As I mentioned in Steve's 'retirement' thread I'm heading down to Tennessee tonight. The primary reason is to see a very close friend that is struggling with a loss. 'Paul' and I became very close buddies during 2020/21[covid] when we basically moved down to the free state of TN. He lived across the street at the time with his GF and he and I hit it off immediately as well as my wife and his GF.
About a year ago they semi split and both moved a couple of miles out. We all remained close and they never really could break away from each other totally so we all still hung out together regularly.
She had everything, looks, brains[nursing degree, R.E. license], personality, hard working family that did very well, well adjusted teenage daughter......
I often wondered though- why did the father have primary custody of their daughter?
Paul broke some news to me just after they moved, he had found needles and other paraphernalia when cleaning out the house. He seemed truly shocked by what he had found and how it was kept from him.
Looking back over the past 2 years I now recognized her slow downward spiral. She went from selling Real estate to peddling timeshares to sort of working at her fathers HVAC biz, her relatively new BMW was no longer running[and not getting fixed] and her physical appearance was heading downhill.
Last winter he called and asked if he could spend a night with us in Virginia to break up a roundtrip to northern WVA. He was going to see her [and retrieve her from per her mothers instruction]at a rehab center her parents had convinced her to enter.
Paul called last week, her dad had found her dead at his house. She had OD'd I could tell that he was totally devastated and heartbroken.
I have dealt with a lot of junkies. I got paid money to do it as a paramedic, and I knew very well 3 or 4 guys who became junkies.
They have truly made a pact with the devil They will destroy their own life, and will lie, cheat and steal from their own mama if that is what it takes to get their next buzz.
As the song goes "I've seen the needle and the damage done, But, every junkie is like a setting sun..."
Likely got or worsened an already established opioid addiction while nursing. Starts w/pain-pills for surgery or an accident and can get out of hand really quickly for some folks in a hospital or clinic setting where opioid injectables are present. New dispensing technology and 2+ person paper accountability of excess disposal has made it more difficult, but certainly not impossible.
Most people are embarrassed by schitt like this but I don't give a damn and maybe it can be a learning lesson to others. I'm an ex heroin addict. I've been clean for over 11 years and was surprisingly a functioning addict that worked a job because I had a family that I had to provide for and I knew that I needed money to support habit and wasn't willing to steal like other people. Nobody just wakes up one day and decides to be an addict. It usually starts with opioid prescriptions like it did for me. I was on vicodin for a legit medical reason and it escalated from there in a long drawn out process that once into, you look back and finally see how far you're in and it's consumed your whole life. Nothing is fun anymore without being high. Hobbies have no value. You sometimes can't even enjoy your current high because youre worried about where the next one will come from. There's no goal to look forward to except to get high. Aspirations no longer exist. I'd be a liar to say that it's not an amazing feeling. It's almost magical and you don't care how you look to the outside world because when you start to judge yourself or reflect on your own life, you can always spend another $20 and make it all disappear. That's why I empathize with people in this situation. I don't believe it's a disease like some do, but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door. One day I didn't recognize myself in the mirror when I was higher than a kite and decided I was done so I made a pact with myself that night and stuck to it. I went to work the next day in full blown withdrawal and told my boss the deal and asked if I could have a week off and if I'd still have a job. He said to take all the time I needed. That was a rough week but I got through it and really glad that I did and I changed my life around and consider myself a better person for it. It's easy to look at a person and just call them a junkie without knowing their story or their demons that they hide from.
The Christian jerk in me would ask “do you know if she was saved”
TheRealStovepipe would say “I’ve seen this all play out in slow motion with a neighbor/cousin over several years” And even that, then, it still seems to come as a surprise.
Some ‘bad’ dope has been going around for about 3 years. Poisonous shît.
Narcan is the worst available drug, let's save the POS so that they can cause more grief. Doing drugs is one thing, becoming a dope head is your own doing. The medical - pharmaceutical industry is doing their best to turn everyone into a drug addict.
Most people are embarrassed by schitt like this but I don't give a damn and maybe it can be a learning lesson to others. I'm an ex heroin addict. I've been clean for over 11 years and was surprisingly a functioning addict that worked a job because I had a family that I had to provide for and I knew that I needed money to support habit and wasn't willing to steal like other people. Nobody just wakes up one day and decides to be an addict. It usually starts with opioid prescriptions like it did for me. I was on vicodin for a legit medical reason and it escalated from there in a long drawn out process that once into, you look back and finally see how far you're in and it's consumed your whole life. Nothing is fun anymore without being high. Hobbies have no value. You sometimes can't even enjoy your current high because youre worried about where the next one will come from. There's no goal to look forward to except to get high. Aspirations no longer exist. I'd be a liar to say that it's not an amazing feeling. It's almost magical and you don't care how you look to the outside world because when you start to judge yourself or reflect on your own life, you can always spend another $20 and make it all disappear. That's why I empathize with people in this situation. I don't believe it's a disease like some do, but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door. One day I didn't recognize myself in the mirror when I was higher than a kite and decided I was done so I made a pact with myself that night and stuck to it. I went to work the next day in full blown withdrawal and told my boss the deal and asked if I could have a week off and if I'd still have a job. He said to take all the time I needed. That was a rough week but I got through it and really glad that I did and I changed my life around and consider myself a better person for it. It's easy to look at a person and just call them a junkie without knowing their story or their demons that they hide from.
Glad you were able to shake it. I've always wondered, how did you do it the very first time? I could just never stick a needle in me with that stuff. Once addicted I can see it, but there had to be a first time.
I just found out yesterday a guy I have known since grade school died from fentanyl od. We've both been in the construction biz here most of our lives. He followed his Dad into HVAC, had a successful business, family, house on the Key, blah, blah... dammit man...
Glad you were able to shake it. I've always wondered, how did you do it the very first time? I could just never stick a needle in me with that stuff. Once addicted I can see it, but there had to be a first time.
About 40 years back I was around some guys that were melting down percoset or something along those lines and shooting it up, they looked over at me and I was like not just no but HELL NO. I was never a saint and never will be but there is a line I'm unwilling to cross. They were just as casual as hell about it. made it a point not to be around those guys again.
