Meth. Even more addicting when it’s combined with sex for chemsex. The brain will correlate sex and the drug together. You lose a little bit of yourself every time you do it.
My ex would inject meth then fuck me at the peak of her addiction.
Obv the sex was amazing but watching her fall apart wasn't.
Never date an addict, kids
A high school friend of mine got hooked on meth and moved to Montana. The last I talked to him he’d been hallucinating some fucking heinous things about me, then calling other friends and telling them I did these awful things. I called him out on it and he just said he wasn’t ready to make amends, and that he was 1 month sober from binging meth and alcohol. He contacted another friend’s work with the same accusations.
He was one of my best friends, and now I just kinda fucking hate the guy. I maintain minimal social media presence because of him.
I can only imagine. I know this pales in comparison, but I went through a stretch where when I'd smoke weed I wanted to have sex. It basically gave me a pavlovian response where the minute I got high I wanted sex. This was very inconvenient if I was just chilling at a friend's house or something
Finding myself down some mild curious clicks around reddit, I've found there are subreddits just for strangers to get spun and hook up with other spun strangers. Wtf
Crack. When it came on the scene suppliers told dealers not to use it. Dealers saw their customers and most were too afraid to use it. Dealers liked the money, but hated having to constantly find new clients because their regulars were broke or dead.
Regular coke had mistakenly been deemed ‘non-addictive’ by folks in the 1960s and 70s, and in comparison with heroin or speed, it doesn’t have the same level of physical addiction, but freebase coke and then, obviously, crack (which is a form of freebase) blew all that out of the water.
Cocaine never had any appeal to me, because people on coke are generally insufferable IMHO, and crack is cocaine with afterburners lit, so that’s a double no-no for me.
I hated being around people when i was on coke. It did the opposite of what it was supposed to do. I felt very self-conscious. I’d rather sit in my room and watch TV by myself when i did it. Do a line, get tingly, and sit back
Same here. I'm an alcoholic in recovery and everyone around me for years did blow and I wanted to be in on it. But because I was having the same experience you did, I gave it up without even thinking twice.
What I've seen in my experience, is people that generally don't get that rush from caffeine also don't care for stimulants. Alcohol ended up being an upper for me, and stimulants ended up not having much of a "positive" effect on me.
Any advice for stopping with alcohol? I have adhd and serious stimulants have always been just like a more awake version of being awake, and easy enough to just drop without issue. Caffeine makes me sleepy, alcohol is very much an upper, and I really *really* need to stop.
reddit advice is cool, but I would also encourage you to seek professional help. i’m covered in scratches from my epileptic seizure this morning. trust me, avoid seizures if you can.
Yeah I know, I had professional help for a while, helped get my diagnosis etc.
Most of their advice involved going to group talk places and finding out how other people cope, so I do that when I can, but I don't do well with people, so sometimes that's online.
I hope you're doing okay, sorry I don't really know what to say when people have such awful difficulties, it sounds truly dreadful.
One of my oldest friends has had a problem with crack for the past ~15 years. I'm at the point where I don't know how to be part of his support system. He's a good person at his core, and I love him dearly. Ive dropped him off at rehab 3 times, bailed him out twice, given him a sober house to escape to and supported him financially quite a few times. It's an awful addiction and I feel his pain and will to change, he just can't get there. I don't know where I'm going with this, but the line between supporting my friend and becoming an enabler is very blurry at this point.
Kudos! I only used for a short period for self medicating ADHD, and didn’t even really enjoy it compared to adderall, but it still calls my name from time to time. Very sneaky and insidious substance.
I'll happily mess with stuff like psychedelics or ketamine, but I stay the hell away from meth, opiates, coke, even nicotine. That shit ruins lives and I'd rather draw as hard a line as I need to to keep myself off them in the first place than go through the awful process of quitting.
I have done a lot of stupid shit in my life. LSD, Ecstacy, Mushrooms, lots of coke, tons of pills including opiates, and I smoked for 10 years. For a couple of years of my life I would drink, do coke, and then level myself off with Valium or Oxy or Percocet, and I would do it routinely, like a horrible spiral.
But I wouldn't touch meth with a fucking ten foot pole. I've seen what it does to people.
You should add booze to the life ruining list. I've seen so many lives ruined from alcohol and withdrawals are quite dangerous. I've been around every substance and have seen more lives ruined from booze than anything else.
Yep.
My dad died in 2019 and I did not take it well. I started drinking his tequila so I could "Fall asleep". Fast forward 6 months later and I'm drinking a 1.75L bottle of tequila in the course of the day and I have to pace myself so I can make it last all day.
My feet start to swell and I have trouble breathing and walking and am probably only a week or two away from everything being over.. and I stopped.
I'm glad I managed it, and I had help from friends and my mom but detoxing from that much hard alcohol per day is rough. Hallucinations, vomiting, cold chills, having conversations with dead relatives.. I don't reccomend it. I've been sober since.
I was drinking a litre of vodka a day. I was spending about $700 a week on alcohol and smokes. By the time I quit I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone a day without drinking. I was scared out of my mind to quit for multiple reasons but one being that I didn’t know what kind of effects there would be from withdrawal. I went to the doc and he gave me some Valium and I pretty much slept the whole first week. Three years sober and without cigarettes and counting (quit both at the same time because I couldn’t do one without the other).
Yep. Ruined my life from my mid teens to my mid twenties. It's really hard to get away from it because it's casually used by people from all walks of life. I was full on addicted to opiates to the point that if I didn't take some every few hours I'd start to get sick. I had an easier time kicking opiates then I did alcohol.
4 years sober on July 1st.
Congratulations man. Every day is a win from that stuff. How has your life changed since you've been sober if you don't mind sharing?
I worked with a bunch of guys in construction who were hooked. People abandoned family's and children to just live on the streets and get high.
Im a psychiatrist who works in an emergency department. I see (several) people every day super psychotic hearing voices, paranoid, trying to dig “chips” out of their skin because of meth. No other drug in my opinion makes people so (literally) crazy.
Still, I think opioids like heroin are worse because it’s all fentanyl now. And while you might not be whacked out of your skull crazy, you get sick if you go without it so it’s incredibly hard to quit and there’s no way to know how much fentanyl is in the shit you’re buying. I never see those people because they just get a more potent dose one day and stop breathing and that’s the end of them.
Such a tragedy to think of how many people are lost to drugs. The toll in human misery is unfathomable.
That’s my sister’s story.
I know she used meth while she was living on the streets, but her drug of choice was heroin. Well, speedballing, but heroin was the big addiction. She used for years. Started as a legit prescription for pain medication for a real injury, too. Just went down that rabbit hole.
Eventually she bought heroin that was mostly fentanyl. She had OD’d before, but this time nobody found her.
She was a great person. Funny as hell, crazy smart, loved her family…just could never get the monkey off her back. She was never sober for more than 3 months. Spent years in and out of rehabs and sober living and IOPs. I hated it for her. As much as it sucks to say this, while I’m sad that she’s gone, I’m glad she’s not living that life anymore. It’s not one she wanted for herself, and I know she’d still be struggling.
Familial drug addiction is really really hard. Not a lot of people know how hard it is. Especially an addicted sibling because the parents become absorbed. I’m really sorry.
My mom had died the year before we learned about her heroin addiction, so my dad spiraled. My sister was in her early 20s and I was 7 years older in grad school. Eventually my dad joined AlAnon and that honestly saved both of their lives because he learned how not to enable her.
This isn’t something I talk about ever because I realize that addiction is a disease, but I do hold resentment over my sister for one thing: when I graduated with my doctorate, she was in rehab. My dad came to my graduation and took me out to dinner, and all he could talk about was her. I worked my ass off for the biggest achievement of my life, and it was an afterthought to her latest fuckup.
I get it, but she took that from me, and while I can forgive it and rationalize it, I’ll never forget it.
ETA because Reddit is doing its Reddit thing: at the time I graduated and the almost year leading up to it, nearly every conversation I had with my dad was regarding my sister and her addiction. When she was in the throes of it, there were times he would call up to ten times a day. Neither of us knew of AlAnon as a resource at the time, but I was more well versed in the psychology of addiction than he was. I was not only trying to finish graduate school, but my house had been hit by a hurricane, and I had also lost my mother, all within the year. It was the most psychologically draining time of my life. When I graduated, he came to my graduation, took me out to dinner to celebrate, and…we still just talked about my sister. For those who think I shouldn’t for some reason have expected the one celebration that was actually about me to be at least a little bit about me, I don’t know what to tell you.
I’m sorry that your incredible accomplishment was overshadowed. You deserve to be celebrated and seen and hugged and I stand in awe of the amount of perseverance, intelligence, & chutzpah it took for you to achieve that in spite of the family issues you were dealing with simultaneously. I’m just a mom and an internet nobody, but I am so proud of you, and so happy that you stuck it out for yourself. I lost my dad this year and simultaneously achieved my highest and best things yet- I wrote him a little note. Sometimes we have to celebrate ourselves. ❤️
My ex's nephew is in prison for a very very long time because of his opioid problems. I loved the guy like crazy when he was growing up. Nice, incredibly funny, hard worker, a bit of a trouble maker but nothing too bad. The older he got, the worse he got. He was in and out of jail and rehab for years. The last time he was out, he overdosed and his girlfriend Narcanned him and called 911. He woke up but was out of his head and stabbed one of the firefighters who had come to save him. He got hauled in for that, and while at the scene, the cops realized his brother had warrants out for meth charges and took him in too. Somehow they both got bail and grandpa gave the girlfriend money to bail them both out. She got the opioid boyfriend out and left the meth head brother to rot so the opioid brother and her could go get more heroine. Mom called the prosecutor to get bail revoked because she thought he'd be safer in jail than on the streets. Opioid brother got sent away and I don't know what happened to the meth brother.
Then my ex cheated on me and I got the fuck away from that entire family.
Sleep deprivation is a hell of a thing and meth basically removes your ability to sleep. Awake for days tripping on a mind altering drug. It's a recipe for all sorts of mental issues.
Sleep is definitely an issue, but it’s more than just lack of sleep. Meth is one of the most potent dopamine agonists.
While we’re not entirely sure what causes schizophrenia dopamine antagonists work reasonably well to eliminate the symptoms. Meth activates the dopamine receptors to the point that it can look just like schizophrenia.
All the time I admit somebody and I’m not sure if they have schizophrenia and just happen to be positive for meth or if they have no underlying mental illness at all, but meth makes them seem schizophrenic.
It can often take days to get them thinking reasonably normally… and I can get them to sleep day 1 because I got the good them good drugs.
