How do you limit yourself to the sweet ambrosia?(opiates)

[snowlife]

I have an opiate habit that I'm quite fond of and I don't think I plan on giving it up anytime soon. My opiate of choice is hydro although if oxy's come around I certainly won't turn my nose up at them.

My dose is roughly 60mg although it's +-20 mg depending on my mood. So I receive a monthly script of 90 pills and every time I receive the script I tell myself "Now you are going to dose one day on and one day off, or you will only dose 4 days out of this week" Now I have every intention of doing this, but somehow opiates provide sufficient reinforcement for daily use.

When I run out of my pills which happens far short of the end of the month, I will usually taper down for the last couple of days and then I will just be without for a week or so. I never get withdrawals more than the yawns and the runny nose- thank God- and Ienjoy the breaks as a way to get myself clean. (although opiates have a way of consistently being on my mind)

So my long-winded question is simply how have you occassional opiate users i.e. simply those that aren't using on a daily basis, been able to moderate yourself to using every other day, or just a few days a week? I would love to hear real responses from BL'rs that are actually implementing specific techniques to help them achieve controlled uses, I don't need to hear comments about how every opiate habit will eventually turn habitual, or platitudes about how it's simply a matter of discipline.

Thanks for the responses. Bluelight is the best

 

[paradoxcycle]

I'm not sure if this will help you but I will tell you this: the only reason my use is under control is because I allow someone else to control it for me. That is really the only way I can guarantee moderation.

 

[tintintin]

I find its very hard (if not impossible) to moderate my heroin use while I have some sat in my wallet.
So I just buy a gram every month or two weeks depending on the amount of free time and money I have. I will then use every morning day and night before it runs out. It normally takes me about 5-7 days of constant heroin addict use till it runs out.
Then I stop for a few weeks. The first few days I find it very hard to sleep (Just as I do on the first days of use) and will take some codeine linctus and OTC sleep aids. After a couple of days I feel normal again.
I find this is the best way to keep tolerance down and stop getting properly addicted.

 

[rachamim18]

Well...

Subjectively I cannot really honestly answer that right now as I have ebeen on methadone almost continuously since 94. However, what worked in the past and what I plant to do this time around [currently detoxing] is to intersperse my opiate use with opioid substitutions in 3 day intervals. In other words: If I do end up using opiates past my intended parameters, I will only use heroin for 3 days, then use methadone for the next 3 days, and so on. Hopefully though it will not come to that. I would just like to use a couple of days a week but knowing my history I hqave to plan ahead.

 

[fastandbulbous]

I'm not sure if this will help you but I will tell you this: the only reason my use is under control is because I allow someone else to control it for me. That is really the only way I can guarantee moderation.

There you go! With something as seductive as opiates, the idea of being able to maintain long term self control over opiate dosing (esp if you have loads of the stuff sitting around, as you do) is only for the sort of people who have well beyond the normal levels of self censorship (martial arts experts etc). Your average bod, esp if they really like opiates, is inevitably going to slip up

 

[vilbe]

the self control part, takes practice and time....

 

[paradoxcycle]

Originally posted by fastandbulbous
There you go! With something as seductive as opiates, the idea of being able to maintain long term self control over opiate dosing (esp if you have loads of the stuff sitting around, as you do) is only for the sort of people who have well beyond the normal levels of self censorship (martial arts experts etc). Your average bod, esp if they really like opiates, is inevitably going to slip up

You can PM me about this but I'm curious.... how do you do it?

 

[lazy]

When i used opiates i also would have to have somebody else control it. you know this statement."hold these for me and dont let me have any until friday." the next morning,"yeah um, i know what i said yesterday but can you give me a few?" if you have a good freind they will tell you to fuck off, but opiates were the only drug besides weed that i could do everyday.

 

[fastandbulbous]

^ Now this is a one that works for any drug. Give it to your s/o and tell them to put them somewhere out of the road until the weekend. For me that means until Friday night, it is 'somewhere safe' and that's all I need to know!

 

[paradoxcycle]

Originally posted by fastandbulbous
^ Now this is a one that works for any drug. Give it to your s/o and tell them to put them somewhere out of the road until the weekend. For me that means until Friday night, it is 'somewhere safe' and that's all I need to know!

Same here. I trust her 100%, I know that she has amazing self-control and when Saturday rolls around she's going to make sure we both get high.

 

[rachamim18]

But...

That is not really a realistic option because a true addict would sell their soul for a hit and giving it to any other person will just result in a hell of alot of tension. I have tried that in the past and all it has caused is a lot of fights.

P.S.: I am still looking into trimeperidine, etc.

 

[gloggawogga]

1) Have other things in your life that you live for other than opiates, i.e. good spousal and family relationships, friends, academic and career goals, hobbies, etc.

2) Find other ways to relax your mind/body other than opiates, i.e. excersise, dance, yoga, breathwork, martial arts, meditation, etc. Learn to use these to chill the days you don't do opiates.

3) As already suggested, get someone to hold your stash.

