Opioids Helping loved ones with opioid W/D

[tricomb]

I don't think anyone is a fan of inpatient, although there are some people who actually do benefit from it, even if it is a minority.

 

[Miss Kirsty]

Good on you Op for the admission that you may be the "blame" for some things that trigger her to use...Did i get that right?

Has she looked at this forum before?

 

[Swain]

In my opinion I would try doing a detox using bupe.. something short under 1 month tapering the whole time. That will reduce the intensity of the withdrawals. I wouldn't start a maintanence program unless all else has failed. I ended up kind of getting stuck on opiates because instead of detoxing and staying clean, I would go back to bupe every time..and developed a dependency physically for bupe. It actually made my problem worse in a sense.. its like knwoing the bupe is there and you dont have to do a greuling detox, I ended up using more often than I would have if I did not have that cushion.

Someone else will have to direct you toward what does of bupe will be good. I amn not familiair with opana.

And yeah like someone else said.. detoxing, while it may be very dreadful, is the least of her problems. While it is a hurtle she has to overcome, her addiction to opiates is going to need attention, or she will quickly find her self back in the same position, or worse. The hard part is staying clean. The nice thing is, once she detoxes, she never EVER has to feel like that again (if she doesn't want to). All you gotto do is not cop. Easy right

This thread is bumming me out. I'm addicted to opiates. Half my family is in one way or another... It's not the end of the world to need to take a few pills a day. I've had addiction threaten my future and have a very negative affect on my life. But it doesn't have to be so bad. People take opiates for a reason, just like any other drug. There's a problem that needs to be fixed.

Maybe I'm playing the devil's advocate here, but if her addiction isn't threatening her health or causing her financial/social strains... maybe it's not the worst thing in the world. I've come to terms with the fact that I need to take a few pills a day. I'm glad I'm not shooting up anymore and that I've found a nice balanced place. Maybe she just needs to see this situation in a more positive or laissez faire light. It's just a few pills a day to make you feel better. No different than an anti-depressant or pain medication.

This may not be a popular view, but as long as you're being safe and can afford it... what's the big deal?

IMO it is worse than taking say anti-depressants. Opiates are extremely addicting phsycally and mentally. It's likely that while you may be able to sustain a habit financially, things eventually turn for the worse. You start spending more, or maybe you don't have access, whatever the reason may be. Now you are going from feeling really good one day to feeling like shit when you don't have drugs. You have to work your life around the drugs. If you have them great, if not then you are fucked lol.

I mean it's messing up the chemical balance of your brain by taking any type of medication. IMO you don't want to need to take a drug every dfay for the rest of your life, and thats what opiates become unless you take drastic measures, manage to detox and most importantly manage to stay clean. For me the depression and shit from taking opiates is crippleing (like when you are detoxing and stuff). I can't wait until one day when i can wake up with no dependency. Walk otu my door without taking any drug.

 

[Tommyboy]

I would say Suboxone is the only way to detox from Opiates! PERIOD, I was on Subs and it saved my life!

A 3-5 day methadone detox works just fine, so I wouldn't say that suboxone is the only way to detox off of opiates. Now as far as maintenance goes I would say that suboxone is the way to go, but if someone has a very big habit and keeps on relapsing while on suboxone then they may have better results using methadone.

Personally I wouldn't spend money on an inpatient opiate detox when I can just do it myself by either stopping cold turkey, or by getting a few suboxone or methadone off the streets to help with it. Also I think that going to a detox is pretty pointless on its own, so if someone goes they should really enter a 30 day inpatient rehab straight from it, or goto an inpatient rehab that has a detox there.

Inpatient detoxes and rehabs are very expensive though considering their low success rates, so I would just go straight to an outpatient program and start on a low dose of suboxone so you can taper of pretty quickly when ready, and see where it goes from there. My outpatient rehab had a suboxone doctor there which was very convenient, and they were very good about being reasonable with how much they charged me.

I like outpatient programs since the treatment is continuous and they have many different services that they can provide for you and your loved ones. Also I find it helpful to be able to talk about your recovery as you are working on it, as opposed to inpatient where it's hard to apply what you are learning since you are not in your normal environment. It's like learning in the classroom compared to learning out in the field. You learn a lot more from hands on experience out in the field that you do from talking about it in a room off location.

Relapsing after getting out of inpatient makes a lot of people feel like they failed and that the whole thing was a waste, whereas in outpatient you can talk about how/why you relapsed, and work on ways to prevent it from happening again. If outpatient rehab and suboxone are not working, then inpatient can't hurt. It can at least break the cycle of drug use and allow the person some time to think with a clear head

Have you personally gone through a drug counseling program, if so, what did you find was their focus? Was it the psychological focus, or just generally "you + these things always equals _____" she doesn't need someone else telling her she's crazy lol. If anything I could probably help her on a level that would be more beneficial to her. I've known her for 9 years and I fear many of her problems stem from things I've done.

The outpatient place that I went to had individual, group, and family counceling. It wasn't just for drugs, and I'm pretty sure that most outpatient places are general counseling and guidance centers too. They have programs for people with mental health issues, counseling for people with family, work, social, or relationship problems, and of course substance abuse/chemical dependency. For substance abuse treatment I went to group therapy 2x a week, an individual session once a week, and I saw the psychiatrist once a month.

The group meetings were split into 4 phases, which basically went by how long you had been going there and was a way to keep the groups smaller and so people didn't have to sit through the same things over and over that new members were taught. There is some education about the effects of drugs and what happens when we stop using drugs. The first phase is more about education and starting to communicate and get used to the place, and then the focus shifts to relapse prevention the longer you are there. Some meetings are more structured than others in terms of what the councelor wants to cover, and then other days the meetings are run more openly and the members dictate the discussion.

The individual sessions were, well, individual. We discussed my current problems or issues, but mostly it's about having someones help and support, and somone to listen to whatever you are saying. You don't have to worry about them telling her she is crazy. They know that their patients are going through a lot so they only say things to make you feel better.

Have you two found an outpatient program for her yet? If you are searching online you should search for guidance and counseling centers in your area and they should have drug addiction treatment a number of other services to help you both.