Heroin addiction treatment

[Ares22]

I just found out my 23 yr old daughter is addicted to heroin on Wed. She was admitted to detox on Thurs. She insists on coming home Sunday. Her boyfriend has had an approx five year addiction to heroin and admitted himself to detox as well. I am just planning on bringing her home and trying to put her on some sort of lock-down mode for a while. She wants to take Soboxon and go to counseling. I've never dealt with anything like this and just don't know where to turn really. I'm just going by what she says and researching this on the internet. I'm afraid that she isn't really taking into consideration how hard and long this process is going to be.  She insists on seeing the boyfriend. I only want to allow her to see her twin sister and her one friend I know is clean for a couple weeks. Am I correct in trying to limit her time with the boyfriend?  Any other suggestions? I'm lost and heartbroken.

[mtgoat911]

welcome to the forum, i can see in your post that you would greatly bennifit from narcanon
you have no control over how much time she spends with her boyfriend, you also have no control over her addiction
my mom went to alonon when i was younger, it really helped her let go, because thats what got me clean, my mom stopped talking to me, and i was left on my own to grow up
if your daughter is not ready to stop drugs, suboxone is a great matience drug, it will maintain her so she will feel high and not worry about getting and using and finding ways and means to get more
just so you know i am not some person out there to preach, i am a recoevring addict, who put my mom through everything you are going through now
other than letting me go, there was nothing my parents could do to stop me from self desruction

[Ares22]

Thank you so much for your post. I believe she just recently started injecting it and I know she was snorting it too. I know it is ultimately up to her even if I try and limit her contact with certain friends. She is having a hard time with letting go of friends but I know she knows that must be done. I'm so worried about her. I was thinking too that since she has gone a couple days without any replacement, it would be better to try and do it with no replacement but that's up to her too. This all started with oxy and other prescription drugs. I'm going to get her on here and read and hopefully reach out for help. I wish you the very best. My little brother died a year ago March 15 from an overdose and it just makes this situation that more troubling. I know that one of my brother's best friends is in the same situation as you in that he has no more of his childhood friends. They have either gone to jail, died, or walked away from it.

[TysonRed]

Yes you are correct, she shouldnt have any contact with the bf until she's dealt with her addiction or atleast until he has some some signifigant clean time under his belt. In this case when people are doing heroin I think suboxone alot of the times is a good choice, its much better than methadone maintenance treatment, those w/d's are just as bad if not worse than herion. Does she inject the herion or sniff it, I imagine shes injecting it as most H addicts do. So she should also get checked out for hepatitis and other transmittable diseases. They really do need time apart, it would be best for both of their recoveries. Alot of the times couples that use and try to get clean together, it doesnt work out because the people that should be around you should be supportive and comforting, not feeling as bad as you are, they are of no help. Just try and explain to her that he will be there in the future as long as he really intends on getting and staying clean, although it sounds like his habit(addiciton) is going to be much harder to kick. Its good that she is in detox and wants to do the counseling, now is the detox facility already giving her suboxone or is that something she wants to start when she gets out. Because if she hasnt started it yet and makes it through the physical withdrawals maybe she should just try and stay clean without any kind of replacement therapy. Since shes not a minor and you can lock her up, if you cant convince her that its a bad idea for her to be around him, then try to make a rule that if she wants to see him for him to come to your house so you can kind of monitor the situation a bit. Im not sure if thats an option your willing to do,but just an idea. One of the hardest parts about addiction is that you have to cut off all ties to the people who still use or arent supportive of the person trying to stay clean. Ive had to cut ties with my best friend who still uses methadone, I feel really bad about it and miss his company, but I cant be around anyone who is on pills, it just triggers a reaction that makes me think about using. Your right about this being a long road, the actual physical w/d's arent going to take a long time but fighting addiction is a lifelong process, she will always have lingering mental issues, although they do get better with time, the cravings never go away. Maybe you could get her to come on this forum and post her side of the story, or if she doesnt want to post just have her read others posts so that she can learn about addiction. I cant tell you how much this site has helped me with all the compassionate, supportive people it has to offer. Regardless of if she wants to or not you should keep posting about what happens, there is support here for you to, along with other peoples ideas about what you can do to help her get through this. The key with any addiction is the person has to 100% ready to quit and be prepared to do whatever is necessary to stay clean. So is you can keep her on lockdown that would probably be good,but eventually shes going to have to go out and make those choices about staying clean. I wish you and your family the best of luck, keep posting about her progress and for your own support, she can beat this problem so try to keep her positive about recovery. Good luck and Take Care!

[dbgc]

sorry for your situation. But at least she is trying to get help and she has to want to do this for herself. As a parent it hurts to sit by and see your children suffer. If you can yes i would definetly keep her away from friends that use, but she is a big girl and needs to realize that those friends will lead nowhere and i hope she will stay away from her boyfriend. This is a uphill battle and everyone learns at different times hopefully she doesnt find her rock bottom and gets out now. Try to get her on here and read the posts. Everyone here has struggeld and can help her through this but she has to want it really bad. I hope you will feel better and know that all is not lost. Will send up a prayer for you snd your daughter.       Dbgc