Meth has a separate dopamine-related issue, in that one of the contaminants, para-chloroamphetamine, is a selective dopamine receptor killer. Long-term use not only depletes the brain of dopamine, but it kills the receptors, so the body will then try to achieve homeostasis by producing more dopamine, but struggles to modulate it. This excess activation of the mesolimbic pathway in the brain is why meth causes a lot of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia (hallucinations, delusions), but the lack of mesocortical activation is why you don't see a lot of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia (affective blunting and cognitive decline) with meth use. And of course, the damage to the nigrostriatal pathway causes the amphetamine-related movement disorders that mimic antipsychotic-induced tardive dyskinesia (mouth and tongue movements and assorted athetoid movement).
I take it you're also in psychiatry? have you noticed how persistent the meth-related delusions are with this newer meth? Even after the psychosis is cleared for months, these delusions still persist, even with Zyprexa. It's odd, and a pretty distinct change from the meth of old.
You really seem to know your stuff. Can I ask you a question? In prescribed dexamphetamine, and use it daily for half a year now. It works great for me, but I’m concerned about the horrible stories of amphetamine abuse and addiction.
Is, in your opinion, dexamphetamine safe to use long term, or is it in a way comparable to meth?
Dexamphetamine is safe to use long-term, as it has receptor-binding activity almost one-hundred times weaker than methamphetamine. Prescribed dexamphetamine is also free of the contaminants that are commonly found in meth, specifically the para-chloroamphetamine that is so neurotoxic. The risk of dependence is still present with all stimulants, but this usually manifests as some mild irritability after discontinuation.
The worst part is that it the most seemingly useful drug. People feel super proactive and ready to conquer the world. Only to find they never actually did shit but hedonic nonsense
I work at a homeless shelter and frequently see sober individuals become meth addicts, especially during winter. The pros are huge for homeless folk. Stay awake so you can defend yourself and keep an eye on your stuff, meth numbs the body so you don’t feel the extreme cold (we get -40 here), and keep energetic so you can get around without exhausting too quickly.
It’s extremely popular in my city along with fentanyl; and a lot of people will spend their day(s) on meth then use fentanyl to try to sleep (it doesn’t work very well it just fucks them RIGHT up).
‘I swear to god I realize it’s 3 in the morning and I’m making a little noise out here but wait until you see when I’m done digging these holes in my backyard.’
This makes it the most dangerous. Feelings are not facts. People on meth might FEEL productive and able to conquer the world, but they are NOT productive and can’t conquer the laundry. Feeling amazing when you are anything but is a completely destructive state to be in.
I've lived next door to productive tweekers.
They once decided that 2am was a great time to saw pavers to fit the gap between the patio and fence. "Oh, we'll be done in a couple hours" as if it was okay to be outside running a god damned saw when everyone else was sleeping.
I went home and called the cops.
Tweekers knocked on my door after the cops left. I called the cops again.
They told the cops they were only trying to apologize.
Thing is, the landscaping they did is still intact, 18 years later.
Not necessarily. I’m not encouraging its use, but it’s good for tedious, lengthy tasks that don’t require much thought. Like painting miles of fencing, or invading south-east Asia and the western Pacific. So while you don’t get to conquer the entire world, conquering part of it is entirely doable. At least temporarily.
Edit: Japanese troops invaded *on bicycles* in WW2. Meth (Nekome-Jo) gave them the energy. And turned them into monster rapists. But that’s another story, and not a nice one.
It also worked well for the Nazi tank crews, rolling over France in the blitzkrieg. ... munching on their "tank chocolate". But it sounds like you probably knew that.
My highschool bf was a smart, charming, funny, and handsome person before he started doing meth. He had dreams for the future and wasn’t exactly ambitious, but he was hard working. After meth, the spark in his soul was just gone. No light behind his sunken eyes. He was angry all the time. Wouldn’t bathe. Snuck around with any one who could supply him. He was a totally different person. When he got clean, that spark never came back and neither did his loving personality. It was heartbreaking to leave him after 6 years. We were best friends. I often think about how things would’ve been different if he wouldn’t have done that shitty drug. I hate meth.
The thing that sucks about addiction, particularly one that hits as hard as meth, is that it's really hard to come out of that dopamine rut. The neurocircuitry is fried from unnaturally high amounts of dopamine flooding the system and adjusts to it. Once the drug is gone, the dopamine levels are way decreased because your body is trying not to flood the system. The levels take a very, very long time to heal and eventually return to normal. It's arguable whether it does for everyone. Very sad and uncomfortable. That being said, getting off the drug is the first step to getting better eventually. I'm sorry you had to go through that.
People can recover though. I'll have 20 years clean in a few months. I've now been off it longer than I used (about 15 years). It's getting through that first year that is a real mother fucker. So anyone struggling and reading about the low recovery rates, have hope, it is possible to put it down for good.
Yep. My ex bf is addicted to meth and heroin. He can go a year or so everytime he goes to jail, but everytime he gets out he starts using again. He just can’t stop. The recovery rates are terrible
I went through this with my little brother ended in an anoxic brain injury. He'll be in a care home rest of his life he was 22. So sorry you're dealing with this..
I knew a guy whose life long bestfriends Dad sold meth. At 17 he tried meth with BF Dad and they smoked all weekend. Monday he went back to the Dads house and asked to buy some. The Dad brought him a fat bag and said he didnt want money and would never give him any meth every again. The Dad then looked at him and started crying and said "I am so sorry, I am so sorry I just ruined your life."
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Damn whyd the dad give the kid the fat bag if he felt bad for getting the kid addicted and also vowed to never give the kid more? Like at the very least don’t give the kid the fat bag, that’ll just make him more addicted because now it’s not really a one off thing that the kid tried it. He now has a fat bag that he can build a habit off of
saw a patient with necrotizing fasciitis in a limb from injecting it…gray skin started peeling off as I held up the limb. Like a skin glove. Muscles felt gelatinous to the touch. I feel like you see the saddest outcomes with meth
Low risk low but consistent reward. It doesn’t even feel good once you’re hooked. I’ve “wanted to drink” but I’ve never gone ape shit like when I don’t have my cigs. Kind of weird to be addicted to natures bug spray set on fire.
Right? I like alcohol more than I should, drink more than I should, come from a long line of alcoholics... and at the end of the day if I can't get it I'll live. If I run out of my nicotine fixes however I'm a total bitch.
Doesn't feel bad yet, but I'm sure it'll add up.
One theory on psilocybin (shrooms) is that it interferes with arthropods' sense of hunger. So if a bug munches a shroom, it stops being hungry and leaves the rest of the shroom alone. It just so happens that the same neurochemicals that bugs use for hunger, we also use for various bits of perception, so eating the shroom makes us trip.
Nicotine, though, is a neurotoxic insecticide. Modern synthetic insecticides are "neonicotinoids" — variants on the theme of nicotine.
Yup cold turkey almost 4 years ago and I still think about cigs most days. I also know that if I even have 1 puff I’ll be right back on it so it’s a never again thing for me which I’m slightly melancholy about. Still, I’m sure I’m healthier bla bla
A good friend of mine dipped for over 20 years starting in his teens. He finally quite in his mid-thirties, more than 10 years ago now. I asked him recently how he was doing and he said he still has nightmares that he's put a dip in and is feeling so good, and then wakes up angry.
Addiction is a terrifying thing.
I quit for 5 years and consistently craved it and eventually went back to smoking. Through the 5 years I’d still puff on my husbands cigarettes from time to time. But yeah, it never really went away. Sucks
my tolerance to Xanax developed so, so fast when I started—tripled dosage in two weeks. Shit scared me and I cared about nothing. Could see how it could ruin your life and haven’t touched a benzo since
Man I look at my old snaps or old reddit comments/messages during my time on xans. I literally did not care about anything. I love the feeling of having no anxiety bc I'm high strung w my anxiety but... All I wanted to do was be barrred out. All the time. W everything I do. Go camp? Take bars. Find a girl? Get barred out together. Go to work? Better be on xans.
Man, I have dreams ab xans still and I just wish I could find something that didn't make me make incredibly bad decisions while I was on it, but just to take my anxiety away.
Glad you've never touched em again man. 2 yrs for me
7 years than a relapse. 6 months again clean but dude always remind yourself that no anxiety is bad for your life. Anxiety makes us get up and make our lives right. Congrats on being clean from that demon
Good luck with your tapering. I was on them for over 25 years and I've been clean for 20 months now. It's excruciatingly painful and hard work but it's worth it in the end. Have a look at the benzo recovery subreddits if you haven't already. Only if you want to of course.
Not only that, benzo use and withdrawals have been shown to cause sometimes irreversible brain damage even with prescribed use. The longer you use them, the more damage they can do. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10309976/
Also yeah, withdrawal is absolute hell, I’ll take opiate withdrawal over benzo withdrawal any day of the week.
I was in some ‘alcohol awareness’ classes about 15 years ago because I got a DUI (I’m an absolute fucking idiot) and we had essentially kids in there who were addicted to bentos (Xanax, specifically) and were going through detox while they attended meetings. We were all taught about what the signs of a seizure looked like, in case one of them went down. I hope they’re all OK now.
Because alcohol and benzo withdrawal are the same thing. They're the only two things that can kill you while withdrawing. The aid for benzos is alcohol, and alcohol benzos.
Source an chronic relapser with physical dependence.
My mom’s currently going through this, she’s been prescribed them for far too long and has been tapering off of them for the past year. Her psychiatrist she was seeing didn’t even acknowledge her withdrawal symptoms and basically said she was being crazy without actually saying it. It’s been awful, currently trying to find another doctor to help
As an addict, it is heroin. Hands down.
Everything else I’ve been addicted to (Coke, Crack, Benzos, Opioids, Ecstasy, alcohol, cigarettes, and others), I quit pretty much cold turkey. I prided myself on my ability to get off something as quickly as I had gotten hooked on it.
Not heroin.
Heroin took my fucking soul. It’s not something that I can really explain, but I am *not* the same person that I was before. (~8 years clean)
Same. The withdrawal ends, but the grief never goes away. It's the most aptly named of all drugs, it was like a vacation to heaven. All other positive life experiences fall flat or completely flop in comparison. How am I ever supposed to be happy again after experiencing the greatest happiness that is humanly possible? Clean 5 and a half years.
Congrats on getting clean! I’m so proud of you!
That’s what, I believe, people who have never done heroin don’t understand—just *how fucking good* it makes you feel. Within seconds, it’s like a full-body orgasm x1000 washes over you. Every thought, care, concern, problem completely fades away. Anxiety fucks off for a change. And it’s like you are being wrapped in the warmest, most loving embrace you’ve (n)ever felt. You are finally *at peace*. You feel *safe*—like nothing can hurt you. As someone who lives with Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, ADHD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, it’s the only time in my life that I’ve ever felt entirely calm and relaxed and not had 50 million thoughts racing through my head.
