinely wants free of the crap. As Retro said, there are treatments available to help while purging the shit out of his system if he wants to be free of it. If he doesn't, you're wasting your time.

sso · Apr 14, 2012

how about trying to get him on pot instead?

but i concur with rives on this "Many people don't understand that what drives us to this shit in the first place (the genuine pain patients, not "recreational" types) is that it gets to the point that life simply isn't worth living if you hurt that badly all the time."

hydro-phonics · Apr 14, 2012

i like the herb idea - heavy indies for that fuck you up high...

Hash Zeppelin · Apr 14, 2012

Desert Hydro said:
not exactly sure where to post this, but ive got a family memeber who is addicted to pain pills. not the baby shit either. like the worst of the worst. not entirely sure how bad it is but i know its not good. gotten to the point where all is lost. house, family, kids, the works. stealing and lying to get money to support it. apparently its been going on for quite some time now. i dont know what to do. family has tried everything. taken him in. sent to detox. not sure where reality ends and the lies begin anymore.

just looking for advice on what to try. it seems like the thought of losing your family would be enough to keep you off but apparently it isnt for some of us.

if only he had been prescribed mmj instead of heroin in pill form...........

the only thing that is going to help him is a long time in rehab. then he has to move to a new city to get away from his mental triggers. anything he did that makes his mind think of the pills can no longer be done. none of the people he used with can be around. it is a hard long and lonely path. A mental trigger is what causes relapse. Addiction works in the same part of the brain as flight or fight and yes and no. You develop a trigger for those based on instinct. A chemical addiction eliminates the no trigger and the mind can only say yes yes yes.

Hydro-Soil · Apr 14, 2012

Extremely difficult to do with non-addicts... so I can understand the task is monumental, but....

No processed foods, period. Best way to get the mind back on track.
Whatever amount of canna-caps or holy annointing oil or tinctures they can handle.... as often as they can handle it.

Positive, forward-moving environment.

Without those... they're operating at severely reduced brain capacity (like the general public) and the chances of them recovering are entirely dependent on their own willpower. Sukko chances.

Commercial rehab? What a joke. *shrug* The majority of addicts that stay sober after rehab... weren't addicts. *shrug*

Contrary to forgotten humanity... society and your govt prefers that they stay ill.

Stay Safe! :blowbubbles:

Desert Hydro · Apr 15, 2012

he says he's in the last stretch of methadone clinic treatment. i found that out yesterday. i also have a pretty good hunch where my digital camera went now too lol. good thing my memory card wasnt in it......holy shit that was lucky lol. oh well. we shall see if it is actually true here in the next few weeks i guess

zojro · Apr 18, 2012

Damn... Keep your distance. My life has been seriously fucked by people like that. Wifes sister and her husband got into that crap. They will smile in your face while picking your pocket. And these were decent, middle class, 2 kids and picket fence types. I estimate what they have stolen from immediate family to be in the $60k range. Even on methadone they are still stealing, a $700 disability check from the mailbox.

habeeb · Apr 18, 2012

nothing you can do if someone is not ready.. they have to be willing to change.. will they ever want to, maybe, maybe not.

I think the number one damaging thing in this society is 'forced relations' because there called family....family is only tied by blood, if it is tied by nothing else, then the bond is broken there..

Also, you should try to cut the un-healthy sentence.. " only if " for your vocabulary.

"force will not make a square fit into a circle shape" -me

WelderDan · Apr 18, 2012

Some folks just have an addictive personality, and once they find their poison of choice, there's no going back. They can fight if for a while, even clean up for years, then some trigger will set off the behavior and they are back to square one. Some simply trade one addiction for another. From booze to pills, crack to booze, etc.

What has to happen is that they have to completely hit rock bottom. I mean down so bad they have to look up to see the gutter. Then they have to make the decision they do not want to live that way, and THEY have to make the choice to seek help and maintain sobriety.

You can't force them, you can't use logic, you can't use guilt. They have to come to that realization on their own, and they have to choose to deal with it and follow through.

