SCREENING FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE
CAGE-AID
In the last 3 months:
C Have you felt you should Cut down or stop using
drugs?
A Has anyone Annoyed you by criticizing your drug
use?
G Have you felt Guilty about your drug use?
E Have you ever wanted to use drugs (Eye-opener)
first thing in the morning?
Each yes answer indicates a possible problem. Two or
more indicates a likely problem.
I could have answered "yes" to all of these and still not known that I was an addict; denial is that strong. If you're looking at this site, you probably already have an inkling there's a problem. Remember, addicts aren't bad people trying to get good. We're sick people trying to get well.
Good luck and keep coming back.
Gina
| QUOTE |
| If you're looking at this site, you probably already have an inkling there's a problem. |
That's always a dead give away.LOL.....and yet you will even hear things like"I just came by here accidently."
LMAO, Tim, I did come here accidentally. I was doing some research for an entirely unrelated article. At the time, I thought that the only problem I had with drugs was that I couldn't get a steady supply of them.
I ended up here accidently as well...I was ready to cross that line and buy pills over the internet, I landed here instead. Is that God putting something in my path? Probably. I was all of those things that you listed Gina...that and more.
Lisa
I found this site doing the exact same thing. Surfing the web for net pharms. God was looking out for me that day.
Michelle
I found this site doing the exact same thing. Surfing the web for net pharms. God was looking out for me that day.
Michelle
I think a lot of people find this site while they're surfing for OPs. Our counterbalancing sales pitch:
"ARG: Let us be your new addiction."
"ARG: Let us be your new addiction."
Great post Gina!
When I came here I could definitely answer yes to all of those questions! I came here also accidentally on purpose...LOL...I was looking for find relief for what I believed to be w/d symtoms. I got clean for real probably about a year later, maybe more.
I learned alot here and am very grateful for this site.
ps....go check your mail!
When I came here I could definitely answer yes to all of those questions! I came here also accidentally on purpose...LOL...I was looking for find relief for what I believed to be w/d symtoms. I got clean for real probably about a year later, maybe more.
I learned alot here and am very grateful for this site.
ps....go check your mail!
I came here looking for an easy way out of addiction and withdrawals..and didn't find it..
And I sincerely thank you folks for setting me straight back then. (Seriously)
And I sincerely thank you folks for setting me straight back then. (Seriously)
I started out posting on the MJ forum because I thought that was the drug I had a problem with. It was illegal and it was messing up my lungs. The percocet was doctor-prescribed for legitimate pain, for goodness sake. (Though I never took it when I had migraines -- why waste a perfectly good high?)
What I found here was that I wasn't the only soccer mom in the world with a bottle full of "mother's little helpers." I found out that the drugs weren't the problem; I was the problem. I found that there was a life after drugs better than the life I had even before I started using.
I also found out that I don't have nearly as many migraines now that I'm off the pills. Imagine that. LOL
What I found here was that I wasn't the only soccer mom in the world with a bottle full of "mother's little helpers." I found out that the drugs weren't the problem; I was the problem. I found that there was a life after drugs better than the life I had even before I started using.
I also found out that I don't have nearly as many migraines now that I'm off the pills. Imagine that. LOL
Gina...
That's what I need to find out for myself I guess...
" I found that there was a life after drugs better than the life I had even before I started using."
I can't even imagine in my wildest dreams.
That's what I need to find out for myself I guess...
" I found that there was a life after drugs better than the life I had even before I started using."
I can't even imagine in my wildest dreams.
I don't usually post on this end of the boards (I'm a fam/friends gal), but I like reading all the boards and this post really struck me for some reason.
You guys have spread hope that addiction can be beaten. Reading what all of you have to say, about how at first you "didn't have a problem" but eventually came to the realization that this was not true... how people can reach a deep bottom and manage to climb out with wonderful strength and courage...
