How Long Does This Last?

i have not been using for very long. well, i was snorting it,but coke was drug of choice until some friends showed me how to shoot it (heroin). that was about a 3 weeks or so. since then i have been progressing into 3 bags a day. it is 3.5 days without it now and i still feel strange. i dont know what i can do to stop this feeling. i dont ever want to use again. i cut off my "enablers", threw out my paraphanalia, told a friend, cuz no one had any idea i even sniff coke. i feel generally crappy, cant sleep, cant eat, hot cold, though no real sweats. i am just wondering if it continues or if i am possibly through the worst. what an awesome high, what an awful thing we do to ourselves. i NEVER thought id be shooting drugs in a parking lot cuz i couldnt wait to get home. i NEVER thought id ever shoot drugs to begin with. i get high with my stepsister. she is the one who showed me. so when i decided that this is only going to get worse, i decided that instead of going into detox, i would just DO IT MYSELF. which, i didnt think that after only a month, could be so wretchful. (she basically uses me cuz i have money and a nice place to live.) since weve stopped she gets the methadone off the streets, her friends brother is an addict. so while i was going nuts she was "ok". i went to her house to get a xanex to sleep and she was shooting when i got there. i was very upset,hurt and it just wasnt something i needed to see. so i cut her off. i know shes going to return to my life, but i dont want her around me if she is on it. i can tell. i cant look at her dopy eyes and not want a f****** needle. how long does it take till i feel like me again? im smart, funny, pretty, i have great sober friends and family that dont even know me anymore. how could this happen so fast???? someone please write me back. thanks...........mel in ny
Mellisa hello

Was you the one that also done a thread on the coke board.

Emily
no. i use coke occasionally, but it doenst do the scary stuff to me that heroin is doing. i never thought about rehab, never became depressed or like my life was in shambles after doing a few lines. ive fought with doing too much coke a few times in my life, but heroin i never thought id do. coke doesnt scare me. except now it makes me want dope to come off the coke. ive been substance free for 3.5 days. i posted here in this forum to get some support for herion, to understand it, for ive gottn myself into something i know nothing about.
Ok i hope you find the answers to your questions
good luck
..Melissa..
..Heroin is a very powerful addictive drug..you could lose everything you have in life..and you,ll still go back for more..aswell as it being hard not to use when your in withdrawals..the psycological part is really hard to get over..cos your relatively new to it..it will do more damage to you more than you can imagine..not just physically but mentally...withdrawal from heroin normally lasts between 3-5 days but the wanting it can last a lifetime..your doing the right thing by getting off it while you,ve got a chance..some addicts get so deep into their addiction that there habits last years and years..i first took it to see wot all the fuss was about and my habit lasted 11yrs with a bit of clean time here and there..its easy to get off heroin.(withdrawing is hard but last a few days).but staying off it is the hard part..you may think you,ll never go back to it..but it has such an effect in how you think.that you could easily get addicted again..your sister in law will probably be gutted you,ve stopped as it cuts off her supply from you..but you need to stop seeing the friends you were using with and if your sister in law comes knocking..your gonna have to be honest with her and tell her not to call when it concerns drugs..take it easy..Robbie..
thanks robbie. i used alone. or with her. and that scares me cuz i have no one to turn to who has ever been thru it. is a month long enough to become an addict? is 3 bags a day alot? ii wanted, like u, to see what the fuss was. and snorting it lasted about 6 months. not daily, or even weekly, just here and there. but it made me throw up and not sleep, so i tried mainling, which is the best high ever without the consequence of vomiting, itching or insomnia (for me anyway). but i had no idea what this f******g s***t does to me. so im going to hang in there. but i suppose my story is an exact replica of others whom become life long addicts. we reach out, but when it comes down to it we scramble. i dont want that to happen to me. i want to be considered a p****y in the subcultural world of drug addiction. thanks again. im hanging in there.
..Melissa..
..A month is long enough to become an addict..a couple of days are..your mind controls the addiction..your just there to feed it what it wants..you don,t have to use to be an addict..just thinking about on a regular basis is an addiction..3 bags is a lot also..but addicts use more or less..but 3 bags in my book is a lot and as your tolerance builds you will find yourself needing more just to level you out..theres a lot of people on here who are alone in their addiction melissa..me being one of them..my family knew i used in the past..but they did,nt know this time round..i had to hide it from them for 3yrs..which was hard work..but there are some cool people on here in the same boat as you and they will give you the support you need...i hope you can stay strong in your fight..and stay around on here when you can and there will be others to help and support you aswell..melissa i wish you good luck..Robbie..
so i guess my best bet is to keep coming on this site. i invite anyone to chat with me or email me.........ive only been dealing with h for a few but ive fought with much in my life. thanks for ur support robbie, i bet uv helped a lot of people!
Mellisa

