[allvolgirl]

Hi all. My boyfriend of 5 years is addicted to OC's. when he has the money, it's 2-3 40's a day. if he doesn't have the money, it's whatever he can get on front or whatever. we have a 5 month old baby. I have a few questions.

he says that he really wants to get off them. he's went a week without them, but went back to taking hydros to take the edge off, then steadily started to the OC's again. We don't really discuss his habit b/c i freak out. now i need some advice on how to handle him and the situation.

he went to be assessed today at a abuse clinic. she recommended he do intensive outpatient. we had read about suboxone, and he has an appointment in FEB (sooo long away) for that. i need to know how to handle him. he's at home now and hasn't had anything (partly b/c he has no money). how do i keep his mind off this as best as possible? what do i say when he says, jess-i really want to go get a pill? i try to tell him, just stick thru this, you're doing really good... but he's not really listening to me. i can see the wheels turning in his head on how to get money to get over the feeling of achiness with the withdrawals. when he went thru this a month ago, he was pretty much over the physical symptoms, but mentally wanted a pill.. how do i help him there? can you give me some suggestions on things to do.. he's been doing these pills so long he doesn't remember what he likes to do.

any links for support groups or anything like that would be lovely! i guess i just need to know what to say and how to help him.

thanks so much in advance!! i truly appreciate it
btw, this is a great site. we had such a hard time trying to find people to help him get off this stuff..

[Bosli222]

I hope you read this, I think it will help...

I have a best friend who is an ex-OC/duragesic (fentynal) addict. He was assessed and put into a 7 day inpatient program. Although, like every addict, he misses his habit but he has not gone back to them since. From your post it seems you have either money or a good medical insurance provider if this is the case outpatient might be right for him. I am currently in an outpatient program for Xanax (Aprazolam) and it's working for me so far. You probably already know that there are mandatory random drug tests in these programs. If this does not work then you need to get him into a 1-4 month inpatient program. Subutex (Beprenorphine) is the new methadone for opiate addicts and does wonders, takes away withdrawal in most cases. There are very few things you can do for him when he wants the pill. Withdrawal from something such as OCs is pretty horrible, it can't kill you but the addict will feel like he is dying. If you can put him in this program and put him on subutex he should be fine for a good amount of time but that is only if he tries hard to get off them. There will be moments in which he feels that he desperately needs OCs and that's how any addiction is, sometimes you really need it. Just be supportive, try to go to meetings with him (alanon meetings are for the family and they help with helping your loved ones), and finally just make sure he knows everything he could be throwing away for his addiction. I know how it is to one extent, remind him he has a baby to take care of and you. If he believes he can do it, he will.

[jayblade]

Ive been clean for 8 days but its a rough go... I can get my hands on some Meth... should I take it to take away the serious physical pain im enduring right now... I can handle much longer is there anything I can do??? Mentally im strong I dont wnat **** to do with those bastard pills again... please looking for some advise here

IF I can do it...anybody can

[sfc420]

Whatever you do dont go back to them - Remember what they do to you. Remember how eventually they stop working? that you were just taking them because you were stressed, or you needed them. Remember, you accidentally meddled with something that, when it comes to addiction, is compared to crystal meth and heroin. Withdrawals may feel like slow death but taking it is slow death anyway.
I know it sounds hard but you will get over the hump, god willing you havent taken any yet. I quit taking OCs without any program, the withdrawals were hell, but they were ONLY PROLONGED by taking oxycontin again. the minute i put an Oxycontin in my mouth after days of hard work detoxing, I went right back to square one.


So whatever you do, DONT TURN BACK
Good Luck everyone

[mpvt]

You guys are doing great but be carefull.After a couple of weeks off the pills it can be very easy to say to yourself "hey,I kicked this addiction and I bet now I can take a pill or 2 once in awhile just for a buzz and then stop and go about my life,I can handle them now!" alot of addicts get caught with this kind of thinking.Addiction is very powerful and you have to remember that narcotics take hold of your life.Once you get by this then you have to start to recongize what your triggers are and avoid them.For now though you are doing great..........Good luck and keep up the good fight...Dave

[lordnine]

addiction is certainly aweful...I quit smoking a couple years back and I did smoke weed for quite a while also and tried some other drugs and I'm glad I'm not on any of that stuff and haven't for about 7 years now. Hope your boyfriend gets well and stays well!

