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Heroin cravings...do they ever go away?

Pagey

Pagey

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Apr 11, 2012
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The Valley of Ashes
Realise this might be more suited for the Recovery forums but I'm more comfortable with the crowd here and I think I'd get better advice.
Aside from one single slip, I haven't touched heroin since about early september last year - been sort of clean since may 2013, although there have been a few relapses along the way. I'm done with PAWS and all but these cravings...they're just not going away. As soon as I feel down for whatever reason it seems like the obvious solution. I know that's not the end of the world but I'm so, so sick of it, I feel like that damn drug still has a hold on me despite my best efforts to put as much distance between me and that shit.
Would love to hear from other ex (or current) heroin addicts about their thoughts on the subject. Thank you <3
 
Some people say no.
I still crave opium (my daily DOC for years).
Personally, the best way to counteract the cravings has been distraction.
Preferably not drug related - and especially best if it's not triggering.

Weed has helped me a lot. Weed + music, and the cravings fade away.
But that is strictly a personal thing (having been a stoner since early teenage years, and an obsessed musician) - i know pot doesnt agree with everybody, I'm lucky that something so relatively benign can offer so much relief/distraction (when I can get/afford it).

I'm not sure if heroin is different, but I imagine the post-withdrawal cravings would be much the same as the poppy extracts I used to use. A lot of the time, using seemed like the best - or only option - to settle a bad mood or anhedonic day. This is the addict brain at work - if anything, bowing to temptation is likely to exacerbate the problem, and stretch out the recovery period.

Am I correct in thinking you're in Australia now Pagey?
I hope this...er, large island continent offers you some kind of positive, non-drug stimulation.
You're in sydney - right? I'm on the other side of the big fucking desert(s).
Drugs are really fucking expensive here....so you either save your hard-earned or blow it all by getting high.
Blessing/curse/load of annoying shit IMO.

Anyway, cravings aside - I kudos on doing so well in staying off.
Just from what I've read on here, I know you've had a rough time of it lately.
Keep your chin up...!
 
When you find a perfect solution to whatever shit life throws at you then it's almost impossible not to pine for it whenever life gets on top of you.

Having said that, if you're able to identify the reasons for your use and then take some kind of action to work out any underlying problems then that can really undermine the cravings. Easier said than done though. It's taken me most of my life to even get started, and it's a work in progress.

As far as the more recreational aspects of heroin go, I don't think anybody who's used it for any length of time ever forgets that it can be real fun. That's more difficult to escape. Just try and remember that it's not an easy drug to pick up and put down at will. I guess that's the best you can do.

Good luck Pagey.
 
^ that final point is a really important one. Chipping/casual use seems to be pretty rare.
How many people that chip just decide to stop, compared to how many relapse into addiction again, I wonder.
Not saying it can't be done - but the odds are against all of us (especially once we've had a habit).
 
If you mean psychological cravings as opposed to physical symptoms then probably not. Sometimes I wish I was still on heroin because it wraps all of lifes' problems into a little bag and all you have to do is melt it away! As Sammy G sez, once you've found lifes' 'cure', then it's hard to carry on without it. I think you just gotta accept that it's now going to be part of your everyday life, certainly for a long time, if not forever. I see it as a mourning process - it's like losing someone you love. It's fucking hard to begin with, but over time, those feelings will diminish - maybe not completely, but to a level which you can incorporate into your daily life. You will never forget it, but you will learn to live without it.
 
They do and will :)
A massive help is to stay or continue an activity that would usually be over-placed by gear.
I don't know if you were IVing or "Smoking" it, so I can fully appreciate the ritual of IVing (it really does become a ritual; be it rollin a cig or makin lines of coke... Even makin YOUR cuppa!
 
It just takes time, as simple as that really.

I did roughly 2 years heroin free after a 5 year habit, it became gradually easier, I met my mrs and I virtually forgot about it all together, I was madly in love and partying on pills and speed, I didnt have room for that iin my life anymore.

Unfortunately circumstances changed, I began working with someone using and the partying stopped due to becoming pregnant ( my gf that is ) , I resisted for a fair while but it was only a matter of time. I should of had the sense to remove myself from the situation...

Anyway, my point is, they will go away, imo, you just have to be cautious about where you are, who you're with etc etc and do your best to keep as much happiness in and around your life and you'll be dandy :)

Dont get complacent with your recovery, im suffering the consequences of doing just that.

All the best Pagey :)
 
Cravings don't leave - the voices do lose volume and do lose authority but they don't (IMHO) ever leave. I think the day to day life of a person with a 'craving' is saying no -not looking for a reason to give in, not looking for a reason to answer that craving. I know (I do) know that some days are better than others :)

xx
 
been clean many many times, for brief periods. Currently on bupe... it's dulled the cravings to a manageable level, but they're definitely still there. and +1 as far as weed helping immensely. my bupe dr tests and at times I almost feel I'd be better off with the weed than the bupe.
 
Yes.

Simple as that. Yes they do.

I currently take heroin maybe once or twice a year at most - often not even that. "Lesser" opies get a go now and then too but we all know the difference betwixt such things....

The way I see it, it ain't a drug thing it's a person thing. People who simply cannot let go of heroin just hurt more than others do and need to find other ways to cope with their pain wherever it comes from. You don't have a heroin problem, you have a pain problem. Pain comes in many forms and there are many approaches to dealing with it.... heroin is an incredibly effective one... but there are a gazillion others.

FWIW, I fukkin <3 heroin but I don't crave it. I love the fact I can take it when I choose to and it never crosses my mind to the rest of the time.

Deal with underlying issues, then heroin becomes a pleasure rather than a torture <3
 
Yes.

I shot gear multiple times daily for over a decade. Things changed, I went on maintenance, got off, changed my life, etc...

I haven't done heroin in several years, a minor miracle, and I think of it, but not like I used to. Fleeting thoughts of registering, etc. But those thoughts are trumped by what follows, the despair, the trauma of living through such. I can play the tape through now..it is hard honestly to weave the tapestry of the heroin life into my current life....I trimmed sheep hooves and delivered two lambs FFS today!

It takes work, oh work, and time. Heroin leaves a big hole....fill that puppy in...

Lately exercise is the most stunning discovery...me, former meth shooting crack smoking gear head dilettante chemist exercising?! Ha. But I am....running a few miles a day. I never want to....but the rewards are stunning, and altogether foreign and exciting...I'm always glad after I do. Life is hard. Some things make it harder...some easier...gotta weigh long term vs short term....I used to always be in the now, and not in a good way...just not giving a fuck...

Hang in there Pagey, it gets better....it certainly gets far worse the further you follow that dark path..

<3
 
IME it never goes away - the craving, it goes in to hibernation and when the triggers hit its almost impossible to say no. I have travelled to the back of beyond in the past and still managed to find it , gl mate.
 
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