Hey clems mom. I am a young man who kicked the opiates. Having a mom like you would have been a godsend, but my I had no help when I was battling my addiction which lead to me relapsing 3 times bad, and even aquiering a very idiotic addiction to benzodiazepines. Since your son is the one who initiated sobriety, he is already 50% done. That's the biggest step. His admition of his problem and willingness to take the high road is admirable and I wish you the best of luck.
Please don't be stupid and think that he has a disease. The media, and big pharma have used this ideology to get people to run away from the truth, which is - an addiction is a choice, not a disease, even though it grabs you and destroys your body it is still a choice. It may be related to some forms of personality disorders or depression, but being addicted to something is a choice, albeit not one people believe to be very dangerous and fucked up. So when he gets to the point of crying like a little baby, remind him that he chose that path, and now that he wants off the ride he has to go through what all of us sober people went through. And if I could kick my habit (I have a history of drug use since I was 12) then anyone can - so long as you remember what your goal is, to be healthy.
He has to start eating right, even when he doesn't want to. He has to take vitamin B, magnesium, fish oil. You need to look into kale shakes for his breakfast as he will have problems with his stomach so he needs good healthy nutricion. Get some sleeping pills, but don't tell him you have them so that if his insomnia gets really bad in the early stages just slip him a sleeping pill but tell him it's just another vitamin. I strongly advise against this, but you don't want him to suffer so giving him a break after a week or two will be great for him. But, you cannot, and should not give him access to them, or even let him know that you have some for him because he will beg for them and might end up with a completely new and even more fucked up addiction (pharmaceutical withdrawls>heroin withdrawls).
He has to get physically active and he has to be mentally active. If you click on my user name on the left u will get a menu and you can see my profile, you can read back on some of the advice I have already given about how important it is to eliminate depressive external stimuli and exercise. I am a huge proponent of the swimming pool since you can combine both physical and breathing exercises, and breathing exercises are incredible stress relievers. The physical part of kicking the habit is just the start. As mentioned, the depression and anxiety are what get most of us in trouble months down the road. I would say that for about 6 months he will experience what it is like to be a woman with severe PMS, but you both have to remember that it is absolutely normal, nothing to be ashamed of, and in fact probably should be marked with pride because it means that he is getting better. Feeling bad means that you are getting better, another paradox in the universe, but it's the truth.
If you have any specific questions down the road, I am here to give advice free of charge, as are all the good people over at the dark side. It is good to know that he is not alone in his battle, and you must be one heck of a mom to support your son the way you are now.
Also, after he gets clean for more then 6 months have a doctor do a seratonin test on him to check his levels. A lot of people claim depression because it's an easy out for the question of why were you so stupid. If you aren't productive, and see no purpose in your existence ofcaurse you will be depressed. He should not be on any medication unless he absolutely needs it. Anti-depressants aren't little cure-it-alls, in fact they are increadibly over prescribed to people who don't need them which causes a shit-load of mental problems that in many cases are ireversable. Your son may really be depressed, but is the cause his brain chemistry, or his daily existance? If it's the latter then a lifestyle change will do him a lot more good then anti depresants. A 5-htp supplement might be all he needs to get his ass into being productive.
How physically active is he?
How social is he?
How productive is he?
How is his performance in school?
Does he have serious hobbies?
P.S: The new weed is not more addictive. It is stronger, yes, but still not physically addictive. My generation and under are just a bunch of over privileleged idiots (regardless of monetary situation, the abundance of information alone makes us spoiled, not to mention the amount of instant gratification we have grown up with). So those kids you see acting a fool are just little whining snots that have never had their ass whooped back into reality.