4) Self discipline. I don't you don't want to hear it but you are still going to need lots of good 'ol self discipline. Because sooner or later, (1), (2) and (3) above are going to fail you. Sooner or later you will have a day that your family relationships aren't going well, your boss is on the fucking rag, you can't seem to relax and meditate, you can't excersise becuase of an injury, and the person that held onto your stash is using an obvious hiding place and you know where it is. On that day you will need self discipline, plain and simple, there is no other way.

 

[tr0pic]

dude, I'm pretty much in the same position as you, except I don't recieve 90/mo anymore =P
I prefer hydro to anything, as that's what I'm perscribed, so basically I prefer it due to the availability. I always tell myself the same thing that you said in your post; pretty much "hey, take it easy this time." Then I run out way before month's end (aka - refill time) and I go about a week or two of very mild withdrawls - anxiety, stomach problems, runny nose, and worst of all, the ailment in which I need the perscription for is intensified. Sometimes inbetween perscriptions I'll seek some hydros, or more never than ever, some oxy, which compared to a $5 co-pay for a bottle is a mere rip-off and usually a waste of time. Every perscription refill, I tell myself to taper, or stash away 10 or so for when I "really" need it. But, when I have a bottle of 45 sitting in my cabinet it's a lot harder to rationalize what I should be doing. I'm not really addicted, if it wern't for the pain I am in, I could go with out them, but I like them way too much, mainly because they take care of my problem better then any other medication I've tried (ultram, darvs, and even low doses of oxy), and hell... because they are fun. One thing I am proud of, is that I've successfully lowered my tolerance during those off weeks to the point where a 40-50mg buzz is no longer necessary (20-30 will do it pretty well).

If I were you, and you really want to control it, I'd follow
paradoxcycle's method. I'm thinking of doing such with the script I just recieved today. Giving 10 or 15 pills to my girlfriend or someone who doesn't enjoy them as much as me to hold on to, and give them to me as really needed opposed to when I want them =)

 

[rachamim18]

Ha...

Glogg: I do not want to disparage you but for an actual addict thoise tips do not mean a thing. IT goes way beyond any conscious decision or discipline.

 

[tr0pic]

^ I don't want to disparage you, but I don't think this thread was really geared towards actual addicts, as the original poster mentioned

 

[ItchySkratchy]

for awhile when I first started using heroin I would only go on short runs where I wouldn't get too sick to where I couldn't work.....Then, I'd take 3-4 days off (from dope) until I felt 100% again, and repeat the cycle.....Plus, I supported my habit completely by working hard....I had too much of a guilty conscience to rob + steal......

Boy did that all change fast.......

BUT, heroin can posess you like that, or for some, it doesn't....I'm not saying that everyone ends up a junkie, but I sure did without even relizing what was happening......But I'm a good guy....I know that, and so do most people I meet......but if you met me while I was all junked out???? different story/.....

 

[xxanxx]

I think the majority of heroin/opiate users who use with any regularity become addicted to some degree. Its really a matter of availability and self-control. Even people with the greatest of willpower can become serious junkies, especially if it is readily available. That said, there is a large number of responsible opiate users who posses some sort of freakishly strong will and can successfully use for extended periods of time; but even those users can occasionaly struggle with mental/physical addiction.

 

[soundphaRm]

^^ I grapple with that daily. I have a back injury (one herniating disc, w/ 4 compression Fx of the thoracic vertebrae). I use opiates sporadically (as supply in my area isn't exactly great) mostly for pain (also for its seeming antidepressant effects that allow me to feel normal). I'm also a CCRN on life-flight w/ access to whatever you want. All my doc will prescribe for the pain (remember I'm on my feet all day) is Ultram?!
But, I guess I'm one of those "functioning addicts" that you were taliking about, but I make enough money to support a family of 5 (3 girls...yea for me...8(), so I've made a promise to myself to never swipe from work, just buy it elsewhere (if I can get it)...I was thinking the other day about possibly starting a support group called Nurses on Methadone (or a band/song)...
But trust me, no patient I've had has had to go through any undue suffering because I make sure of it.

 

[cannabis sativa]

when i was an opiate user i would only allow myself to get high once a week and that worked for about a year. however, as soon as i obtained a good supplier and went through some depression that went out the window and i began using them every day. i eventually quit before i developed any real addiction though.

 

[Jamshyd]

As has been mentioned before... self discipline only lasts for a while...

Not to flaunt, but I have unbelievably good self-disciplin. I had never been addicted to any drug (and I tried them all).

I had had many ego-humbling experiences with psychedelics, but there is absolutely nothing more humbling than the claws on Morpheus' fingers as he gives you that indescribable hug. They dig so deep into you, that it would cost you your life to pull them out.

Point in case, the only thing that ever broke through my self-discipline was opiates. Sure, cocaine can lead to self-readministration while it lasts, but I have total control on when I buy it. With opiates, even that is a bit different....

I also agree that giving your drugs to someone else can cause a LOT of tension.

The ONLY way to prevent opiate addiction, IMO, is to never, ever take opiates, Not even once. But who are we kidding...

(Btw, I am refering just to the psychological addiction. Physical dependence is the icing on this cake).