I need advice from former meth addicts!!!

[thenotsoesoteric]

I have had a great deal of experience with the drug and treatment etc.. Unfortunatly there is really nothing you can do.
I mean you can try but unless the person is ready and willing to do anything it takes your setting yourself up
to be let down. The absolute best thing to do unless you really know what your doing is to point them towards
the self help groups and if they want it they will get. Its free and I have seen it work for very low bottom cases but even
then it usually does not take the forst time and its a long messy road. If you insist on helping I recomend you attend at least a few
narcanon or even alanon meetings so you can learn how to be helpful without causing more harm. In fact I would ask you to go prior to even approaching this person so you do not over obligate yourself or scare the prospect. Anyway sometimes family members are unable to detach enough to not take things personal. Good luck either way.

I agree. There is very little you can do beside try and convince them to start taking steps in the right direction.

You can help them out in certain ways but don't contribute to their addiction. If you can convince them to go to a group or something offer to come along. It might be a long night outside in your car but they have to take those steps forward themselves.

I hope you well and as others have mentioned I've watched many friends struggle with heroin and meth and all you can do is offer emotion support even when you really just want to slap the shit out of them.

 

[StoneyStonebreaker]

We got word today that my 36 year old stepson has died as a result of his meth addiction. My stepdaughter is also a meth addict and I want to try to help her. She is 35 and has been on meth for about 7 years. I have tried to help both of them before, but their addiction caused huge problems resulting in theft of my property and the worst stress I have ever experienced in my life, but I am willing to give it another try for my stepdaughter if I can figure out a plan that has some chance of success. The last time I had her here, she stayed for a few days and then the cravings got too strong and she left. What can I do to help her? Both of her natural parents are deceased, along with her brother, so I don't want to turn my back on her. Is there any chance??? I don't have money, but I am willing to give all that I have if it would save her.

I hope your stepdaughter finds her way and that you find peace. You only have control over one of those things. The other has control over you. Not you specifically, but you as in everyone who has meth addiction in their life.

 

[cindysid]

I thought I would give an update to this old thread. My step daughter is living on the streets, grandson is in jail again, daughter is still struggling. I moved from South Florida to the mountains of Virginia. I know that meth is here too, but I live back in the holler and I don't know any meth addicts. If you are able to escape this drug you are very fortunate. I have not personally seen it happen.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

 

[natureboygrower]

I thought I would give an update to this old thread. My step daughter is living on the streets, grandson is in jail again, daughter is still struggling. I moved from South Florida to the mountains of Virginia. I know that meth is here too, but I live back in the holler and I don't know any meth addicts. If you are able to escape this drug you are very fortunate. I have not personally seen it happen.

Sorry to hear that. I've been watching a lot of Soft White Underbelly lately on Youtube. Short interviews with addicts, prostitutes, homeless and a lot of others who are struggling ( as well as a lot of Appalachian folk) Even though I have struggled myself in the past, this has been a good reminder of the power of addiction and the feelings of hopelessness, guilt and shame that the addict goes through every day. I dont know your story, but I'm sure it has been very tough for you as well. I hope the very best for you and your family. Seems impossible but things can change.

Nice to see you around. Hope you're out of the hurricane zone and you've built your seed stock back up.

 

[Hiphophippo]

Been down this road my whole life my dad was a frequent cocaine abuser and when I say frequent I mean every weekend of my life until I was 26 and he passed due to a heart attack because of the cocaine my sister lost her children permanently due to pills and heroin my younger sister was on the heroine real bad and my brother in law is just lost down the road of meth and heroin I’ve been on the road to in my life the only thing that’ll make a person change and walk away from that stuff is there own desire to walk away from it some will need help others can do it alone but what they all need is you to just be there and listen and be accepting not judging we all know they are lost and the things they do are from an addicts perspective not the perspective of the person you love I hope your holidays are happy and your hearts happier sorry for the long run on sentence lol

 

[OG-KGP]

Im sorry for your loss and the battle you have fought and will probably continue to fight. I knew many addicts, and can only share a very few success stories. Hard drugs are a tragedy. Its tough to watch someone die, but harder to watch them kill themselves a little more everyday until the soul is gone and its an empty shell of what the person was before drugs. Sending smoke and positive vibes your way.

 

[riuoldmember]

if you think meth is bad on the east coast in cali everyone is on it.

 

[natureboygrower]

if you think meth is bad on the east coast in cali everyone is on it.

Fentanyl seems to have taken hold everywhere. Taking a lot of people with it.

 

[cindysid]

I'm glad I'm happy just smoking pot.

 

[xtsho]

After someone's been using meth for for a year or more there isn't much chance they'll ever get away from it. Meth destroys the brain and body. Treatment doesn't work and instead has become a revolving door and nothing more than a money making racket. The only way to get a hard core meth addict clean is to lock them up away from meth. They'll steal from anyone to support their nasty habit. It sucks for those affected but it is what it is.

if you think meth is bad on the east coast in cali everyone is on it.

Portland Oregon. Meth capital. Heroin as well. Addicts are everywhere.

"Oregon has long experienced the ravages of meth. At one point, Oregon had the most meth addicts per capita in the country. The viral Faces of Meth anti-drug campaign from the 2000s began in Multnomah County."