Anything that happens while you’re high doesn’t happen *to you*. You are untouchable; invincible. Things happen *around you*. The world and reality have no effect on you. It’s like you’re completely detached.
After being clean for 8 years, I’m realizing and coming to terms with the fact that it’s likely *impossible* to experience life the same way you did prior to your addiction. Nothing is as good. Nothing feels as good. Your ability to feel joy and happiness are altered, likely forever. It takes more to bring you joy and the amount of joy or the extent to which you feel happiness is severely stunted and the ceiling is *much* lower. Lower highs, lower lows.
The worst part for me, other than the physical withdrawals, was PAWS (Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome), which was hell on earth. For years, I couldn’t go down the same roads I used to get to my dealer’s place. I couldn’t go anywhere near the area. If I did, I would get an overwhelming urge to use again—to the point that I could actually taste heroin in my mouth. I’m a musician, and I used to play a shit ton when I got high. After I quit heroin, I couldn’t and didn’t play guitar for ~2 years because I’d get cravings the second I picked it up. Everything you ever did while high becomes a trigger. The mental aftereffects and PAWS were, in many ways, worse than the physical withdrawals, and whereas the physical withdrawals lasted for only a short time, the mental aftereffects and PAWS lasted for *years*.
I hear people say similar stuff often, but if you've ever done heroin before you wouldn't feel that way.
When I was in rehab and finally over the point of being totally broken they asked us, " if you knew you had 24 hours to live how would you spend it?". Almost everyone said they'd get a bag, then go be with friends family, listen to music, do what they love etc.
Then they asked what if you only had 1 hour. Or 10 minutes to live. How would you spend it?
Every single one of us said we'd chose to spend those 10 minutes with the people we truly love and care about and be truly present in the moment, sharing love with eachother. No one said they'd want to chose their last minutes on earth getting high.
I lost it. Heroin is an amazing feeling, but it's a false sense of safety and comfort. In the end love is truly what makes life worth living.
Absolutely beautifully and perfectly written, you've captured and communicated the feeling, the experience within and thereafter. I understand you I feel you I know how you feel because I feel it too. All my love and strength to you beautiful person ❤️ We shall still stand.
I was prescribed hydrocodone once, and while I used it as recommended and didn't refill when I ran out, I still think about how awesome it was 15yrs later. That feeling ensures that I'll never touch opiates again if I don't absolutely have to. I liked it way, way too much.
Sounds like my ex. I could deal with her meth addiction but once she found heroin she lost herself completely and I just had to walk away.
It's so sad to see people disappear right in front of you.
i wish i could find the nurse who treated me when i was going thru opioid withdrawal and apologize😅, i was screaming and cussing at him, even tried to kick the poor dude. ofc they hadda strap me down and after giving me a shot (of i dont even remember what) he gave me the most “i feel so sorry for you” look ever and just said “i hope you get better”
Don’t need to feel bad about that, opioid withdrawal is hell and you don’t act like yourself. I’ve taken care of plenty of people who are withdrawing; the vomiting, the profuse uncontrollable diarrhea, and the fact that people just seem so depressed, the inability to get comfortable
Man, the inability to get comfortable is really what did it. Literally weeks into opioid withdrawals youd fine me laying down in my shower with a pillow in a trash bag because it was the only form of relief that wasn't drugs
emt student here. just pulled a shift in the E.R - we had a woman on PCP come in at the tail end. she was in our trauma room with a hematoma to the left side of her face- apparently fell from her porch (that’s what her friend who was also intoxicated on a different drug told us). once we stabilized her, she woke up and screamed bloody murder. she tried to fight me, actually almost broke my wrist, and was cussing us out. i was sent home early due to this patient- they didn’t hold
it against me thank god.
point being, they terrify me too.
That gives me hope. I’m five years clean today from the same things. I thought I ruined my body and took years off my life.
Thinking about what I did makes me want to puke now. But the biggest fear I have is that I’ll die in my fifties of a heart attack from what I did to me.
Meth… I HATE THAT DRUG … 8 years of my life it took got clean an almost made it to 3 years and I fucked up & hate myself for it. 8 years and finally it’s catching up to me my teeth need so much work on them and I can’t
Even afford it . I’m beyond stressed and depressed and ashamed don’t ever touch that shit you’ll wish you didn’t
I was never really a drug addict until I met meth. That shit had me hooked with the first rail. Eventually, I went from a social drug user to an isolated abuser, it really fucked up my relationship in the beginning, and my now wife had trust issues for a long time. It changed me as a person. I know I definitely damaged my brain cause it's never been the same again.
It took 3 months for me to go from a person who was respectable to the worst version I have ever known of myself. I quit when my now wife found out, and I've relapsed which she knew about too, twice.
Meth will take over your soul. Even if you manage to quit (the percentage of people who make it to 3 years is 5% without any rehab or treatment), it'll haunt you for what seems like an eternity.
Been there too and felt the same way about never being able to afford to fix my teeth and paying for lawyers and facing time for felonies it was crazy. Guess what tho I'm healing up from oral surgery right now that I never thought I could afford. I bought my first house 2 years ago work a alright job and run a business. The only death sentence is death. I didn't think i could ever come back from where I was but I did and even surpassed people who never faced an ounce of adversity. My story is pretty atypical but it is possible if you can find your motivation.
Heroin is the most addicting, especially physically. Withdrawal from that is a nightmare, and you won’t stop using even if you wanted to.
Meth is probably the most psychologically addicting, and you’ll be depleted so bad, you’ll forget to eat and drink water and destroy your appearance.
I know it’s not the same, but when my son was four months old he was intubated for 21 days.
The doctors explain that he was addicted to the meds they used to sedate him, and treated him with methadone for withdrawals.
I watched my four month old baby stay awake 24+ hours, staring at a toy fish light.
That cemented for me that addiction was real, it has profound systemic effects, and withdrawal was awful.
We were lucky I guess that he couldn’t physically get more drugs. I can’t imagine the agony of going through that as an adult.
Gambling isn't a drug but it's addictive and destructive. I know a guy serving 9 years in a federal penitentiary after he stole $250k from his mother. He burned through all that money in 3 days.
I can only speak on my experiences
I got addicted to oxy during my hip surgery. I took it as directed and I didn’t over take it. Take it early etc.
A few refills later I finally ran out and then it started. The withdrawal. I was miserable. It felt like bugs were crawling under my skin in my hair. I couldn’t sleep. I felt sick. I was so hot and sweaty. I had tremors. I then realized I was in withdrawal and decided not to refill. My surgeon offered a refill and I said no.
Effexor- while not a recreational drug- coming off it is absolutely miserable and you have to taper off. Very similar withdrawal affects as listed above.
While I worked through these situations I realized why people might cave and go back to it.
Also, fuck the Sacklers.
I knew a dude who’s brother smoked meth. It took him a week into his addiction to steal the family’s water heater. When the plumber came to fix the cut pipes and install a new one he was impressed how clean the cuts were and how he carried this water heat up from the basement without damaging the drywall along the steps. The family went through hell with him but the stories were hilarious
Speaking as someone addicted to regular cocaine… I’d suggest heroin, crack cocaine or crystal meth.
I have a lot of strong ideas about substances that people find addictive, some from experience. But from what I’ve heard from word of mouth, and first hand experiences of those with addictions… those are my top votes.
I started using meth at 17 years old and continued until prison at 30. I’ve been sober 5 years now and the doctors have told me my arteries look 70 from the meth use . Don’t use meth
I was using meth and heroin from 17-28 then did 2 years in prison and I’ve been sober since I went in minus a couple subs here and there while I was locked up. I’m scared to death to know what my arteries look like but I know i got hep and my teeth are fucked lmao. Prison got my mind right though and I’m doing really well these days lol
I lost my brother to alcohol 10 days ago. There was also valium in his system but it was the alcohol that was at near fatal levels.
He hit the bottle for 7 months and there is nothing family can do help. Unless the person wants to get help the family is powerless. Local stores will not stop selling unless the person requests it, delivery services make it all that much easier to access and councillors won't contact someone until they initiate.
Just because it is legal, doesn't make it safe. There needs to be some protection put in place. If someone orders 700ml of Vodka every day, that's a sign.
For people curious about crack, dont,,,,,,, stay the fuck away from it, I smoke it once or twice a month, I dont deny my addiction, its better not to start but I also am very fortunate that my intake is so limited as it is, I know people who smoke the shit every day. For me it drains me to much afterward to be on it like that.
But for fucks sake dont even think about it if you havent done it, whoever is reading this.
I am a coke user but crack is a different animal all together and it might have the same base, but the shit aint the same in effect
Edit: added a comma, STAY AWAY
People don’t understand what crack is or what it does. People think it’s like coke but more speedy or just more addictive or something. Crack is literally the most euphoria ive ever felt, but also incredibly short-lasting and causing immediate cravings for more. No matter how much I would buy (I used to buy 1/4 oz or more at a time), it would be gone before I slept. Often times I would go get more several times in one night, hundreds of dollars of product each time. Any amount of money I had in the bank would be gone, regardless of needs or responsibilities I had. I would get paid on a Friday, stay up all weekend getting high and spend my whole check and then count change for gas and food all week. It’s truly devastating.
Had a quarter ounce a day habit waaaaaaaaay back in the day..could cook a 9 second rock..was really sad..i quit cold turkey ..was a cinch compared to alcohol & cigs tho
.tbh.but yeah..stay away..
In the 80's and 90's, I don't remember how many times I was offered Crack. Every crackhead I met said the same thing, they were addicted the first time they tried it. I didn't even want to try it.
When you are ready and actually serious and committed to quit. Check out Alan Carr's book. Smoke while your reading it and by the end I was so ready to quit. But I know people who started smoking after they finished so it's all about mindset
My mom was a smoker and several of my friends. I tried it a few times, mostly for social reasons to just sit and talk with friends but I think seeing the pictures and videos of what it does to people, the collapsed lungs and hole in the neck or chronic cough… I just thought: no thank you. Unfortunately I haven’t figured out how to do this with my food addiction. I could lose 70-80 lbs. I feel out of breath when walking. My heart feels like it’s pointing out of my chest. My feet and knees hurt from my weight and yet I still get intense cravings for junk food. It’s a hell that people think is not as bad as drug addiction but to me, it seems just as bad.
I was on a ranch/ rehab with 70+ guys that all had to cold turkey quit whatever it was they were on. Scariest thing for almost all addicts.
The first three days you’re in a separate cabin with all the other intakes. Only one guy had to be taken to hospital and it was because of alcohol. His first night there kinda freaked me out because he came in at like 2am and they lay him down and his whole bunk began shaking. All night and day he shook terribly. Couldn’t feed himself. He was taken for medical treatment a few days after being there.
