Hi everybody- A very dear friend of mine is addicted to painkillers. He likes to snort Oxys and like all addictions ,it is getting progressively worse.I spoke to him earlier this week and he said he had bought some Methadone for the week, in an attempt to stay away from the Oxys.
I am in recovery for alcohol and am in AA and have been sober myself for 60 days. He is avoiding me, since I entered the program, so it is hard to find out any info with out him thinking that I am trying to be preachy. I don't think he got the Methadone from a clinic, he got it off the street. He is knowledgeable about pain killers (aren't we all?!)and i'm sure he thinks he knows what he is doing, but i am very scared at the self medicating that he is doing.
I just don't know a lot about this and am looking for any info, advice, about this situation.
Can this create even more problems?
Is he just substituting one for the other?
Can the Meth adone help him ,or is this just adding wood to the fire?
God bless you all and remember to take it one day at a time.
hi caroline,
i was in the exact same situation a couple month's ago i was snorting oxy's like kids eat m & m's and also bought methodone on the streets in many attemps to stop using. Your freind should go to a detox where they will give him meth and ween him down on it to get him thourgh the worst of the withdrawls.
i was in the exact same situation a couple month's ago i was snorting oxy's like kids eat m & m's and also bought methodone on the streets in many attemps to stop using. Your freind should go to a detox where they will give him meth and ween him down on it to get him thourgh the worst of the withdrawls.
Problem is mixing methadone (a long acting synthetic opiate) with other opiates can lead to serious overdose.
Your bf could save money cking into a suboxone or methadone program.
Your bf could save money cking into a suboxone or methadone program.
It is possible to do a week of meth on a fast taper and get off. I've only seen it work for 1 person, though. Usually the meth dose is used to get through a dry time without oxys. This definitely is not a help in the long run. Just stay away from methadone maintenance programs, except as a last resort.
Your friend is not going to be able to ween himself off the oxy with methadone in just one week. If he wants to get off the oxy with methadone he needs to go to a Methadone clinic instead of buying it off the street. At a meth clinic he will get a regular dose of Methadone everyday. Meth is an opiate(oxycontin) blocker, so you will not feel the effects of the pain medication you are taking. It is dangerous to use oxycontin or any other pain medication with methadone because it could lead to an overdose. I was addicted to oxycontin and morphine for ten years. I have been on a methadone clinic for three years. It saved my life because at the time I could not come off of the drugs myself, I was too afraid of getting sick, going through withdrawals. If your friend really wants to get off the oxy he will do it somehow. And if methadone will help him, he can get into a methadone clinic. It is alot cheaper on the pocketbook. There alot of benefits in methadone treatment. It gave me back my life.
I too, thought I would wean off my percocet addiction with methadone. I had tapered down on the percs to 6 a day from 20 a day. If you read alot of the posts on here, you will definately learn that this is NOT the answer. I finally had the courage yesterday to flush the rest of the methadone I had, thanks to good advice from several people on this board who seem very experienced and have been through all of this. They may have saved my life and I am grateful for their support. Today is my first day "opiate" free. My spirits are pretty high - although I'm really scared of what I'm about to face.
Please tell your friend that meth is not the answer. Take the time to read these posts, they are VERY helpful.
Good luck,
Marie
Please tell your friend that meth is not the answer. Take the time to read these posts, they are VERY helpful.
Good luck,
Marie
Thanks everybody for all the advice. These message boards are a godsend. I am going to utilize Al-anon , I can't fix my friend, just like no one could fix my drinking problem. At the end of the day, It is up to the person themselves to get sober. It is still very painful to watch.
Keep Keepin on.
caroline( :
Keep Keepin on.
caroline( :