Across my several decades I've known 2 RN's that got hooked and ruined their careers. Long hours, occasional stress, ready availability, and a need for a little pick me up got them hooked. Eventually, inventories and some detective work found them out.
Don't really know, but I think there might be some genetic aspects to addictions. Seems there's no fighting it for some and others do one go around and never come back.
With a couple of minor medical deals (wisdom teeth and minor surgeries) I've been given some pain killers. Never did anything for me, and I rarely if ever consumed a full prescription.
Lost a distant nephew a couple years back. Likely a fentanyl laced heroin shot. Buddies left the body in the bedroom, took his credit card, and went out for a night of partying.
Cookie's (my wife) dad was a rabid alcoholic/smoker and died in his 50's. One has to sneak it into the punch bowl to get her to take a drink. We worry about our son who we think was clean as a whistle up through high school. After three months of rooming with his buddies post dropping out of college, he came home hooked on nicotine and really heavy into alcohol. Still is, and communications from prior girlfriends really point a finger at booze as a deal breaker. Hope and pray that he never samples anything else.
Might just be the circles I move in, but addiction seems more common among the folks that can least afford it.
Fentanyl killed my stepson 3 years ago. 3 people I know have died from it close to home. It's some bad stuff from what I hear it's not if but when it's going to kill you.
I knew a real pos who would take his Dad's morphine when he was dieing of cancer. Narcan saved his azz twice but thankfully couldn't save him from hepatitis. Need to give dope heads a chance or two to get straight, and then a bullet behind the ear.
Most people are embarrassed by schitt like this but I don't give a damn and maybe it can be a learning lesson to others. I'm an ex heroin addict. I've been clean for over 11 years and was surprisingly a functioning addict that worked a job because I had a family that I had to provide for and I knew that I needed money to support habit and wasn't willing to steal like other people. Nobody just wakes up one day and decides to be an addict. It usually starts with opioid prescriptions like it did for me. I was on vicodin for a legit medical reason and it escalated from there in a long drawn out process that once into, you look back and finally see how far you're in and it's consumed your whole life. Nothing is fun anymore without being high. Hobbies have no value. You sometimes can't even enjoy your current high because youre worried about where the next one will come from. There's no goal to look forward to except to get high. Aspirations no longer exist. I'd be a liar to say that it's not an amazing feeling. It's almost magical and you don't care how you look to the outside world because when you start to judge yourself or reflect on your own life, you can always spend another $20 and make it all disappear. That's why I empathize with people in this situation. I don't believe it's a disease like some do, but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door. One day I didn't recognize myself in the mirror when I was higher than a kite and decided I was done so I made a pact with myself that night and stuck to it. I went to work the next day in full blown withdrawal and told my boss the deal and asked if I could have a week off and if I'd still have a job. He said to take all the time I needed. That was a rough week but I got through it and really glad that I did and I changed my life around and consider myself a better person for it. It's easy to look at a person and just call them a junkie without knowing their story or their demons that they hide from.
Glad you're still clean Mr Bearded. Cold turkey jonesin was likely no fun at all. You were really lucky to have an understanding boss, many aren't and other folks like you don't have that to fall back on, so the cycle starts again.
Re: addiction being a disease, many might disagree with you. Your phrase "but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door." might be considered one definition of a disease.
Matters not to me, once one has lost the ability to "choose" whether one partakes or not, they've got to find a way to deal with it. Disease or not.
Anyone who's never been through withdrawals from any addiction, chosen or prescribed ........................I just hope you never have to.
I knew a real pos who would take his Dad's morphine when he was dieing of cancer. Narcan saved his azz twice but thankfully couldn't save him from hepatitis. Need to give dope heads a chance or two to get straight, and then a bullet behind the ear.
Any idea why they wanted to get her out of the rehab she was in?
And yeah, sometimes it's easy to be "fooled" as like some others here, I've known many people who were functioning addicts/alcoholics that kept up appearences for years, decades even. If they don't get help though, it usually surfaces pretty hard.
Val, I think that her mom got 'played' by her. JMHO I've met the parents multiple times[they're divorced] and mom always seemed to dote on and spoil her even though she was like 40.
Dad was always a little less doting and you could tell he just wanted her to get her sh*t together. He's a 60+ YO that still goes out on HVAC installs[he did ours last summer]. We started out dealing with her on our HVAC and I got fairly frustrated due to it being an emergency as we had renters about to be en route from Michigan staying for 2 weeks. I got her dads # and dropped her out of the picture.
Most people are embarrassed by schitt like this but I don't give a damn and maybe it can be a learning lesson to others. I'm an ex heroin addict. I've been clean for over 11 years and was surprisingly a functioning addict that worked a job because I had a family that I had to provide for and I knew that I needed money to support habit and wasn't willing to steal like other people. Nobody just wakes up one day and decides to be an addict. It usually starts with opioid prescriptions like it did for me. I was on vicodin for a legit medical reason and it escalated from there in a long drawn out process that once into, you look back and finally see how far you're in and it's consumed your whole life. Nothing is fun anymore without being high. Hobbies have no value. You sometimes can't even enjoy your current high because youre worried about where the next one will come from. There's no goal to look forward to except to get high. Aspirations no longer exist. I'd be a liar to say that it's not an amazing feeling. It's almost magical and you don't care how you look to the outside world because when you start to judge yourself or reflect on your own life, you can always spend another $20 and make it all disappear. That's why I empathize with people in this situation. I don't believe it's a disease like some do, but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door. One day I didn't recognize myself in the mirror when I was higher than a kite and decided I was done so I made a pact with myself that night and stuck to it. I went to work the next day in full blown withdrawal and told my boss the deal and asked if I could have a week off and if I'd still have a job. He said to take all the time I needed. That was a rough week but I got through it and really glad that I did and I changed my life around and consider myself a better person for it. It's easy to look at a person and just call them a junkie without knowing their story or their demons that they hide from.
Hell, Rush Limbaugh got hooked on prescription drugs; almost took him down for good. I remember listening to him once and people were calling in asking what was going on, because he was clearly impaired. Not long after, he went off the air to get cleaned up. Had some legal troubles out of it too related to how he got the drugs he used.
An aunt and an uncle drank themselves to death. My brother died from lung cancer after forty years of non-filtered cigarettes. I finally decided to put down my fork so I don’t get diabetes or some other fat guy disease. Fortunately, bread, ice cream, and potatoes are pretty easy for me to do without, once I got started.
