I suspect a friend to be using heroin, however, I doubt that she can be injecting it - there are absolutely no signs on her arms, legs, feet and I have never found any needles or other evidence. So I wonder if she is smoking it or taking it some other way, and I have a few questions:
Are the signs the same if you are smoking it - eg, pinhole pupils? what about itchiness - or is that only if you're injecting?
sleeping habits - she sleeps long hours, usually 10+ hours, though doesn't seem to have problems with staying awake, staying alert during the day
also likes to smoke a lot of marijuana and get drunk often - would a heroin addiction eliminate these other cravings or could an addict use these when she couldn't get heroin? or does this mean she's not very addicted yet?
how is heroin smoked? eg, mixed with tobacco? what does it smell like? how often would an addict need to smoke?
the biggest reasons for my suspicion right now are the cagey, secretive behaviour, lack of money, and stuff going missing
thanks
My daughter used for a short time and I don't know alot about it but these are some of the things I learned from her using.
She used needles although I don't know what part of her body she used and I never saw any signs on her body.
She slept alot. She would use on a Sun. with her bf then come home sleep all day and night and be too sick to go to school the next day. She would say she had cramps and was sick to her stomach.
She lied all the time even about things that she didn't have to lie about. She started stealing. Always asking for money to go to the store but would come back with nothing.
Didn't act like herself, was almost like she didn't have any feelings very cold and got angry very easy, very moody.
Not alot of help here but maybe others will post...Good luck...Red Hawk
She used needles although I don't know what part of her body she used and I never saw any signs on her body.
She slept alot. She would use on a Sun. with her bf then come home sleep all day and night and be too sick to go to school the next day. She would say she had cramps and was sick to her stomach.
She lied all the time even about things that she didn't have to lie about. She started stealing. Always asking for money to go to the store but would come back with nothing.
Didn't act like herself, was almost like she didn't have any feelings very cold and got angry very easy, very moody.
Not alot of help here but maybe others will post...Good luck...Red Hawk
Hi,
Here's a link to explain which shows the evidence from smoking. There will be a lot of silver foil about. Symptons basically the same smoking/injecting, most start smoking first, injecting usually comes later.
http://www.drugs-info.co.uk/drugpages/hero...roin/heroin.htm
Here's a link to explain which shows the evidence from smoking. There will be a lot of silver foil about. Symptons basically the same smoking/injecting, most start smoking first, injecting usually comes later.
http://www.drugs-info.co.uk/drugpages/hero...roin/heroin.htm
Hi wondering
The itching was the one that eventually gave my bf away.
I was with him for 7+ years, and it took a long time for me to cotton on to the itch factor...although I am blonde I am not daft. He was very clever at hiding the other signs, for a very long time, and I was very slow at recognising the other signs...because the questions that I asked about the missing money would inevitably lead to an argument . The argument would end up being about my trust in him generally - and I would get distracted about the missing money!!
After time, I got fed up of having arguments. I got fed up of not resolving anything or making progress when we talked.
And argued.
He still smoked the weed.
He went off drinking (as in his interest in it wained) - not totally - but he didn't seem interested in going out to the pub to meet people and socialise with anyone.
After 7 years of watching him use....not use....use again....stop using....dabble...etc
When he sweated in bed, changed sleep patterns, smelt strange, I was suspiscious. But the major factors were 1/Itching 2/His voice sounding croaky or slow or whatever. Especially when he was high he would be lovey dovey and I would think maybe things were ok.
I knew. Deep down - I knew.
The itching was the one that eventually gave my bf away.
I was with him for 7+ years, and it took a long time for me to cotton on to the itch factor...although I am blonde I am not daft. He was very clever at hiding the other signs, for a very long time, and I was very slow at recognising the other signs...because the questions that I asked about the missing money would inevitably lead to an argument . The argument would end up being about my trust in him generally - and I would get distracted about the missing money!!
After time, I got fed up of having arguments. I got fed up of not resolving anything or making progress when we talked.
And argued.
He still smoked the weed.
He went off drinking (as in his interest in it wained) - not totally - but he didn't seem interested in going out to the pub to meet people and socialise with anyone.
After 7 years of watching him use....not use....use again....stop using....dabble...etc
When he sweated in bed, changed sleep patterns, smelt strange, I was suspiscious. But the major factors were 1/Itching 2/His voice sounding croaky or slow or whatever. Especially when he was high he would be lovey dovey and I would think maybe things were ok.
I knew. Deep down - I knew.
PS - I think it smells very fishy mate. Heroin, that is.
Much love x
Much love x
thanks all
Guest, that link was particularly helpful. I'm beginning to be more convinced now - lack of attention to personal hygiene, weight loss, moody, weird change of friends... However, she still seems very together most of the time and I am probably very ignorant but I guess I always thought that addicts weren't really good at functioning normally - job, relationships, etc. From everything I've read on this forum though I guess addicts can be very clever at hiding.
I suppose my next question is - is there any effective and inoffensive way of approaching someone about it if you do suspect? I certainly don't think she is looking for help; she is really trying very hard to keep up the facade of everything being normal. And also I could be wrong - since I'm not totally sure about it I really don't think I can confront/accuse at this stage. Maybe I need to wait for some irrefutable evidence - like finding a foil or needle.
anyway, thanks again
Guest, that link was particularly helpful. I'm beginning to be more convinced now - lack of attention to personal hygiene, weight loss, moody, weird change of friends... However, she still seems very together most of the time and I am probably very ignorant but I guess I always thought that addicts weren't really good at functioning normally - job, relationships, etc. From everything I've read on this forum though I guess addicts can be very clever at hiding.
