Misc How to fight crack cravings?

[cletusSamboy]

After finding a source of high quality coke to make freebase I've quickly found I can't stop smoking because
(1) effects are short lasting
(2) after the first hit the effects seem to be severely weakened
(3) a mild comedown compared to meth and amp.

After the first hit gets a mild to decent buzz I just keep blasting away hoping the next hit will finally work but it never does but I keep getting the urge to use regardless. I'll even stash it away after promising not to use my stash but then I can't stop thinking about it and keep trying to come up with an excuse to use or to give myself permission to use (weird I wont use if I've not given myself permission or found an excuse). I've never had this problem with other drugs like oxy and heroin since repeated dosing keeps noticeably doing something and so I don't repeatedly dose to just to chase the high and they don't bug my brain to use them again until it's all gone. Even with meth my tolerance quickly sets in like crack for me and stops working like it should after a few tokes but the insomnia and side effects are enough to keep me from compulsively doing it like crack.

My use hovers between 0.5g - 1.5g per month over the last 8 months and I've used less than half an ounce all up so it's still a fairly moderate amount but cocaine is extremely damaging for one's heart so I need this shit to stop before I end up with heart damage. I've overdosed before (stage 1 overdose) and scared the shit out of me when I was gasping for air after exhaling and couldn't stop pacing around the house for 45 minutes trying to burn up my energy and with my heart probably near 200bpm but didn't stop me either. I've broken my lighters, thrown away my wire mesh, smashed my pipes but I've found improvised pipes can quickly be made from paper or metal tubes used. Candles replace lighters and foil replaces mesh. It never stops.

 

[burn out]

try coca leaves

 

[axe battler]

Yeah coca leaves might be a good for cravings. When I smoked crack I would take benzos or zopiclone just before my last pipe to make smoking more even more wasteful and help with the comedown too
Unfortunately crack is an insanely addictive drug and it certainly deserves its fearsome reputation. The only way I ccan really recommend is to stop using it entirely, then your cravings will drop exponentially with time. Good luck

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Ppl say meth helped them quit. But then you're a meth head. Its less expensive by far though.

 

[Dead Machination]

I've been off the crack for about 6 years, and I still get ridiculous, body engulfing cravings. Some days I'll just be driving down the road, my hands will get all sweaty, and the only thing I can think about for the next 10 minutes is smoking.

What's funny is that I only smoked crack for about a year and a half moderately, and shot dope heavily for almost a decade, and the crack is BY FAR the most persistent craving. For real, other than something like seeing the dope shooting scene in Pulp Fiction, I don't even really want an opiate. That hard though...

I've tried so many techniques to handle the craving, and these are the ones I found to be the most effective.

1. Exercise. The best. According to "science", the average cocaine craving only last 5 to 10 minutes. I've found that 5-10 minutes of jumping rope (or just pretending to jump rope), lifting something heavy (weights or a rock or log), or actually going to the gym or for a run, if that's something you're into. By the time I crank some tunes and break a sweat I won't even remember what I was thinking about.

2. Food. Probably not the most healthy, but eating a food that makes you happy works pretty well.

3. Conversation with somebody.

4. Watching some BS YouTube videos.

For real, there's no magic answer. Sometimes you just have to white knuckle it and say fuck no, not today. It's not easy, but life is MUCH easier without crack.

 

[burn out]

Another thing I forgot to mention that worked for me is just think about the come down if you don't want to smoke. I quit smoking crack because it just wasn't worth it, I'd smoke one hit and the rest of my night would be ruined wanting more crack. After I smoked for a while the high wasn't so great anymore and the come down was terrible so I just stopped naturally.

This also works well for alcohol for me, if I get tempted to drink but my better judgement tells me it's not a good idea, I just focus really hard on the next morning and think what else could I do tonight that I'm not going to regret tomorrow morning? The morning always comes, and now that I'm almost 40 time seems to move much faster so the morning never feels far away like it did when I was young. I'm not able to get into the mindset of "let's have a good time tonight, we'll worry about tomorrow when it comes" type attitude anymore even if I want to because it always seems like before I know it the next day is here already and I have things to do.

