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How to Quit Heroin
To begin, let it be said that this is not an easy task. In fact,
the easiest part is the withdrawal, which everyone knows is
complete hell. But that pain is physical and somewhat mental.
The deep emotional stuff starts a little later. Anyway, it's a
combination.
Remember, coming off junk is the best thing in the world. It
makes you stronger and helps you grow. When you kick, all the
dope-dependent cells die and are replaced by new ones. When you
get to the other side, you are the phoenix. Remember this and
take strength from it. You'll need it.
Steps -The kick.
The best approach is medical. This reduces the chances of caving
in early. For this, you can go to a detox, either state or
private, but this takes time.
You can find a local methadone clinic and start treatment there
for minimal fee.
If possible, try the suboxone/subutex approach. Suboxone/Subutex
is much much better than getting on methadone. If you choose to
enter the methadone program, you are basically replacing a
heroin addiction with a methadone addiction. It's not ideal.
Also, in the end, methadone is even harder to kick than heroin.
Taking Suboxone/Subutex will greatly help with cravings, and is
much easier to taper off of than methadone. The amount of time
you will take Suboxone/Subutex is much shorter than methadone as
well.
Suboxone/Subutex maintenance
generally lasts for 3 to 6 months, depending on the person and
doctor. If you go on methadone, you will be on that drug for
years if not your entire life, sadly.
These days, you can easily find a private doctor who can
prescribe these miracle drugs to ease a user off dope in the
comfort of his/her own home. These doctors have a special
license to prescribe this medication and know how to use it.
This is best.
If you are determined to kick
cold turkey, stock up on amino acids. Protein is key here. Get
chamomile tea, lots of water and Gatorade. Vitamins (see above)
and isotonic mixtures do wonders. Get some glutamine and
methionine from your local GNC or whatever. These help heroin
addicts, specifically. Concentrate on blood sugar and fluid,
have some chicken soup handy. You get the idea. It won't be
pretty and not much helps to ease the pain.
If you can, get some clonidine (non-narcotic BP med, given by
most addiction docs) or phenobarb and ativan. These are
narcotics but are not very strong; they can take the edge off.
The highs.
Right after you come off dope, you feel great, powerful, strong.
Use this. Take a shower, exercise regularly (don't overdo it)
and keep the body strong. Lots of protein, vitamins and the same
amino complex as before. Many people feel that junk addiction is
a metabolic condition that stimulates histamine reaction.
When the going gets tough, try these tips:
It can be tough to sleep. Have a
pile of bed sheets handy because the night sweats can be rough.
Exercise helps the body excrete
all the junk inside and can regulate the metabolism.
When you feel bad, remember that
it's just your body adjusting to the changes within. Think: is
my blood sugar low? Do I need to eat? How's my metabolism? Do I
need to rest? All these things are crucial. But the most
important thing is to relax. Don't beat yourself up! You are
doing an amazing thing and deserve some time to grow. Give
yourself a break and don't stress every little thing. In early
recovery, the brain can go nuts. Don't let it get the best of
you!
The lows.
After the initial period of two weeks to two months, you reach a
holding pattern where things can seem boring, lifeless and dull.
This is the part where most addicts relapse. You may feel
depressed or rejected and not feel like doing anything.
-Remember to keep busy!
-Keep with the diet and exercise.
-Try some new hobbies. Also, find some cool books, movies or
video games, whatever your thing is.
Put a reward system in place. Remember how much cash you were
spending on that habit? A fraction of that can buy some really
cool stuff! Get yourself a prize for sticking with your
recovery.
Try NA meetings for a good outlet. The 12-step program can seem
bizarre and hokey at first, but it can really help. Go to
meetings. Share what's going on and meet some people. This will
help push you through these difficult stages.
Maintenance. Here, different people take different approaches.
If you are doing well, are completely clean and going to NA
meetings, stick with that.
Some go on a methadone or suboxone maintenance and stay with it
for years.
Whatever you do, just keep doing all the right things. Don't
neglect the diet and exercise that got you where you are. Stick
with the tea and amino acids and vitamins.
Recognize that staying sober is hard. There are good days and
bad days. Believe that anyone can do it, even you!
Remember how much you have lost to drugs and addiction. Remember
those times when everything seemed to keep getting worse.
This is your chance! Take it! Do whatever needs to be done to
get well and stay well.
Tips
-Make a list of things you've lost to heroin and things you want
back.
-Find support, tell people what you're doing, and let them cheer
you on and care for you.
-Find a safe place to return to life. Don't go back to the same
people and situations.
-Don't beat yourself up. Be proud of what you're doing.
-If you stumble, you don't have to go back full force. Pick
yourself up any way you can and move on.
-Focus on your recovery and all the things that make it
possible.
-It is great if you can find support in your parents and family.
-Take up a new activity
Warnings
-Watch out for old friends and
places
-Cravings
-Triggers (things that make you want to use)
-Depression can freeze you in your tracks
-Euphoric recall will occur often. You will obsess on how great
the first shot or line will be, and will fail to remember all of
the pain and problems that follow it. --Remember, only the first
shot/line will be good. After that, you pick right back up where
you were, and it usually gets only worse.
More coming soon.... |
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Heroin Addiction: Why is it so hard to
quit?
Heroin addiction is one of the most wide spread addictions
facing millions of Americans today. Further more, heroin
addiction is an extremely tough addiction to break.
A survey conducted by Samhsa on drug use and health reported
that an estimated 466,000 people attended treatment for heroin
in 2006. This is almost half a million individuals who struggle
with the cravings associated with heroin addiction, the severe
withdrawal they encounter every time they decide to get their
life back and the heart break of failure when they return to
using the drug.
The largest majority of those who sought to
rid themselves of the trap of heroin addiction felt these
devastating realities including the failure of relapse due to
ineffective drug rehab technology which did not help the person
handle every aspect of their addiction.
When the cravings, guilt and depression of
addiction are not handled completely the individual is more
likely, than not, to reuse their drug of choice or other drugs
and thereby fall back into the addictive life style once again.
The Narconon drug rehab program has been helping those addicted
to heroin and many other drugs and alcohol leave their addiction
behind permanently for over 40 years.
With over 76 % of heroin addicts remaining
drug free years after completing the program, the Narconon
Arrowhead Program has become the most successful choice for
those who seriously intend on leaving addiction behind.
To find out more about trap of cravings, guilt and depression
associated with heroin addiction, as well as how a person can
truly overcome these barriers and free themselves once and for
all from the addiction that has them bound, call our counselors
today.
CALL Narconon 800-468-6933 or visit stopaddiction.com NOW |
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