extremely worried about my cousin

[Ferrari308]

Mattman, as a chaplain in a high-security prison, I deal with dopeheads all the time. They're permanently brain-damaged, I'm afraid, and will never return to "normalcy".

I keep hope for all people. Even someone who is retarded can live a happy life if the family makes some accomidations. It is just a question of how far the family is willing to go.

If the family has the money, or he has the insurance, there are treatment centers. Try getting him admitted to a program. If he is homeless, life can't be that great. He's going to start hating his life sooner or later, you have to be ready when that time comes to offer an alternative.

It sucks that you said this happened to a nice guy. This should be an example of why drugs are evil.

If you know he is always using, get him busted once by the police. Show up at court, explain to the judge you need help, and want him thrown in court ordered rehab. Push, push, and keep pushing.

There is something else going on you need to get to the bottom of. Nobody wakes up and wants to use drugs. Something in his life caused him to look for drugs. Unless you find the underlying issue, he won't be saved. Find out what made him dislike life so much that he went looking for drugs. And tell the family there are support groups for family members dealing with drug abusers. They might be able to help offer better information about what to do.

 

[romma]

Mattman, as a chaplain in a high-security prison, I deal with dopeheads all the time. They're permanently brain-damaged, I'm afraid, and will never return to "normalcy".

Grateful recovering addict here who happens to volunteer at the Dept. of Corrections in Ct.. Some, not all "Dopeheads" as you call them do get released, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. The lie is dead, not all addicts die from addiction. I personally shot heroin and cocaine for a long time and have been clean for over 12 yrs.

 

[larry_minn]

Sorry to hear about your/his problem. Meth and other drugs are a major danger. Also different people react to different meds. I have been on Morphine/vicoden/percoset/lorcet/celebrex.codine/etc/etc/etc. Never had (visions) or anything. The most was on dental surgury when his assistant started looking REALLY HOT. (ok she always was a looker but for some reason ufta) I also bounce off meds quickly. Surgury is done and I am awake on way to recovery. (if not in surgury but luckily I don't feel pain) Freaked out a few Dr.s when I come to during surgury. (they tell me later)
Right now I am (clean) I'm supposed to be on Celebrex/vicodin but figure if I can control discomfort I can carry, take part in firearms class. Not (like I said) I have had any problems it just would stink if after justified self defense they say "I see you have been takeing two meds for last two months that MIGHT affect you"

 

[gulogulo1970]

Well maybe prison will allow him to evaluate his life with a sober mind. You can only hope and pray for him to survive and wake-up, he may, when he wakes up in prison and thinks, "where did my life go."

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

there but for the grace of god go i

pray for him dude. i was like that about 15 years ago. i got in a rehab made and stuck with some substantive changes in how i lived my life and haven't even done a tylenol in 14 years. for me it was prayer and a lotta help and encouragement from my friends and family as well as help from strangers that got me straight. it can happen but odds are long. its a funny thing i remodel houses and a lotta of my clients are leo. we joke how we were both in same biz different sides. myh real sympathies to all the family member hurt. when i was in that condition my world was so selfcentered i was incapable of considering the destruction i wrought.weak excuse but i really didn't mean to hurt anyone else while commiting suicide on the installment plan.some one mentioned intervention and that was great b ut also remember to protect yourself and family from him. good luck man

 

[Lupinus]

I know how hard that can be

I lost my uncle a few years back because he got back into heroin, all it takes is one bad batch and if you have ever watched a 230 bull of a man shrink to a 190 or so pound shadow of himself you know what that crap'll do to a person. Sad part was he was doing good, in aa and other programs, and started using agian because he had had surgery a few weeks prior and the doctors wouldn't give him anything other stronger then vioxx for the pain because of his (at that time anyway) previous drug use and it was the only thing he could think of. I ever find the sob who left him in the apartment when he knew something was wrong and he is in for the hurtin of his life.

Sorry for ranting, but it ticks me off what that stuff will do to a person.

 

[Linux&Gun Guy]

There is a WONDERFUL little pill, named "Suboxone". This wonderful, God-sent anti-drug is completely harmless and will block any known drug from reaching the brain's receptors.

This little beauty is taken (1 Mg. or 2Mgs. under the tongue). Have your cousin put on this stuff and his brain will be INCAPABLE of reacting to drugs, because the medicine adhere so tightly to the neurons that the drugs can not affix themselves, thus altering cognition.

Following my Appr. 20th surgery from the auto accident, the pain was still horrid. My doctor had me using a 50 MicroGm. Duragesic patch. That medication is literally 1,000 (one-thousand) times stronger than Morphene. To go off Duragesic patches, one MUST use Suboxone...otherwise your blood pressure will within hours do a 400 over 300 instead of the nice normal 120 over 80...YOU WILL DIE...FACT FIRM!

Doctors have the patient use Suboxone for about 6 months, then simply go off it...simple as that.

THERE IS HOPE....THERE IS HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If all else fails, and you can't find a doctor to prescribe Suboxone, e-mail me...I'll give the leading Dr.'s name in America.

Just one side-effect to be aware of...the surgeon will NOT, WILL NOT be able to knock you out for surgery unless you stop Suboxone...remember, it blocks the attachment of mind-altering drugs.

Here's to health!!!!!!!!!!

Doc2005

Like other people said bupe(suboxone) is only for opiods and opiates and it is not compleatly harmless - people can and do abuse bupe and it is addictive. Use it correctly and it can get you unaddicted to opiates without getting sick.