Most people are embarrassed by schitt like this but I don't give a damn and maybe it can be a learning lesson to others. I'm an ex heroin addict. I've been clean for over 11 years and was surprisingly a functioning addict that worked a job because I had a family that I had to provide for and I knew that I needed money to support habit and wasn't willing to steal like other people. Nobody just wakes up one day and decides to be an addict. It usually starts with opioid prescriptions like it did for me. I was on vicodin for a legit medical reason and it escalated from there in a long drawn out process that once into, you look back and finally see how far you're in and it's consumed your whole life. Nothing is fun anymore without being high. Hobbies have no value. You sometimes can't even enjoy your current high because youre worried about where the next one will come from. There's no goal to look forward to except to get high. Aspirations no longer exist. I'd be a liar to say that it's not an amazing feeling. It's almost magical and you don't care how you look to the outside world because when you start to judge yourself or reflect on your own life, you can always spend another $20 and make it all disappear. That's why I empathize with people in this situation. I don't believe it's a disease like some do, but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door. One day I didn't recognize myself in the mirror when I was higher than a kite and decided I was done so I made a pact with myself that night and stuck to it. I went to work the next day in full blown withdrawal and told my boss the deal and asked if I could have a week off and if I'd still have a job. He said to take all the time I needed. That was a rough week but I got through it and really glad that I did and I changed my life around and consider myself a better person for it. It's easy to look at a person and just call them a junkie without knowing their story or their demons that they hide from.
Glad you were able to shake it. I've always wondered, how did you do it the very first time? I could just never stick a needle in me with that stuff. Once addicted I can see it, but there had to be a first time.
Ironically I'm a type 1 diabetic so syringes have been a part of my life since the age of 2. I also lucked out because fentanyl wasn't polluting dope back when I was off the wagon or else I'd probably not be here now. The jump from oxycontin to dope was a no brainer. I could snort 220mg of Oxy in one sitting or shoot 20 dollars of dope so it was an easy choice to make. Looking back on it now, and this may not make sense to some and it's hard to explain but the social stigma made schitt even worse. The more that society makes you feel like an outcast, the worse you feel about yourself and choices so you want to escape that too. Viscous cycle.
Val, I think that her mom got 'played' by her. JMHO I've met the parents multiple times[they're divorced] and mom always seemed to dote on and spoil her even though she was like 40.
Dad was always a little less doting and you could tell he just wanted her to get her sh*t together. He's a 60+ YO that still goes out on HVAC installs[he did ours last summer]. We started out dealing with her on our HVAC and I got fairly frustrated due to it being an emergency as we had renters about to be en route from Michigan staying for 2 weeks. I got her dads # and dropped her out of the picture.
I've seen that many, many times.
Just as addiction is a real thing, so is enabling.
Sure sucks when one is trying to help a friend get clean or sober to have the family (or friends) screw things up. Had a friend on his third DUI get told by his boss he didn't need to quit drinking, just need to learn when to call a cab.
Drugs are NOT a victimless crime. Our so called 'war on drugs' was a pathetic answer from our government. Other countries have slowed it down (just ask Brittany Griner) but the US has done nothing at all. The death penalty would have to be used and used effectively. None of this 20 years in prison with endless appeals stuff. Hang dealers immediately. Lock up users for lengthy sentences. I know that sounds harsh and it would be very expensive but that's what it will take to get it done.
Drugs are NOT a victimless crime. Our so called 'war on drugs' was a pathetic answer from our government. Other countries have slowed it down (just ask Brittany Griner) but the US has done nothing at all. The death penalty would have to be used and used effectively. None of this 20 years in prison with endless appeals stuff. Hang dealers immediately. Lock up users for lengthy sentences. I know that sounds harsh and it would be very expensive but that's what it will take to get it done.
I never understood the F#$K Heroin attitude. Heroin didn't jump into these peoples bodies. At one point or another, they made a conscious decision to put heroin in their bodies. I don't think anyone on this earth in unaware of the consequences. It is the same thing as if somebody blows their brains out, you gonna say F#$K guns or bullets?? What if they hang themself? F#$K rope or a sheet?
There are all kinds of items in this world that we know is no good for us or will kill us and people manage to avoid these things everyday. Some people are weak or just don't care and consciously decide to go down that path. Really can't gather the desire to walk that path now that fentanyl is rampant and killing people left and right. Believe me, if I found out my S&W 629 was known to shoot bullets backwards and blow peoples heads off, that sumbitch would be gone...
Just as addiction is a real thing, so is enabling.
Sure sucks when one is trying to help a friend get clean or sober to have the family (or friends) screw things up. Had a friend on his third DUI get told by his boss he didn't need to quit drinking, just need to learn when to call a cab.
Wifes cousin was working for us when she got her 4th DUI. We were out of town when we got word, so long weekend cut short. When they released her she called all apologetic and said to me " I won't do it again and put y'all in a spot like this, promise" I asked what, she said "drink & drive again & I'll get my jail time worked out for mostly weekends so i won't miss too much work"
I guess that'll have to be the way it is but you still done here. She was 45 at the time.
Drugs are NOT a victimless crime. Our so called 'war on drugs' was a pathetic answer from our government. Other countries have slowed it down (just ask Brittany Griner) but the US has done nothing at all. The death penalty would have to be used and used effectively. None of this 20 years in prison with endless appeals stuff. Hang dealers immediately. Lock up users for lengthy sentences. I know that sounds harsh and it would be very expensive but that's what it will take to get it done.
We know lots about the cartelsm and who they are, They have killed more, destroyed more lives, cost more money than Bin Laden. Why are they alive?
Drugs aren't victimless when it comes to the family and friends having to deal with the wake of destruction that addiction causes. But even so, prison isn't the right thing for these people. They need mental health services or something because throwing them into the system does nothing but fuel the urge when you start losing what little you already have. I also forget to say to the OP, im sorry about your friend and thank the rest of you for the kind words.
Legalize all drugs, make them free and readily available. Dispensers on every corner for the really bad ones. It would be hell for a year or three but Gump's law would trim the population of the worst among us. It would also bankrupt the dealers and cartels. No time and money wasted on trials, rehab, DEA and prisons. Also would improve the gene pool a lot.
