Self-medicating [Opiates (opana)] for 3 diagnosed Psych disorders

Jonathan13

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Feb 8, 2011
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Alright guys, I will try to keep my whining to a minimum in this post. 8)

I have came to a realization over the last 24 hours about myself, and I wanted to post for several reasons. This includes getting feedback on my situation, sharing my experience with other individuals who may be going through the same or similar issues, and finally to vent (which as I said, I will try to keep this portion to a minimum).

At the end of last year I found out about a wonderful job opportunity that would become available to me exclusively. Unfortunately I knew
this job would be drug screening prior to my hiring. This was an issue for me because at the time I had been heavily abusing opiates for about 18 to 24 months. It started with Lortab which was prescribed for a chronic osteo-arthritus issue. In what seemed like no time at all I was taking 8-10 Lortab 10/325 per day (usually in one dose). I knew that my body could not sustain this for long so I moved on like an idiot to the next drug. This was 30mg oxy IR. After about 6 months of these, I found myself doing 5-10 of them in a single day. Sometimes I would do as many as 3 at once. This seemed ridiculous to me, but the worst was yet to come.

About a year ago from now I was introduced to Opana ER. They were available in 20, 30, and 40mg to me. I began those and I honestly felt like life had changed for me. At first I did see it as an abuse and a dangerous one at that, but after months of using them in all doses I began to back it down because I didn't enjoy the person I was (nodding all day and running out and being very rude with people for no reason). After i noticed this negative side I began to limit myself to a smaller dose that caused nothing but mild euphoria and for me to act as a normal outgoing life-loving individual for my age.

It is now a few days before my drug screening for my new job. Knowing this was coming I stopped Opana about 3 weeks ago. I waited until the W/D were severe and took an 8mg dose of Suboxone. After taking it, I was able to manage my symptoms over the next 11 days and SUCCESSFULLY made it out the other side!!=D

I was so proud of myself that after this long battle I had finally done it, but I found myself being an angry, snappy person who looked forward to nothing in life. I spent about 36 hours being angry and then I began to think about my entire life as a whole. I realized that this angry individual was in fact WHO I ACTUALLY WAS. I came to this realization because I had been this same angry, life-hating kid in elementary school. I always got in trouble for my anger. When I hit jr. high school, I began self-medicating with alcohol and my anger went away. In high school I began self-medicating with marijuana. Finally after high school, I began self-medicating with Opiates.

I realized that I had not been sober since elementary school when I had the anger issues besides one other time in my life. About 3 years ago I stopped everything for a year and began to find myself being angry towards individuals for no reason. I went to the psychiatrist where she evaluated me and diagnosed me with three disorders: Bipolar disorder, a non-specific mood disorder, and Intermittent Explosive Disorder. She put me on several medications and sent me on my way. For the next week, I spent my days in a zombified haze. I was sleeping 12-14 hours a night, and did absolutely nothing. At this point my anger was under control but I was not living life whatsoever. I subsequently stopped the medications she had prescribed and began doing Opiates again.

This brings me to the end of my story and somewhat of a crossroads in my life. Last night, I got fed up with being that rude individual I have always been when I am sober so I got some Opana. I did 10mg, and then 30 minutes later another 10mg. I was so happy and euphoric and back to being what I considered a normal outgoing person instead of the angry person that I feel like I genetically am.

Today so far I feel normal (probably because I still have some Opana swimming around in my brain). I know that a mild withdrawal is on its way if I don't do anymore Opana, but I also know that if I do no more then an angry life-hating person will be leering his ugly head in a week or so. I want to stop so that I don't have to worry about my drug screening for the job, but I just want to be a normal person as well- not the angry person I know I truly am.

I feel like I should be so excited about my life because to anyone else it would be GREAT, and they would be overjoyed with all the wonderful opportunities they have right in front of them.

Feel free to comment, criticize, and dissect my situation. Thanks in advance for anyone's advice.

P.S.- My laptop has been acting a bit funny when formatting this post so if any words are cut off or a sentence begins on the next line for no reason I apologize for that!
 
You sound a lot like me. Sober up again, and when you are, check out the movie "Anger Management" in your sober state (completely out of withdrawals).