"The Department of Justice recently made a major drug bust in Portland, taking down two trafficking cells and seizing more than 40 pounds of meth. In October, officers made the largest meth bust in Oregon history in Eugene — 384 pounds of methamphetamine, worth more than a million dollars, along with stolen guns and thousands of dollars in cash."

Cheap, potent meth is pouring in from Mexico. Is it making Oregon's homeless crisis worse?

An article in The Atlantic explored the changing world of drugs in the United States, including Portland, brought on by a new way of manufacturing meth.

www.kgw.com

 

[natureboygrower]

After someone's been using meth for for a year or more there isn't much chance they'll ever get away from it.

Citation please

 

[xtsho]

Citation please

I don't need any citation. I've been around enough meth addicts to know. There may be a very small percentage less than 10% that might break the cycle of addiction but the vast majority will continue to use regardless of how many times they go through a treatment program.

I can't find a link to the actual study and I'm not spending any time looking for it. But I don't need a study to tell me what I've personally observed over the last 4 decades.

"Meth relapse rates are unusually high. Even users who go to rehab have a long-term success rate of just 12%, says a new study."

"Most meth addicts relapse within three years of seeking treatment, according to a new study from Australia. And although those who attend residential rehab reportedly have more than double the success rate of those who go to detox, or receive no treatment, even those who go to rehab have a high rate of relapse—at 88%. The study, published in the journal Addiction"

Why Do Meth Addicts Have Such a High Relapse Rate? | The Fix

Meth relapse rates are unusually high. Even users who go to rehab have a long-term success rate of just 12%, says a new study.

www.thefix.com

There have been studies done using medical treatments but the success rates are poor.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2020214

 

[riuoldmember]

384 pounds of meth gets smoked in california in 1 hour. our busts for everything are way bigger than oregon. hardly anyone lives there in comparison.

 

[natureboygrower]

I don't need any citation. I've been around enough meth addicts to know.

That's not how it works.

Your experiences does not speak for everyone. You live in a very large city full of addicts. Of course youre going to see more failure ( homelessness) then recoveries because those who get better, better themselves and leave. Where would you visit or frequent where you'd hear about any success stories?

 

[Budzbuddha]

Same BS here on west coast ( California ) …. meth / inhalants / crack / heroin / spice / fentanyl and opioids.

 

[xtsho]

That's not how it works.

Your experiences does not speak for everyone. You live in a very large city full of addicts. Of course youre going to see more failure ( homelessness) then recoveries because those who get better, better themselves and leave. Where would you visit or frequent where you'd hear about any success stories?

No how it works is that meth addicts rarely get clean for any length of time. That's a known known. Anyone that's been around a meth addict will tell you that.

The person that started this thread almost 10 years ago just updated it with news that their family members are still struggling.

You may have been able to quit using and are in the 10% that have but the vast majority of meth addicts will never get away from it. They may have a short time of being clean but they almost always go back to it.

I really don't see why you're trying to argue about something that everyone else seems to know. Treatment works for a very small percentage yet it's touted by the industry as a success. That's because much of it is funded by the government and it's a cash cow. The only people claiming treatment works are those making a living working in the industry. I'm sick of my tax dollars going to treat some addict that's going to be baking a meth pipe a week after they supposedly successfully complete some treatment program. It's a revolving door and a waste of money that would be better spent on prevention than wasted on those to far gone to save.

 

[xtsho]

I thought I would give an update to this old thread. My step daughter is living on the streets, grandson is in jail again, daughter is still struggling. I moved from South Florida to the mountains of Virginia. I know that meth is here too, but I live back in the holler and I don't know any meth addicts. If you are able to escape this drug you are very fortunate. I have not personally seen it happen.

That's terrible that your family is caught up in meth addiction. It's not your fault but unfortunately you're suffering because of it.

This picture should be plastered on the walls of every grade school in America. We need to scare the heck out of kids to keep them from ever trying meth. They need to see at an early age what it really does. Prevention is the only answer. Once they're hooked it usually turns into a life sentence.

 

[natureboygrower]

No how it works is that meth addicts rarely get clean for any length of time. That's a known known. Anyone that's been around a meth addict will tell you that.

The person that started this thread almost 10 years ago just updated it with news that their family members are still struggling.

You may have been able to quit using and are in the 10% that have but the vast majority of meth addicts will never get away from it. They may have a short time of being clean but they almost always go back to it.

I really don't see why you're trying to argue about something that everyone else seems to know. Treatment works for a very small percentage yet it's touted by the industry as a success. That's because much of it is funded by the government and it's a cash cow. The only people claiming treatment works are those making a living working in the industry. I'm sick of my tax dollars going to treat some addict that's going to be

I'm not arguing. I asked you to post some citation on some claims I had never heard before.

I wont clutter OPs thread anymore. You and I will never see eye to eye on this.

Shame about those taxes...

 

[Severed Tongue]

It's so very sad. I lost my best friend to addiction 24 years ago. Not sure if it was meth, but they would melt it on a spoon, and then inject themselves with a syringe.

We went through high-school together, he played drums in our band. We were I our 20's and were roommates, he had moved into my place, as I was attempting to help him get off it. Things were going well, I had thought.

I came home from work on April 1st 1997 around 3pm and found him, he had hung himself in the bathroom, after trying unsuccessful to electrocute himself.

The worst was all these people I grew up with, supposedly friends, when attending his funeral were making drug deals, at the funeral.