Clues To See If A Family Member Is Using?

My sister has been going to the methodone clinic for the past 9 months. I don't think she's clean. At this very moment, she's asleep, standing straight up, in the kitchen, going on 5 hours. She keeps falling down, smacking her head into cabinets and appliances, she's eating everything, and I just bet her $100 that she would not pass a drug test tomorrow morning. My sister says it's the methodone, which dose she had no later than noon today (if at all). Upwards of 14 hours ago. She said it would take 7 days to feel the effects of dope if she decided to use. She's out running from morning until night, comes back and turns on all the lights in the house and jumps at every noise. The thing that has me stumped is that some nights she doesn't sleep at all. She cleans all night, nonstop, no nodding out, and on these nights she doesn't eat a thing.

I'm stuck. I don't know what to do. I can't sleep because I'm afraid she's going to really hurt herself and need help, so I keep checking on her. Also, the thumping of her hitting the floor keeps pi**ing me off.

I'd be grateful for any insight, or any examples of how an addict's family has helped them.
alot of people that i've known who go on meth aways ending up using sum kind of speedy drug like, coke, crack, meth.
i dont no what it is but alot of people seem to go that way why on methodone.

u say she dosn't sleep and is cleaning all night doing werid stuff around the house. this is common behavior for sumone on crack or coke.

this is just my obsevation. maybe it could help.
cleaning all night long and not eating? that sounds like methamphetamine to me. when i was a speedfreak i would stay up for hours on end cleaning, organizing, doing crossword puzzles all night long. meth (not methadone) also causes a lot of paranoia which could explain why all the lights are on. I know this sounds gross but if he/she is sweating alot and the sweat is especially pungent then i'd suspect it be speed. coke or crack you need to keep doing all night to stay up while with meth it only take one or two lines and you're set for 8-12 hours. It wouldn't be uncommon...anyway thats just from what you've told me. I'd think they were on speed. hope this helps.

-morph
Hey Brenda,

I pretty much agree with the above replies, there are lots of experienced people on this site and it's a real learning curve reading others perspectives on things.

I am addicted to Crystal Meth and I will spend all night cleaning, sorting out paperwork, clearing out drawers, sorting through old boxs, non stop, and when I'm on it I don't eat much.

But when i was on heroin and methadone I didn't eat much either, on heroin I just wanted to lie in bed smoking cigarettes and nodding out.

My x brother-in-law on the other hand would be the cleaning freak on heroin. I could never understand it, I just wanted to lie down and feel it's peace, but honestly he would clean the entire house!

I never nodded out standing up on heroin, but funny enough I have on GHB which I drink once or twice a week. If over dose myself, it doesn't matter where I am when it kicks in I will pass out right there, standing, sitting, typing on my computer, the positions I've woken up in are mad!! But that is probably not what your sis is doing.

couple of questions:

1. Does the methodone program she is on test her for using other drugs such as methamphetamine or coke? If not she could be taking these as an alternative to get high because she knows there will be no proof.
2. Does she have to go to a centre for her daily dose of methadone or does she get take home doses (ie for the weekend) if she does get to take some home she could be misusing it, like taking two doses at once to get high, which could explain the nodding out.

Hope this helps? just my personal experiences with stuff, it might relate or it might not. Hope you find the answer though, let us know how things are going.

Take care,
Charmed

Charmed,
pardon my ignorance, but I thought you couldn't get high on methadone. I thought it was used so you don't get high. I don't know, just asking. Also, I've been following your posts along with your beautiful writing and hoping and praying that you get a handle on your addiction hon, I just think your such a sweet, caring and nice person, I'd hate to see the drugs ruin you. Briar
Thanks Briar!

Um, as far as methadone goes, I have never gotten high off it or had the nods, but I was always on a fairly low dose of it. I have friends who are not physically addicted to opiates who have used it to get high and go on the nod. Also there was this guy in rehab with me one time who i don't think was physically addicted because while the rest of us still felt a bit crappy on the low dose of methadone given, he was nodding off in our meetings! It is not prescribed to get people high, but if the dose given is mistakenly too high or if it is abused, then yes it can get you high and even get you on the nods.

hope that makes sense? Thanks for the kind words too Briar, I really appreciate it

Hugs
Charmed
My advice would be to trust your instincts. It definitely sounds like she is using something. Methadone can get you high if you take enough of it and it does NOT prevent you from getting high if you use other drugs, but I don't think meth alone would cause what you're describing. Your sister said something about it taking 7 days until she could get high, you can use heroin and methadone at the same time it doesn't matter. I am not an addict (my bf is an ex-addict) but everyone I've ever know that has been on methadone has ended up abusing it and still using other drugs. I have heard great things about suboxone (which DOES prevent you from getting high if you do H) and my bf is on naltrexone it has worked great for him. You have to be clean for a couple days before you can take either of these or it will make you sick, but if she can do that I would recommend she try that. It only blocks the opiate high so she could still do coke, speed, etc. When my bf was on H that is exactly how he acted, cleaning all night but nodding off at the same time. It made him really hyper, although he said it made him feel calm mentally. When he was on it he couldn't sit down for a minute without getting up to do something, then he would almost fall asleep then jump up and start running around again. It was so annoying. Heroin makes thier pupils really tiny so that is how you can tell, but the meth might do this too. I don't think it would be as dramatic of a change if she was taking the correct dose of meth but I'm not sure.
you have to be on a high dose of methadone to stay off the other stuff one of the side effects of methadone is to nod and I have seen many people standing up or bending forward slightly of great lenghts of time but for your sister to become hyper most likely she is doing meth amphetamine or similiar or she may be having bi-polar episodes
Wow, I'm so happy that I posted my message here. I've learned a lot. My sister is supposed to go to the clinic daily, between 6am and noon, to get her "dose". She only gets a take home bottle on Saturdays. She does not go every day. She used to get up and go to the clinic every morning like clockwork. She is drug tested on Tuesdays, and she normally spends all of Monday at home, sleeping. I found a little black bag in her cigarette pack, about the size of a dime squared, and it had white residue on the sides. I found a small metal rod in her purse, one end of it obviously burned (we used to find these all over the place before her first stint in rehab). She is passing the drug tests at the methodone clinic. She can fail 3, and then she can't go back to the clinic. How long does heroin and crack stay in the system? I know synthetic urine can be purchased, but that's pretty expensive to buy every week.
Hey Brenda,

Both heroin and crystal meth stay in your system 72 hours (3 days.) If she gets tested on Tuesdays she can get away with using either from tues arvo to Thurs night. If she saves her sat take home methadone and takes on another day she would be doubling her dose which would most likely get her high. But if she is not going to the clinic every day then really there is no doubt she is using heroin again! You take methadone every day for a reason - withdrawals!

The methadone programs I've been on did random tests (but never on the weekend) so you could only get away with using on a friday. But if you failed once you were out. They also watched ya pee so it would have been pretty hard to fake.

Hope this helps
Charmed