Heroin Does heroin addiction last a lifetime no matter what??

[monkeewater]

I've used tar for about 3-4 years off n on. got pretty sick of the fact of being a lowlife junkie. I quit when Obama became the president and it's been the longest it's ever been. going on 5th day. never gonna look back again. spend more money on tar than on any other bs. done them all. got tested, came back negative. lost a couple of friends cuz of it. my lungs are hurting. started off snorting. six months later started to shoot up. switched in between. depending where i was at and what i was doin like if i had time to grab some rigs or break up some sleeping med to mix it all up. i mean it got to a point to where i didn't get high no more. i was buying up to 2 Gs a day. started smoking it!!! with the blow torch and the whole nine yards. wow! 3 and half years later..... about 50 or 60 thousand bucks later i realize if i don't stop then tar will put an end on me. thank god i am not the same person anymore. speeding to pick up my dope. gettin pulled over with some warrants. popping a suboxone cuz i know i am getting locked up!!! i am off of it now. don't get me wrong, i still pop a bar or 2 do a line or 2 and smoke a blunt or 2. matter of fact i just took a 200 mg morphine. but i ain't never going back to that dark side of life. waiting in the line to get some points from the pharmacy or at walmart buyin some butane cuz i am about to smoke up!!! F cheez . no one has ever made it through life doing heroin! rocknrolla!

 

[chrisinabox]

^your story sounds very similar to mine and i'm guessing you live in Dallas since your location says d-town, which is where i live too. i am not disagreeing with what you said but there have been some notable figures that have done opiates their whole life and lived to an old age and been fine. like William S. Burroughs for example, he lived into his 80s and did drugs up until the end. now this is def not the same for most ppl, the lifestyle wears you down very quickly, thats why its near impossible to maintain a heroin/opiate habit for a long period of time, but it IS possible.

oh and to answer the topic at hand, no i believe heroin addiction does not last a lifetime.

 

[monkeewater]

well I hope so! I'd like to live longer now that I've done it all! I want it to be the thing in the past. but I just love downers!

 

[Tupac777]

well,my mom used to be addicted/sell herion in the projects in cambridge(MA) loong before i was born.now shes a counselor at a halfway house.still goes to na meetings though.dunno if she still has the thought in the back of her mind...kinda weird thinkin about it...my moms old.... :/ haha

 

[InTherapy82]

It just like any other good thing you ever experienced that had to end some how. A great vacation, first love, beginning of love...what ever's great for you. The feeling is bliss. But there was reason you it ennded. When you think about all the bad things that dope addiction brought you, after a while its low on your priorities to get high. Just like if u are in a committed relationship and some hottie want's do do you, you weight the pros and cons and the negatives prevent you from doing it. Feeling good lasts a short time and there might be great consequences for doing a moment of pleasure. Sure, you think of it every once in a while but its not worth it for most people especially when they build good lives for themselves, lives that would not be possible w/ dope. So I don't think dope addiction lasts a life time. People grow out of it and move on. They know where dope can lead them and they forget that its even a possibility.

 

[red12376]

this is why wiki isn't always right...

"once an addict, always an addict" thats just brainwashing to make you hopelessly addicted, if you don't convince yourself of it, then it won't happen. simple as that.

Most Rehab facilities push the 'disease' concept. I've seen alot of people accept this just to complete a program.

I think the reason they treatment facilities do this is so if a person doesn't succeed at being abstinate the same treatment is still an option. (More Money)

I believe 'once a person, always a person' and I believe that the greatest gift God gave to man is the gift of choice. As long as you believe in God you have the choice to do drugs or not to. With that also comes the ability to stop using drugs in an excessive way.

'Keep your composure' Social use is possible if you believe in social use. If you belive 'Once an addict always an addict' you are doomed to live in shit without rehab or 'sober/clean' living.

I believe the guilt of using drugs the treatment facilities preach is the biggest thing that keeps people unproductive to society.

 

[InTherapy82]

Wow, lasts a lifetime? Ever since I took 270mg of morphine a few years back, I've stayed the fuck away from opiates altogether. Puking for 5 days and fading in and out of consciousness is not my idea of getting high. I itched like crazy like my body was covered in fiberglass, I thought I was gonna die. I've tried alot of opiates, but I'm too active of a person to enjoy em, I always end up nauseous from em no matter what. Never done heroin, and don't plan to. Argue with me about it, mon then, I dare ya

But u are not an addict. He was referring to people that actually have been addicted to opiates, not to ppl who hate opiates. Thats way different. There are lots of drugs I can't stand either.