Just as addiction is a real thing, so is enabling.
Sure sucks when one is trying to help a friend get clean or sober to have the family (or friends) screw things up. Had a friend on his third DUI get told by his boss he didn't need to quit drinking, just need to learn when to call a cab.
Wifes cousin was working for us when she got her 4th DUI. We were out of town when we got word, so long weekend cut short. When they released her she called all apologetic and said to me " I won't do it again and put y'all in a spot like this, promise" I asked what, she said "drink & drive again & I'll get my jail time worked out for mostly weekends so i won't miss too much work"
I guess that'll have to be the way it is but you still done here. She was 45 at the time.
Sorry to hear about the wife's cousin. Hopefully she got a handle on things, other than "won't drink and drive again" .
And yeah, it sounds like some of the enabling stopped with you.
Most people are embarrassed by schitt like this but I don't give a damn and maybe it can be a learning lesson to others. I'm an ex heroin addict. I've been clean for over 11 years and was surprisingly a functioning addict that worked a job because I had a family that I had to provide for and I knew that I needed money to support habit and wasn't willing to steal like other people. Nobody just wakes up one day and decides to be an addict. It usually starts with opioid prescriptions like it did for me. I was on vicodin for a legit medical reason and it escalated from there in a long drawn out process that once into, you look back and finally see how far you're in and it's consumed your whole life. Nothing is fun anymore without being high. Hobbies have no value. You sometimes can't even enjoy your current high because youre worried about where the next one will come from. There's no goal to look forward to except to get high. Aspirations no longer exist. I'd be a liar to say that it's not an amazing feeling. It's almost magical and you don't care how you look to the outside world because when you start to judge yourself or reflect on your own life, you can always spend another $20 and make it all disappear. That's why I empathize with people in this situation. I don't believe it's a disease like some do, but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door. One day I didn't recognize myself in the mirror when I was higher than a kite and decided I was done so I made a pact with myself that night and stuck to it. I went to work the next day in full blown withdrawal and told my boss the deal and asked if I could have a week off and if I'd still have a job. He said to take all the time I needed. That was a rough week but I got through it and really glad that I did and I changed my life around and consider myself a better person for it. It's easy to look at a person and just call them a junkie without knowing their story or their demons that they hide from.
Congratulations. You are 1 out of a hundred, to kick that needle and walk away from it.
Legalize all drugs, make them free and readily available. Dispensers on every corner for the really bad ones. It would be hell for a year or three but Gump's law would trim the population of the worst among us. It would also bankrupt the dealers and cartels. No time and money wasted on trials, rehab, DEA and prisons. Also would improve the gene pool a lot.
Can't see a downside.
You are right, family and friends should just shrug their shoulders and start smiling again after burying their loved ones. Oh our little son Johnny overdoses..well that is what he deserves I guess.
Drugs are NOT a victimless crime. Our so called 'war on drugs' was a pathetic answer from our government. Other countries have slowed it down (just ask Brittany Griner) but the US has done nothing at all. The death penalty would have to be used and used effectively. None of this 20 years in prison with endless appeals stuff. Hang dealers immediately. Lock up users for lengthy sentences. I know that sounds harsh and it would be very expensive but that's what it will take to get it done.
The countries that have slowed it down are those that de-criminalized it and have treated addition as a medical condition and used social programs to get people off the hard drugs.
I'm no fan of drug users and I've never even smoked pot in my life but simply with the connections between drug addiction, homelessness and mental illness I'm kinda coming around to the only way to fix this is to reopen the mental hospitals and start to treat these folks to get them off the hard drugs. From a fiscal standpoint it may be cheaper than any alternative.
In 1970 my high school buddies Greg and Phil had just gotten back from Vietnam. They were in the Marines. I had a vacancy in the house where I was living so I let them move in. About a month later, I got up early to go to work at my construction job. I heard a commotion in Greg's bedroom, the door was open, I looked in and they were sitting on the floor, shooting heroin. I just about fainted. I was shocked. These guys had never touched anything stronger than Jack Daniels in high school, but they got on the heroin in Vietnam. Two weeks later I moved out, I wanted nothing to do with heroin addicts.
A year later Phil died of an OD. To my surprise, Greg got off the dope, but became a world class alcoholic by age 30. He did live to be 62 years old.
Some people makes me wonder WTF? So if a family member of friend starts down a bad road , lock ‘‘em up ? Maybe instead of taking the easy way out you should spend at least a little time trying working with them . While many become incorrigible fools , some do turn it around . Even then there is a lot of damage done to family and friends . Sometimes it’s irreparable, sometimes the doper has to realize it’s better to move on and stay out of the damaged lives , espeacially when it is a long drawn out turn around . But I would say incarceration at first , of course scenarios may differ , is wrong song ding dong . Locking them up will not keep them drug free , they will be locked up with total losers and early on they may not be a total loser yet . But in jail. Or prison drugs are very readily available from perscription to black market . There are after all , criminals of every walk in there and they have figured out all the avenues of working their trade . A little something to think about besides a snoot in the air knee jerk Kenneth
Drugs are NOT a victimless crime. Our so called 'war on drugs' was a pathetic answer from our government. Other countries have slowed it down (just ask Brittany Griner) but the US has done nothing at all. The death penalty would have to be used and used effectively. None of this 20 years in prison with endless appeals stuff. Hang dealers immediately. Lock up users for lengthy sentences. I know that sounds harsh and it would be very expensive but that's what it will take to get it done.
The countries that have slowed it down are those that de-criminalized it and have treated addition as a medical condition and used social programs to get people off the hard drugs.
I'm no fan of drug users and I've never even smoked pot in my life but simply with the connections between drug addiction, homelessness and mental illness I'm kinda coming around to the only way to fix this is to reopen the mental hospitals and start to treat these folks to get them off the hard drugs. From a fiscal standpoint it may be cheaper than any alternative.
I’m so glad the stuff just didn’t seem to be ‘around’ when I was in my experimentation phase. Even the pills, they just didn’t seem to be around much. God knows I prob would have dabbled into it if they were. And, from my observations of those who have dabbled in, it’s a one way ride to a casket in fairly short-order.