In a sense, I'm actually jealous of people who can still enjoy drugs enough to have trouble resisting them.

 

[axe battler]

Another thing I forgot to mention that worked for me is just think about the come down if you don't want to smoke. I quit smoking crack because it just wasn't worth it, I'd smoke one hit and the rest of my night would be ruined wanting more crack. After I smoked for a while the high wasn't so great anymore and the come down was terrible so I just stopped naturally.

This also works well for alcohol for me, if I get tempted to drink but my better judgement tells me it's not a good idea, I just focus really hard on the next morning and think what else could I do tonight that I'm not going to regret tomorrow morning? The morning always comes, and now that I'm almost 40 time seems to move much faster so the morning never feels far away like it did when I was young. I'm not able to get into the mindset of "let's have a good time tonight, we'll worry about tomorrow when it comes" type attitude anymore even if I want to because it always seems like before I know it the next day is here already and I have things to do.

In a sense, I'm actually jealous of people who can still enjoy drugs enough to have trouble resisting them.

Oh yeah, if I was smoking crack I'd either be smoking it all night or until I ran out of money or shit to sell - at first anyway.
Then as I learned that crack is basically shit after the first couple of pipes, so I'd basically knock myself out with benzos and booze or whatever after smoking a £20 rock/packet.
But yeah everyone is different and sorry to hear you're still craving @Dead Machination. You gave some good tips there. For me and a lot of people, when I'd been off it even a few months, just thinking about it makes me feel a bit ill. Plus I think of all that fucking money wasted! I could be driving a really cool car or have put a down payment on a house. I still do occasionally crave it like when the tablespoon posts pics of his "drop" and what not.

 

[FastMask89]

Can't believe I'm reading this... I signed up just to ask a similar question. I totally feel you man! I have actually been spontaneously using it like once a week the past month or so right... but last week on Wednesday, I ended up buying 1g of powder and cooked it up, it lasted until friday... but Thursday was hell because I couldn't sleep all night on Wednesday! I stayed up and had to call off work on Thursday! I ended up getting a bit more powder yesterday.... thinking I will control myself, and just enjoy a couple days out of the week and not have a binge like that again. Needless to say, yesterday night I smoked a few hours, and did stop and slept ok... I am craving to use it today harddddd even though I promised I wouldn't.... what I am worried about is trying to figure out, will I withdraw from just a few days of use?? I mean shit, I took Saturday off, and most of yesterday (Sunday) and I did feel more anxiety than usual yesterday. I do have gabapentin, lyrica, zyprexa, buspar, hydroxizine, and wellbutrin as meds I take. Will any of those meds help me withstand the comedown? Have you OP or anybody, ever had a comedown just from a few days straight of use?? (I take very tiny puffs, like I said, I made 1g last 3 days). Thank you!

 

[axe battler]

The lyrica and hydroxyzine could be helpful. As may the gabapentin. How much of each do you normally take per day @FastMask89?
You aren't so much experiencing withdrawal as a comedown. You will feel anxious and rough, but I reckon 300-600mg pregabalin and maybe a little alcohol (as in 2-3 beers) should help. Good food, a warm bath, a massage, sex and a good book or movie (not necessarily in that order) will help take your mind off it and help you heal.

 

[FastMask89]

I take a 165mg lyrica (XR) every morning, sometimes not though, but usually - and I take 400mg gabapentin on the days I don't take the lyrica, or sometimes add 1-2 of it depending on anxiety levels. I don't really drink honestly, lol, kinda funny saying that actually - but I suppose a beer would be nice you're right. I go back to work tomorrow, I was thinking of enjoying today just a little bit and then cool off the rest of the week or until the weekend at least, I dont know why I bought more snow last night but my dumbass did. I had a couple puffs so far today, I am gonna focus on keeping busy though and eating more. Hydroxyzine didn't do much for me last time at alllll.

 

[axe battler]

Hmm yeah it's pretty futile if you still have cocaine tbh. If you have work tomorrow and necessary willpower I'd suggest putting it away, taking 500-600mg of pregabalin and eating some nutritious food, then having 2-3 beers or until you feel ready to sleep. Have an early night if possible.
If you lack willpower, can you give the coke to a friend to look after or will they end up taking it?