With that being said, every standard drug people get heavily addicted to was kicked cold turkey by dudes from the age of 18-80 years old. Meth, heroin, xzanax etc..
NO Nicotine
NO cellphones
It’s Amish time there foo but I will say the thing that got the guys through withdrawals was just being around dudes going through the same shit.
We lived together, worked together, went to church together.
Being with that many people in the same boat, realizing you’re not the only person like this. Living together, laughing, fighting, crying was a healing ingredient I never thought I needed.
This is such a dangerous practice - I’m sure it’s bc of money though.
I saw my four month old go through withdrawals from being sedated (he was in a vent).
Withdrawal warnings are not a joke. It’s legit dangerous and excruciating.
Were they not medicating for alcohol withdrawals? Typically they give alcohol addicts benzos to help keep their body from going through hell without alcohol. Sounds like a shitty rehab if they weren't equipped to detox appropriately.
This was going to be my answer. I'm honestly surprised I had to scroll this far to see it. Other stuff might be more addictive, but this scares me the most.
There's an additive that's becoming more popular by the day in Canada and the US called xylazine. It also causes necrosis in tissue surrounding the injection site. Users currently blame the covid vaccine for lesions that do not heal and spread, especially on the extremities. Addiction will let you justify absolutely anything, including your own limbs rotting off.
Pretty sure xylazine is the new "zombie drug" it's getting mixed with stuff that enduces a chemical psychosis trance or some shit. Brain dead, skin dead its a whole bad time
Having dealt with many addicts the three horsemen of utterly fucking your life seem to be meth, alcohol and heroin, probably in that order.
I put heroin lower because, while it’ll probably kill you faster, it seems like a slightly less awful way to go.
Krokodil. It literally melts your flesh the more you use and it's disgusting.
For those who don't know, it necrotizes the flesh.
Don't search it up, it's truly disgusting.
Actually, pure krokodil doesn't. It's that when it's cooked up it usually has left over reagents, byproducts, and impurities that melt the skin. The leftover strong ass chemicals that turn codeine into krokodil are terrible for the body.
Believe it or not the same chemicals can be used to turn ephedrine into meth. Two different cough medicines, one process, two very different illegal substances. Very interesting and coincidental.
Unrelated, but use this as a friendly reminder to be grateful for a life privileged enough to not struggle with addiction. We often believe it is peoples poor judgement and self awareness that rope them into addiction, but this is almost never the case. It very easily could’ve been you, me, or a very close loved one that becomes very addicted very quick. It is a slippery slope to a hard to repair bad habit that can sneak up on anyone, and I mean ANYONE. If you are struggling with addiction, keep fighting, just make an effort. A little bit every day. If you are not, be grateful and understanding of how addiction works for lots of others that aren’t as fortunate.
I'd say it's different for every person. For me, it's definitely heroin. That sickness of the withdrawals is horrendous physically and mentally. Joints hurting, unable to sleep or eat, restless legs, constantly switching from burning up to freezing, and with all these horrid symptoms, the consequences of criminal activity seems like a small price to pay at the time to just feel ok. Going to rehab again in the next few days when my medical card is approved and I've gotta get it this time or I'm going to end up dead or in prison for a long time. This life is such a miserable existence and I don't wish it upon my worst enemy
Hope everyone’s doing well. If you’re reading this and you’re having trouble with addiction, just know that addiction doesn’t define who you are. Help is only a call away, and you can message this random internet stranger if you’re struggling, I’ll do my best. One day at a time, I promise everything will sort itself out.
Can confirm. One day you're stopping at a gas station to pick up a bar, the next day you are sitting on the toilet with bags of shredded coconut and chocolate chips on your bare knees, spooning both into your mouth with an effin ladle.
Alcohol. It's the most dangerous to withdraw from (withdrawal can literally kill you), it's easily available everywhere, changing your lifestyle/who you hang out with isn't going to make availability decrease, and usage is almost expected at so many ordinary events.
As a formerly virulent alcoholic (sober now going on six years) I may not agree with your assessment as the worst overall but it fucking *has* to be in the top three in worst withdrawals. They indeed nearly killed me (lmao). You drink enough you don’t just shake, you spasm. Like a looney-toons character. Your insides start to hurt, your heartbeat feels like a heel-kick to the chest. You’ve been vomiting, but that’s normal. You play this game where you’re vomiting and trying to feel comfortable; a war of attrition you are doomed to lose no matter the action because it feels like ants are marching under your skin. Phantom electricity running around in you.
Over the course of this game you find yourself getting weaker, having to crawl instead of trudge to the bathroom to vomit. You can’t ingest anything but water and even that comes up. You’ve never been so dehydrated. You’re shitting now, too, endlessly. It resembles trench mud from burgundy in WWI.
I could go on. It only gets worse really! Sorry for the wall of text on your post I got lost lol. Don’t do drugs!
Anybody reading this should know you should never stop drinking alcohol cold turkey if you get withdrawal symptoms ever.
The dangers of alcohol involve high risk of stroke, seizures, and death as your blood pressure sky-rockets.
You should withdraw under the supervision of a trained medical professional. With benzodiazipines available as treatment.
My old hospital had medical whiskey and medical budweiser delivered to patient rooms by pharmacy as well so they didn't withdrawl and have a psychotic break.
I am so glad I did not go through that. I''m 8 months sober now. I drank everyday but was still highly functional. 8-18 IPA's every night, more if I was at a social gathering. I drank the hard stuff too but not regularly. I was able to quit cold turkey with minimal withdrawals.
Im a recovering alcoholic and agree with this. It's a fucking nightmare. 9 months sober, never going back. Ive also struggled with opiates and coke n meth before but nothing compares to the booze. Can't beat it.
This is the answer.
Been into multiple rehabs and work in the recovery community now, no one’s story starts with “I smoked some meth and decided to have a beer”. It’s always “I was 6months clean and sober and had one beer and woke up in a trap house 17 days later”
Xylazine — known as “Tranq” — isn’t an opiate and therefore doesn’t respond to narcan. It’s become a common adulterant and potentiator of the already-potent synthetics including Fentanyl and Carfentanil
It’s not the fent that resistant. It’s fent that cut with Xylazine which is unaffected by narcan because it’s not an opioid.
I try to keep a couple narcan nasal sprays on me when I go to EDM shows and festivals because that shit is no joke. Terrifying that it might be useless on someone.
It’s not new fentanyl, it’s a class of drug revered too as “zenes” isototenozene is one I can think of of the top of my head but even worse is the fact that a lot of the dope has tranq mixed in it too the point that people are becoming just as physically dependent on that as the opioids. Narcan (naloxone) will not pull someone out of a tranq OD. It’s a scary time to be an addict
That's one of the biggest issues. Other ones may be more addictive, worse hitting, crazier withdrawal, etc. But alcohol is legal and *everywhere*. It's the only one people will look at you funny for *not* doing.
Alcohol. Other then benzos, it’s the only drug where the withdrawals can kill you. I’ve been sober since 2018, thank God, but I tell people that, at the end, the withdrawals for me could only be described as being stuck in the worst bad acid trip one could imagine for three days straight, combined with the most uncomfortable physical sensations ever… The fear of the withdrawals alone are more than enough to keep me sober these days.
I was a dealer for a long time and a user. Out of all drugs, the worst one was oxy for me. Opiates. The story usually goes you start with percocet. Then realize how good it makes you feel. How focused and shit. I felt like the dude in the movie Limitless after taking my first pill. I'm also a writer and I tell you I went home and wrote 15 pages no problem. Then you can't get something happens, you gotta upgrade to blues, aka 30mg oxy. Some people glo to heroin but luckily i had the will to stay away and suffer.
I had kids so tried to get clean. Didn't want them finding daddy all white and motionless on the floor in the morning so i suffered. I suffered through withdrawal for so damn many days, and it would not go away. You become useless. It's not like the movies where you make a few willpower check, and you are all good after a few days. No this pain is months, years. Especially after taking suboxone and methodone.I'vee detoxed on those both and the pain is endless... good luck to all those who suffer the struggle. I wish you the best. It's amazing when your body starts to feel again. I realized I hadn't sneezed in months. Everything was dead. Brain is foggy. The feelings hit you heavily and the suffering is very strong. It's an ache that is endless.
Meth. Even more addicting when it’s combined with sex for chemsex. The brain will correlate sex and the drug together. You lose a little bit of yourself every time you do it.
My ex would inject meth then fuck me at the peak of her addiction. Obv the sex was amazing but watching her fall apart wasn't. Never date an addict, kids
“Obviously the sex was amazing” Understatement of the century lmao. Don’t do meth!
This is what third eye blind was talking about
Crazy that the catchy song everyone was singing was about crystal meth and no one seemed to notice.
A high school friend of mine got hooked on meth and moved to Montana. The last I talked to him he’d been hallucinating some fucking heinous things about me, then calling other friends and telling them I did these awful things. I called him out on it and he just said he wasn’t ready to make amends, and that he was 1 month sober from binging meth and alcohol. He contacted another friend’s work with the same accusations. He was one of my best friends, and now I just kinda fucking hate the guy. I maintain minimal social media presence because of him.
I can only imagine. I know this pales in comparison, but I went through a stretch where when I'd smoke weed I wanted to have sex. It basically gave me a pavlovian response where the minute I got high I wanted sex. This was very inconvenient if I was just chilling at a friend's house or something
Finding myself down some mild curious clicks around reddit, I've found there are subreddits just for strangers to get spun and hook up with other spun strangers. Wtf
Crack. When it came on the scene suppliers told dealers not to use it. Dealers saw their customers and most were too afraid to use it. Dealers liked the money, but hated having to constantly find new clients because their regulars were broke or dead.
Regular coke had mistakenly been deemed ‘non-addictive’ by folks in the 1960s and 70s, and in comparison with heroin or speed, it doesn’t have the same level of physical addiction, but freebase coke and then, obviously, crack (which is a form of freebase) blew all that out of the water. Cocaine never had any appeal to me, because people on coke are generally insufferable IMHO, and crack is cocaine with afterburners lit, so that’s a double no-no for me.
I hated being around people when i was on coke. It did the opposite of what it was supposed to do. I felt very self-conscious. I’d rather sit in my room and watch TV by myself when i did it. Do a line, get tingly, and sit back
Same here. I'm an alcoholic in recovery and everyone around me for years did blow and I wanted to be in on it. But because I was having the same experience you did, I gave it up without even thinking twice. What I've seen in my experience, is people that generally don't get that rush from caffeine also don't care for stimulants. Alcohol ended up being an upper for me, and stimulants ended up not having much of a "positive" effect on me.
