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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sunny10 on November 5, 2004, at 13:28:58
I guess my number 1 question is this...
Can someone who once did coke on a daily basis just stop?
My SO says that he doesn't want to do any drugs anymore- apparently hasn't done any 'shrooms, acid, et cetera for about 9 months, but HAS slipped up and done coke three times in the past four months.
Is it POSSIBLE for him to stop without some kind of program/therapy/something?
He seems to want to, but is relying too much on me to help him. And I really CAN'T help- I've never done drugs and have no idea what he is going through.
Any ideas, forum?
Thanks,
-sunny10
Posted by bart on November 20, 2004, at 9:45:05
In reply to Has anyone here effectively quit a coke habit??, posted by sunny10 on November 5, 2004, at 13:28:58
have you considered the person immerse himself or herself the Narcotics Anonymous program? There are daily meetings in just about every town and city in this country. I would imagine he or she will not quit unless he or she really wants to.
Posted by sunny10 on November 22, 2004, at 18:11:49
In reply to Re: Has anyone here effectively quit a coke habit??, posted by bart on November 20, 2004, at 9:45:05
he doesn't seem to be doing them NOW, I just wondered if that were possible without backslides...
Posted by JustB on December 24, 2004, at 11:17:50
In reply to Re: Has anyone here effectively quit a coke habit?, posted by sunny10 on November 22, 2004, at 18:11:49
> he doesn't seem to be doing them NOW, I just wondered if that were possible without backslides...
Backslides are possible the rest of his life. Coke puts a hook in the brain (at least my brain) that is always ready to grab you. It's that instant euphoria that's always appealing.
b.
Posted by Sebastian on January 6, 2005, at 21:33:41
In reply to Re: Has anyone here effectively quit a coke habit?, posted by JustB on December 24, 2004, at 11:17:50
figure this one out for me. Every time I smoked crack. I would go nuts smoking and smoking all night. Then I would just get tired and want to stop, even though its all around and every one is still smoking, I want to go home take a shower, brush my teeth, sleep?? I will just stop it, and not touch it again for years or so, just when it comes up. I say hey maybe that would be fun. I do it and want to stop again. I have had none for atleast 3-4 years. But my real problem is pot, I just can't stop, can't live without it, smoke all day, 20 joints to myself. Go nuts when I can't have it. Whats up with this? Oh, I tried some plain coke once, loved it, but I never got enough to satisfy my experience, so I dream about tring some. Weird..
Posted by HoldenYosarian on February 13, 2005, at 0:34:51
In reply to Re: Has anyone here effectively quit a coke habit?, posted by Sebastian on January 6, 2005, at 21:33:41
> figure this one out for me. Every time I smoked crack. I would go nuts smoking and smoking all night. Then I would just get tired and want to stop, even though its all around and every one is still smoking, I want to go home take a shower, brush my teeth, sleep?? I will just stop it, and not touch it again for years or so, just when it comes up. I say hey maybe that would be fun. I do it and want to stop again. I have had none for atleast 3-4 years. But my real problem is pot, I just can't stop, can't live without it, smoke all day, 20 joints to myself. Go nuts when I can't have it. Whats up with this? Oh, I tried some plain coke once, loved it, but I never got enough to satisfy my experience, so I dream about tring some. Weird..
Effectively quit a coke habit? You CAN quit anything, the question is is likelihood, based on characteristics of the drug (and, of course yourself, your own body chemistry, etc).
