Recently my sister was in detox for an addiction to snorting Oxycontin. Anyone with experience with this? I'm wondering-now that she's done the detox, how long it takes for her to feel and think normal. She's been so flighty and acts so spontaneously.
This was very much a surprise to me. I knew she was trying things...but I figured she would be like I was and take things or leave em...
Anyway I can pick up on whether or not she relapses? I noticed her being more tired and withdrawn...apparently just when this became a problem for her...will it be the same the 2nd time if she goes back to it?
Any advise would be greatly appreciated...thanks in advance.
im1here, Sorry to hear that you have to endure the heartache and pain of having a loved one addicted. It is a very hard thing to go through and you just worry about them constantly.
I have a question about something that i have really been curious about since i joined this board. Have you ever had a heart to heart talk with your sister about her addiction? I just wondered, i see on this board so often and i want to understand, why some people choose to swallow pills and some choose to snort them? Iknow that either way addiction is addiction, but so many post about snorting pills and i just want to understand the difference so that it may be easier to understand and help some people.
If you cant answer my question then that is ok, maybe someone else on here will read this and be able to explain it to me.
Crushing pills into powder and snorting them releases all the medication into the system much much faster than swallowing them. Pills are designed to dissolve in the gut at a certain rate, this is partially how doctors determine the proper dose levels for a patient. Imagine, you swallow a pill and you wait for the digestive juices to dissolve the covering of the pill and then break down the contents of the pill. Now imagine snorting a crushed pill into your nostril and almost immediately absorbing the entire contents of the pill into the system that way. If someone is snorting thier pills, there is no doubt at all that they have an addiction problem and its also EXTREMELY dangerous to have so much medication released into the system at once. One is just asking for an overdose eventually. There is NO reason to snort pills other than to get high....period. Anyone who does it, is in deep trouble and needs help.
Crushing pills into powder and snorting them releases all the medication into the system much much faster than swallowing them. Pills are designed to dissolve in the gut at a certain rate, this is partially how doctors determine the proper dose levels for a patient. Imagine, you swallow a pill and you wait for the digestive juices to dissolve the covering of the pill and then break down the contents of the pill. Now imagine snorting a crushed pill into your nostril and almost immediately absorbing the entire contents of the pill into the system that way. If someone is snorting thier pills, there is no doubt at all that they have an addiction problem and its also EXTREMELY dangerous to have so much medication released into the system at once. One is just asking for an overdose eventually. There is NO reason to snort pills other than to get high....period. Anyone who does it, is in deep trouble and needs help.
Then, I need help. I started writing on here back during the first week of January, 2005. I was quitting cold turkey from a 20mg - 40mg a day Oxycontin snorting habit. I had been doing them sfor about 1 1/2 years. The first night of the Cold Turkeys were hell! Nothing I have ever experienced matches it. The restless arms were the worst, no sleep, no appetite for several days, the feeling of doom or dread. But, I got through it and went to work and I eventaully, after about 5 or 6 days, I did a 20mg oxy. I was clean again for several days and then again. I did them again off and on for a couple weeks and then went away on business for 2 weeks and I was clean for that entire time. When I got home, the urge took me and I found some more. I have been doing them off and on again for the past couple of weeks and I am now 31 hours since I last did a 20mg oxy. The withdralws wewre not that bad this time. I slept well last night but I was extremely tired this morning and all day. My arems a bit achy and I feel depressed, alone, scared that I will use again. The urges get too hard, especially when they are so easy to get. My 'person' gets her 3 month supply tomorrow. I have friends calling me, wanting to get them as well. I'm tired of this endless cycle but I know my mind will find a way to justify me going to get more tomorrow when the time comes. I'll spend more money, hide it from my wife and continue to use until I can't find them and then I'll resolve to quit, again. I'll be an expert at withdrawls in no time. Heck, I've gone through them in some form atleast 4 or 5 times. I've got to quit. I've got to. Why do we all torture ourselves, lie to the ones we love most, lose our responsibility and good judgement, talk ourselves into 'just one more' and then I'll stop. I've spent so much money and hid this habit for so long. I remember saying to myself that I could quit anytime, no big deal. I'm not an addict. I can look back and see the progression. I can remember saying to myself that I was addicted to them but it didn't matter then. When I am high on them, I say to myself, just stop and never do another one. JUST DON'T DO IT! Why can't it be that easy.
I know many people have things much harder than me. But the cycle of addicition is the same.
Well, welcome to the first step of the recovery process. You are contimplating now, you know you've got a problem. Now, you have to take action, what can you do? Can you tell you wife? If you can't kick it on your own, she is eventually going to find out. How about talking to a doctor? Call NA and go to some meetings? You don't need this. It all goes downhill from here unless you get some professional help and take action.
I agree, snorting these powerful drugs is just trouble all the way round. In my opinion, you should call someone, stay on the boards for awhile, just stay involved with educating yourself on ways to deal with this. But you must decide on what to do about this sooner than later. Detox, and rehap are the safest and probably give you the best chance for success although it can be done on an aggressive out patient program. You certainly need the advice of a medical professional who specializes in addictionology though.
Thanks for all of your replies...sorry it took so long to write back.
I just found out about this recently-she was already in detox when I found out-it took 3 days then they released her from inpatient, but she still had to go back for a week 8 hours a day as outpatient, and she has to go to 4 group meetings a week now that she's out completely.
She started this back in summer...no one had a clue...she's upbeat and "spastic" by nature...what threw ME off was that sometimes she seemed bummed and depressed (more so after Christmas), but she was in school, we recently lost our Grandfather, and she works 2 jobs...I didn't think much of it.
I guess a few weeks ago she just cracked. She's snorted her life saving up her nose these past few months, and had no $$ to get more...she said she tried stopping several times, but couldn't.
I just worry because now thats she's out, she's gotta "face the music" again...back to school, and everyday stresses. She's been very flighty, spantaneous...and has missed a few meetings here and there for other reasons. I'm just worried that she'll go back to it because it was an escape for her. We haven't been able to sit down and talk about this yet...I just want to go into it fully loaded when we do talk...what to look for. what I can say to help if she needs it...
If she relapses you will notice pinned pupils. You might notice her itching or her eyes being lazy. She will probably try to avoid you if she knows you would be uspet with her for doing it.