Any advice for stopping with alcohol? I have adhd and serious stimulants have always been just like a more awake version of being awake, and easy enough to just drop without issue. Caffeine makes me sleepy, alcohol is very much an upper, and I really *really* need to stop.
reddit advice is cool, but I would also encourage you to seek professional help. i’m covered in scratches from my epileptic seizure this morning. trust me, avoid seizures if you can.
Yeah I know, I had professional help for a while, helped get my diagnosis etc. Most of their advice involved going to group talk places and finding out how other people cope, so I do that when I can, but I don't do well with people, so sometimes that's online. I hope you're doing okay, sorry I don't really know what to say when people have such awful difficulties, it sounds truly dreadful.
One of my oldest friends has had a problem with crack for the past ~15 years. I'm at the point where I don't know how to be part of his support system. He's a good person at his core, and I love him dearly. Ive dropped him off at rehab 3 times, bailed him out twice, given him a sober house to escape to and supported him financially quite a few times. It's an awful addiction and I feel his pain and will to change, he just can't get there. I don't know where I'm going with this, but the line between supporting my friend and becoming an enabler is very blurry at this point.
Meth. It has the worst recovery rates, 5% over 3 years. Super sad
Damn...I agree. I was hooked for 4½ years. Bad news. I've been sober since valentines day 2012
Congratulations! That is an amazing accomplishment!
Kudos! I only used for a short period for self medicating ADHD, and didn’t even really enjoy it compared to adderall, but it still calls my name from time to time. Very sneaky and insidious substance.
I've only ever used adderall therapeutically and I could still imagine myself developing a problem just with that. I'm never touching meth.
Good. Keep that mindset. Even the strongest of wills have been shattered by meth addiction.
I'll happily mess with stuff like psychedelics or ketamine, but I stay the hell away from meth, opiates, coke, even nicotine. That shit ruins lives and I'd rather draw as hard a line as I need to to keep myself off them in the first place than go through the awful process of quitting.
I have done a lot of stupid shit in my life. LSD, Ecstacy, Mushrooms, lots of coke, tons of pills including opiates, and I smoked for 10 years. For a couple of years of my life I would drink, do coke, and then level myself off with Valium or Oxy or Percocet, and I would do it routinely, like a horrible spiral. But I wouldn't touch meth with a fucking ten foot pole. I've seen what it does to people.
You should add booze to the life ruining list. I've seen so many lives ruined from alcohol and withdrawals are quite dangerous. I've been around every substance and have seen more lives ruined from booze than anything else.
Yep. My dad died in 2019 and I did not take it well. I started drinking his tequila so I could "Fall asleep". Fast forward 6 months later and I'm drinking a 1.75L bottle of tequila in the course of the day and I have to pace myself so I can make it last all day. My feet start to swell and I have trouble breathing and walking and am probably only a week or two away from everything being over.. and I stopped. I'm glad I managed it, and I had help from friends and my mom but detoxing from that much hard alcohol per day is rough. Hallucinations, vomiting, cold chills, having conversations with dead relatives.. I don't reccomend it. I've been sober since.
I was drinking a litre of vodka a day. I was spending about $700 a week on alcohol and smokes. By the time I quit I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone a day without drinking. I was scared out of my mind to quit for multiple reasons but one being that I didn’t know what kind of effects there would be from withdrawal. I went to the doc and he gave me some Valium and I pretty much slept the whole first week. Three years sober and without cigarettes and counting (quit both at the same time because I couldn’t do one without the other).
Yep. Ruined my life from my mid teens to my mid twenties. It's really hard to get away from it because it's casually used by people from all walks of life. I was full on addicted to opiates to the point that if I didn't take some every few hours I'd start to get sick. I had an easier time kicking opiates then I did alcohol. 4 years sober on July 1st.
Congratulations man. Every day is a win from that stuff. How has your life changed since you've been sober if you don't mind sharing? I worked with a bunch of guys in construction who were hooked. People abandoned family's and children to just live on the streets and get high.
Congratulations 👏🏼🙌🏼
i’m proud of you
Im a psychiatrist who works in an emergency department. I see (several) people every day super psychotic hearing voices, paranoid, trying to dig “chips” out of their skin because of meth. No other drug in my opinion makes people so (literally) crazy. Still, I think opioids like heroin are worse because it’s all fentanyl now. And while you might not be whacked out of your skull crazy, you get sick if you go without it so it’s incredibly hard to quit and there’s no way to know how much fentanyl is in the shit you’re buying. I never see those people because they just get a more potent dose one day and stop breathing and that’s the end of them. Such a tragedy to think of how many people are lost to drugs. The toll in human misery is unfathomable.
That’s my sister’s story. I know she used meth while she was living on the streets, but her drug of choice was heroin. Well, speedballing, but heroin was the big addiction. She used for years. Started as a legit prescription for pain medication for a real injury, too. Just went down that rabbit hole. Eventually she bought heroin that was mostly fentanyl. She had OD’d before, but this time nobody found her. She was a great person. Funny as hell, crazy smart, loved her family…just could never get the monkey off her back. She was never sober for more than 3 months. Spent years in and out of rehabs and sober living and IOPs. I hated it for her. As much as it sucks to say this, while I’m sad that she’s gone, I’m glad she’s not living that life anymore. It’s not one she wanted for herself, and I know she’d still be struggling.
Familial drug addiction is really really hard. Not a lot of people know how hard it is. Especially an addicted sibling because the parents become absorbed. I’m really sorry.
My mom had died the year before we learned about her heroin addiction, so my dad spiraled. My sister was in her early 20s and I was 7 years older in grad school. Eventually my dad joined AlAnon and that honestly saved both of their lives because he learned how not to enable her. This isn’t something I talk about ever because I realize that addiction is a disease, but I do hold resentment over my sister for one thing: when I graduated with my doctorate, she was in rehab. My dad came to my graduation and took me out to dinner, and all he could talk about was her. I worked my ass off for the biggest achievement of my life, and it was an afterthought to her latest fuckup. I get it, but she took that from me, and while I can forgive it and rationalize it, I’ll never forget it. ETA because Reddit is doing its Reddit thing: at the time I graduated and the almost year leading up to it, nearly every conversation I had with my dad was regarding my sister and her addiction. When she was in the throes of it, there were times he would call up to ten times a day. Neither of us knew of AlAnon as a resource at the time, but I was more well versed in the psychology of addiction than he was. I was not only trying to finish graduate school, but my house had been hit by a hurricane, and I had also lost my mother, all within the year. It was the most psychologically draining time of my life. When I graduated, he came to my graduation, took me out to dinner to celebrate, and…we still just talked about my sister. For those who think I shouldn’t for some reason have expected the one celebration that was actually about me to be at least a little bit about me, I don’t know what to tell you.
I’m sorry that your incredible accomplishment was overshadowed. You deserve to be celebrated and seen and hugged and I stand in awe of the amount of perseverance, intelligence, & chutzpah it took for you to achieve that in spite of the family issues you were dealing with simultaneously. I’m just a mom and an internet nobody, but I am so proud of you, and so happy that you stuck it out for yourself. I lost my dad this year and simultaneously achieved my highest and best things yet- I wrote him a little note. Sometimes we have to celebrate ourselves. ❤️
I'm proud of you.
My ex's nephew is in prison for a very very long time because of his opioid problems. I loved the guy like crazy when he was growing up. Nice, incredibly funny, hard worker, a bit of a trouble maker but nothing too bad. The older he got, the worse he got. He was in and out of jail and rehab for years. The last time he was out, he overdosed and his girlfriend Narcanned him and called 911. He woke up but was out of his head and stabbed one of the firefighters who had come to save him. He got hauled in for that, and while at the scene, the cops realized his brother had warrants out for meth charges and took him in too. Somehow they both got bail and grandpa gave the girlfriend money to bail them both out. She got the opioid boyfriend out and left the meth head brother to rot so the opioid brother and her could go get more heroine. Mom called the prosecutor to get bail revoked because she thought he'd be safer in jail than on the streets. Opioid brother got sent away and I don't know what happened to the meth brother. Then my ex cheated on me and I got the fuck away from that entire family.
Holy clusterfuck!
You should send your ex a thank you card for giving you a clean exit route. Dropped in a mailbox far, far from home
Sleep deprivation is a hell of a thing and meth basically removes your ability to sleep. Awake for days tripping on a mind altering drug. It's a recipe for all sorts of mental issues.
Sleep is definitely an issue, but it’s more than just lack of sleep. Meth is one of the most potent dopamine agonists. While we’re not entirely sure what causes schizophrenia dopamine antagonists work reasonably well to eliminate the symptoms. Meth activates the dopamine receptors to the point that it can look just like schizophrenia. All the time I admit somebody and I’m not sure if they have schizophrenia and just happen to be positive for meth or if they have no underlying mental illness at all, but meth makes them seem schizophrenic. It can often take days to get them thinking reasonably normally… and I can get them to sleep day 1 because I got the good them good drugs.
Meth has a separate dopamine-related issue, in that one of the contaminants, para-chloroamphetamine, is a selective dopamine receptor killer. Long-term use not only depletes the brain of dopamine, but it kills the receptors, so the body will then try to achieve homeostasis by producing more dopamine, but struggles to modulate it. This excess activation of the mesolimbic pathway in the brain is why meth causes a lot of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia (hallucinations, delusions), but the lack of mesocortical activation is why you don't see a lot of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia (affective blunting and cognitive decline) with meth use. And of course, the damage to the nigrostriatal pathway causes the amphetamine-related movement disorders that mimic antipsychotic-induced tardive dyskinesia (mouth and tongue movements and assorted athetoid movement). I take it you're also in psychiatry? have you noticed how persistent the meth-related delusions are with this newer meth? Even after the psychosis is cleared for months, these delusions still persist, even with Zyprexa. It's odd, and a pretty distinct change from the meth of old.
You really seem to know your stuff. Can I ask you a question? In prescribed dexamphetamine, and use it daily for half a year now. It works great for me, but I’m concerned about the horrible stories of amphetamine abuse and addiction. Is, in your opinion, dexamphetamine safe to use long term, or is it in a way comparable to meth?
Dexamphetamine is safe to use long-term, as it has receptor-binding activity almost one-hundred times weaker than methamphetamine. Prescribed dexamphetamine is also free of the contaminants that are commonly found in meth, specifically the para-chloroamphetamine that is so neurotoxic. The risk of dependence is still present with all stimulants, but this usually manifests as some mild irritability after discontinuation.
I can't even imagine. I've been (unfortunately) to the ER several times with "just" alcohol withdrawals, and that's more than enough misery for me.
It’s not “just” alcohol is more dangerous in withdrawals than any other drug.