 

[InTherapy82]

As long as you believe in God you have the choice to do drugs or not to. With that also comes the ability to stop using drugs in an excessive way.

I'm an atheists and so is my husband. We both quite dope and never looked back. You don't have to believe in God to make good choice in life. And those believing in God don't always make good choices. And we are not exceptions.

 

[red12376]

I'm an atheists and so is my husband. We both quite dope and never looked back. You don't have to believe in God to make good choice in life. And those believing in God don't always make good choices. And we are not exceptions.

I'm sorry for saying the 'G' word. I think you need to believe in something. 'You' is probably the most important thing to believe in if you are quitting and addictive chemical.

Do you believe in Spel Chek?

 

[sixpartseven]

I'm sorry for saying the 'G' word. I think you need to believe in something. 'You' is probably the most important thing to believe in if you are quitting and addictive chemical.

Do you believe in Spel Chek?

Do you?

Relax. She added an "e" to "quit," just like how you added a "d" to "an." But it gets worse...

I think the reason they treatment facilities do this is so if a person doesn't succeed at being abstinate the same treatment is still an option. (More Money)

It's actually "abstinent." The point is, who fucking cares?

And just because you believe in God does not mean anyone else "needs" to believe in anything. You do realize it is completely possible to live a normal, happy life without having a single spiritual belief, right? Shit, it's probably a better life than the ones who are worried about pleasing their oh-so-loving God every minute of every day. We are free in ways you are not, but that's a choice we all get to make, so don't hate for it.

I quit using heroin and a year and a half later (now) quit Suboxone without ever having the idea of a "higher power" even cross my mind. It is possible to do, you just don't think it is because NA brainwashed you into believing it. Just be careful if one day they ask if you'd like some grape juice. I won't be surprised if it actually happens. It's no different than the others.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I'm an atheists and so is my husband. We both quite dope and never looked back. You don't have to believe in God to make good choice in life. And those believing in God don't always make good choices. And we are not exceptions.

I can make choices over my drug use, God tempts me to use heroin!!!

I mean, he did make it after all...

Spirituality has little to do with "addictive personalities", and it has even less to do with the way you were raised which might predispose you to certain drug abuse (or not). Saying "just believe in God!" won't help anyone, I hope we all realize this here.

I'm sure there are many people that do believe in God and are praying for one day to get off of heroin...and I'm sure they'll continue praying for that for some time to come. The thing is, God isn't going to do that for you, YOU are.

And unless your prayers are answered and this dawns on you that the only person who can quit using is YOU, then YOU can! And it didn't really take God to do this either.

 

[Kenaz]

I was reading the wikipedia article on morphine out of boredom, and it definitely states that once addicted, one will be addicted psychologically for a lifetime, even after getting past the physical effects.

Can someone please tell me this isn't true???

A lot of the soldiers who got hooked on heroin in Vietnam quit using when they got back to the States. The heroin which was available at the time in America was utter crap next to the H they were getting in the Nam: there was also a change of place and situation which made it easier for them to leave their habit behind once they got stateside.

My father became physically addicted to morphine after getting wounded in Korea. Once he kicked it, he felt no further desire to use again. I also know a friend who became physically addicted to oxycodone after an operation. She was dopesick for a few days (and mightily pissed off at her doctors), but never went back to using. I've gathered this is also the case for many people who become addicted to prescribed drugs. Once their condition is cured and they get through withdrawal, they have no desire to continue taking the drug.

The whole myth of the inherently seductive and addictive properties of opiates comes from the 19th and early 20th century, when there was a huge push to regulate their distribution and prescription. About that time the myth of "soldiers' disease" (widespread addiction to morphine and opium among Civil War soldiers) begins. The idea was to make opiates look like a deadly poison which could ensnare even the most dewy-eyed innocent if they were used regularly. This meant they could regulate doctors because, after all, they were just Protecting the Children from the evils of abused prescription drugs. (Sound familiar?)

There's some truth to "once a junkie, always a junkie." If you were once psychologically addicted to a substance, chances are good that your addiction will return if you start using again. But there's a huge difference between physical and psychological addiction. You can have one without the other -- and for the purposes of long-term sobriety, it is the psychological addiction which matters.

(I'm currently writing a book on P. somniferum and its various derivatives, so I've been studying the subject at some length. And let me just say that I have truly enjoyed the hell out of my research ).

