[nyc]

I’d like some help please. My partner is 30 and has relapsed. She uses opiates but has a fascination with needles. She hasn’t used in a couple of months but recently got me to obtain a pain med proscriptions. She misused them greatly. Then obtained another and misused those too. We went to get help for her addiction. She has almost taken and tried to take her life with heroin overdoses. I have seen her high. Its horrible. The needle addiction too is there. We were given naloxone I think its called but I’m nor sure. That stuff comes in a syringe. She even tried to shoot up with that needle and water. I struggle to get it. We are newly marries and I feel so helpless. So far she has been given methadone and this is here second day. I’m finding it hard coping too. I feel hopeless. What should I do?

[recovering-mom]

I am a women in my 40’s that have experienced drug abuse for long periods at a time in my life. I am now currently in college to become a substance abuse counselor. Let me start out by telling you some people are born with addiction believe it or not, and CANNOT function in society without some form of opiates. Therefore, they need to be put on something…kinda like a diabetic needs insulin to be able to function, well the addict themselves as well to beable to function. is she doing any sort of meetings? You say she is on methadone, well my advise to you is get her on the Suboxone program. I take the film and have No desire to use at all!! The sub gives the addict that “little push” (of opiate) to get them able to function. The good part about it is it blocks the other receptor’s in the brain so if she was to take a drug (heroin, or pills, or anything else for that matter including alcohol it will not give her a “better high” or a high at all because of the blocker. I say get her on the suboxone because the methadone has NO BLOCKER in it….methadone is a FULL opiate and that’s just getting her high. Whereas the subs do NOT get you high, they just put you at a level. Also know that all addicts are usually dual diagnosis. Meaning that she has another kind of disorder such as depression, and needs to be put on medication for that as well. The 2 together should work. Do not let her be in an old environment where she can relate the environment to her addiction. Also, she shouldn’t hang around the friends she has…trust me SHE HAS friends with some sort of addiction and they will only trigger her. Show your concern and support about her addiction, perhaps you going with her to a meeting. I was NEVER one that liked the meetings, and to be quite honest with you, those meetings just triggered me however, I do see a therapist one on one because a therapist can get to the REAL reason as to her wanting or needing to use in the first place. Womens group are also very helpful….in that kind of setting, there are nothing but women and they share everything from drug addiction to how it makes them feel when their high and what it was that triggered them to get high. Sometimes the answer lays from something happening to her as a child, or maybe a dysfunctional family or perhaps it’s personal. I hope I have been of some help to you and hope she gets some kind of treatment other than the methadone, you might want to tell her that after using that stuff for approx. 3-4 yrs straight that her teeth WILL be rotten and they WILL fall out. Show her some pictures from the internet. Good luck to you both and if you have any other questions please feel free to contact me….I have been on BOTH sides of the fence…;)

[Author]

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