Addiction - looking for advice

[heroin_nick]

i have been using heroin for almost two years now.its way past time to quit.the problem i have is i get major back pain and spasms.i cant sit or lie still for more than 10seconds.this is the hardest thing for me.if it wasnt for the back pain i would be able to stop.does anyone else get back pain like this and if so what do you do to help ease the pain?i dont have insurance and dont want to substitute with any other drugs like pain killers or anything like that unless its otc meds.if anyone can help i would apperciate it.thank you/

Reputation Comments on this post:

Read the rules about self incrimination

[yaba]

Please have a look at the rules specially the one about self incrimination. As for the rest if your friend is taking heroine for back pain and doesn't want to take any other pain relief. Then maybe a chiropractor and or a physiotherapist could help as OTC pain meds wont do a lot if swiy is used to heroine.

Welcome to the forum

[missparkles]

Sorry to hear about swiys back pain. Any physical pain makes getting clean more difficult. Sparkles has Hep C and has quite a lot of pain but she's found that there are non addictive alternatives that can be quite helpful.
OTC meds or prescribed pain relief is no different, it's the addictiveness that's the problem.
Diclofenac (Voltarol) comes in tablet and ointment form and it's quite effective at keeping pain under control. In the UK the gel is available OTC but the pills are prescription only. Heat packs can also be useful as they relax tense muscles and are inexpensive.
Don't be afraid to use meds for pain control, that's it's legitimate use. Swiy has a difficult enough job getting clean and staying clean, why add to it?
Being able to relax, yeah that can be difficult, will make any pain feel less severe. Sparkles found relaxation (costs nothing) and acupuncture ( can be inexpensive if swiy finds a practitioner who works on a sliding scale payment plan) really helpful.
Take care.
Sparkles.

[Lippmannk1]

Go to a pain doctor. That is what I did when I had bad back pain.

As for the heroin, if you want to quit like you implied look up a drug called Vivitrol and ask your doctor about it. It helped me break SWIMS habit, and if you want to get off it should help you too. I have told many many people this information on this website, and some have even marked me down in rep for it, but I don't mind if it helps someone.

[Lisa J]

SWIM has a disc pressing on her spinal cord (MRI scan), she did get a big habit on heroin when a combination of pain and a marriage breakup got to her. SWIM'S now prescribed fentanyl, methadone and gabapentin (can't take anti-inflamatories) which helps the pain a lot. SWIM does abuse her fent and still uses gear from time to time because old habits die hard and she craves the nod, but on the whole her life's much more stable. Find out what's wrong with SWIY'S back and if there is no permanent solution, see a pain clinic doctor, even addicts are entitled to pain relief and chronic pain is a common cause of addiction to opiates, including heroin.
SWIM gets an epidural on Saturday and really hopes she gets enough relief to reduce her pain meds