Try and go to a meeting and hear what they have to say

Best wishes

Emily
..Theres a lot of people on here who have helped me melissa..addicts and non addicts..the families of addicts have give me a lot of support..anytime your feeling low in yourself or you just need to shout and get stuff out ya system..just come on here and get it out..even just come on and read some posts and try get some inspiration from them..i don,t go to meetings personally..but they work for some and not for others..so as emily said..try get to some n/a meetings and see wot you think..Robbie..
Thanks for that Rob

Here Rob do you like my little verse at the end of my page.
hey everyone......thanks. i just took a look at posts for the past few hours and i dont feel so alone. i took a shower, got pretty and am going to lunch. i think i would like meetings, thanks emily. because after spending a few hours with poeople in my shoes or whom have been there, i see a brand new day. robbie u have a lot of inspirational and educational things to say. i will be back later, cuz this support group has made me smile. thanks again.................i feel good for the first time in a few days. i feel strong for the first time in months.
..Good to see your feeling better melissa...enjoy your lunch and your day..
Hey Melissa, You're doing real good...good for you.....just keep going.

Some people say that after three times in a row using heroin you have a habit.
You're addicted....that's a street thing....personally I have found it to be true.
Also with the needle....there's the love of the needle itself...the association with it, and the dope, and what feelings go with it....so you are not imagining that.

Smart move cutting off the siter-in-law...you have to, and you saw that with your own eyes while you suffered, and she was shooting up....PLUS like you said she was getting the methadone....you weren't....not to mention she could have been lying about that too...could have been using the entire time.

She NEEDS you to be addicted....especially if you have a little money....which of course she profited from.....you kick, and she will have to find other means.
You are doing great.....you'll have all those symptoms, but we all here can tell you it does pass...easily said than heard I know....been there....but it will pass.

Most IMPORTANT though.....another thing a lifer told me....right now while your urge, and need, and want is really, really strong....if you use....you then will have a worse time next time....another words don't feed it....just to "get well" as it is called...a "Get well bag".....it will lead to a million more detoxes, and it will only be harder next time....you are doing EXCELLENT. Good move.

Please, ask any of us or just vent or anything....just don't use....worry only about you now...she'll be back for money or to tempt you....ditch her...two addicts can talk themselves into anything.....just seeing her can trigger you.
I HATE to say this....I've found it true though....anyone who turns you onto dope is a rotten person....I am a heroin addict...even in my days on the street, and penniless....I had people ask me to cop for them, and show them what is what, and I at least held some of my morals....I said NO....NO NO....I would never want another human being to go through what I had....and I could have profitted from getting it for them....the ol' I'll get it, but you need to give me two bags for doing it for you....then they'd be stuck, and I could have kept doing that and getting my dope free....people did it to me....the person who turned me onto it did just that to me...and worse....you just hang in there...you are wise....it will get better...the cravings are crazy hard....but we all did it....so can you.
Melissa-
I know how you are fealing i used to snort did it for 2 years oxycotin's then alot of my friends started shooting dope so i wanted to know what it was like so i did and since that night i first tried it i have been chasing that high and even 3 times the amount couldnt do it. I lost everything then got clean and everthing started comming back to me.
But when i started agian i lost it all and fast too. It's amazing what this drug can do to you What it can make you do. Stay strong i think your through the worst of it. I detoxed w/ nothing in jail it was terriable but lifee is so much more fufilling now i have 6 months clean.
And as for your stepsister i definetly know how that is cause my brother uses and deals it. We used to do it together but when i got clean i couldn't live in the same house as him so i moved from my home in ny to conneticut it was so hard because i missed everyone so much.
My brother got clean so i came home and the police raided the house and arrested him now he's out on bail and using agian.
It hurts to see him ruining his life but there's nothing i can do.Seeing him high makes me want it. But i can't go back.
I'm glad you came to this site there's alot of good people here. you can e-mail me anytime MarieT3520@aol.com.
Stay strong!
Bryn speaks the truth about the love affair with the needle, I know, it was my lover for almost 2 years. That to me, was the hardest thing to beat with my cocaine addiction. The very routine of copping, mixing, finding a vein and shooting is addictive.

Quit doing these drugs while you are still able to...going down the path you are heading will only lead to heartache.

Good luck with your new fight!
Hello Melissa,
Two weeks ago our son admitted to shooting herion since Thanksgiving. We went through a week of w/d. He took OTC flu meds and motrin 800 mg(tip from the message board) and they seemed to have helped. After 5 days he was able to sleep most of the night. He left home Monday night to live with a friend and his family because we wanted him to cut off any old friends that had any dealings with drugs, drinking or illegal behavior. We don't think he has the best judgement right now and felt we had to protect ourselves. He called today to let us know that he has been working and going to AA meetings. He's alive and I hope he can and is staying clean. We love him so much!

You can do it. Just take everday an hour at a time and know that the nights seem to be the hardest to get through. The people on this mesage board have been a godsend for me. I read it everyday although I've only posted one letter.

Take care, Scout (from the Pacific Northwest)
GIVE YOURSELF A CHANCE!
YOU CAN MAKE IT!
USE THE POWER OF CHOICE!
ALL THE BEST YOU!

PS....GREAT POSTS!