Best course of action for coming off crack cocaine/heroin???

[beena]

SWIM has been addicted to crack for seven or eight years now and she's come off it several times for anything between three weeks and six months at a time, she just can't seem to stay off. At Christmas time SWIM went away to get herself cleaned up (stopped using on the 3rd December) and SWIM's boyfriend joined her two weeks later and also stopped using. SWIM found out that in the two weeks that she was away without her boyfriend he had gone and got himself arrested. January SWIM and her boyfriend returned home, off drugs and feeling positive. SWIM enrolled at uni to do a masters degree. The SWIM's boyfriend had his court case and got sent to prison for four months (served two). At first SWIM coped alright, was taking opiates but nothing else. She started college and as always when something good happens in her life she sets about ruining it, so she went to a mates house and took crack and heroin. Afterwards she felt guilty and said she wouldn't do it again but a couple of weeks later she found herself back there. She got a taste for the heroin and would buy crack with her so-called mates then take the heroin to have at home on her own. These drug binges happened more and more often and lasted longer each time. By the time her boyfriend got out of prison she was taking heroin every day. Now her boyfriend is out and really wants to clean up his act so he doesn't go back to prison. He doesn't and never has touched 'h' and he is quite anti it. SWIM doesn't inject but she is sniffing between £40 and £60 worth each day. When she tries to stop she feels shivery, wants to stay in bed for prolonged periods and gets aches in her body when she does. Plus she feels really, really depressed and can thing about nothing else but h. SWIM wants to know what the best course of action would be. She can't go in anywhere or away anywhere cos of college....she has thought about methadone but would she be a suitable candidate for it? I mean she doesn't inject and has only been taking it a few months...from the stuff she has read about on df, methadone sounds like it is as hard to get off as heroin and she doesn't want to make more of a mess of her life than she already has.What do you guys think would be her best option. SWIM looks to the day when she will be off everything...

[moda00]

Suboxone is a good option to look into- it is often first tried before methadone, available on prescription, and not as strong/difficult to get off due to the partial agonist/partial antagonist properties. I'd recommend looking into more info on this! Especially if one is early in her addiction, this may be the ideal choice for a maintenance medication.

Also, if one finds she can't stay clean, school isn't going to help. Swim thinks if suboxone can help, and swiy can stay in school, why not? It's good to have commitments and some sort of stability, which school can provide. But then again, don't feel ashamed to decide one needs to take a semester off to get clean- recovery is a big change, and that comes first to do well in school! Swim had to take some time off school when she was getting off heroin and coke, but is now back in school, and glad she was able to get stabilized and then resume her studies.

I'd also recommend having some sort of outpatient therapy, group meetings/therapy, seeing an addiction counselor, etc. It really helps to have that consistency and outside perspective, both early in recovery and to maintain. Family and friends can be a good support for some people, but at the same time I would advise to have at least one person or group involved in your recovery with whom you do not have a history or close emotions, as this can make things harder.

Everyone has to find what works for them, but I would definitely recommend trying either detoxing in a hospital with clonidine and some benzos (if covered by insurance, as often is) and/or looking into suboxone maintenance for awhile, along with some sort of outpatient. If those fail, one has to be ready to try other things- inpatient, 12-step, methadone? Everyone has their own preferences, and there are many choices- of course one doesn't need to cross that bridge till they get there, but just remember if something doesn't work there are other choices out there..

Best of luck!

Reputation Comments on this post:

Thanks so much, this has been really useful advice to me.

[Fight Club]

Everthing that Moda00 said plus one:

Don't hide your relapse and heroin habit from you partner. Come clean. Tell him what you want to do. Otherwise, when he finds out (which will happen sooner or later) you will sabotage his own chances for recovery.

Best of luck.

FC

[Orchid_Suspiria]

How long as swiy been using h?Is it a heavy habit.If it is just a minor habit a month or two of suboxone should suffice.If it's heavy methadone might be the best option.Swim doesn't know alot about crack so can't help swiy with that.