I saw it like everyone else a number of times back in the day, but seeing it recently was like looking in a mirror.
You'll get it. Seriously, check it out.

I say watch it sober, because you cannot build upon your life when zonked out, and you know this.

Perhaps it is genetics, but that doesn't change anything. Medication is not the answer imo. It's a state of mind.
 
It's funny you say that, because I have a friend in basically the same situation as I am and yesterday he gave me the same advice as you. Also, after letting him read your response he laughed and said "I almost told you yesterday to watch Anger Management."

I do feel like I need to seek some sort of therapy or anger management, but with this great job does not come insurance benefits. I would have to pay out of pocket for any professional help I seek. For some reason it is just not manageable on my own without getting "zonked." And as you said I do know that I cannot figure anything out if I am in that state because everything is always "A-okay" when I am.
 
You said it yourself though, in but in different words. After a while, everything stops being "A-ok" and all the sudden, you have to be in a coma-nod just to prevent yourself from taking a hammer to someone because they merely said something, or are alive.

I cannot use opiates anymore. They only work their magic on the first day or 2. I tried using for 3 days on, then 5-7 days off, and was marginally sucessful, but then the shit built up in my system and I was dosing to stay out of a constant state of withdrawals.

-edit: I dunno, maybe save up a little money at a time for something like that. It will teach you patience and self-control, and by the time you have the money saved up, hell you might be far better off in your mind, and instead invest it in something you truely need... but not drugs.
 
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I think that is actually a very good idea. I hate that I have acquired so much debt from college. It makes it so hard to save money when paying for student loans, but I think it is do-able. I also think that it would help me in a few other areas that I could use some discipline in. I just need to figure out what can work for me in the mean time. The biggest issue for me and the one that is the most important is controlling my "snappiness" around my girlfriend. I find myself giving her short responses and being a little rude at times, and she does not deserve that at all. It breaks my heart. :(
 
Jonathan13 said:
I feel like I should be so excited about my life because to anyone else it would be GREAT, and they would be overjoyed with all the wonderful opportunities they have right in front of them.

I totally hear you on this, Jonathan. When I stopped using and experienced that sense of awe, of such personal accomplishment, it was startling to say the least. But I fell into the trap of believing that because I had quit using, all of life would suddenly open up to me and I'd be able to feel wonderful about the wonderful things I'd done. And what I discovered, painfully, was - as you put it - who I really was. Which, for me, was an anxious, frustrated, prideful and guilty person. And I was dismayed, believe me when I tell you I thought all my efforts had been a waste of time, that if this is who I just "was" then why did I ever make an effort to improve myself by quitting abusing opiates?? It made no sense to me at all.

Somehow, I stayed sober throughout all of it. Later on down the road, I discovered that by addressing each of these aspects of my personality (without a doubt I'm still working harder than ever at doing this today) I've begun to see improvements in certain areas... and I have to admit, the more improvements I see within myself, the less it feels as though I "need" to maintain a habit in order to just live as I perceive others do. I think that it's great that you were proactive, sought the help of a doctor, and received some concrete diagnoses. That gives you something to work with, and it is a very solid start.

If I were a betting man, I would bet that the more you focus on working with what you've got (the good, the bad and the ugly ;) ) you'll find that your anger is gonna lessen. It takes footwork though - but the evidence absolutely exists that you'll discover a polished version of your old self after several weeks of working at it!

Stay with us man, this was a good thread to read for me.

~ vaya
 
I think that is actually a very good idea. I hate that I have acquired so much debt from college. It makes it so hard to save money when paying for student loans, but I think it is do-able. I also think that it would help me in a few other areas that I could use some discipline in. I just need to figure out what can work for me in the mean time. The biggest issue for me and the one that is the most important is controlling my "snappiness" around my girlfriend. I find myself giving her short responses and being a little rude at times, and she does not deserve that at all. It breaks my heart. :(

You manage to buy Opana and Suboxone off the street for a pretty penny, yet you don't have the money for real treatment.

It's amazing what an addict will tell himself to justify getting high: "...I was in a zombified haze...no life whatsoever...so I began doing opiates again..."
Did it occur to you to speak with your doctor before returning to the use of illicitly-obtained opiates upon which you are now dependent? You didn't even give this doctor a chance to help you.

