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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

How do i get my son to stop snorting heroin

Have you read the many replies in your other thread? click here

I urge you to read this book: In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Dr Gabor Mate. It is the best book on addiction I have ever read.

The biggest thing you can do to help a loved one with an addiction is to provide unconditional love and support. Make him feel loved and valued. Make him feel like he can be honest with you without fear you will get mad or judge him. Try to understand the reasons he is using heroin in the first place (there always are reasons). Try to find out what you can do to help with those reasons (for example anxiety, depression, not feeling loved, etc). Don't try to force him to qut, he will only quit when he is ready. Trying to force someone to quit only alienates them and makes them lie to you. What you can do is foster an environment where he feels more love and less shame, and has access to help (like counseling, detox, treatment for underlying issues, maintenance therapies, unconventional treatments like ibogaine or ayahuasca etc) if/when he feels ready.

Baggies in his room, slurred speech and flu-like symptoms could be any number of things, he could be telling the truth that he is no longer using heroin, but make him feel like it's ok to tell you if he is (or is using any other drugs) because you're on his side and want to help him only in the ways he wants to be helped. Stop searching his room and trying to catch him at things and try to get him to feel safe opening up to you instead.

If you would like info on how I was able to quit heroin please feel free to send me a private message - click here.

ETA: I absolutely do NOT agree that people should be cut out of your life or need to hit "rock bottom" in order to quit.
 
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If your son has been through rehab before and it has proven to be ineffective for him. You can try suboxone find a doctor in your area who prescribes suboxone but explain to him that he must be in withdrawal to get the medication. Methadone is another option but its well different. Suboxone and methadone are somewhat similar except that suboxone will allow the user to still be down to earth and function whereas methadone tends to keep peoples minds in outer-space.

Google suboxone doctors and click a result you will then enter your zip code. Without insurance it will be a bit pricey during the induction phase. Your son shouldn't be too resistant to it as suboxone allows the users to still feel a slight opiate like effect....Safely

Remember you can't ever force someone to get clean if you do then you will just waste your money. Good luck to you!
 
It sounds paradoxical, but the more tolerant and cool about his drug use, the chances are he will stop sooner. You have to talk to him, you can't get mad because think of how he feels. Do you know how bad it fucking feels to be addicted to a drug? It controls your life, you plan everything around drugs. I didn't want to go out of town in fear that I w5ouldn't find heroin or oxy to keep me steady. You have to talk to your son and explain to him the negative cons of using heroin and you have to just sit there and rich is life with other activities to do working out definitely helps and using a job c friends the more enriched life he has the less c o.

f using heroin
 
i think there are times and situations where cutting an addict out of your life
may be the only option.
i'm all for unconditional love.
i don't think i've ever had it..but it sounds awesome!
still..there are situations where it may be warranted..
and where the least selfish, best, most loving thing you could do for the addict..
is to allow them to follow their chosen path..
until they find another one.
i think it should be made clear that it's only temporary until their destructive
travel plans are behind them.

i also do absolutely believe some addicts have to hit rock bottom or they
will not clean up.
i also believe some addicts have no rock bottom..
and can become accustomed to anything..so long as they
have their d.o.c.
just my honest opinion.
i am an addict. i always will be.
i still believe all of ^^that^^up there.
:)
 
Krat0m said:
suboxone will allow the user to still be down to earth and function whereas methadone tends to keep peoples minds in outer-space.
Click to expand...

Don't agree with this AT ALL unless they are way over-dosed (which does happen often in the US) or just started methadone maintenance and aren't used to it yet. Have you ever been on methadone maintenance?? I do not recommend methadone maintenance for other reasons (just one example being that it causes a way worse dependence that is harder to quit than heroin and causes WAY longer withdrawal symptoms) but I am frustrated by the myth that methadone maintenance patients are constantly high, out of it or not able to function. Once stabilized on a proper maintenance dose one should not be getting any high from it. Which unfortunately often leads to people using heroin on top of their methadone if they don't do work on their mental addiction and the reasons they were using heroin in the first place.
 
It is important to prepare yourself in the event of an overdose. Please read this thread on managing opiate/opioid overdose. Depending on where you live you might be able to legally obtain Narcan (brand name for naloxone) which is a real life saver should your son have an overdose. I don't mean to scare you but it's good to be prepared.

I also think that this thread is better suited for The Dark Side.

Other Drugs --> TDS
 
While I agree w/ everyone that directing your anger toward him, especially during active addiction/early recovery, is not productive, keep in perspective that you have a right to be upset, if not flat out angry. Make sure you have somewhere to take the anger and resentment where it won't translate to emotional damage for you or your son. I would also advise against attending meetings w/ your son, as meetings and recovery denote a very personal undertaking, and he needs to feel safe and comfortable to talk about his addiction. He may be reserved and miss some of the benefits if you attend. If you like the idea of support meetings for you, check to see if there are Al-Anon meetings in your area. They are run just as 12 step meetings are, but they are for the addict's loved ones. It may serve as somewhat of a relief from the burden I'm sure you suffer.

If it is heroin - and it sounds like it is - then it will be an ugly battle escaping the addiction and he will need all the support in his corner he can get. Good luck to you and your son <3
 
^this
you can be on methadone maitenance and essentially be "normal". It's not really physically or mentally harmful, it's a physical addiction. Sucks, but preferable to a heroin or pill habit. You;re not impaired, you're just normal.....Unless you wanna fuck around and try to get high from methadone, which only lasts a few months,no matter what the dose....
 
There's no way of knowing what was in the bags, could be anything really. The thing with addicts though, is they won't stop unless they want to; nothing you say will make him stop unless you can get him to want it himself.
I know this must be an incredibly difficult position for you but try not to judge him or compare him to others who have managed to get through their addiction. Those people are very fortunate but it's not something to take lightly. Getting clean was one of the toughest things I ever had to do.
I think the best course of action is explaining to him (calmly, preferrably) simply how scared you are for him. Try not to get mad. If you know anyone who's a recovering addict it might help for them to talk as well.
 
^^ Yes, Pagey it's hard to remain calm. My son came back from rehab and he knew he's still on probation. I went off on him when he got high again on weed and also drank. He said to me "I learned in rehab how to communicate and you shouldn't shout at me"

I didn't know what to do. Give him a pat on the back and say "it's ok you slipped up son" or smack him in the face. I didn't have to because when we went to court he tested dirty again. So the judge had no choice but to send him to jail. I want to believe that he's learnt his lesson. Nope he got out of jail and got some xanax bars. I had to pick him up from school Friday because he passed out at school he was so high and they called me to pick him up.

So how do you handle this situation? There are no easy answers. I can't keep coddling him yet at the same time, I think he needs to go back to rehab. I hate to think what will happen when we have to appear in court again on the 19th. :(
 
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