[allvolgirl]

Hey guys. thanks for the input.. my boyfriend did admit himself today for rapid detox. I really hope this is the anwser he was looking for. he wanted to be admitted b/c he was way too tempted trying to do this on his own. he went to his first meeting and he seemed to really enjoy it. hopefully we can continue meetings when he's finished detoxing....

from the abuser's perspective, is there anything more than giving him lots of love and support when he gets home??

thanks guys.. you all are great..

[EnoughPercs]

Originally Posted by lordnine

addiction is certainly aweful...I quit smoking a couple years back and I did smoke weed for quite a while also and tried some other drugs and I'm glad I'm not on any of that stuff and haven't for about 7 years now. Hope your boyfriend gets well and stays well!

Funny: I quite smoking too.
When quitting, I remember friends of mine saying 'Quitting smoking is the hardest thing I've ever done.'

With these pills, multiply quitting smoking by 150 times.

Pills are much harder to quit than cigarettes.

[Troyahh]

Originally Posted by EnoughPercs

Funny: I quite smoking too.
When quitting, I remember friends of mine saying 'Quitting smoking is the hardest thing I've ever done.'

With these pills, multiply quitting smoking by 150 times.

Pills are much harder to quit than cigarettes.

Thats not actually true. Smoking is just as addicting as OCs if not more addicting. In fact Most people that quit doing OCs who also smoke cigarettes have just as hard of a time quitting smoking also. In fact most people who quit OCs never quit smoking. While the physical symptoms may be worse with opiate usage, the mental addiction in cigarettes is just as bad if not worse.

[tommyboy5]

hello, im tom from oklahoma, i have been on pain killers for almost 15 years!! i started out with just one 7.5 lortab a day. then it went from there. after time i was up to about 500 mg. of oxycontin a day! plus about 15 10 miligrams of lortab at the same time.. a extremely lethal dose. i had suffered from a bone disease that cost me both my hips and part of my spine. what kept me alive. god only knows. i used to sit right in front of the air conditioner just to breath. i would take a dose before bed. and by the time i woke up i was starting detox 8 hours later!! yes oh my god youre saying. i am not a pro at med advice but i will say this. i now only take 20 mgs. twice a day and it stops my pain.. how did i lower my dose you might say. well i went to two different doctors to get meds and got caught.. then i was cut off completely!! i can still remember begging to die. my doctors wouldnt even give me anything to help with the withdrawels.. i had seizures and my heart stopped three times during detox. i would sit and piss on myself, and the same with my bowels. sounds gross but the truth about drug abuse is gross. i could tell you so many things that i went through but i would have to write you a book. if you want my email for more then its s.sockey@sbcglobal.net write any time. if i wasnt in pain and i just took pills for feeling better then i would quit. because if you have ever seen somebody die from liver disease a person in pain or not would not ever want to touch anything. and the tylenol in lortabs will kill youre liver quicker than anything. my mother just died last year from it. she liked lortabs to make her feel better and it killed her liver after years of abuse. and not even everyday abuse just when she could get her hands on them. but when she would she would take a high dose to get high. nobody can tell you what to do. only you can make the disicion to live. if youre wife was having a affair and lying to you about it. could you really judge her?? yes it sounds horrible but a lie is a lie. and no to sins can be compared. its in youre bible. nope im not a preacher or even very religous just a old drug attict who never bought or sold one pill!! everything i have taken has came from pharmacies and doctors. its like elvis used to say,, well im not a drug attict because a doctor gave it to me. that was back when doctors could use liqued cocaine legally,, whats the difference?? living and dying. first thing is to realize that you cannot do it by your self. and second cut off the friends that do it and put pressure on you. third you may have to get help and stay clean for a while before confessing to youre wife. that way not only are you coming clean from lying but you can show her actual proof. to help her to begin forgiving you. dont go down my highway. i now sit in a wheel chair waiting on that road to take me home. and im only 39 years old.. thank you and good luck.