I'm 33 now. I'll tell you just a little bit of my story as it relates to crack/coke. I started using coke at 13. It wasn't a problem (and I had access to an unlimited supply of pharmaceutical grade, because my father was a doctor, and he used, too). Not only did I not become addicted, but it never crossed my mind except on the odd occassion when my friends and I were feeling particularly wild and dipped into his stash, probably only once every 4 or five months. Around the same time I started smoking crack. I did it for the adrenalin rush of getting it--the danger involved in going into "those" parts of town and risking my life and freedom to get it. It didn't really seem to do anything for me, otherwise. This continued, although with no regularity, for about three years. By the time I got to University, I was a pot head, and fairly heavy drinker. But the issue of coke never came up. Sometimes someone would have it at a party and I'd do a few lines, and that would be it. Not a thought about it, otherwise. After University, I moved cross country, and in the period of 3 years probably used coke (powder) twice. Again, no more thought about it. When i returned to my home state, I gave up drinking, and just smoked pot. Then someone I worked with happened to have a powder connection, so I started doing it a little more regularly. I had the money. Of course, the old adrenaline rush thing came up, again, and I went to the old "hood" to get some crack--just for the cloak and dagger effect. Suddenly I couldn't stop. Nothing else mattered. I ended up losing my job, spending $20,000 in about 6 months or less---(and then about the same amount of my girlfriend's money) and ended up living in my car. That wasn't enough, apparantly. I still needed more, always, constantly, without end. I ended up being charged with check forgery in order to supply my habit and being incarcerated for it. That's the very short version. So, it started out innoucuously enough... and stayed that way for years. Until suddenly, for no apparent reason...wham. I was a crackhead. Just like that--my life a constant race against my addiction, avoiding dealers, looking for dealers, thievery, and a completely transient existence.
I'm glad you can just decide to go home now...that you don't need any more, or think about it, for years. But that's exactly how I started out.
Posted by HoldenYosarian on February 13, 2005, at 0:50:07
In reply to Has anyone here effectively quit a coke habit??, posted by sunny10 on November 5, 2004, at 13:28:58
> I guess my number 1 question is this...
>
> Can someone who once did coke on a daily basis just stop?
>
> My SO says that he doesn't want to do any drugs anymore- apparently hasn't done any 'shrooms, acid, et cetera for about 9 months, but HAS slipped up and done coke three times in the past four months.
>
> Is it POSSIBLE for him to stop without some kind of program/therapy/something?
>
> He seems to want to, but is relying too much on me to help him. And I really CAN'T help- I've never done drugs and have no idea what he is going through.
>
> Any ideas, forum?
>
> Thanks,
> -sunny10I've been without question addicted to everything except for acid (and that's because you can't really get addicted to it due to the build up of tolerance) and have been heavily involved with recovery for the last 10 years. I can tell you that it's more than common for those with a long history of drug use to "slip" during their first few attempts to quit. And frankly, if you're SO has only slipped 3 times in the last four months, and this is his first time to try to quit, I'd tell you that you have little to worry about.
There are a number of questions you should ask yourself, though:
1. Do you truly believe that he WANTS to quit (i.e. did he just decide to on his own, or after you kept after him about quitting. If the latter, then he probably doesn't WANT to, and therefore won't. If he had to quit for any other reason, for that matter--job drug test, one particular incident of a loss of control that hasn't been repeated-then he probably doesn't really WANT to quit. And there's one thing you can be sure of...he he didn't reach the decision to quit by himself for internal reasons, then it's not likely
that he will for any length of time.)2. Are you sure he's only used 3 times in the last four months? For example, has he been making excuses to be away from you moreso than before--if so , he's probably lying about his use. And if he's lying about his use, then it's likely he'll need some kind of intervention.
3. You said he did it on a daily basis. It's pretty hard for someone who's done coke on a daily basis for any length of time to just stop without there being some recognizable change in their mood/reactions/personality. If he hasn't seemed to begin reacting differently, i.e. become moody, irritable, depressed, easily angered, indecisive---then chances are he's still using.
Yes, people who use coke on a daily basis can just stop. But be wary of signs that he hasn't, because it's not an easy thing to do. If you find that he's still using, give him another chance, as long as your situation hasn't become dangerous....it's his first try. If it becomes an ongoing theme, though, you can be sure that he has become an addict, and the best thing you can do to help him is to threaten to leave him if he doesn't get inpatient help, and then follow-through if he doesn't.
Hope I helped
Posted by sunny10 on February 25, 2005, at 11:59:56
In reply to Re: Has anyone here effectively quit a coke habit?, posted by HoldenYosarian on February 13, 2005, at 0:50:07
he quit it "to get his life together" as he was 35. He decided to quit it and give up his job, move out of his house halfway across the USA, as part of starting a life with me.
I did not ask him to do any of this.
I have since decided that it's his life- but, as I do not like the person he BECOMES when using, I asked him not to do it around me and DEFINITELY not in our house.
So last night, he did it in our house, behind my back, and thought I was too stupid to notice.
So much for a relationship based on honesty and respect....
This is the end of the thread.
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