opiates vs natural enjoyment

[LilikoiMoon]

Yeah, used to be like that...20+ years later, I realize I burnt my endorphins up doing drugs & hoping that through periods of sobriety, I can naturally bring some enjoyment back.

 

[Erikmen]

Yeah I'm not ready to quite either. I thought I was but I just love to be high. Chances are I'll never be ready. I'm still productive have a job and take care of my family so I don't see any issues with our at all. Right? To each is their own I think is how the saying goes right? Honestly I love and prefer the opiate high over life's actual highs. Opiates do an amazing job of potentiating life's great moment. So why not have the best of both worlds in my opinion?

I remember going through this phase. Super productive and hard working. Solid skills. Lover and a great husband, dad and all that.
The only problem is that is eventually going pass. Some sort of shit will happen in a rainy day. Or your tolerance will start to be a problem.
Everyone has its own history. Fact is; you can not do this for ever and get away. Never happened. Enjoy your time while it lasts but don´t be naive thinking you can get away with that without quitting. It doesn´t work like this.
It merely statistics man.

 

[Erikmen]

Yeah, used to be like that...20+ years later, I realize I burnt my endorphins up doing drugs & hoping that through periods of sobriety, I can naturally bring some enjoyment back.

Exactly!

 

[belfort]

If you use powerful drugs like opiates on a regular basis you lose your perspective. Yes, opiates feel fantastic, but even after mild use when you aren't dependent sobriety afterwards will seem dreary and dull, but honestly having experienced both opiate addiction and now sober life, finding natural enjoyment in normal activities feels so much better than living life in an opiate induced haze.

you are lucky you can still find enjoyment in regular life after using opiates..myself, i used nubain, oxycontin and then heroin for many years and when the intense euphoria from these wore off, i started to combine it with adderal and other stims..good lord, what an intense jolt of pleasure that gave me and it was very dependable for years...i ended up crashing and burining and losing my source and running out of money, then i got clean..now even after years of sobriety, everyday activities still seem rather dull to me..i need intense workouts or activities to even get a hint of pleasure..not a good situation to be in...anhedonia is a nightmare...

like another poster said, i truly believe many of us that find opiates to be so wonderful have a malfunctioning endorphin output or 'reward center' to begin with..how to correct this no one knows..

but yes i have found with very euphoric drugs, u eventually lost most if not all interest in other hobbies, people become boring and u will eventually end up in a room secluded doing drugs with the tv on..is that really what you want out of life?do you want to look back on your teens and 20s and basically have no memories but that of u in a opiate induced haze?

 

[belfort]

I remember going through this phase. Super productive and hard working. Solid skills. Lover and a great husband, dad and all that.
The only problem is that is eventually going pass. Some sort of shit will happen in a rainy day. Or your tolerance will start to be a problem.
Everyone has its own history. Fact is; you can not do this for ever and get away. Never happened. Enjoy your time while it lasts but don´t be naive thinking you can get away with that without quitting. It doesn´t work like this.
It merely statistics man.

this..sadly this is something everyone has to come to face eventually ..i mean honestly guys, how many truly long term opiate addicts do you know??are they remotely happy?i know the bliss drugs provide but i also have to say this, you WILL PAY IT BACK 2 FOLD in the future...once u quit, you will experience anhedonia which is the complete absence of pleasure..also, your energy levels you experience now will be nowhere to be seen when u kick opiates....u will feel like a lifeless zombie for a long time, i know i did... it is then you will likely regret ever touching the shit..

 

[Zeeman]

It seems like there is nothing better than an opiate high.

I've been an occasional opiate user for over 5 years (I estimate an average of 3 uses a month, although some months have quite a few more while others have 0). They feel amazing every time, yet I have to disagree that there's nothing better than an opiate high. I still find great pleasure in my non-drug hobbies, including board gaming, weight lifting, cooking, and dining out. Opiates have always been the cherry on the icing on top of the cake for me, and I plan to keep this true indefinitely. I'm probably in the vast minority of heroin users who feel heroin has enriched my life rather than taken away from it. As soon as opiates overtake other sources of pleasure in life, you can kiss having a normal healthy life goodbye.