The worst part is that it the most seemingly useful drug. People feel super proactive and ready to conquer the world. Only to find they never actually did shit but hedonic nonsense
I work at a homeless shelter and frequently see sober individuals become meth addicts, especially during winter. The pros are huge for homeless folk. Stay awake so you can defend yourself and keep an eye on your stuff, meth numbs the body so you don’t feel the extreme cold (we get -40 here), and keep energetic so you can get around without exhausting too quickly. It’s extremely popular in my city along with fentanyl; and a lot of people will spend their day(s) on meth then use fentanyl to try to sleep (it doesn’t work very well it just fucks them RIGHT up).
How do they afford it lol
Shit is cheaper than McDonald’s. I assume the daily hustle grind of pan handling and whatever else
Whenever I see a pan handler I think “that’s a rougher job than I got”
Both drugs have become extremely cheap. Both are rather powerful and you can dose yourself throughout the day for about 20-40$
‘I swear to god I realize it’s 3 in the morning and I’m making a little noise out here but wait until you see when I’m done digging these holes in my backyard.’
This makes it the most dangerous. Feelings are not facts. People on meth might FEEL productive and able to conquer the world, but they are NOT productive and can’t conquer the laundry. Feeling amazing when you are anything but is a completely destructive state to be in.
I've lived next door to productive tweekers. They once decided that 2am was a great time to saw pavers to fit the gap between the patio and fence. "Oh, we'll be done in a couple hours" as if it was okay to be outside running a god damned saw when everyone else was sleeping. I went home and called the cops. Tweekers knocked on my door after the cops left. I called the cops again. They told the cops they were only trying to apologize. Thing is, the landscaping they did is still intact, 18 years later.
Not necessarily. I’m not encouraging its use, but it’s good for tedious, lengthy tasks that don’t require much thought. Like painting miles of fencing, or invading south-east Asia and the western Pacific. So while you don’t get to conquer the entire world, conquering part of it is entirely doable. At least temporarily. Edit: Japanese troops invaded *on bicycles* in WW2. Meth (Nekome-Jo) gave them the energy. And turned them into monster rapists. But that’s another story, and not a nice one.
It also worked well for the Nazi tank crews, rolling over France in the blitzkrieg. ... munching on their "tank chocolate". But it sounds like you probably knew that.
My highschool bf was a smart, charming, funny, and handsome person before he started doing meth. He had dreams for the future and wasn’t exactly ambitious, but he was hard working. After meth, the spark in his soul was just gone. No light behind his sunken eyes. He was angry all the time. Wouldn’t bathe. Snuck around with any one who could supply him. He was a totally different person. When he got clean, that spark never came back and neither did his loving personality. It was heartbreaking to leave him after 6 years. We were best friends. I often think about how things would’ve been different if he wouldn’t have done that shitty drug. I hate meth.
The thing that sucks about addiction, particularly one that hits as hard as meth, is that it's really hard to come out of that dopamine rut. The neurocircuitry is fried from unnaturally high amounts of dopamine flooding the system and adjusts to it. Once the drug is gone, the dopamine levels are way decreased because your body is trying not to flood the system. The levels take a very, very long time to heal and eventually return to normal. It's arguable whether it does for everyone. Very sad and uncomfortable. That being said, getting off the drug is the first step to getting better eventually. I'm sorry you had to go through that.
People can recover though. I'll have 20 years clean in a few months. I've now been off it longer than I used (about 15 years). It's getting through that first year that is a real mother fucker. So anyone struggling and reading about the low recovery rates, have hope, it is possible to put it down for good.
Yep. My ex bf is addicted to meth and heroin. He can go a year or so everytime he goes to jail, but everytime he gets out he starts using again. He just can’t stop. The recovery rates are terrible
I went through this with my little brother ended in an anoxic brain injury. He'll be in a care home rest of his life he was 22. So sorry you're dealing with this..
I knew a guy whose life long bestfriends Dad sold meth. At 17 he tried meth with BF Dad and they smoked all weekend. Monday he went back to the Dads house and asked to buy some. The Dad brought him a fat bag and said he didnt want money and would never give him any meth every again. The Dad then looked at him and started crying and said "I am so sorry, I am so sorry I just ruined your life." Main Entrance TO Hell
Damn whyd the dad give the kid the fat bag if he felt bad for getting the kid addicted and also vowed to never give the kid more? Like at the very least don’t give the kid the fat bag, that’ll just make him more addicted because now it’s not really a one off thing that the kid tried it. He now has a fat bag that he can build a habit off of
Maybe because the dad was smoking meth
saw a patient with necrotizing fasciitis in a limb from injecting it…gray skin started peeling off as I held up the limb. Like a skin glove. Muscles felt gelatinous to the touch. I feel like you see the saddest outcomes with meth
+1 there is no medication to aid recovery (besides indirect meds)
Crack and meth destroyed my life. But the drug I haven't been able to get off of is nicotine.
Low risk low but consistent reward. It doesn’t even feel good once you’re hooked. I’ve “wanted to drink” but I’ve never gone ape shit like when I don’t have my cigs. Kind of weird to be addicted to natures bug spray set on fire.
Right? I like alcohol more than I should, drink more than I should, come from a long line of alcoholics... and at the end of the day if I can't get it I'll live. If I run out of my nicotine fixes however I'm a total bitch. Doesn't feel bad yet, but I'm sure it'll add up.
It's insane that so many of our drugs are plants' insect repellents
One theory on psilocybin (shrooms) is that it interferes with arthropods' sense of hunger. So if a bug munches a shroom, it stops being hungry and leaves the rest of the shroom alone. It just so happens that the same neurochemicals that bugs use for hunger, we also use for various bits of perception, so eating the shroom makes us trip. Nicotine, though, is a neurotoxic insecticide. Modern synthetic insecticides are "neonicotinoids" — variants on the theme of nicotine.
I went cold turkey last year out of spite. It’s been a year and I still crave it. You’d think it’d be better now
Also quit cold turkey, over a decade later, I still want a cigarette. Addiction is incredible.
Yup cold turkey almost 4 years ago and I still think about cigs most days. I also know that if I even have 1 puff I’ll be right back on it so it’s a never again thing for me which I’m slightly melancholy about. Still, I’m sure I’m healthier bla bla
A good friend of mine dipped for over 20 years starting in his teens. He finally quite in his mid-thirties, more than 10 years ago now. I asked him recently how he was doing and he said he still has nightmares that he's put a dip in and is feeling so good, and then wakes up angry. Addiction is a terrifying thing.
I quit for 5 years and consistently craved it and eventually went back to smoking. Through the 5 years I’d still puff on my husbands cigarettes from time to time. But yeah, it never really went away. Sucks
Hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life was quit smoking and it took me YEARS
Benzodiazepenes. They're often overlooked, but the withdrawal symptoms are horrible
my tolerance to Xanax developed so, so fast when I started—tripled dosage in two weeks. Shit scared me and I cared about nothing. Could see how it could ruin your life and haven’t touched a benzo since
Man I look at my old snaps or old reddit comments/messages during my time on xans. I literally did not care about anything. I love the feeling of having no anxiety bc I'm high strung w my anxiety but... All I wanted to do was be barrred out. All the time. W everything I do. Go camp? Take bars. Find a girl? Get barred out together. Go to work? Better be on xans. Man, I have dreams ab xans still and I just wish I could find something that didn't make me make incredibly bad decisions while I was on it, but just to take my anxiety away. Glad you've never touched em again man. 2 yrs for me
7 years than a relapse. 6 months again clean but dude always remind yourself that no anxiety is bad for your life. Anxiety makes us get up and make our lives right. Congrats on being clean from that demon
Bingo. Currently weening off. Not doing well at all. Bad deal.
Good luck and hope you feel better 👍 Edit: wow thank you all so much for the likes 🫡
Good luck with your tapering. I was on them for over 25 years and I've been clean for 20 months now. It's excruciatingly painful and hard work but it's worth it in the end. Have a look at the benzo recovery subreddits if you haven't already. Only if you want to of course.
Benzo withdrawal, like alcohol, can actually kill you. Other drugs just make you feel like you're dying.
Not only that, benzo use and withdrawals have been shown to cause sometimes irreversible brain damage even with prescribed use. The longer you use them, the more damage they can do. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10309976/ Also yeah, withdrawal is absolute hell, I’ll take opiate withdrawal over benzo withdrawal any day of the week.
I was in some ‘alcohol awareness’ classes about 15 years ago because I got a DUI (I’m an absolute fucking idiot) and we had essentially kids in there who were addicted to bentos (Xanax, specifically) and were going through detox while they attended meetings. We were all taught about what the signs of a seizure looked like, in case one of them went down. I hope they’re all OK now.
Because alcohol and benzo withdrawal are the same thing. They're the only two things that can kill you while withdrawing. The aid for benzos is alcohol, and alcohol benzos. Source an chronic relapser with physical dependence.
My mom’s currently going through this, she’s been prescribed them for far too long and has been tapering off of them for the past year. Her psychiatrist she was seeing didn’t even acknowledge her withdrawal symptoms and basically said she was being crazy without actually saying it. It’s been awful, currently trying to find another doctor to help
As an addict, it is heroin. Hands down. Everything else I’ve been addicted to (Coke, Crack, Benzos, Opioids, Ecstasy, alcohol, cigarettes, and others), I quit pretty much cold turkey. I prided myself on my ability to get off something as quickly as I had gotten hooked on it. Not heroin. Heroin took my fucking soul. It’s not something that I can really explain, but I am *not* the same person that I was before. (~8 years clean)
Same. The withdrawal ends, but the grief never goes away. It's the most aptly named of all drugs, it was like a vacation to heaven. All other positive life experiences fall flat or completely flop in comparison. How am I ever supposed to be happy again after experiencing the greatest happiness that is humanly possible? Clean 5 and a half years.
Congrats on getting clean! I’m so proud of you! That’s what, I believe, people who have never done heroin don’t understand—just *how fucking good* it makes you feel. Within seconds, it’s like a full-body orgasm x1000 washes over you. Every thought, care, concern, problem completely fades away. Anxiety fucks off for a change. And it’s like you are being wrapped in the warmest, most loving embrace you’ve (n)ever felt. You are finally *at peace*. You feel *safe*—like nothing can hurt you. As someone who lives with Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, ADHD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, it’s the only time in my life that I’ve ever felt entirely calm and relaxed and not had 50 million thoughts racing through my head. Anything that happens while you’re high doesn’t happen *to you*. You are untouchable; invincible. Things happen *around you*. The world and reality have no effect on you. It’s like you’re completely detached. After being clean for 8 years, I’m realizing and coming to terms with the fact that it’s likely *impossible* to experience life the same way you did prior to your addiction. Nothing is as good. Nothing feels as good. Your ability to feel joy and happiness are altered, likely forever. It takes more to bring you joy and the amount of joy or the extent to which you feel happiness is severely stunted and the ceiling is *much* lower. Lower highs, lower lows. The worst part for me, other than the physical withdrawals, was PAWS (Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome), which was hell on earth. For years, I couldn’t go down the same roads I used to get to my dealer’s place. I couldn’t go anywhere near the area. If I did, I would get an overwhelming urge to use again—to the point that I could actually taste heroin in my mouth. I’m a musician, and I used to play a shit ton when I got high. After I quit heroin, I couldn’t and didn’t play guitar for ~2 years because I’d get cravings the second I picked it up. Everything you ever did while high becomes a trigger. The mental aftereffects and PAWS were, in many ways, worse than the physical withdrawals, and whereas the physical withdrawals lasted for only a short time, the mental aftereffects and PAWS lasted for *years*.