 

[axe battler]

Oh and you can make the lyrica IR by crushing it and leaving it to soak in cola or any acidic drink for a couple of hours. Or just crushing the pill (or the beads in a capsule if it's that kind) should help.
I'm only telling you this to stop you smoking crack and potentially getting in trouble at work, as this is usually bad HR.

 

[FastMask89]

Thank you, yea this lyrica tab is the actual fat pink pill - and I always wondered how to make it instant , I have a call with the psych scheduled soon and I will request IR. But thanks for the tip. I am planning to go cold tomorrow, and just use the gabas and CBD to ease this. I dunno how I went from once a week for fun to a few days binge. I mean shit I know since it's only a few days , and very little amount, I shouldn't experience nothing too harsh, right?

 

[axe battler]

Thank you, yea this lyrica tab is the actual fat pink pill - and I always wondered how to make it instant , I have a call with the psych scheduled soon and I will request IR. But thanks for the tip. I am planning to go cold tomorrow, and just use the gabas and CBD to ease this. I dunno how I went from once a week for fun to a few days binge. I mean shit I know since it's only a few days , and very little amount, I shouldn't experience nothing too harsh, right?

Because it's crack cocaine!! It'll climb up and shaft you so hard if you keep fucking with it, mate. It's not really a drug many people can just do once a week. This is how it starts, you should quit while you're ahead!
And no, you won't get a withdrawal, you probably feel at your worst when it wears off and slowly get better. You'll be fine, but I would seriously have a think about what you're playing with before you get buuurrrnnnned (sorry).

 

[nznity]

If you know how to properly smoke it and space out the hits, u can get good blasts for like 10 hits after the 1st one.

 

[FastMask89]

I'll pass on the shafting bud, LOL, I feel you completely I am kind of pissed at myself as well!! I dunno what I was thinking ... I am just goin thru somethings in life right now, and kind of misery in existence a little bit... and it just kinda took my attention. After today I am not continuing , I been spacing it out today, and tryna go slow, but tomorrow I go back to work for a fresh work week, and I'm glad I also got some Phenibut to help me for a day or two... (gonna pass on the gabapentin if I use phenibut of course, don't wanna mix them) - I was just worried a few days will withdraw me , but hopefully like you said, just feel a bit bad and tired for a day. Gonna clean up. I am gonna keep posting.

 

[axe battler]

I'll pass on the shafting bud, LOL, I feel you completely I am kind of pissed at myself as well!! I dunno what I was thinking ... I am just goin thru somethings in life right now, and kind of misery in existence a little bit... and it just kinda took my attention. After today I am not continuing , I been spacing it out today, and tryna go slow, but tomorrow I go back to work for a fresh work week, and I'm glad I also got some Phenibut to help me for a day or two... (gonna pass on the gabapentin if I use phenibut of course, don't wanna mix them) - I was just worried a few days will withdraw me , but hopefully like you said, just feel a bit bad and tired for a day. Gonna clean up. I am gonna keep posting.

Glad to hear it, man. Yeah phenibut should help you with the comedown. You'll be fine in a couple of days. Mind how you go!

 

[Harmredux]

Today is your lucky day friend, I just got done doing research (though I don't use coke/crack) on a substance I use for many other things and is PROVEN to do a lot of stuff, in fact it is the exact thing that hospitals use to save someone from Tylenol (acetaminophen) poisoning/overdose- NAC. N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine. I have been using the Jarrows brand for MANY years, they offer both an instant release and a dual layer instant/delayed release. I would get both if I were you. Take 2 of the "Sustain" release in the morning and then you can take 1 of the instant release several times a day every time you have a craving and see if you can wait about 15 minutes until it takes effect to delay smoking.
This is exciting new info, and the Jarows brand is on sale right now on Amazon.
I would wish you "good luck" but I don't think you will need luck, just N-A-C

 

[N4redd]

Man, this is a hard one. Or rather, it can be if you let it. I actually just relapsed on crack today after being sober and pretty content for over 6 months.
I’m fairly new to smoking crack, but before I got sober, I was the typical 24 year old, run-of-the-mill crackhead.