I've seen too many people battle addiction and lose repeatedly. Booze, pills, meth, coke, it doesn't matter.

The best you can do is be supportive, try to help them avoid temptatation and hope for the best.

Best of luck. You will need it.

BrnCow · Apr 18, 2012

Consult a professional with many good references...

Bi0hazard · Apr 18, 2012

Look into Ibogaine treatment! It is supposed to help people really want to quit while removing the withdrawal symptoms.

Stories like this make me glad I always just stuck with Top End Cannabis and avoided hard drugs all together.

headband 707 · Apr 18, 2012

Only ppl can do this when they are ready to do this. Picture of what they used to look like and what they look like now helps.. The only way off of hard drugs is to titrate or you can die ,it's as simple as that. The heart can't take it and all opiates do this which is why a doctor will say the same thing. Never say it's easy as it's not and they will give you other drugs to get off these ones so this is another road.. The reason ppl don't do it is because it's not easy and it hurts and no one wants to hurt. The doctors don't give two shits so it's a hard road to go down no matter what,,

In Vancouver BC the club was helping addicts trying to get off of hard drugs and as far as I know it was doing well. They did a lot of eating it and the program went on for one or two years if I'm not mistaken. good luck As far as if these are bad ppl well thats a hard one I'm sure lots of them are but I'm sure lots of them have just had things like pain or money get out of hand for them.. headband 707

Desert Hydro · Apr 20, 2012

i hate to say it but his doctor needs to get sued. he is being prescribed 700 pills a month. no thats not a typo. no, im not making this up. 700. its some major bullshit. my parents are looking into it at the moment. all we want is for a full treatment center to be paid for. no one should be prescribed 700 of anything per month. not even advil lol. my dad took two of his pills because he was having back spasms and he forgot who he was and drove off and got lost. he couldnt even talk right. i dont know how in the world he drove anywhere. he stopped at some random house not knowing where he was and they called the police and took him to the hospital........and that was from 2

OrganicBuds · Apr 20, 2012

700 pills is absurd and I would assume he is getting some from other sources not just the doc. I hope it all works out, maybe rehab and a strong social group like a church would do him some good. Good luck.

crazybear · Apr 22, 2012

Pain is a horrible thing, I hope he gets his life back on track, if he really isn't in pain & if he is the real doctors will put him on cannabis!

Hash Zeppelin · Apr 22, 2012

700 pills a month is 24 pills a day that is nuts. that is 1 an hour.

Goyakla · Apr 22, 2012

i have been a alchoholic for many years.. have been clean for 5 now. But NOTHING will help him/her if pro.treatment isnt on the list to do. Get him to a hospital asap... he will probably die if i continue his misuse... but HE/HER HAS TO SEE THE LIGHT . It all comes down to him/her...if he/her does not see the deroute there IS NOTHING you can do..... neither weed nor alcohol... he has to get fx. metadon for a looooooooong time and keep it !!!!!!!!

lost in a sea · Apr 23, 2012

Bi0hazard said:
Look into Ibogaine treatment! It is supposed to help people really want to quit while removing the withdrawal symptoms.

Stories like this make me glad I always just stuck with Top End Cannabis and avoided hard drugs all together.

^^ i 2nd this,,

ibogane is extreme as an experience but doesnt do damage long term and can actually instantly (after the trip) cure the root of the addiction,,

its probably one of the methods the ancients used to cure some of their mental health problems,, seems the brain is allowed to bypass that particular aspect of the addiction and the person splits when they get to see the difference between what they are and what they can be again, some pretty crazy brainwaves are generated over the time of the experience and some people are transformed after so to speak,,

im sure certain other entheogens can do the same thing,, poison the poison,,

but this sounds like a bad case,, alot of doctors in the us are wined and dined by pharmaceutical corporations so they will do exactly this to unfortunate individuals,, i wonder how many peoples lives he has ruined,, i can gu

most doctors thesedays would never ever take the "medicine" they prescribe to the poor people that come in for help,,

need advice about family member with severe addiction

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