I suppose my next question is - is there any effective and inoffensive way of approaching someone about it if you do suspect? I certainly don't think she is looking for help; she is really trying very hard to keep up the facade of everything being normal. And also I could be wrong - since I'm not totally sure about it I really don't think I can confront/accuse at this stage. Maybe I need to wait for some irrefutable evidence - like finding a foil or needle.
anyway, thanks again
my boyfriend claims that he smokes a lot of pot to keep the cravings of heroin away but as i only saw him on the weekends and knew he was doing heroin at the place he was living at the time with a drug dealer i reckon he was using the pot to help with the withdrawal from the heroin he used during the week but as his habit got more frequent during the week i noticed by the weekend's end with me he would start to get cramps nausea sleep a lot and display flu like symptoms which he always used as an excuse as missing work during the week...i believe he was using valiums i would find in his pocket to help him with the crash....he also carried 2 forms of pot with him and claimed one was stronger than the other to help him sleep...i think heroin smoked in pot is called an H-bomb and my bf who has been doing heroin for 23 yrs actually had the nerve to tell me that he never knew you could smoke heroin and this dude has been recently convicted of drug trafficking and i too couldn't detect any new track marks along his inner arm but i knew he was getting F up as once he nodded out while he was eating a hamburger and then went to bed and crashed for 15 hours.....
I have a question now.....can one shoot up in the bend of the back of the knee as once my bf said it had swollen up for no particular reason...
I know more about heroin than he does and i don't do nor have the desire to do that crap but ya gotta know the words iffin ya wanna play the devil's tune and the only way to beat the devil is to think like the devil and prick him with his own pitch fork or in this case his syringe
I have a question now.....can one shoot up in the bend of the back of the knee as once my bf said it had swollen up for no particular reason...
I know more about heroin than he does and i don't do nor have the desire to do that crap but ya gotta know the words iffin ya wanna play the devil's tune and the only way to beat the devil is to think like the devil and prick him with his own pitch fork or in this case his syringe
Mary, yeah I think you can inject in the back of the legs - not 100% but pretty sure, mainly once the veins in the arms have gone. Not a good idea though - not that any of this is but???
New Brighton, Wonderig - I smoked it and the itching drove me crazy although wore off after about 3 weeks of using but if I did a lot (and I mean LOADS) then I would get itchy again. It's mad itchy as well - you can't stop and it feels like it's spreading all over your body, also look out for brown bits on teeth and lips, nodding even whilst doing something - I used to nod whilst really busy at work and saying to myself 'pack it in someone is going to notice' - you can't control it.
Hope this helps?
L
xxx
New Brighton, Wonderig - I smoked it and the itching drove me crazy although wore off after about 3 weeks of using but if I did a lot (and I mean LOADS) then I would get itchy again. It's mad itchy as well - you can't stop and it feels like it's spreading all over your body, also look out for brown bits on teeth and lips, nodding even whilst doing something - I used to nod whilst really busy at work and saying to myself 'pack it in someone is going to notice' - you can't control it.
Hope this helps?
L
xxx
THEY SMOKE CANNABIS BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE YOU'RE GETTING ANOTHER HIT WHEN YOU'VE HAD A REEF. JUST LIKE SLEEPING PILLS.
PETAL X
PETAL X
Hi wondering, hope you are ok.
Didnt check the link web site out myself...just read your posts.
Heroin comes in the form of a pale brown powder...very fine powder like icing sugar or talcum powder. Usually the quantity needed for a hit is very small...so small you could hide it under your tongue and still talk properly.
It is smoked directly off foil...no need to put tobacco with it at all. When it is heated it turns into a runny dark brown liquid that leaves traces on the foil.
If it is to be injected it is heated on a spoon with other things and then sucked into the barrel of a syringe, hence leaving brown stains on the spoon.
In my experience it depends on the user as to whether or not they will take offence at being confronted.
If you know the user intimately (ie before they used) they are likely to be ashamed of their use, guilty for doing it, wanting to be perceived as wanting help, trying to appear as they were before they fell into the clutches of the drug. No-one wants to appear desperate.
I don't think that there is an easy route to take - either for the person doing the confronting - or the person doing the using.
Its not an issue that we can dress in cotton wool really, is it?
Its heroin. Full stop.
x
Didnt check the link web site out myself...just read your posts.
Heroin comes in the form of a pale brown powder...very fine powder like icing sugar or talcum powder. Usually the quantity needed for a hit is very small...so small you could hide it under your tongue and still talk properly.
It is smoked directly off foil...no need to put tobacco with it at all. When it is heated it turns into a runny dark brown liquid that leaves traces on the foil.
If it is to be injected it is heated on a spoon with other things and then sucked into the barrel of a syringe, hence leaving brown stains on the spoon.
In my experience it depends on the user as to whether or not they will take offence at being confronted.
If you know the user intimately (ie before they used) they are likely to be ashamed of their use, guilty for doing it, wanting to be perceived as wanting help, trying to appear as they were before they fell into the clutches of the drug. No-one wants to appear desperate.
I don't think that there is an easy route to take - either for the person doing the confronting - or the person doing the using.
Its not an issue that we can dress in cotton wool really, is it?
Its heroin. Full stop.
x