 

[belfort]

I've been an occasional opiate user for over 5 years (I estimate an average of 3 uses a month, although some months have quite a few more while others have 0). They feel amazing every time, yet I have to disagree that there's nothing better than an opiate high. I still find great pleasure in my non-drug hobbies, including board gaming, weight lifting, cooking, and dining out. Opiates have always been the cherry on the icing on top of the cake for me, and I plan to keep this true indefinitely. I'm probably in the vast minority of heroin users who feel heroin has enriched my life rather than taken away from it. As soon as opiates overtake other sources of pleasure in life, you can kiss having a normal healthy life goodbye.

i would put you in the ever elusive group known as the 'chippers' then..if you truly have been able to just use heroin occasionally(3-4 times a month) for 5 years, then props to you but you are so in the minority...i nor does anyone i know have been able to pull off this feat(but i have read articles in which say it is possible) so i hope it lasts for you and things dont tip over on you...i would like to see you in 5 years down the road if you are still chipping..

 

[Zeeman]

i would put you in the ever elusive group known as the 'chippers' then..if you truly have been able to just use heroin occasionally(3-4 times a month) for 5 years, then props to you but you are so in the minority...i nor does anyone i know have been able to pull off this feat(but i have read articles in which say it is possible) so i hope it lasts for you and things dont tip over on you...i would like to see you in 5 years down the road if you are still chipping..

Oh I know I'm playing with fire... Some days I think I should quit right now before I actually slip into dependence. But I've studied addiction fairly extensively and feel I can recognize if I start down that path and stop my use (either by myself or with help) before it turns into full blown addiction.

I guess the key is to have a balanced life where opiates are just 1 of many sources of pleasure. If your life sucks and you want to escape it, then it's easy to become addicted very quickly. But if you like your life while sober, and have goals you enjoy working towards, it makes staying a chipper much easier. If I'm doing something healthily fun like hiking or playing boardgames, or studying chemistry in preparation for applying to pharmacy school which is a career I'm passionate for and know I want to work towards, I'd much prefer being sober than on opiates or any other drug.

 

[MrRoot]

I went to a gym yesterday to do a full workout such as I did before my health issues and decided to go as far as I could but still drop out those exercises that would cause more problems for my health conditions.

It turned out that after one and a half hours of exercise I started being on my limits and I just pushed forward with my willpower for another half an hour.

Within those last 30 mins I started having much similar rush and euphoric feeling that I got from dose of Oxycontin and it just kept going more powerful.

I was in a total exhaustion and had to call my wife to pick me up from the gym as I couldn't use my hands to drive my car anymore and barely walk. Whole evening I felt as high as with my normal recreational dose except for nodding.

But heck. Today all my muscles are sore and I can't even straighten my arms for example not to mention the nagging from my wife

Still it was worth it and felt better than with my normal recreational dose. I guess that I won't use my oxies recreationally anymore.

Edit: Not to mention those looks from other people in the gym as they were like how the heck that vet with disabilities can go that far.

 

[Crashing]

Oh I know I'm playing with fire... Some days I think I should quit right now before I actually slip into dependence. But I've studied addiction fairly extensively and feel I can recognize if I start down that path and stop my use (either by myself or with help) before it turns into full blown addiction.

I guess the key is to have a balanced life where opiates are just 1 of many sources of pleasure. If your life sucks and you want to escape it, then it's easy to become addicted very quickly. But if you like your life while sober, and have goals you enjoy working towards, it makes staying a chipper much easier. If I'm doing something healthily fun like hiking or playing boardgames, or studying chemistry in preparation for applying to pharmacy school which is a career I'm passionate for and know I want to work towards, I'd much prefer being sober than on opiates or any other drug.

This is a great way to look at the situation. I got badly addicted to opiates before i really understood anything about addiction or withdrawal, but i always wonder if i had known and was properly educated early enough, might i have never gone down that path.

You're absolutely right about getting addicted quickly when using drugs as an escape. In my opinion, drugs should only be used to potentiate or influence an otherwise positive activity or experience. The moment you use them to get out of depression, addiction begins to manifest.

I really don't see the need to use heroin though, I have always thought of it as almost a last resort for opiate addicts who need a better value. You really have to be careful, with heroin especially. The frequency that a person uses tends to increase slightly over a long span of time and one day you realize that you're fucked. A lot of people have the mindset you have at first, so just try to set an exact limit to your use, because this drug is an absolute master of deception.