Huge kudos to anybody who successfully kicks that schitt. Unfortunately, the only ones I know who ‘have’ haven’t really, because they’re on some prescription that basically replaces the opiate, and said prescription can also be abused to some extent. Teeny percentage of folks kick it clean and cold.
I’m so glad the stuff just didn’t seem to be ‘around’ when I was in my experimentation phase. Even the pills, they just didn’t seem to be around much. God knows I prob would have dabbled into it if they were. And, from my observations of those who have dabbled in, it’s a one way ride to a casket in fairly short-order.
Huge kudos to anybody who successfully kicks that schitt. Unfortunately, the only ones I know who ‘have’ haven’t really, because they’re on some prescription that basically replaces the opiate, and said prescription can also be abused to some extent. Teeny percentage of folks kick it clean and cold.
Same with booze. Nobody ever really kicks it they just replace it with AA or some other substance. Prove me wrong bitches.
My son's half brother (ex-wife remarried) died of an overdose about a year ago. My son set him up in a travel trailer at his house as a last resort to get him clean. My son had struggled with drug issues earlier in life and wanted to help his kid brother.
One night he woke up to police/emergency lights in his front yard. His brother had called 911 after injecting some junk saying he was having trouble breathing (think George Floyd). By the time they got there his brother was dead.
Cops told my son to stay out of the trailer as it was probably fentanyl.
Told my son that he didn't 'Not do enough' and that it's not his fault. And that I was profoundly sorry for him, his mom and her husband. That I couldn't be more proud of him for what he tried to do.
Please (and I'm sure you will) tell your friend something similar.
BeardedGunsmith…..You have my respect and admiration. Not just for being strong enough to kick the magic dragon but especially for your honesty! It’s not easy sharing a secret that we aren’t proud of but in doing so you unknowingly help others that are suffering in silence. You’re an example of success….and a living example proving that one’s current situation does not have to be permanent. I appreciate you taking the time to share that dark period with us and I wish you continued sobriety and all the happiness that life has to offer.
Most people are embarrassed by schitt like this but I don't give a damn and maybe it can be a learning lesson to others. I'm an ex heroin addict. I've been clean for over 11 years and was surprisingly a functioning addict that worked a job because I had a family that I had to provide for and I knew that I needed money to support habit and wasn't willing to steal like other people. Nobody just wakes up one day and decides to be an addict. It usually starts with opioid prescriptions like it did for me. I was on vicodin for a legit medical reason and it escalated from there in a long drawn out process that once into, you look back and finally see how far you're in and it's consumed your whole life. Nothing is fun anymore without being high. Hobbies have no value. You sometimes can't even enjoy your current high because youre worried about where the next one will come from. There's no goal to look forward to except to get high. Aspirations no longer exist. I'd be a liar to say that it's not an amazing feeling. It's almost magical and you don't care how you look to the outside world because when you start to judge yourself or reflect on your own life, you can always spend another $20 and make it all disappear. That's why I empathize with people in this situation. I don't believe it's a disease like some do, but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door. One day I didn't recognize myself in the mirror when I was higher than a kite and decided I was done so I made a pact with myself that night and stuck to it. I went to work the next day in full blown withdrawal and told my boss the deal and asked if I could have a week off and if I'd still have a job. He said to take all the time I needed. That was a rough week but I got through it and really glad that I did and I changed my life around and consider myself a better person for it. It's easy to look at a person and just call them a junkie without knowing their story or their demons that they hide from.
Holy Smoke THAT has got to be one of the strongest testimonials I have ever heard. Congrats to you my friend... now get back to your lifelong recovery... KUDOS !!!!
My son's half brother (ex-wife remarried) died of an overdose about a year ago. My son set him up in a travel trailer at his house as a last resort to get him clean. My son had struggled with drug issues earlier in life and wanted to help his kid brother.
One night he woke up to police/emergency lights in his front yard. His brother had called 911 after injecting some junk saying he was having trouble breathing (think George Floyd). By the time they got there his brother was dead.
Cops told my son to stay out of the trailer as it was probably fentanyl.
Told my son that he didn't 'Not do enough' and that it's not his fault. And that I was profoundly sorry for him, his mom and her husband. That I couldn't be more proud of him for what he tried to do.
Please (and I'm sure you will) tell your friend something similar.
In Nashville, detectives regularly bust street level dealers for coke laced with fentanyl. I’m sure it’s on purpose. Scary stuff
When young enough to perhaps be vulnerable, I was fortunate because in most aspects of my life I encountered almost no alcoholics and zero of the habit forming drug users. But, in one particular aspect I encountered a growing number of drug users.
Most of those were using pot (Mary Jane), but some talented folks who were trying to break some sort of new ground and be inventive were using heroin. They spoke of getting into an "alpha state" where creative ideas flowed more readily and they were able to execute the physical demands more freely. Saw that quite a bit - but did not grasp the phenomenon and never was even tempted to try it. But, those experiences enabled me to more easily recognize the symptoms.
As time passed, I realized that many who became very good in the field and who gained recognition for that also were ridden by some serous habits and the ongoing need for the fix. Almost always a dead end street. To this day I am deeply impressed by, and grateful for, those who quit such habits and make it stick.
What has really become alarming over time is the growing number of people - especially young people - using heroin and/or whatever simply to escape the realities of their lives, or for some similar purpose. Apparently heroin and other drugs have been cheap enough to manage that. But, the drugs undermine almost every good thing in their nature and they are hollowed out. It has gone on to crazy levels since those early days and many of you probably understand the extent and effects far better than do I. Somehow we seem to accept alcoholism as less onerous, but it definitely is not.
What is the cure for such problems? Although somewhat knowledgeable of users, I am not smart enough to propose a good answer. On the individual basis, healthy and heavy self-respect, strong core values and sense of self-worth seem to be the best bet for avoidance of the plague, but a deterrent or cure for the larger social problem escapes me. Maybe those who take the position of Pugs have it right.
Ever watch that miniseries on Hulu called Dopesick? Pretty fugged up what the pharmaceutical companies (particularly Purdue) did and how they did it. Lotsa hard working blue collar folks got hooked on oxys prescribed by their docs for legitimate issues, which started their spiral into cheaper heroin.