Harm reduction is the key to using any drug responsibly - for example meth can and is used without undue harm as long as the user does a few things such as:

Using a safe route of administration such as oral or rectal or sublingual instead of nasal or IV/IM

Making sure to take vitamines and eat well before you dose and take fluids

And NEVER going longer then 24hours on a meth binge - after that it just gets worse and worse and worse but if you take a dose - enjoy it and then stop and wait around untill you can sleep or keep yourself occupied watching TV or reading you give your body a chance to recharge and then you can sleep and wait a week or so before doing it all over again

In this manner most any drug including methamphatamine, herion, oxymorphone and oxycodone, cocaine, LSD(different preperations and care should be done because LSD is an emotional drug) et al can be used safely and sanely and will generally be pleasent and no more harmful or risky then other common activities such as diving or racing if even that risky.

The problem is that there are a large number or stupid people and/or smart people with no willpower that start using drugs every day with no recovery period - the law of dimminishing returns then hits them over the head and they get in big trouble.

Selection bias - millions of people use meth and other "hard" drugs without major problems but you only find out about the ones that are way screwed up because the ones that are OK don't let everyone know.

 

[mattman the gun fan]

thanks everyone again all your support really helps. i hope he gets better and realizes what he did while he is in jail.

 

[lesjones]

Matt, very sorry to hear about your cousin. My sister has been abusing drugs for 15 years. She nearly died earlier this year and was on life support for three weeks. She's now in a nursing home at age 45.

My advice is the tough love approach. Get the family together and form a firm, united front. Have an intervention and let him know that he can be a member of the family, or a drug addict, but not both. If he wants to do drugs, he's no longer welcome in anyone's homes. We tried this, too late, with my sister. Our mother couldn't stand the thought of not helping her little girl every time she needed money or help.

Rehab can help, but do it early. The longer the person stays addicted and the more time rehab fails, the less likely they are to ever quit, and the more damage will be done to their mind and body. Your cousin has to be motivated to change, which is why you need a firm, united front. If he thinks he can get away with being a druggie he won't quit.

Be sure to protect everyone else in the family. You want to help the addict, but you also need to realize that he will prey on their own family. If he won't quit, he can't be let in the house and he can't be trusted. Change the locks and secure the valuables.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

It starts with the family unit. Speak often to your children and spend as much time with them as you can. Warn them ect... The breakdown of the family unit is a major contributing factor to abusing drugs even if the drug user knows right from wrong. The government isn't too terribly effective in fighting the "war on drugs" because they go about the wrong way. Single parent households are nowhere near as successful in raising the next generation as the solid family unit. This goes for divorcing parents as well. An adolescent in emotional pain will turn to drugs.

 

[mordechaianiliewicz]

A second cousin of mine, I went to school with got on meth, and suffered for it. (lost about 50 lbs when she was normal weight before, and had sex with 3 men she still doesn't know). She got clean through the help of her parents, her brother, and a couple of extended family members (myself included). I've always believed that no one other than your family and very close friends can truly get you clean if you're addicted to something. The reason why (and it sounds really corny) is that you need love to get you better.

If he is too far gone, he is, then shower the love to those who survive him. But, if there is still hope, it is going to be through a very dificult, and ardous process. His family will have to be strong enough to replace the drugs with their love. Otherwise, he is gonna have to get committed. Padded room, and the whole thing.

 

[cz75bdneos22]

meth to death...

i'll see about giving you a link from work.

www.uth.tmc.edu

click on... don't meth with Texas story to read more...

 

[makarovnik]

Sorry

I'm sorry to hear that meth is controlling someone close to you. I hope this is not out of order but I will say a prayer for your cousin and your family. Let's all hope that this young man can turn his life around.

 

[Tsonda]

I am sorry to hear of your family troubles. Meth is very bad, and I am someone who thinks it should be legal. It can certainly destroy lives very rapidly, but it is a choice. Having watched people choose it just makes me shake my head. I have at least one cousin on it right now. He and I are not talking right now, my brother is helping him. Anyway I digress, bless you and stay strong.

Regards,

James

 

[gunsmith]

Pray for him

God can work miracles, I was going to drink myself
to death and now I have not touched a drop in ten years.
one day at a time

 

[rangerruck]

you need to remove your brother, from this situation. if I had to , I would get a couple of masked guys and you as well, kidnap him, tie his A** up somewhere for about 2 weeks on a cot in the woods, until he detoxes.
there is a morbid syndrome out there, I don't remember the name, about certain people who want to be handicapped, they go for bodyparts, this is why he hasn't absolutely blown his head off, seems to me.

 

[akodo]

this is a case where you can do both society and the person in question a favor by getting them arrested.

It's a lot harder to commit suicide in jail, and while you can still get drugs, it is a fair amount more difficult, and the quantities are smaller, plus there is a slim chance the guy would get a wakeup call in there and then take advantage of the drug programs most offer.

 

[Heywood Case]

Harm reduction is the key to using any drug responsibly - for example meth can and is used without undue harm as long as the user does a few things such as:

This is not harm reduction. In the long run the behavior recommended by Linux&Gun Guy will actually maximize the likelihood of harm. The risks of continued "safe" use include harm from the direct effects of the drug, the likelihood of eventual arrest, the possibility of losing control in a time of stress, and the risks of associating with purchasing the drug.

There is a lesson here for gun owners about risk assessment. It is so easy to fool yourself about a bad habit.

(Please don't assume that I'm equating guns to methamphetamine use, as that is not the case. I'm talking about risk perception and trying to make a necessary response as relevant as possible)

 

[Mannlicher]

just write him off. He is not your problem.

 

[Taffnevy]

My sister did a lot of meth in her early twentys. She is now 34 and not right at all, lot's of mental issues. She has not taken meth in at least 8 years, but her mind has been altered, and she will never be the same again.

Meth destroys your mind, forever.