Health - advice on cutting back use

[dscb17]

swim needs to cut back on his dope use for many reasons
-his friend just died of OD
-he can't afford the habit
-his grades are suffering
-his health is suffering (can't get over common cold)
-fiends for dope whenever he goes a day or two

so if anyone has any advice for swim about how to kick the habit or at least cut down would be greatly appreciated.

[Dissociation]

Go into detox. Get on Suboxone.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	good idea.
	thanks

[dscb17]

swim can't get on suboxone because his family has no idea about his dope habits and medical professionals would inform them. and suboxone is too expensive on the street

[chillinwill]

is suboxone cheaper on the street than how much SWIY's daily heroin habit? remember not to discuss prices as I was just pointing this out.

[Spare Chaynge]

Unless swiy is under 18 the medical drs will not inform them.


Its all about will power.. get a grip on it now or swiy is doomed..

Swims suggest not hanging out with using friends.. Get some hobbies anything that does not involve crime or drugs..

Go on vacation this might help detox you.
But if swiy keeps on doing what he is doing the results will be bad not good.

The best results are from quitting opiates all together. Most people find it hard to use just on the weekends.

Reputation Comments on this post:

excellent comments, on thenod progidy!

[dscb17]

your probably right, swim had a friend who's tolerance was about equivalent to swims and he would take half a suboxone recreationally, so half a suboxone would probably get him through the day. thank you for the insight, swim will look into this, of course then he will have to ween himself off the suboxone but that will be easy.

Reputation Comments on this post:

good luck.. good choice.

[Spare Chaynge]

Suboxone=Buprenorphine/naloxone
subutex=buprenorphine

Swim would not under estimate getting off suboxone. This drugs is touted by drs around the united states as better than methadone and way easier to kick... This reminds swim of the early days of valium being a non addictive anxiety medication...

Swims friends who have kicked both methadone and subuxone say they are equally hard to kick and some say suboxone is harder to kick.. reason being it has a longer half life... That being said suboxone is only a partial agonist.

Swim thinks drs push suboxone so much more over methadone is because its affinity is higher than morphine or heroin and will block most of it out if they are used together.. At the same time suboxones efficacy is not as high as heroin.

This is the only advantage that suboxone has over methadone.

Personally swim has tried the methadone clinic and found it to work very well.. way better than his so called suboxone detox he did himself..

[chillinwill]

SWIM was on 16mg/day of suboxone for around 4 1/2 months and it was a bitch to come off but not as bad as methadone and SWIM for the most part just got minor to moderate withdrawal which wasn't THAT bad in the long scheme of things....SWIM would reccomend suboxone as long as one wasn't doing suboxone maintainence....use the suboxone to detox and then get the hell off of it quickly like in under a month

Reputation Comments on this post:

thanks a lot

[On The Nod]

his grades are suffering

Are SWIY at school? thats mad if keeping up a heroin habit while at a full time education centre, very hard work!
If its university for SWIM would realistically have to take a year out go to rehabilition for several months and come out clean, could never get clean in the community, not saying swiy cant just swims own experience, but a withdrawal would be tough during term time, so summer holidays would be optimal time to sort out self if home detox is on the cards.
Only way to go forward is either get on a legal substitute (speak to local clinic), clinicdetox, rehabilition, home detox or continue using..

On The Nod added 359 Minutes and 55 Seconds later...

Probably best to tell family, swim knows its hard. But getting clean without support will be harder, at the very least.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	this is true
	thanks a lot

[beena]

In the UK where SWIM lives she was able to walk into a drop-in drug clinic off the street (without a prior appointment) and see a doctor who assessed SWIM and then she went back a week later and was put on methadone. This was all done in confidence. They did write to SWIMs GP (doctor) but only told them what SWIM had ok'd for them to tell and if she hadn't wanted them too she could've just not told them her doctors name - they still would've offered her treatment.
As it was SWIM didn't like methadone and decided to bring herself off it. SWIM is lucky I guess in that she has ready access to morphine tablets (MST) and was able to use these to bring herself safely off the heroin and methadone.
SWIM went home recently and she told her Mum all about her drug problems (admittedly it was easier to go home and tell her once SWIM had started to do something about her drug problems: ie it wasn't all doom and gloom), but she was surprised at how well her mum took it and also how supportive both her parents have been. SWIM is in a similar position to SWIY in that SWIM had a lot to lose: she is full-time at university, things were getting on top of her - her work was effected by her drug use, she's lost one friend already to heroin, earlier in the year she seriously damaged her radial nerve in her arm after falling asleep on it in an awkward position after a mammoth binge session of crack and heroin and lost all use of her right arm for a while. SWIY is obviously intelligent but just got SWIY-self caught up in something that is bigger that SWIY. Don't be afraid to ask for help ... trust me this story sounds all too familiar and if SWIY doesn't do something now SWIY will be in a similar position to SWIM: eight years SWIM has been a drug addict now ... trust SWIM - it will just keep getting worse until SWIM takes affirmative action to stop.

[Lisa J]

SWIM agrees with all of above, unless it's a very mild habit (2-3 times per week) SWIY needs to access some professional help. Self medication helps in the short term but never gets to the root of the problem and SWIY will probably relapse again & again.
SWIM has been struggling with heroin for 25 years and wishes she's got proper help a long time ago

[calmurphy17]

Beena, may swim ask where in the uk you are located?as in my area the drug services are useless.I wish swim could get the help/treatment he so drastically needs this easily!as for the original question,if medical help is not an option,then willpower will carry you a long way if you really want to cut back/quit also try using benzo's (swim would recommend diazepam personally,but watch out u dont pick up a habit on these) as this should help considerably.SWIY didnt mention if he/she smokes or IV's or whatever as this would also play a part in whatever method SWIY chooses...

[beena]

Originally Posted by calmurphy17

Beena, may swim ask where in the uk you are located?as in my area the drug services are useless.I wish swim could get the help/treatment he so drastically needs this easily!as for the original question,if medical help is not an option,then willpower will carry you a long way if you really want to cut back/quit also try using benzo's (swim would recommend diazepam personally,but watch out u dont pick up a habit on these) as this should help considerably.SWIY didnt mention if he/she smokes or IV's or whatever as this would also play a part in whatever method SWIY chooses...

SWIM is located in Islington in North London and there is a drop-in centre about a mile and a half in one direction that is the methadone clinic which SWIM went too - they were really very good, but all they really offer is methadone and one-to-one counselling but then there is another drop-in clinic about a mile and a half in the opposite direction from SWIM's home that offers one-to-one counselling, group counselling and a whole range of alternative therapies (acupuncture, reiki, shiatsu, etc), but that one doesn't offer methadone treatment. All in all I guess SWIM is pretty lucky to have two clinics that are both really rather good so close to where she lives.