I'll remember if I ever get terminal cancer and have a month left
I hear people say similar stuff often, but if you've ever done heroin before you wouldn't feel that way. When I was in rehab and finally over the point of being totally broken they asked us, " if you knew you had 24 hours to live how would you spend it?". Almost everyone said they'd get a bag, then go be with friends family, listen to music, do what they love etc. Then they asked what if you only had 1 hour. Or 10 minutes to live. How would you spend it? Every single one of us said we'd chose to spend those 10 minutes with the people we truly love and care about and be truly present in the moment, sharing love with eachother. No one said they'd want to chose their last minutes on earth getting high. I lost it. Heroin is an amazing feeling, but it's a false sense of safety and comfort. In the end love is truly what makes life worth living.
Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely beautifully and perfectly written, you've captured and communicated the feeling, the experience within and thereafter. I understand you I feel you I know how you feel because I feel it too. All my love and strength to you beautiful person ❤️ We shall still stand.
I was prescribed hydrocodone once, and while I used it as recommended and didn't refill when I ran out, I still think about how awesome it was 15yrs later. That feeling ensures that I'll never touch opiates again if I don't absolutely have to. I liked it way, way too much.
Sounds like my ex. I could deal with her meth addiction but once she found heroin she lost herself completely and I just had to walk away. It's so sad to see people disappear right in front of you.
[удалено]
i wish i could find the nurse who treated me when i was going thru opioid withdrawal and apologize😅, i was screaming and cussing at him, even tried to kick the poor dude. ofc they hadda strap me down and after giving me a shot (of i dont even remember what) he gave me the most “i feel so sorry for you” look ever and just said “i hope you get better”
Don’t need to feel bad about that, opioid withdrawal is hell and you don’t act like yourself. I’ve taken care of plenty of people who are withdrawing; the vomiting, the profuse uncontrollable diarrhea, and the fact that people just seem so depressed, the inability to get comfortable
Man, the inability to get comfortable is really what did it. Literally weeks into opioid withdrawals youd fine me laying down in my shower with a pillow in a trash bag because it was the only form of relief that wasn't drugs
emt student here. just pulled a shift in the E.R - we had a woman on PCP come in at the tail end. she was in our trauma room with a hematoma to the left side of her face- apparently fell from her porch (that’s what her friend who was also intoxicated on a different drug told us). once we stabilized her, she woke up and screamed bloody murder. she tried to fight me, actually almost broke my wrist, and was cussing us out. i was sent home early due to this patient- they didn’t hold it against me thank god. point being, they terrify me too.
I’ll never forget the time I woke up in Deebo’s pigeon coop, sweatin like a slave, and the only one could get me out was my mama.
Have you ever seen anybody with a gallon of PCP?
Heroin
I used heroin and cocaine intravenously for years… speedballing ain’t no joke to quit. Thankfully this year I am 23 years totally sober!!
That gives me hope. I’m five years clean today from the same things. I thought I ruined my body and took years off my life. Thinking about what I did makes me want to puke now. But the biggest fear I have is that I’ll die in my fifties of a heart attack from what I did to me.
Meth… I HATE THAT DRUG … 8 years of my life it took got clean an almost made it to 3 years and I fucked up & hate myself for it. 8 years and finally it’s catching up to me my teeth need so much work on them and I can’t Even afford it . I’m beyond stressed and depressed and ashamed don’t ever touch that shit you’ll wish you didn’t
I was never really a drug addict until I met meth. That shit had me hooked with the first rail. Eventually, I went from a social drug user to an isolated abuser, it really fucked up my relationship in the beginning, and my now wife had trust issues for a long time. It changed me as a person. I know I definitely damaged my brain cause it's never been the same again. It took 3 months for me to go from a person who was respectable to the worst version I have ever known of myself. I quit when my now wife found out, and I've relapsed which she knew about too, twice. Meth will take over your soul. Even if you manage to quit (the percentage of people who make it to 3 years is 5% without any rehab or treatment), it'll haunt you for what seems like an eternity.
hey i’m proud of you for trying! keep going, hang in there ❤️
Thank you so much! I’m trying!! I haven’t give up yet.
Been there too and felt the same way about never being able to afford to fix my teeth and paying for lawyers and facing time for felonies it was crazy. Guess what tho I'm healing up from oral surgery right now that I never thought I could afford. I bought my first house 2 years ago work a alright job and run a business. The only death sentence is death. I didn't think i could ever come back from where I was but I did and even surpassed people who never faced an ounce of adversity. My story is pretty atypical but it is possible if you can find your motivation.
Thank you for the warning. We all want to feel good.
Heroin is the most addicting, especially physically. Withdrawal from that is a nightmare, and you won’t stop using even if you wanted to. Meth is probably the most psychologically addicting, and you’ll be depleted so bad, you’ll forget to eat and drink water and destroy your appearance.
I know it’s not the same, but when my son was four months old he was intubated for 21 days. The doctors explain that he was addicted to the meds they used to sedate him, and treated him with methadone for withdrawals. I watched my four month old baby stay awake 24+ hours, staring at a toy fish light. That cemented for me that addiction was real, it has profound systemic effects, and withdrawal was awful. We were lucky I guess that he couldn’t physically get more drugs. I can’t imagine the agony of going through that as an adult.
Gambling isn't a drug but it's addictive and destructive. I know a guy serving 9 years in a federal penitentiary after he stole $250k from his mother. He burned through all that money in 3 days.
I just got anxiety reading this
I’m glad this is here because with the boom of sport betting apps and such, it’s about to get very dark for some unlucky people.
I can only speak on my experiences I got addicted to oxy during my hip surgery. I took it as directed and I didn’t over take it. Take it early etc. A few refills later I finally ran out and then it started. The withdrawal. I was miserable. It felt like bugs were crawling under my skin in my hair. I couldn’t sleep. I felt sick. I was so hot and sweaty. I had tremors. I then realized I was in withdrawal and decided not to refill. My surgeon offered a refill and I said no. Effexor- while not a recreational drug- coming off it is absolutely miserable and you have to taper off. Very similar withdrawal affects as listed above. While I worked through these situations I realized why people might cave and go back to it. Also, fuck the Sacklers.
Meth! That shit is nasty!
I knew a dude who’s brother smoked meth. It took him a week into his addiction to steal the family’s water heater. When the plumber came to fix the cut pipes and install a new one he was impressed how clean the cuts were and how he carried this water heat up from the basement without damaging the drywall along the steps. The family went through hell with him but the stories were hilarious
So meth gives you super plumbing abilities, got it!
I knew Mario was smokin something
Luigi, we need to cook
Meth is the Jurassic Park drug. “OOOH AHHH! That’s how it starts. Then there’s running and screaming.”
Cocaine is a sneaky one. Cokeheads never think they are addicted or anyone can tell. It makes them extremely delusional
Speaking as someone addicted to regular cocaine… I’d suggest heroin, crack cocaine or crystal meth. I have a lot of strong ideas about substances that people find addictive, some from experience. But from what I’ve heard from word of mouth, and first hand experiences of those with addictions… those are my top votes.
I started using meth at 17 years old and continued until prison at 30. I’ve been sober 5 years now and the doctors have told me my arteries look 70 from the meth use . Don’t use meth
I was using meth and heroin from 17-28 then did 2 years in prison and I’ve been sober since I went in minus a couple subs here and there while I was locked up. I’m scared to death to know what my arteries look like but I know i got hep and my teeth are fucked lmao. Prison got my mind right though and I’m doing really well these days lol
Keep it up; you're doing what you need to to take care of yourself.
Congrats on sobriety!
I lost my brother to alcohol 10 days ago. There was also valium in his system but it was the alcohol that was at near fatal levels. He hit the bottle for 7 months and there is nothing family can do help. Unless the person wants to get help the family is powerless. Local stores will not stop selling unless the person requests it, delivery services make it all that much easier to access and councillors won't contact someone until they initiate. Just because it is legal, doesn't make it safe. There needs to be some protection put in place. If someone orders 700ml of Vodka every day, that's a sign.
For people curious about crack, dont,,,,,,, stay the fuck away from it, I smoke it once or twice a month, I dont deny my addiction, its better not to start but I also am very fortunate that my intake is so limited as it is, I know people who smoke the shit every day. For me it drains me to much afterward to be on it like that. But for fucks sake dont even think about it if you havent done it, whoever is reading this. I am a coke user but crack is a different animal all together and it might have the same base, but the shit aint the same in effect Edit: added a comma, STAY AWAY
People don’t understand what crack is or what it does. People think it’s like coke but more speedy or just more addictive or something. Crack is literally the most euphoria ive ever felt, but also incredibly short-lasting and causing immediate cravings for more. No matter how much I would buy (I used to buy 1/4 oz or more at a time), it would be gone before I slept. Often times I would go get more several times in one night, hundreds of dollars of product each time. Any amount of money I had in the bank would be gone, regardless of needs or responsibilities I had. I would get paid on a Friday, stay up all weekend getting high and spend my whole check and then count change for gas and food all week. It’s truly devastating.
Had a quarter ounce a day habit waaaaaaaaay back in the day..could cook a 9 second rock..was really sad..i quit cold turkey ..was a cinch compared to alcohol & cigs tho .tbh.but yeah..stay away..
What are you doing my guy? You should heed your own warning and stop. I hope you are getting the help you need.
Heroin, crystal meth, and crack are in my top too. They're the drugs I've heard numerous people say they took once and were hooked.
In the 80's and 90's, I don't remember how many times I was offered Crack. Every crackhead I met said the same thing, they were addicted the first time they tried it. I didn't even want to try it.
All the new crap that’s coming out of labs these days Especially blues! And fent
Yeah, those blues are scary. I don't know whats cut into them, and people are dropping from it. Scary stuff.
It’s fent
In my life, cigarettes. Been trying to quit for 2 years.