Drugs aren't victimless when it comes to the family and friends having to deal with the wake of destruction that addiction causes. But even so, prison isn't the right thing for these people. They need mental health services or something because throwing them into the system does nothing but fuel the urge when you start losing what little you already have. I also forget to say to the OP, im sorry about your friend and thank the rest of you for the kind words.
Kind words? You sir, are a badass. Thank you and stay the path. Good boys have never, ever, made really good men.
Most people are embarrassed by schitt like this but I don't give a damn and maybe it can be a learning lesson to others. I'm an ex heroin addict. I've been clean for over 11 years and was surprisingly a functioning addict that worked a job because I had a family that I had to provide for and I knew that I needed money to support habit and wasn't willing to steal like other people. Nobody just wakes up one day and decides to be an addict. It usually starts with opioid prescriptions like it did for me. I was on vicodin for a legit medical reason and it escalated from there in a long drawn out process that once into, you look back and finally see how far you're in and it's consumed your whole life. Nothing is fun anymore without being high. Hobbies have no value. You sometimes can't even enjoy your current high because youre worried about where the next one will come from. There's no goal to look forward to except to get high. Aspirations no longer exist. I'd be a liar to say that it's not an amazing feeling. It's almost magical and you don't care how you look to the outside world because when you start to judge yourself or reflect on your own life, you can always spend another $20 and make it all disappear. That's why I empathize with people in this situation. I don't believe it's a disease like some do, but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door. One day I didn't recognize myself in the mirror when I was higher than a kite and decided I was done so I made a pact with myself that night and stuck to it. I went to work the next day in full blown withdrawal and told my boss the deal and asked if I could have a week off and if I'd still have a job. He said to take all the time I needed. That was a rough week but I got through it and really glad that I did and I changed my life around and consider myself a better person for it. It's easy to look at a person and just call them a junkie without knowing their story or their demons that they hide from.
Good for you and for having the courage to tell your story…only by the grace of God there go I.
Very sad story which happens many times a day in America and now the Rinos and Dimocraps, some of which are on the Fire, support it by supporting the pukes in Govt they do.
Chyna now is making billions off their fentanyl also with the open borders BS . Crap like Houston, Gayghost, Northmam, Lostofftrail, WadeinBrown, Jell0, Sickermore and Gooschiet would, if decent people, give a schiett. They don't.
AFAIC its another reason to support Trump. It sounds to me like hes gone from playing defense to playing offense and is pushing the camels nose under the tent about doing as Chyna does with their rare drug pushers.
Congratulations on your being clean. My sister was functioning too on prescription oxy. She had kind of a hack job back fusion and then a revision. She knew where she was and told the doc after the revision she couldn't go home addicted. She went to a facility for PT and her pain management doctor helped her get all the way off at the same time. It took a month. Been about 5 years for her. She will never touch anything other than tylenol now.
My wife had toe surgery and was given oxy. Right when she was getting over it she blew out her back and back to the oxy. She new it wasn't a good thing though she will tell you that the feeling of drifting off when she went to bed was hard to replace. It took a couple rounds of epidurals to get away from it and it wasn't easy but was headaches, restlessness and irritability for a couple weeks. She won't touch that anymore either. Her back isn't great but she manages it with tylenol, stretching and gabapentin.
Sad at times to see people win the stupid prize, even sadder to watch the gooberment continue playing the same stupid game for decades and always getting the same results, over and over, and over.......
Raeford: Sorry for the loss of the friend. NOTHING good comes from drug use (and that includes pot!)! Hope calm comes to your friend soon - keep an eye out for him also. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
Most people are embarrassed by schitt like this but I don't give a damn and maybe it can be a learning lesson to others. I'm an ex heroin addict. I've been clean for over 11 years and was surprisingly a functioning addict that worked a job because I had a family that I had to provide for and I knew that I needed money to support habit and wasn't willing to steal like other people. Nobody just wakes up one day and decides to be an addict. It usually starts with opioid prescriptions like it did for me. I was on vicodin for a legit medical reason and it escalated from there in a long drawn out process that once into, you look back and finally see how far you're in and it's consumed your whole life. Nothing is fun anymore without being high. Hobbies have no value. You sometimes can't even enjoy your current high because youre worried about where the next one will come from. There's no goal to look forward to except to get high. Aspirations no longer exist. I'd be a liar to say that it's not an amazing feeling. It's almost magical and you don't care how you look to the outside world because when you start to judge yourself or reflect on your own life, you can always spend another $20 and make it all disappear. That's why I empathize with people in this situation. I don't believe it's a disease like some do, but once you unlock that part of your brain it's hard to close the door. One day I didn't recognize myself in the mirror when I was higher than a kite and decided I was done so I made a pact with myself that night and stuck to it. I went to work the next day in full blown withdrawal and told my boss the deal and asked if I could have a week off and if I'd still have a job. He said to take all the time I needed. That was a rough week but I got through it and really glad that I did and I changed my life around and consider myself a better person for it. It's easy to look at a person and just call them a junkie without knowing their story or their demons that they hide from.
I have a Texas friend 70 years old, always held a job and then started and retired from a successful lawncare and landscape business. Had no idea he was an addict until he told me a few years ago. It started when he got badly hurt in a motorcycle wreck in the 1970s.About 5 or 6 years ago he got put on a program to get him off opioids after the crackdown on doctors began. He was getting a dose of morphine once a day and methadone as they tried to break his addiction. He has told me there is no way to describe the hold that stuff has on you. He got kicked out of the program when they caught him cheating. He swears he tried but he was going crazy and pacing the floor all hours of the night craving his drugs. Needless to say he gave up and last I heard he found a doctor (black lady) that would prescribe his drugs. Been a couple of years now since we talked, he may be dead or on heroin. At 70 years old and that badly addicted I say what the heck.
I was good friends with a kid in Atlanta, Marc was really smart and he wound up Valedictorian of Emory Law School. Marc got a job at a hotshot Atlanta law firm. At age 35, Marc was knocking down $500K annually.
On Friday night, he was driving down Peachtree in the turbocharged Porsche with a stacked redhead at his side.
Marc let me drive the Porsche one afternoon, Good God what a car! On Saturday nights, Marc was driving down Peachtree Rd in the Bentley with a stacked brunette.
