How Do I Tell If She Is High

How do I tell when my girlfriend is high? It seems she always is.

What is the usual daily pattern? She is out nearly all the time (she doesn't live me). How much can she be getting through and how much will it be costing?
What if she is mixing it with 'P' - methamphetamin??

I just need to know how bad its got in 3 weeks

Hey Jimbo,

If you are close to her and you know the signs of drug use in general you will know if she is using. If she has only been using for 3 weeks then this is the most critical time as it doesn't take long for heroin to take hold.

I remember (way back when) when I was using (I'm now on Sub) that it started out small and before I knew it slowly over time one day I woke up and had a full on habit. If you love her, which you obviously do. You cared enough to ask for help on this forum. Sit her down and have a good heart to heart with her. It maybe that she is not using, it maybe something else.

I know I used to be an emotional user. Maybe she has some stuff going on at the moment that she is having problems dealing with.

Another good sign is check out the company she is keeping, that will tell you straight up what might be going on.

I hope for her sake you can help her.

Kyle

Look at eyes - pupils should be tiny, almost pin like and they won't react if she's in the dark etc. Seems dead tired, nodding off at odd times even whilst talking etc. Smokes? Brown stuff on teeth and lips. Injects? Marks on arms, backs of legs etc. Running out of money and wants more badly, stuff going missing - her jewellery, an valuables etc. I sold/pawned some of my stuff in that first little while thinking it was no biggie and I'd get it back when I decided to stop using. It's all long gone now - stop her before it gets too late.

3 weeks is a short period but she'll probably get physical effects if she tries to stop even now but not that bad so if she uses that as an excuse not to quit it's bullsh*t - beg her to stop.

I too was/am emotional user and suffer with depression, does this sound similar to her? Not everyone is the same.

I wish you luck.

L
x
Sorry mate just read your other post - thought she was a 'new' user.

If she was so addicted before and has jumped right back into it within 3 weeks in such a heavy way then it may seem she is determined to get back on it - I know I have been determined before and have nothing near 6 years use.

She probably does love you but when you love H it screws over all your other loves.

You can be there for her but if she doesn't want to quit and she has been down low before (you mentioned probation officer - not sure if related) then she knows the pitfalls and may just need to experience them again to wake her up.

I'm not saying you should let her do this to you or that you should dump her, just make sure you take care of yourself first off.

L
x
Also:
poor physcial condition, pale and generally out of condition,
strange stories to explain things
if she smokes, foil is needed so look for bits of scrunched up foil with black trails.
Small pupils are the same for methadone.
With heroin she will need a fix at least every 8 hours and will probably want to disappear for 1/2 an hour when a non-user is around.
Thanks guys. She was supposed to meet me today at 8:30 to talk. She cancelled it till 12 then never showed and turned her phone off. Its got her again. She has about 4 or 5 marks on her arms and hands. The other day I saw her in the am and checked her arms. When I saw her in the afternoon she has a really red nose and was sniffing and itching. Looking like crap.

I really think its got her again. She is only hanging with wasters. Shes gone. Will she ever get back????

She seems to see sense at 8 in the morning then is off till the nextday.
yes! she can come back. this needn't be a death sentence for her. from what you say, it sounds as though she is using (all that scratching, red nose, track marks etc doesn't sound too good). TRY talking to her to find out what she wants to do. does she think there is a problem? does she remember all the pain she went through last time she got clean?
unfortunately, most addicts have to go though the whole using/clean rollercoaster thing a few times before they get off the gear for good, so please don't think that she's a lost cause.
if, when you talk to her, she decides that she does want to stop, all you can do is be there to offer support and encouragement. also, access to a good doctor can really help, especially regarding treatment options, detox facilities, home detox medication.
if, on the other hand, she makes it clear that a) she doesn't think there's a problem or b) that she knows there's a problem but she doesn't WANT to stop, you might have the consider the tough option of an ultimatum. tell her you want to support her, but can't stand around and watch her destroy herself (and, in the process, her relationship with you.)
i realise it's hard to just walk away from someone you love, but in my experience, it was only when the people i cared about most made it clear that they just wouldn't tolerate my heroin use, when they turned their backs on me after i decided to keep using, that i finally took steps towards getting clean.
i know there's a risk this might make her say 'nobody cares anyway, i'll just go and f**k myself up completely.' but sometimes it gets to the point where there's nothing else you can do...
i really hope that if you talk to her she will open up and tell you what she wants to do. try asking her: 'is this the life you imagined for yourself when you were a little girl? is this really the person you want to be?'
good luck with everything, hope you've been able to gain something from the advice everyone as given you.
cheers, toni :-)
check out the Heroin Use thread from a couple of days ago for some more 'clues' regarding spotting when your girlfriends is high...
cheers guys

It pretty obvious she is well and truley using. She said she want to talk to me but just keeps putting it off and staying away from me. I think the only thing I can do is say if you donn't speak to me then there is nothing for me to be here for so goodbye, good luck and you in my prayers and thoughts.

