I think curiosity has a lot to do with PD users falling into opioid usage. People who use psychedelics more than once are by nature very curious--and often skeptical--people, and we hear things like "Nothing in your life will ever feel as amazing as your first dose of heroin!" and wonder "How is it possible for anything to feel
that good?" Reading about people's love affairs with opioids here has frequently made me wonder that same thing. "I dunno... MDxx feels pretty damn good, is *insert opioid of choice here* really that much better, or is it just easier to get?" A large part of the epidemic (re-)sweeping America right now is due to how flippantly doctors will write you a script for anything. I've danced with Tramadol in the past (apples and oranges, I know, or maybe oranges and grapefruits) but after experiencing serotonin syndrome on a prescription-level dose my belief that the high from "real" opioids can't possibly be worth the associated costs has only been reinforced...but I think a lot of people don't really have a good grasp of what those costs can be. Your average Joe isn't going to get on BL and research the potential harm or see these heart-rending stories before taking the first step on that slippery slope. Heck, even extremely smart people who are constantly around this wealth of information (e.g. Xorkoth) can still fall prey to curiosity, overconfidence, depression, or even just extreme pain.
Anyway, I'm rambling. I really do hope you can pull through this, dreamflyer, and get back to being the awesome, successful person you obviously are. Same goes for you, Cream Gravy?.

I'm happy (relieved?) to say I haven't gone there, and these raw, emotional confessions really help cement my resolve
not to go there. So thank you for sharing, and please keep sharing, so that folks like psy997 and I won't ever shrug and think, "Well, maybe just once." Now, meth on the other hand...
j/k

. I made the mistake of trusting a source once and took some MDxx while on L without testing and found out it was cut with meth...that shit was the worst. So stimmy and manic.
Xorkoth, it seems like we have a fair bit in common as far as personal history. My wife is in exactly the same boat as your girlfriend, actually. (Minus the controlling father, though he's certainly bullheaded...but so is she

.) It's great that she has your support and understanding; it makes a world of difference in a person's ability to handle the valleys, even if we can't make them "better." (It's crazy frustrating, though, isn't it? Not knowing what to do for them other than
be there.)
This isn't a recommendation, but simply a question: Have you two considered an ibogaine flood dose as a PTSD treatment? I'd be very interested to know your thoughts on the matter. Actually, a couple weeks before I returned to BL from my lengthy hiatus I stumbled across your expansive--and rather entertaining--iboga trip report on Erowid while I was researching various treatment options for my wife. (The state of mental health care in Japan is bollocks, but she's loathe to leave, especially for the dumpster fire that is the United States right now.) In my case, I ultimately decided not to even bring it up because she has a heart condition which, while minor, may be exacerbated by the ibogaine. She won't touch traditional psychedelics anymore after a bad shroom trip torn down some precariously-constructed emotional foundation and made her feel like any progress she'd made in getting over her past had taken two large steps backward. I know it's selfish of me, but after so much of our early relationship was entwined with--and perhaps accelerated by--psychedelic forays together, I feel like I've lost an adventuring partner. Tripping hasn't been the same without her, though she fortunately does not begrudge me for continuing to do so. But perhaps this is a topic for another board...
By the way, I really hope politics doesn't screw up your town. By all accounts you live in an amazing place! I can't wait to get out of Japan and find somewhere that suits me. It'll be hard to leave national healthcare behind, though

.
pharmakos, I'm pulling hard for you! I lost an aunt to cancer. I've also had a high school friend with testicular cancer and while he lost one of his jewels he's been cancer-free for a few years now. Keep hope alive!