At age 40, Marc got on the cocaine. He made so much money, he could buy all the coke he wanted and pay cash. In a few years the law firm got wise to his coke problem, offered to send him to the Betty Ford at no charge, he would have none of it. By age 45, Marc had lost his job and his condo. Both cars were repo-ed. Unbelievably at age 46 he was homeless and sleeping under a pine tree on the Buford Highway. Marc died in Cave Springs Ga. in a rehab clinic of a stroke at age 56.
His sister wrote the obit. It said, "Marc was a brilliant lawyer but he had addiction problems..."
"I've seen the needle and the damage done, But every junkie is like a setting sun Oooh, Oh, the damage done..."
Drugs aren't victimless when it comes to the family and friends having to deal with the wake of destruction that addiction causes. But even so, prison isn't the right thing for these people. They need mental health services or something because throwing them into the system does nothing but fuel the urge when you start losing what little you already have. I also forget to say to the OP, im sorry about your friend and thank the rest of you for the kind words.
Kind words? You sir, are a badass. Thank you and stay the path. Good boys have never, ever, made really good men.
Drugs aren't victimless when it comes to the family and friends having to deal with the wake of destruction that addiction causes. But even so, prison isn't the right thing for these people. They need mental health services or something because throwing them into the system does nothing but fuel the urge when you start losing what little you already have. I also forget to say to the OP, im sorry about your friend and thank the rest of you for the kind words.
Kind words? You sir, are a badass. Thank you and stay the path. Good boys have never, ever, made really good men.
Care to explain this ?
LOL
Is it not self explanatory?
He went through hell but managed to hold a job and got clean on his own.
Drugs aren't victimless when it comes to the family and friends having to deal with the wake of destruction that addiction causes. But even so, prison isn't the right thing for these people. They need mental health services or something because throwing them into the system does nothing but fuel the urge when you start losing what little you already have. I also forget to say to the OP, im sorry about your friend and thank the rest of you for the kind words.
Kind words? You sir, are a badass. Thank you and stay the path. Good boys have never, ever, made really good men.
Care to explain this ?
LOL
Is it not self explanatory?
He went through hell but managed to hold a job and got clean on his own.
No it's not dumbass....this question wasn't directed at you, duh. " Good boy's have never,ever made really good Men" This is the question for Pat.
Regarding my friend Marc, the lawyer, mentioned above. I wanted to help him. I thought about David Crosby the musician. He was a massive coke addict. He said in an interview that the only reason he is alive today, is that he got busted in Texas and sentenced to one year in the Texas Pen.
Texas has a dope rehab program. They put the junkie in a solitary cell for the first week, on bread and water. After 7 days, if the junkie is still alive, he is cured! Crosby said that he went one year without coke, and when he got out he was cured. He still had to have a liver transplant, he had fried his liver on all the coke.
I seriously thought about ratting my buddy out to the narcs, even though it went against the grain of my thinking. If Marc could do a year in the Georgia Pen he might be cured. But then, I figured, his first night in jail he might hang himself and I would be to blame.
Tough call, but I did nothing. And ten years later Marc was another dead junkie.
Well I have personally attended AA/NA meetings . The person in question has to decide for themself whether their life is no longer manageable and is willing to give it all over to a Higher Power. They must decide whether or not they are sick and tired of being sick and tired. That’s just the way it is. Significant others /family play no part besides a support role. Although they can be enablers. Ultimately, it is up to each individual to decide.
Regarding my friend Marc, the lawyer, mentioned above. I wanted to help him. I thought about David Crosby the musician. He was a massive coke addict. He said in an interview that the only reason he is alive today, is that he got busted in Texas and sentenced to one year in the Texas Pen.
Texas has a dope rehab program. They put the junkie in a solitary cell for the first week, on bread and water. After 7 days, if the junkie is still alive, he is cured! Crosby said that he went one year without coke, and when he got out he was cured. He still had to have a liver transplant, he had fried his liver on all the coke.
I seriously thought about ratting my buddy out to the narcs, even though it went against the grain of my thinking. If Marc could do a year in the Georgia Pen he might be cured. But then, I figured, his first night in jail he might hang himself and I would be to blame.
Tough call, but I did nothing. And ten years later Marc was another dead junkie.
I think Crosby's liver was shot from hepatitis C. His alcohol abuse didn't help.
Not aware of any studies regarding chronic cocaine use and liver damage.
Now he might have caught the Hep from shooting coke/junk or through body fluids via sharing a straw for snorting. Probably caught it via doing nasty stuff with groupies.
Drugs aren't victimless when it comes to the family and friends having to deal with the wake of destruction that addiction causes. But even so, prison isn't the right thing for these people. They need mental health services or something because throwing them into the system does nothing but fuel the urge when you start losing what little you already have. I also forget to say to the OP, im sorry about your friend and thank the rest of you for the kind words.
Kind words? You sir, are a badass. Thank you and stay the path. Good boys have never, ever, made really good men.
Care to explain this ?
LOL
Is it not self explanatory?
He went through hell but managed to hold a job and got clean on his own.
No it's not dumbass....this question wasn't directed at you, duh. " Good boy's have never,ever made really good Men" This is the question for Pat.
Again not that hard to understand…
It isn’t meant to be taken as Gods honest 100% truth. Point being that you live and you learn. You grow and make yourself better from the lessons learned and mistakes made. If you’ve never made mistakes and have few life experiences you likely have a narrow set of ideas to draw from.
I've taken flak for it here on the campfire, but I am totally against drugs....especially illegal stuff, that the liberal left wants to keep legalizing... especially in Washington and Oregon, and California....
I feel for the families and their loss, as far as the 'victim'... not really they did it to themselves...
what is any difference in Overdosing or just committing suicide??? produces the same outcome..
and with that, I am accused of being "totally heartless" frequently.
Well I have personally attended AA/NA meetings . The person in question has to decide for themself whether their life is no longer manageable and is willing to give it all over to a Higher Power. They must decide whether or not they are sick and tired of being sick and tired. That’s just the way it is. Significant others /family play no part besides a support role. Although they can be enablers. Ultimately, it is up to each individual to decide.
100 % spot on....
like the old adage.. "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"
you can throw him in the water, you can drown him in the water...
In the past few years, several new women in my life impressed me with their obvious tight grip on life and reality and their work ethic. I could tell they all had lived a rough life.
