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Hello Bertie, I am in my late 40’s and I too was an addict and I too but my family thru hell. I am now in college, almost finished with my associates and going into my bachelors to become a Substance Abuse counselor….I need to tell you all this because there is hope 🙂 I have also lost my child to addiction years ago…very sad…BUT, there is hope!! Talk with your daughter/sister and explain to them that their not alone. I was telling somebody else with a similar story how some addicts NEED that opiate because they cannot function is society without it…it’s like being a diabetic, they NEED insulin to function. Believe it or not there are many addicts born with this addiction. Also many addicts have some sort of other disorder, maybe depression. Therefore, she needs help for both of them. Browse around the internet and search for suboxone and it will tell you all about this remarkable cure. Naturally it will not cure everything, however if she was to be on the subs, plus seek psy help to see what the other disorder is and take that medication as well as the subs, she will feel a LOT better and she can live a happy healthy drug free life. methadone is a full blown opiate, it’s like sniffing a bag of heroin…not to mention their teeth fall out from it….whereas the suboxone gives the addict a LIMITED about of opiate and BLOCKS the rest of her receptors in the brain that’s telling her “SHE NEEDS MORE”. Lets say she decides to sniff some heroin, well it wont work, she will not get high and you don’t have to worry every second of your life about her. The only thing it will do is make her sick!!! This includes alcohol as well, she will not get a “buzz” because the subs are blocking the inner part of her brain that’s telling her to use….I will tell you this thou…to get into the sub program there IS a WAITING LIST up to a year or longer, the reason for this is because the subs work that good!!!! She can get in the program much sooner if she was to put herself in a rehab facility. She will probably get her “last high” before going in which is ok. You really don’t want her going in a place straight and I say this because if she does…they MAY NOT give her the suboxones, instead they may just wean her off. it sounds to me that she really does need the subs prob for the rest of her life, as I do, and they will give her the right dose, they go by how much one usually uses and how often. So PLAESE tell her to get herself in a facility ASAP. Once she is on the program in there, she will not have to worry about being on a list. She may stay in there for about 10 days and when she’s released she will have to do meetings for a while. After her meetings, she will be able to go in the place, usually another building where she admitted herself, and get a whole mth supply. Yes, you have to work at it but it is well worth it. I used when I was in high school, then on and off for MANY MANY years, I did what I’m telling her to do and now look at me, almost going into my bachelors. If she can kick this, she will make one of the best counselors ever just like myself…Good luck to you and she, and I know how you feel, helpless like my mother did…but there is HOPE, it’s out there but she has to make the conscious decision, not you 😉 if I can be of any more help, please feel free to contact me..God Bless
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…;)