Not the easiest thing to do but I can't sit and watch this happen and maybe if I go she will see some sense or really go hard and go right down. Maybe thats the way it happens.

Good luck to you all
You sound like a kiwi. New zealanders are the only people I know that call methamphetamine 'P.' So If u r she's prob not got an H habit but a morphine sulphate habit..doubling it with a.a to crude no.2 ..not really heroin although people like to think it is in NZ. Well...the two drugs(meth and morphine) are about as polar extreme as you can get..is she banging em up as a kind of meth/morphine speedball?...can be dangerous..i'd be more concerned with the meth use..is she paranoid/delusional? The opiates chill psychosis out a little but at the expense of a habit..not really worth it. Find out what you can..let her know there's help out there if she wants it. We don't need to do this by ourselves..get clean and stay clean..i mean. Keep coming back....:)
yeah mate,kiwi

She has been shooting P. She told me that. And has mixed it. What the hell is this other stuff?
How similar to smack is it?

I'm supposed to see her and talk in 40 mins so here goes giving it all my understanding and support and hope she comes with an open (clean) mind.

She still seems to be getting the nods and is dopey not speedy though? Shooting P must give you a buzz not a drift off???

We'll see
thanks dude
Thought so..I spent most of the last two years(clean) in NZ and became familiar with the lingo. Morphine sulpahte's an opiate like H but not as strong. Because heroin is almost impossible to get in NZ the junkies(opiate addicts) use morphine sulphate and cook it with a.a (acetic anhydride) which turns it into a crude no.2 preparation. When people talk about heroin they mean no.4 most of the time but to get to no.4 there is a long and drawn out refining process. Junkies in NZ also use "homebake," made from pills like panadeine where the codeine(an opiate) is separated from the rest of the s*** into an injectable solution... kiwi ingenuity. Drug addicts will go to any length to get what they need/want. In NZ beacuse drugs are so expensive most of the addicts I knew hit their rock bottom usually beacuse of financial constraints..forced into crime..arrested..maybe a number of times before seeking help. Lots also get on methadone maintenance(an opiate substitute supplied legally) which blocks the effects of morphine..but methadone's harder to kick than morphine and heroin and can add years to active addiction. It took me five years to get of methadone...horrible stuff. With methamphetamine...NOT to be confused with methadone most hard core users eventually reach a stage where they become paranoid and delusional called "paraniod psychosis." ....usually beleiving the cops have bugged your house...everyone's an undercover cop etc...sometimes with violent mood swings and bizarre behaviour. Nasty s*** ..methamphetamine. I lived in auckland most of the time I was in NZ..if you're there..i can put you in touch with some organisations that can help her..if not..help you. When someone's addicted it effects all those around them. NA(narcotics anonymous) has a strong fellowship throughout NZ and there are open meetings(anyone can go..have a look..investigate)..NA kept me clean in NZ the whole time I was there. Where there is life there is hope..trust me...I was what doctors called "hopeless," but now live a productive, happy life...although this is what I want..the desire has to come from the addict..You can push them in the right direction but it's like they say..you can lead a horse to water etc.....Good luck...God bless....keep coming back. :)
Thanks for your last mail.

I caught up with her today and she actually talked to me about what she has been doing. She had just banged up 70 mig of done to see me as she thought I would be mad then patted me down to make sure I didn't have a mic.!???

Shes been doing P, Mistys, Riviys (???) and injecting her done which she has been on for 2.5 years.
She said she OD last week but hasn't been doing it everyday. Last week she didn't do anything for 3 days.

Her major thing that seems to be freaking her out is she has no money for rent (as it was being paid for by Uni which she has dropped out from) and her bills.

She is in a mess as she thinks she with have to go and work as a pro. She has done that before when using.

She says there is no other way and if she does she will have to use more gear to get through it. If she gets kicked out her flat she says she will have to move in with her new junkie mate. The same one that lost it last week and put a belt and pillow case over her head and tried to kill her!!!

I talked her through her methadone dopyness and pointed out a few options, like asking her parents to help and being honest to them, or appying for a loan to get the bills paid, or the final one was I pay this weeks bills so she has a week to get somethings sorted out if she stops from now.

She said she wanted to stop completely. I said if she wanted to and wanted to stay clean I will fix her bills up on the condition she comes and sees me this afternoon, straight and with a plan on paper of whats she needs to get done and by when and how she plans to stay clean. she seems really scared and frightened of where she is going and what she is doing.

Its now 7:30pm and no word.

She does seem to be caught in a vicious circle but I can't just bail her out and let her carry on till next week.

Thanks for your support.
The eyes get pinned. They become very small while normal eye size will be far larger. But I have a question for you? What is really going on here? People just don't go out and buy drugs. Then they normally don't start getting strung out unless there is an unknown history. And that is what I would be asking about.