I have a friend with an addiction to vicoden. She has finally come clean with everyone that it's a problem since she's been lying and stealing for awhile and we suspected something but not sure what. Soooo, she admits to the Vicodin addiction and said that the problem is controlling her whole life and that she needs help and wants to be "normal" again. We are looking into re-hab but she doesn't really want to go be "locked up".....don't know what we'll do about that.

We just want the person back that we once knew.
What is the chances that she'll get clean and never relapse. I know the chances of relapsing are great and would like to know what the chances of a better life are and is this drug really really hard to rid yourself of?

The fact that she came clean with everyone is a HUGE step. So you should be very proud of her for that. IT means that she has fully admitted to having the addiction which can be a very difficult thing to do. For now, all you can do is support her. Ask her what you can do to help. Try to keep her mind of things. If she is going through withdrawel she will most likey not beup to going out and doing things for herself such as grocery shopping, making her some lunch, dinner, etc....offer to help out with these things. Also try and spend time with her. Even if she resists. The more she can keep her mind off of the drugs and withdrawel, even for just a couple of hours at a time will help in the long run.

Yes there is unfortunately a high risk of relapse. But as I said the fact that your friend has approached the people in her life for help shows that she has a strong desire to get thru this. All you can do at this point is to continue what you are doing, being a friend. :)

This is great that you are trying to help your friend--she is going to need you 100%. She can not do it alone. Trust me. This is what I would recommend. Take about 1 hour and search this forum for hydrocodone addiction. The people here have helped me SOOOO much. Have your friend log on here and make this one of the "lifelines". Be honest and open. No one will judge you one here or even know who you are. I know for a fact that there will be someone on here that she can relate to. Read my journal and how I have F-ed up in the past few years. Many of the stories are all the same. Make your friends different. Good luck

Mistina-
How is your friend? I'm into day 4 of no more Vicodin/Soma/Xanax. I started taking Suboxone and it's been great! Just wanted to see how you and she were..let us know if we can help..

I have a friend with an addiction to vicoden. She has finally come clean with everyone that it's a problem since she's been lying and stealing for awhile and we suspected something but not sure what. Soooo, she admits to the Vicodin addiction and said that the problem is controlling her whole life and that she needs help and wants to be "normal" again. We are looking into re-hab but she doesn't really want to go be "locked up".....don't know what we'll do about that.

We just want the person back that we once knew.
What is the chances that she'll get clean and never relapse. I know the chances of relapsing are great and would like to know what the chances of a better life are and is this drug really really hard to rid yourself of?

If she doesn't want to be inconvenienced by being "locked-up in rehab", then she is not really committed to getting clean, no matter what she says. A lot of times, when an addict tells you they want to feel "normal" again, they often really mean they want to feel like they did when they first started using - getting high, but without the constant cravings.

The chance of her getting clean from opiates and never ever relapsing are very very small - less than 2%. I think the actual statistic is around 1.5%. The best you can hope for is that the relapses are few and short lived.

Based on what you have told us, I would stand back and give her smile support. She is going to put someone through a lot of effort trying to get her clean only to be disappointed. When she really wants to get clean, she will be looking for rehab centers on her own and be very willing to go there.

Well, come to find out, she's not just doing "opiates" (is that right?).....she's admited to heroin and oxy's. I think it's whatever she can get her hands on.
She has decided to go into re-hab and doing well, I think. She started de-tox on Friday and that's four days and then I think she'll be there for 30 more days. I just pray that it goes well. She is very thankful she is there. Her main reason for not putting herself there was I think that she was embarrased because our lives seem so perfect to her and she couldn't admit that to us but we've known forever.....
I'm praying ever day that she gets the help and has the strength to fight this. I know it may be wishing on a miracle for her to never relapse, but I'm hoping for that. I may seem to perfect but I believe in miracles.
We are all sending as much mail and inspiration as we can.

Well, come to find out, she's not just doing "opiates" (is that right?).....she's admited to heroin and oxy's. I think it's whatever she can get her hands on.
She has decided to go into re-hab and doing well, I think. She started de-tox on Friday and that's four days and then I think she'll be there for 30 more days. I just pray that it goes well. She is very thankful she is there. Her main reason for not putting herself there was I think that she was embarrased because our lives seem so perfect to her and she couldn't admit that to us but we've known forever.....
I'm praying ever day that she gets the help and has the strength to fight this. I know it may be wishing on a miracle for her to never relapse, but I'm hoping for that. I may seem to perfect but I believe in miracles.
We are all sending as much mail and inspiration as we can.

Good luck, Mistina. By the way, you might be interested to know that heroin and oxycontin ARE opiates. In fact, heroin and oxy are very nearly the same thing. Oxy is in a pretty pill form - very pure - and sold by drug companies.

Anyway, let's hope this works for you and your friend. If this is your first time through this type of thing, you are going to learn a lot about drugs and addiction as she goes through rehab. Rehab is not the silver bullet we hope it is. It SEEMS like you are sending them to a hospital and the addict should come out all better. It usually doesn't work out that way, so prepare yourself for that realization.

Read this thread again over the next eight weeks. Remember what we told you about not being naive and keeping yourself safe from the bad elements of your friend's addiction.