I've been where you are now, looking for ways to discard the advice I received from experts, and to continue to do things my way so I could still get high. You might check out an NA or AA meeting and just listen if any of the stories you hear there resonate with you.
 
Methadone and buprenorphine are terrible options for many, and it has nothing to do with a rush or legal status.

Horrible options!!! Oh, man. The number of people I've known who managed to get sober with the either of these uber-powerful opioids who then relapsed once the course of treatment was over, having made no substantial progress addressing the underlying causes of their unhappiness, and 6 (SIX) of 8 of them have, regrettably, shuffled off this veil of tears for good.

In short, for most people, I would agree that methadone and suboxone are weak band-aid solutions and should be avoided if long-term sobriety is the true goal. They can be miracles for alleviating withdrawal and aiding in the detoxification process (especially suboxone), but most people that I know end up relying on their legal opioid replacement, hanging onto it for dear life. But when it's gone, it's off to the races.

Apologies for being so opinionated about this but... if I lose another person in my life to the same shit that took my life twice, and yet I was brought back, I will lose it! Opiate addiction is a sinister, conniving snake. Realize its power when attempting to confront it. I also recognize that my words do not apply universally to opiate addicts.

Best wishes in your journey, OP <3


~ vaya
 
I myself have only tried the MMT way and I agree it's a good option for addicts to relearn how to live normally again without having to chase the money or dope around. It's only good if you go on maintinence instead of the detox program and stick to it for a few years. Right now were both broke and bored so I walked down to my friend's house who owns a few properties on this street where unfortunately(or fortunately) we had our dealer. She's been in kind of a drought for the last week or so, so when I walked down there (took an hour and 10 minutes) cause I had no bus fare and at first my friend(whom I'll call Eddie from now on)was busy with work and already had two other guys working there now, but I said Fuck it I'm not going to have to walk back so I hung around and waited ...and waited...and waited till he comes out and asks me to go with him to Home Depot to pick up some plywood sheeting so I was like Hell Yeah!! Well I helped him pick it up, load it in his pick-up, went home and unloaded it having to carry it up a flight of stairs without banging up the walls...5 sheets of 5/8 OSB which is pretty heavy and I haven't used my muscles in months due to my severe depression, not to mention the drought we're in with our dealer, we could have gone elsewhere but we get fronts from our guy. Also the price is definitely cheaper than the street prices so we stick with him...Anyways I finished up and got paid and walked down the street to see him( I was thinking the drought was still in effect but lo' and behold he was stocked!!! Hallelujah!!) Then I spotted my brother coming out of his place and then I knew for sure!!! So we both copped and are now happily making our way home to do the do then watch "Monday Night Raw"!!!

I definitely went totally off-topic but you know how that goes....HMU!!! (H)it (Me) (Up)
 
Horrible options!!! Oh, man. The number of people I've known who managed to get sober with the either of these uber-powerful opioids who then relapsed once the course of treatment was over, having made no substantial progress addressing the underlying causes of their unhappiness, and 6 (SIX) of 8 of them have, regrettably, shuffled off this veil of tears for good.

In short, for most people, I would agree that methadone and suboxone are weak band-aid solutions and should be avoided if long-term sobriety is the true goal. They can be miracles for alleviating withdrawal and aiding in the detoxification process (especially suboxone), but most people that I know end up relying on their legal opioid replacement, hanging onto it for dear life. But when it's gone, it's off to the races.

Apologies for being so opinionated about this but... if I lose another person in my life to the same shit that took my life twice, and yet I was brought back, I will lose it! Opiate addiction is a sinister, conniving snake. Realize its power when attempting to confront it. I also recognize that my words do not apply universally to opiate addicts.

Best wishes in your journey, OP <3


~ vaya

I agree, but what would your take on opioids be if they were as cheap, legal, readily available and socially accepted as alcohol? Still wouldn't change what chronic use does to a person, indeed. Doesn't mean that better ones that address this can't be made. Seriously. They have their place. Then again, so does alcohol.. in medicine and in life. We are addicts though.

We would take an anti-addiction pill if it existed.. and we'd abuse it. lol, and even if we didn't abuse it, we'd get addicted to it. :D
 
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