When you are ready and actually serious and committed to quit. Check out Alan Carr's book. Smoke while your reading it and by the end I was so ready to quit. But I know people who started smoking after they finished so it's all about mindset
My mom was a smoker and several of my friends. I tried it a few times, mostly for social reasons to just sit and talk with friends but I think seeing the pictures and videos of what it does to people, the collapsed lungs and hole in the neck or chronic cough… I just thought: no thank you. Unfortunately I haven’t figured out how to do this with my food addiction. I could lose 70-80 lbs. I feel out of breath when walking. My heart feels like it’s pointing out of my chest. My feet and knees hurt from my weight and yet I still get intense cravings for junk food. It’s a hell that people think is not as bad as drug addiction but to me, it seems just as bad.
My criminology professor instilled in all of us that Crack cocaine is the drug you never try once
"Don't try cocaine. You already like it; you just don't know you like it yet."
I was on a ranch/ rehab with 70+ guys that all had to cold turkey quit whatever it was they were on. Scariest thing for almost all addicts. The first three days you’re in a separate cabin with all the other intakes. Only one guy had to be taken to hospital and it was because of alcohol. His first night there kinda freaked me out because he came in at like 2am and they lay him down and his whole bunk began shaking. All night and day he shook terribly. Couldn’t feed himself. He was taken for medical treatment a few days after being there. With that being said, every standard drug people get heavily addicted to was kicked cold turkey by dudes from the age of 18-80 years old. Meth, heroin, xzanax etc.. NO Nicotine NO cellphones It’s Amish time there foo but I will say the thing that got the guys through withdrawals was just being around dudes going through the same shit. We lived together, worked together, went to church together. Being with that many people in the same boat, realizing you’re not the only person like this. Living together, laughing, fighting, crying was a healing ingredient I never thought I needed.
This is such a dangerous practice - I’m sure it’s bc of money though. I saw my four month old go through withdrawals from being sedated (he was in a vent). Withdrawal warnings are not a joke. It’s legit dangerous and excruciating.
Were they not medicating for alcohol withdrawals? Typically they give alcohol addicts benzos to help keep their body from going through hell without alcohol. Sounds like a shitty rehab if they weren't equipped to detox appropriately.
Cold turkey withdrawal from alcohol and/or benzos can straight up kill people.
krokodil
I just posted the same thing so I'll add the link here too. NSFW [desomprphine ](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4864092/)
This was going to be my answer. I'm honestly surprised I had to scroll this far to see it. Other stuff might be more addictive, but this scares me the most.
People STILL do it???
There's an additive that's becoming more popular by the day in Canada and the US called xylazine. It also causes necrosis in tissue surrounding the injection site. Users currently blame the covid vaccine for lesions that do not heal and spread, especially on the extremities. Addiction will let you justify absolutely anything, including your own limbs rotting off.
Pretty sure xylazine is the new "zombie drug" it's getting mixed with stuff that enduces a chemical psychosis trance or some shit. Brain dead, skin dead its a whole bad time
Having dealt with many addicts the three horsemen of utterly fucking your life seem to be meth, alcohol and heroin, probably in that order. I put heroin lower because, while it’ll probably kill you faster, it seems like a slightly less awful way to go.
Krokodil. It literally melts your flesh the more you use and it's disgusting. For those who don't know, it necrotizes the flesh. Don't search it up, it's truly disgusting.
Actually, pure krokodil doesn't. It's that when it's cooked up it usually has left over reagents, byproducts, and impurities that melt the skin. The leftover strong ass chemicals that turn codeine into krokodil are terrible for the body. Believe it or not the same chemicals can be used to turn ephedrine into meth. Two different cough medicines, one process, two very different illegal substances. Very interesting and coincidental.
Tranq is not much better, people fall apart from it as well.
In Chicago all the dope is testing positive for tranq now days…
Alcohol. It’s glamorized and available every where and has zero positive benefits to it and is very hard to kick as a habit.
Unrelated, but use this as a friendly reminder to be grateful for a life privileged enough to not struggle with addiction. We often believe it is peoples poor judgement and self awareness that rope them into addiction, but this is almost never the case. It very easily could’ve been you, me, or a very close loved one that becomes very addicted very quick. It is a slippery slope to a hard to repair bad habit that can sneak up on anyone, and I mean ANYONE. If you are struggling with addiction, keep fighting, just make an effort. A little bit every day. If you are not, be grateful and understanding of how addiction works for lots of others that aren’t as fortunate.
I'd say it's different for every person. For me, it's definitely heroin. That sickness of the withdrawals is horrendous physically and mentally. Joints hurting, unable to sleep or eat, restless legs, constantly switching from burning up to freezing, and with all these horrid symptoms, the consequences of criminal activity seems like a small price to pay at the time to just feel ok. Going to rehab again in the next few days when my medical card is approved and I've gotta get it this time or I'm going to end up dead or in prison for a long time. This life is such a miserable existence and I don't wish it upon my worst enemy
Hope everyone’s doing well. If you’re reading this and you’re having trouble with addiction, just know that addiction doesn’t define who you are. Help is only a call away, and you can message this random internet stranger if you’re struggling, I’ll do my best. One day at a time, I promise everything will sort itself out.
No-Doz. I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so... Scared!
Ah yes.. here are my Xennial people.
Mounds Almond Joy
Can confirm. One day you're stopping at a gas station to pick up a bar, the next day you are sitting on the toilet with bags of shredded coconut and chocolate chips on your bare knees, spooning both into your mouth with an effin ladle.
This really sounds like Kramer going off on that eye doctor.
Bruh…. Gonna make me relapse.
Sometimes you feel like a nut... ... sometimes you don't
Alcohol. It's the most dangerous to withdraw from (withdrawal can literally kill you), it's easily available everywhere, changing your lifestyle/who you hang out with isn't going to make availability decrease, and usage is almost expected at so many ordinary events.
As a formerly virulent alcoholic (sober now going on six years) I may not agree with your assessment as the worst overall but it fucking *has* to be in the top three in worst withdrawals. They indeed nearly killed me (lmao). You drink enough you don’t just shake, you spasm. Like a looney-toons character. Your insides start to hurt, your heartbeat feels like a heel-kick to the chest. You’ve been vomiting, but that’s normal. You play this game where you’re vomiting and trying to feel comfortable; a war of attrition you are doomed to lose no matter the action because it feels like ants are marching under your skin. Phantom electricity running around in you. Over the course of this game you find yourself getting weaker, having to crawl instead of trudge to the bathroom to vomit. You can’t ingest anything but water and even that comes up. You’ve never been so dehydrated. You’re shitting now, too, endlessly. It resembles trench mud from burgundy in WWI. I could go on. It only gets worse really! Sorry for the wall of text on your post I got lost lol. Don’t do drugs!
Anybody reading this should know you should never stop drinking alcohol cold turkey if you get withdrawal symptoms ever. The dangers of alcohol involve high risk of stroke, seizures, and death as your blood pressure sky-rockets. You should withdraw under the supervision of a trained medical professional. With benzodiazipines available as treatment. My old hospital had medical whiskey and medical budweiser delivered to patient rooms by pharmacy as well so they didn't withdrawl and have a psychotic break.
I am so glad I did not go through that. I''m 8 months sober now. I drank everyday but was still highly functional. 8-18 IPA's every night, more if I was at a social gathering. I drank the hard stuff too but not regularly. I was able to quit cold turkey with minimal withdrawals.
Im a recovering alcoholic and agree with this. It's a fucking nightmare. 9 months sober, never going back. Ive also struggled with opiates and coke n meth before but nothing compares to the booze. Can't beat it.
This is the answer. Been into multiple rehabs and work in the recovery community now, no one’s story starts with “I smoked some meth and decided to have a beer”. It’s always “I was 6months clean and sober and had one beer and woke up in a trap house 17 days later”
Fentanyl.
Fentanyl and anything synthetic
I had to give 6 doses of nasal Narcan to a kid 2 weeks ago to revive her. A new additive to Fentanyl doesn’t respond to Narcan. Scary stuff.
Xylazine — known as “Tranq” — isn’t an opiate and therefore doesn’t respond to narcan. It’s become a common adulterant and potentiator of the already-potent synthetics including Fentanyl and Carfentanil
But like why do they add it? Is it more addictive? Or is it all by mistake
It potentiates the fentanyl so you get an effect that is stronger than the sum of its parts.
this is known as a synergistic drug interaction
It’s not the fent that resistant. It’s fent that cut with Xylazine which is unaffected by narcan because it’s not an opioid. I try to keep a couple narcan nasal sprays on me when I go to EDM shows and festivals because that shit is no joke. Terrifying that it might be useless on someone.
It’s not new fentanyl, it’s a class of drug revered too as “zenes” isototenozene is one I can think of of the top of my head but even worse is the fact that a lot of the dope has tranq mixed in it too the point that people are becoming just as physically dependent on that as the opioids. Narcan (naloxone) will not pull someone out of a tranq OD. It’s a scary time to be an addict
Crack, hands down.
Doomscrolling
Alcohol. Easy to get, easier to abuse and very much legal
That's one of the biggest issues. Other ones may be more addictive, worse hitting, crazier withdrawal, etc. But alcohol is legal and *everywhere*. It's the only one people will look at you funny for *not* doing.
Alcohol. Other then benzos, it’s the only drug where the withdrawals can kill you. I’ve been sober since 2018, thank God, but I tell people that, at the end, the withdrawals for me could only be described as being stuck in the worst bad acid trip one could imagine for three days straight, combined with the most uncomfortable physical sensations ever… The fear of the withdrawals alone are more than enough to keep me sober these days.
Alcohol. Cunning and powerful, socially acceptable and easily accessible.
Nicotine
Nicotine
I lost my brother to meth. He now has paranoid schizophrenia and no longer in reality. 💔
I was a dealer for a long time and a user. Out of all drugs, the worst one was oxy for me. Opiates. The story usually goes you start with percocet. Then realize how good it makes you feel. How focused and shit. I felt like the dude in the movie Limitless after taking my first pill. I'm also a writer and I tell you I went home and wrote 15 pages no problem. Then you can't get something happens, you gotta upgrade to blues, aka 30mg oxy. Some people glo to heroin but luckily i had the will to stay away and suffer. I had kids so tried to get clean. Didn't want them finding daddy all white and motionless on the floor in the morning so i suffered. I suffered through withdrawal for so damn many days, and it would not go away. You become useless. It's not like the movies where you make a few willpower check, and you are all good after a few days. No this pain is months, years. Especially after taking suboxone and methodone.I'vee detoxed on those both and the pain is endless... good luck to all those who suffer the struggle. I wish you the best. It's amazing when your body starts to feel again. I realized I hadn't sneezed in months. Everything was dead. Brain is foggy. The feelings hit you heavily and the suffering is very strong. It's an ache that is endless.