yo, stray cat whatever ur name is, tell me how the fuck ure gonna get OFF drugs when ure USING drugs. how stupid does that sound to u
i understand what you are saying, and i'm not sure whether anything i say could change your opinion, but i'll respond.
first, out of curiousity, are u affiliated with any recovery groups like aa or na? it's not a bad thing if you are, but i've noticed that strong advocates of the program tend to see the world in much more black and white terms, while I think there is a lot of gray area. Also, your comment sounds like something you might hear in na or a traditional rehab when someone mentions suboxone--"yo, how the fuck you gonna get OFF DRUGS by TAKING DRUGS??"-- simplistic, seemingly logical, and kind of sloganish. i understand the concept of total sobriety and it works for a lot of people, but it misses the point here.
did the op say he or she wanted to get entirely off of drugs? no. the OP is trying to get off of heroin. so, using an unrelated drug (like a benzodiazepine) would have no real effect on the stated goal of getting off of heroin. that's one explanation for how you can "get OFF drugs when ure USING drugs" : they are 2 entirely different drugs. using one to help cope with the withdrawal from another would not impede the stated goal of stopping use of heroin.
further, using drugs for a short period of time to get through the more intense physical aspects of withdrawal makes a lot of sense. i don't think anyone is endorsing long-term use of anything (unless someone mentioned maintenance, which can be a good thing depending on the situation); if you can use some combination of medications or DRUGS to make a highly unpleasant situation more bearable and thus decrease your chances of relapse during acute physical withdrawal, why would you not consider it as a valid option? if the ultimate goal is stopping use of opiates, why does it matter how you get there, if that goal is achieved?
as far as tapering, again, it is a method to achieve the same goal with less discomfort and less interruption to your daily routine. if your daily routine is waking up under a bridge and stealing from people to score junk, then maybe it can/should be interrupted, but not all people who develop adiction and/or dependency issues are complete degenerates. some simply cannot (or will not) go through full-on acute physical withdrawal without some sort of tapering-type process because of the ramifications it could have on their family lives, jobs, etc.
also, i touched on maintenance, which is not for everyone, but can be an option for those who have been unable to quit and remain clean from opiates using other methods. it can be a great stepping stone in the journey down from heroin to complete opiate cessation. it can allow the user to regain a sense of normalcy in his or her life, get out of the drug using/seeking mindframe, break old habits, etc. then, once the individual is no longer thinking like a heroin addict and is more confident in his ability to quit and remain opiate free, he can gradually taper off the maintenance drug with his doctor's help and gain complete freedom from opiates.
some people's goals may not be complete freedom from opiates. long-term maintenance therapy can allow junkies, etc. the opportunity to lead normal lives which they may otherwise not have lead. in treating opiate adiction as a chronic disease or illness, if it only takes administering daily medication to transform someone from a crazed, addicted, depressed, sad, or hopeless individual into a normal functioning, productive member of society, what is so wrong with that? at the least, it can reduce crime and mortality rates associated with active opiate addiction, which is a desirable result.
there's a lot to be said for just getting sober and attending meetings and what not as well. it works very well for some percentage of addicts, and anything that works in treating addiction should be considered as a valid treatment option, regardless of the success and failure rates. back to the original question, though, people do it all the time, with various drugs. when you stop taking alcohol or benzodiazepines, you can die if you don't taper properly under medical supervision. i've never heard of a rehab that didn't prescribe a benzo to admitted alcoholics experiencing withdrawal during the first few days. anyway, i know that was long, and something about the way you posed your question makes me think i would not be able to sway your opinion no matter what i said, but those are some of the ways people can try to get off drugs by using drugs.