 

[Kenaz]

They say this about EVERY drug. From alcoholics to cigarette smokers. Most "experts" say once you are addicted to anything, you are an addict for life. I think it's funny that some people here who have been clean for only 2 years or less and had a habit of much longer than that say that you never get over it. YOU'VE ONLY BEEN CLEAN 20% AS LONG AS YOU WERE AN ADDICT! You can't really say definitively at that point. Let us know after 10 clean years have gone by. I've heard from many people that kicked long ago and say it doesn't bother them anymore. They never forget it of course (just as you wouldn't forget a long term girlfriend), but it also doesn't tempt them anymore. Quitting is about making up your mind. Once you have truly made up your mind that you will never have that substance in your life again, things will get much easier. Unfortunately, that decision is often only induced by hitting rock bottom.

I've been off alcohol altogether for over 13 years. I was an active alcoholic for about 10 (from the age of 15 to 25 or so) with 4 or 5 years of sobriety interspersed with brief periods of binging.

I'd say that at this point I rarely if ever think about alcohol. There are times when I regret not being able to have wine with a good meal, but it's not a huge issue. (There are lots of things I regret far more). I think that I might even be able to control my drinking this time if I started again: however, the minimal reward is outweighed by the potential risk, so I don't really try. Of course, even in my drinking days I preferred cannabis to alcohol: my main attraction to booze was that it was cheap and readily available.

 

[nickeldick]

Or so the song says. Listen for yourself: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Looking_In_-_Savoy_Brown.jpg

I don't quite buy the "for life" part, as I posted earlier. To tell the truth, I think I just want to use this thread as a chance to shamelessly plug Savoy Brown. This band/song is fucking awesome, who cares if its 40 years old? (Thats when the good music came out, anyway.)

The band is incredible, and this song, appropriately named "Needle and Spoon," is a must-listen for:
1. British blues musicians
2. Junkies
3. Anyone who likes good music!

^ This is the cover the the album "Looking In," which isn't the album this song is on, but its my favorite album and the cover has great art so I'm posting it ("Needle and Spoon" is from the album right before this). They are all gold though. Solid fucking gold. A great band.
And for the hell of it, a tidbit of rock history: The band Foghat was formed from members who broke off from Savoy Brown.

led zep and the Beatles definitely overshadowed this bands progress. my father turned me onto them and have been stuck ever since. they are badass live and deserve much more respect than they get.

cool man cool

 

[The Straight Dope]

Hey these are some great responses. I like the whole love affair analogy. I guess in my case the dope would be more of a rebound lover sorta thing. You know when a chick breaks up with you and you try to fuck someone else to try and get over her. For me personally I didn't do it just for fun and out of boredom, I really was having some depression and that sort of thing going on my life. I first tried dope when I was 16, and I never got addicted to it until around the end of last summer. I was always someone who thought that living a positive fulfilling life was always a much better feeling than numbing myself and being high on dope all day. I only got addicted when I felt like my life was sucking and being painful and I just wanted to numb the hell out of myself, and heroin works way better than alcohol for these purposes. I was using dope to pretty much rid painful thoughts of an actual real-life female lover. Now that I'm over all that I feel like I can move onto much better things in life.

For me a really good wake-up call, as weird as it is, was to do dope when most of my tolerance had gone away and see how much different it is than to uselessly chase a high that I'm not going to thoroughly enjoy, and to only do it to feel normal. It's such a waste of money to shoot 6-7 bags and not get nearly as ripped as doing 2 bags with no tolerance.

I haven't been a dope addict for years like some people here, my times of daily habit only lasted like a couple months at most. I guess when it comes down to it I am still a chipper and not an addict, I guess I only got caught up in dependence and the whole sickness cycle which sucks. Thanks for helping me understand myself better!

 

[phr]

bump

 

[subdetox]

Yep, through my 4 years clean (after a 4 year love affair with pain pills, never did heroin) I still thought about and craved pain pills often. Luckily I didnt have a steady hook up anymore otherwise I probably would have relapsed sooner than I did. heh. I've pretty much figured that I am an addict and I will always have that want for opiates, but I know that addiction sucks and it's not worth the short time of "fun" they give you.

I would like to add that I thoroughly enjoyed my sober life once I got off the pills, so I know I can have a happy fulfilling life without the opiates. It's actually much more so (happier and fulfilling) without them! hehe But I cannot deny that opiates are my DOC.