You have personally given me hope that some day my little sister will gain that insight and will be clean not because she is currently forced to by my parents/her probation officer (17 and on probation for coke), but because she sees that she can have a better life without all of her drugs. Thank you all! Just goes to show you never know who you are helping :-)
And a prayer for Jodi, too.
love, Marla
You guys have spread hope that addiction can be beaten. Reading what all of you have to say, about how at first you "didn't have a problem" but eventually came to the realization that this was not true... how people can reach a deep bottom and manage to climb out with wonderful strength and courage...
You have personally given me hope that some day my little sister will gain that insight and will be clean not because she is currently forced to by my parents/her probation officer (17 and on probation for coke), but because she sees that she can have a better life without all of her drugs. Thank you all! Just goes to show you never know who you are helping :-)
And a prayer for Jodi, too.
love, Marla
Hey!
Of course I answered yes to all the questions! I almost chocked myself by throwing down, literally, a handful of pills. Its becoming more and more apparent that I can't control this usage at all. I promise myself every day that I'll only take my daily allotment, yesterday I took my daily allotment and the next day's by 11:00 am. I found this forum looking for online meetings. As much as I b**** about the meetings, I do know thats the best thing out there.
It's a long story that I won't bore you with now, but I kinda fell into recovery once before and it lasted 8 years. Every day felt like a miracle, my life became fantastic for a while. I guess I keep hoping it will happen again. Like recovery's gonna hit me like the flu.
I keep coming here because it does give me hope and it does help.
Of course I answered yes to all the questions! I almost chocked myself by throwing down, literally, a handful of pills. Its becoming more and more apparent that I can't control this usage at all. I promise myself every day that I'll only take my daily allotment, yesterday I took my daily allotment and the next day's by 11:00 am. I found this forum looking for online meetings. As much as I b**** about the meetings, I do know thats the best thing out there.
It's a long story that I won't bore you with now, but I kinda fell into recovery once before and it lasted 8 years. Every day felt like a miracle, my life became fantastic for a while. I guess I keep hoping it will happen again. Like recovery's gonna hit me like the flu.
I keep coming here because it does give me hope and it does help.
| QUOTE |
| I can't even imagine in my wildest dreams. |
I'm telling you Jodi, it's true. I know right now it's hard, you can never deal without or deal with things in life that suck but its true. You life is 1000 times better when free of everything.
You're going to get there.
Promise.
Once I got clean I found out that my migraines weren't that bad either, Gina. Didn't have as many bounce back headaches either. Also found out that Exedrin worked way better than percocet. Gee, imagine that.
Marla, I think a lot of people are in recovery because circumstances (like your sister's) force them to be. With any luck she'll find people who will ask her what she wants from life, what will make her happy and fulfilled, and will help her realize the ways in which getting clean will make these things happen. Good luck to both of you.
Jodi, I hope someday you'll be ready to make that leap of faith. I remember in your place, I didn't believe a better life to be possible either. I promise you, it is. More than anything else, t's a perceptual shift, like those magic 3-D paintings. You stare and you stare and it's just a bunch of dots, then suddenly you look at it a little differently and the image resolves. The important thing is not to give up and look away.
Lisa, I had a migraine start the other day and used my peppermint oil migrastick. There's always a moment when I sit there and think, "This can't possibly work," but I was shepherding four teenagers to lunch so even if I wasn't an addict, percocet wouldn't have been an option at that time. Five minutes later, the beginnings of that headache had vanished.
Lola, I remember vividly mornings I'd wake up and say, "I'm not taking a pill until 10." And not 30 seconds later, I'd be swallowing one. As long as they were around, I couldn't quit. It wasn't a question of willpower. In your place, with legitimate pain, I think you need to hand your pills over to someone to hold.
Jodi, I hope someday you'll be ready to make that leap of faith. I remember in your place, I didn't believe a better life to be possible either. I promise you, it is. More than anything else, t's a perceptual shift, like those magic 3-D paintings. You stare and you stare and it's just a bunch of dots, then suddenly you look at it a little differently and the image resolves. The important thing is not to give up and look away.