Sooner or later all of them told me a similar story of meth and heroin and homelessness and the hell they went thru and what it took to crawl back out of it by their fingernails.
Therapy and faith and hard work and getting their mind right, put them back in the work force and gave them the grit and determination that got my attention in the first place.
I count them as friends and I admire what they have accomplished.
I still cannot comprehend how they took that first step or how they can live with what they did while hooked. I respect them and trust them and I hope they win in life.
But, as much as I want them to do well, I know deep down I could never have them as a partner...I know I would not be able to look past the prostitution and other behaviors in their past. I damn sure hope they do find men who can, because they deserve happiness.
I've taken flak for it here on the campfire, but I am totally against drugs....especially illegal stuff, that the liberal left wants to keep legalizing... especially in Washington and Oregon, and California....
I feel for the families and their loss, as far as the 'victim'... not really they did it to themselves...
what is any difference in Overdosing or just committing suicide??? produces the same outcome..
and with that, I am accused of being "totally heartless" frequently.
I agree. Personal responsibility. Choices have consequences.
I've taken flak for it here on the campfire, but I am totally against drugs....especially illegal stuff, that the liberal left wants to keep legalizing... especially in Washington and Oregon, and California....
I feel for the families and their loss, as far as the 'victim'... not really they did it to themselves...
what is any difference in Overdosing or just committing suicide??? produces the same outcome..
and with that, I am accused of being "totally heartless" frequently.
What if someone gets strung out because they were over prescribed. Wife had thyroid surgery and they gave her an ungodly amount of opiates. So much that the pharmacist told me that they didn't have that much in stock.
Not saying that people shouldn't take personal responsibility, but a little helping hand might be needed. That said I also understand that loved ones can only do so much and may have to refuse to help after getting shidt stolen, etc.
We really need to bring back forcibly committing some people to hospitals. They don't go, then off to jail with them.
I hear you on legalizing it, though. One look at the sea of homeless camps in Portland should be proof of what a failure that's been.
What if someone gets strung out because they were over prescribed. Wife had thyroid surgery and they gave her an ungodly amount of opiates. So much that the pharmacist told me that they didn't have that much in stock.
Not saying that people shouldn't take personal responsibility, but a little helping hand might be needed. That said I also understand that loved ones can only do so much and may have to refuse to help after getting shidt stolen, etc.
We really need to bring back forcibly committing some people to hospitals. They don't go, then off to jail with them.
I hear you on legalizing it, though. One look at the sea of homeless camps in Portland should be proof of what a failure that's been.
When I had my first eye surgery, the doc sent me to the pharmacy with a stack of prescriptions, eyedrops this and that, oh, and a bottle full of oxy. Not for any surgery related pain, but for “possible” muscle pain from having to sit in a down facing position for six weeks.
Being plenty naive in the area of drugs, I had no idea what oxy was. NOBODY, not the doc, not the nurse, not the pharmacy tech or the pharmacist made any mention of this being an opiate, potentially addictive, or side effects. Just here, take these.
I’m blessed with a constitution that’s not particularly addictive. I kicked cigarettes early in life, and other than a few youthful indiscretions with hashies and pot, an occasional drink is my only vice. I took one oxy, and it was definitely not for me. Weird buzzy feeling, no thanks. Alternating Tylenol and Ibuprofenwere as effective, anyway.
Like I said, I consider myself blessed, but someone who experiences the high more intensely would have had a more than fair chance at being hooked without ever even knowing what risk they were taking.
No different, really, than a street dealer lacing pot with fentanyl in an attempt to hook users. People are ensnared before they even know they are at risk.
This song tells a story about it (especially the last verse):
To some I'm a wise man, to some I'm a fool But I need a little something to keep my cool I sleep with the sun and I rise with the moon And I feel alright with my needle and spoon I feel alright with my needle and spoon
It's difficult sometimes to get my stuff So if I'm evil don't get in a huff I sleep with the sun and I rise with the moon And I feel alright with my needle and spoon I feel alright with my needle and spoon
Don't need no women don't need no wine 'Cause life is sweet when you hit the main line I sleep with the sun and I rise with the moon And I feel alright with my needle and spoon I feel alright with my needle and spoon
Only one thing that worries my mind The stuff it kills you and it treats you unkind If you're married you can divorce your wife But when you're married to "H? then you're married for life You're married to "H? and you're married for life
Regarding my friend Marc, the lawyer, mentioned above. I wanted to help him. I thought about David Crosby the musician. He was a massive coke addict. He said in an interview that the only reason he is alive today, is that he got busted in Texas and sentenced to one year in the Texas Pen.
Texas has a dope rehab program. They put the junkie in a solitary cell for the first week, on bread and water. After 7 days, if the junkie is still alive, he is cured! Crosby said that he went one year without coke, and when he got out he was cured. He still had to have a liver transplant, he had fried his liver on all the coke.
I seriously thought about ratting my buddy out to the narcs, even though it went against the grain of my thinking. If Marc could do a year in the Georgia Pen he might be cured. But then, I figured, his first night in jail he might hang himself and I would be to blame.
Tough call, but I did nothing. And ten years later Marc was another dead junkie.
Don't feel too badly.
A year inside doesn't "cure" anyone.
I know many that have done longer stretches and came out and first thing they looked for was a bottle or a bag.
Crosby is basically an anomaly. He just happened to be "done" and likely found something else, of perhaps some spiritual nature, while locked up.
I was going to put this up earlier but waited to see. Typical dead wood around here. Uncultured fuggs
Coked up Ronnie, biting his way thru it.
1975
No Billy Powell, Ronnie had knocked a few of his teeth out then. Ed King present but not for long, scooted out soon after regarding a fight with Ronnie of course. Allen and Gary, Ed King at 2:35
Ronnie broke Gary’s hand somewhere, I think before
Spot on perfect cover of a great song. A whole lot of talent but it sounds exactly like the Chains version. There isn’t anything about it to make it their own.
Layne Staley was a great lead vocal. Upchurch nailed it. IMO Chris Cornell was about the only one better in that era but I wasn’t a Sound Garden fan the lyrics weren’t great
Just now starting a report on a fatal overdose. Kid was in grade school when I got here 20 years ago. Fuct around with that stuff since 2014 and lost the bet this time.
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