I went from having:

• Brand new 2021 Hyundai Elantra
• Financial stability
• A satisfying credit score(took a while to fix it from my last relapse)
• Physical and mental health( for the most part)
• Content home life

To losing my new car, my job, my money, my credit score and most importantly, my dignity.
After spending so much time and energy trying to make sure I had my daily fix, I finally quit smoking crack. BUT.. only because I was forced to quit. Eventually I ran out of ways to get money, rides, etc.
Now, this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve relapsed and lost things, but it is the first time I’ve relapsed on crack.

Crack cravings can be more intense and demanding than any other drug. Although I’m new to the drug, I’ve experienced how bad you can spiral and how the cravings are.

I find that distracting myself with video games and tv shows is a big help. Anytime I have a thought of smoking, I start doing something to replace it and distract myself. I play lots of phone and pc games(although that may not be the healthiest thing out there), and watch tv series. I also eat when I have a craving. During my short lived sobriety I didn’t have many cravings and didn’t care to smoke very much as I was content.
In the end, I gave into my cravings and spontaneously got a bag from someone.

Good luck my friend, if this post didn’t help you with tips on cravings, may it at least let you know that you are not alone!

 

[cletusSamboy]

Man, this is a hard one. Or rather, it can be if you let it. I actually just relapsed on crack today after being sober and pretty content for over 6 months.
I’m fairly new to smoking crack, but before I got sober, I was the typical 24 year old, run-of-the-mill crackhead.

I went from having:

• Brand new 2021 Hyundai Elantra
• Financial stability
• A satisfying credit score(took a while to fix it from my last relapse)
• Physical and mental health( for the most part)
• Content home life

To losing my new car, my job, my money, my credit score and most importantly, my dignity.
After spending so much time and energy trying to make sure I had my daily fix, I finally quit smoking crack. BUT.. only because I was forced to quit. Eventually I ran out of ways to get money, rides, etc.
Now, this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve relapsed and lost things, but it is the first time I’ve relapsed on crack.

Crack cravings can be more intense and demanding than any other drug. Although I’m new to the drug, I’ve experienced how bad you can spiral and how the cravings are.

I find that distracting myself with video games and tv shows is a big help. Anytime I have a thought of smoking, I start doing something to replace it and distract myself. I play lots of phone and pc games(although that may not be the healthiest thing out there), and watch tv series. I also eat when I have a craving. During my short lived sobriety I didn’t have many cravings and didn’t care to smoke very much as I was content.
In the end, I gave into my cravings and spontaneously got a bag from someone.

Good luck my friend, if this post didn’t help you with tips on cravings, may it at least let you know that you are not alone!

My original plan was to keep a gram or so of coke around to use a small amount occasionally when I'm bored or at a party but I find I can't for the love of god keep it around for long. I keep converting it into crack and smoke it all up within 1-2 days. I'll only put it away if it starts to feel physically uncomfortable like chest pain or other worrying physical symptoms.

I can keep all other drugs around and have no urge to use it until I actually plan to. But with crack I can't. I keep repeatedly buying a gram every few weeks determined to stash it away for another time but find I'm unable to fight the urge to use it. I'll even bring it to work and smoke it in the toilet or at home will take it to use in the toilet because the cravings make me unable to wait to smoke. Pathetic I know.

My only solution is to make it then store small rocks in individual bags at my work locked in my toolbox so I can grab a small rock and only use that rather than the whole pile. Or buy a safe with a timer on it. If this don't work I'll pour out my bottle of ammonia and delete my access to the darknet and forget about my plan to squirrel some coke away for another day.

I could quite easily afford much larger amounts to keep me going on a daily basis for months on end but so far I don't have the desire to use it everyday like a full blown addict but I am slowly finding my mind pushing me to buy a large amount as a final last buy before I throw away all my means of accessing quality coke.

I'm from Australia so crack isn't readily available on the street and street coke is usually so low quality it won't even put out a single drop of oil. High quality gear tends to be available on the net so I know I can walk away from it any time but at this point don't want to as I like having access to high quality and hard to get drugs and prefer to fight the cravings one way or another.