 

[Inlakesh]

Addiction for life is definitely not an absolute universal truth.
Addiction for life is a conditional phenomena that is possible under certain circumstances. It is of great importance to fully, clearly and accurately understand the conditions and circumstances that would make 'addiction for life' true for someone.

Addiction for life could be a phenomena for some people if the underlying causes of the addiction are not identified and ultimately solved in a genuinely effective lasting way.
There are causes/problems that compel a person to seek and use opiates as a solution when those problems are too overpowering and nothing else works or works well enough.
The causes might be pain in it's countless physical and mental forms or even just boredom.

There seems to be a sort of idea or presentation that the opiate experience is in and of itself so super wonderful that it is the best thing that could ever happen to a person. Or that the pleasure that comes from opiates is the highest pleasure a person could ever hope to achieve. And that as long as a person is naive of that experience they will continue to be satisfied with the inferior experience of normal everyday sober life. But as soon as this mythical super excellent experience of opiates is tasted even once, a person is ruined and can never fully appreciate ordinary sober experience in the same way again and will either always think about or eventually turn their mind to the thought/memory of the opiate experience, which is supposedly the best thing one could ever experienced in life.

Various versions of this theme are the common fear myth associated with any drug that promises a really enjoyable experience. I do not find it to be accurate or complete. I do not think that any drug experience is the pinnacle of pleasure or happiness that humans are capable of.
If a drug experience really were the highest pinnacle possible for humans in this way. It would be in our best interest to find a way to safely and sustainably incorporate the use of the drug into our life in order to make life the best it can be. But I don't think any drug experience is, in and of itself, the best or most pleasurable experience we are capable of.

A person might find the conditions of their life limit their potential for happiness. If those conditions are not resolvable, not able to be eliminated or changed, or for some reason the person does not want to or does not know how to resolve, eliminate or change the conditions limiting happiness. If a drug is able to increase, enhance, diversify, expand, or in whatever way make ones life better. And that drug is not physically harmful or causes harmful personality changes, harmful behavior, etc. Then it might be true that it's in a persons best interest to use the drug.

For people who live in horrible existences, in inner city slums etc., in poverty, in painful or abusive conditions. I can understand how certain drug experiences are a much needed escape.

On the psychological level I've been able to discover a vast diversity of joy, bliss, peace and happiness etc. that is far far superior to opiate induced happiness, just from my own ordinary mind, especially when my brain is totally clean from any and all drug chemicals etc.

In fact my psychological happiness can be far far superior when my brain/mind is not drugged on opiates.
What opiates do for me is to eliminate the distraction, disturbance and often extreme grueling pain that comes from the physical body issues that plague me. When my physical pain is bad enough it is hard for me to be in a good state of mind and to appreciate the extraordinary, vast and superior but subtle and fine joys that can come from the mind when it is well taken care of.

So to the degree I suffer physical pain, opiates appear to provide psychological bliss due to their eliminating the physical disturbance that drowns out the subtle joys of the mind. As long as the opiates are not too overpowering themselves. Which is why I avoid taking too high of a dose. I try to use just enough to fix the pain. An opiate dose that is too high is extremely miserable.

But when I am not in physical pain naturally, the mental states I can attain are even better than when I use opiates to eliminate the gross pain.

It is like being out in an idyllic sylvan forest setting with all the richness, complexity and beauty of the vast diversity nature can offer (the natural ordinary mind). If someone brings a huge boom box and cranks it up with some ear splitting sounds (physical pain), it would be impossible to appreciate all the subtle beautiful sounds of nature. Even the visual experience would be disturbed.

So something that eliminates the boom box might appear to be the cause of happiness. At least this has been my experience.
Though there are a number of sensations that come directly from the opiate itself which are unique and relatively enjoyable in their own way. I find those relatively low on the scale of the range of happiness experiences that are possible for a person.

If I could find a way to overcome really bad physical pain with the mind alone I could abandon opiates all together.

Also, besides pain relief I do use opiates experimentally to understand the body, mind and life experience.

At one time opiates did serve more of a purpose for me as especially recreational and for party. I've largely got my fill of that. Perhaps if a person were very addicted to the party scene then addiction to drugs would appear as more of a life long thing.

 

[n0th1ng]

If any person who was at one time addicted to opiates tries to tell you that they don't still think about opiates sometimes, they are lying.

Exactly.

 

[shadow_onion]

I've never really been an "addict", but even after using oxycontin casually for a few months (as in 20mg once or twice a week) I would have oxycontin dreams and cravings after almost a year of complete sobriety. I never felt like I needed them, but I definitely never stopped wanting them.