Lisa, I had a migraine start the other day and used my peppermint oil migrastick. There's always a moment when I sit there and think, "This can't possibly work," but I was shepherding four teenagers to lunch so even if I wasn't an addict, percocet wouldn't have been an option at that time. Five minutes later, the beginnings of that headache had vanished.
Lola, I remember vividly mornings I'd wake up and say, "I'm not taking a pill until 10." And not 30 seconds later, I'd be swallowing one. As long as they were around, I couldn't quit. It wasn't a question of willpower. In your place, with legitimate pain, I think you need to hand your pills over to someone to hold.
When I came here I had just stopped oxycontin. I was still very sick from it despite still taking large quantities of lortab, xanax and pheno barb. The oxy was what totally hooked me and I took the other stuff to avioid the w/d's every month when I ran out early. I thought I was being responsible. Very quickly I started taking the rest of it compulsively, as the oxy had changed me forever. I no longer had any control over intoxicationg substances. None. It took me a long time to see that and stop it all completely. A long time. So much justified b.s. Now I look back on that desperation and realize how much misery I could have saved myself if I had just listened. But my brain had been hijacked, and it took awhile to admit it.
When people come here seeking a way to stop self medicating, I hope that (now after a year of some bad/thoughtless/irresponsible advice) I can help in a way that doesn't jeapordize anyone's recovery. It's a long hard road in coming to terms with being a drug addict. I always think I have the answers, but when it comes to my addiction, I've learned the painful lesson I don't.
Nice thread Gina. Thanks.
Beck
When people come here seeking a way to stop self medicating, I hope that (now after a year of some bad/thoughtless/irresponsible advice) I can help in a way that doesn't jeapordize anyone's recovery. It's a long hard road in coming to terms with being a drug addict. I always think I have the answers, but when it comes to my addiction, I've learned the painful lesson I don't.
Nice thread Gina. Thanks.
Beck
| QUOTE |
| But my brain had been hijacked |
Bingo...except it demands to be taken to the drug or liquor store instead of Cuba!
Good thread, Gina.
I'm feeling sentimental. I'm finally back at my desk in the living room with a new computer. I am in the exact spot where I was sitting when I found this board. I typed in addiction and it brought me here. In this spot I found the answers I needed to get clean. In this spot I practically lived on this computer through wd.
I was held until I could crawl, my hand held until I could walk on my own and watched over until I was running free. Did this board save my life? Absolutely not. But some people I met here did and the association that I found here has brought much joy into my life.
The answers are still here for any of you who may be lurking. If you're seriously thinking about getting clean and finding life again, there are people here who can and will show you how. I was more than willing to listen and that's the key.
I considered it an honor that anyone would bother helping me out of my nightmare. I respected and apreciated any and all advice because my way sure wasn't working. At the time I was surprised that strangers would even bother helping me, it made sense shortly afterwards. This is what we do. We give it away to keep it. But it's more than that, it's just simple humanity. We've been there, felt the pain and we know there's a way out. We wish that for all.
xxxxxxxooooooo
I'm feeling sentimental. I'm finally back at my desk in the living room with a new computer. I am in the exact spot where I was sitting when I found this board. I typed in addiction and it brought me here. In this spot I found the answers I needed to get clean. In this spot I practically lived on this computer through wd.
I was held until I could crawl, my hand held until I could walk on my own and watched over until I was running free. Did this board save my life? Absolutely not. But some people I met here did and the association that I found here has brought much joy into my life.
The answers are still here for any of you who may be lurking. If you're seriously thinking about getting clean and finding life again, there are people here who can and will show you how. I was more than willing to listen and that's the key.
I considered it an honor that anyone would bother helping me out of my nightmare. I respected and apreciated any and all advice because my way sure wasn't working. At the time I was surprised that strangers would even bother helping me, it made sense shortly afterwards. This is what we do. We give it away to keep it. But it's more than that, it's just simple humanity. We've been there, felt the pain and we know there's a way out. We wish that for all.
xxxxxxxooooooo
bump for newcomers
I LOVE reading this thread.
