Will he always be at risk for drug use?

[Foursonz]

 you abuse drugs during one period of your life (teen, young adult,  for example) but them come clean, are you at risk for abuse and addiction fir the rest of your life?  What do you think? Is it realistic for someone to say "it was just a bump in my life at that time"? Or is this an excuse or denial of some sort. Just ttrying to understand. Thank you for all the opinions. You guys and gals are awesome. I am grateful for this support.

[Loveliveshere]

Everyone is right. Once an addict always an addict. I started young. Was 15 and naive and wasnt ever told painpills were addictive. Thought bcus they were legal it was ok and back when i was 15 the stigma wasnt so bad and wasnt talked about like it was now. I still struggle with it. When you start young its worse. If you use for so many years its all yoy know and its hard to quit. Im not as bad now but still trying to fight it. Ive lost a lot bcus of it but trying to rebuild my life as a single mom now and make things right for my son and me. Good luck and you hang in there too.

[bama88]

I agree with weaver 200%...and once you turned that switch on in your head its always there. ..once and addict always an addict...your either using and abusing or in recovery

[Heather8448]

In MY experience I have had friends when we were 12 and 13 we used, they stopped at 16 or 17 they are married with jobs and live great lives, they can have 2 or 3 beers they dont use drugs, they are not addicts, they expiramented and even the old timers in my program say not everyone who uses is an addict..In my opinion there is a fine line
and once an addict always one if they are one to begin with

[weaver71]

I distinguish the stages of the progression, personally. It starts often with drug use, recreational fun. Those people experiment and put it down forever, after they have had that experience. If they don't stop, That progresses into drug abuse, which is excessive use of a drug on a random basis, no habitual thinking about the drug or obsessing and constantly seeking and using the drug, it happens as opportunity warrants. If they don't stop then, That progresses into compulsive addiction. The drug becomes the central part of that persons life and all other thoughts and activities are all considered in the parameters of finding and using drugs. If a person abused drugs, but never become fully addicted, I believe there is a less likely chance of relapse into the progression. That is not to say it won't happen, it is simply less chance. The accumulated effect of drug exposure will always pick up where it left off, so future use of an abuser will ultimately lead to addiction.

Now, predisposition, internal issues, and length of exposure all play a role in the likelihood of full addiction. A person with no bad childhood, good livelihood, and only used or abused drugs in a mild manner is not as at great a risk, the progression often takes longer. With enough exposure to a mood altering chemical though, anyone could become an addict or pick up on the addiction progression where it left off.

People like me, with bad childhood memories, addiction in my home, and early continuous exposure to drugs tend to reach full compulsion much faster, sometimes upon first exposure to a particular drug. The best path for me is to avoid exposure entirely. I do not go to places or visit people where drugs are used. For me, that is the best way I can keep my addiction in remission. I have to intentionally seek out sober friends and activities to prevent ending up right back where I was in my progression of addiction. It is a matter of time for a relapse into wherever one is in the process with continued exposure.

[clean_in_ks]

Is it safe to assume you are talking about your 19 yr old son?

You said:  "are you at risk for abuse and addiction fir the rest of your life?  What do you think? Is it realistic for someone to say "it was just a bump in my life at that time"?"

Yes.....you risk awakening the beast of addiction if you do addictive drugs again.....no matter how much clean time you have.

A "bump in the road" is just the addict's brain rationalizing.....a person cannot do addictive drugs (abusing them)...get clean and then "go back" and "control" using addictive drugs if they are an addict.

My husband can take narcotic meds short term post surgery and have no mental desire to use pulling on him after he quits.  Me, on the other hand, loved the euphoria....and I just wanted more when I had "some".  I'm an addict...he isn't.

Addicts that tell themselves that they can return to using drugs and "control their use" will find out that they cannot.  It's a process that has to be lived out....unfortunately.  Control isn't in the vocabulary of a recovering addict.

[Merri123]

For many it will always be there. If they can control it depends on the person.

For me it was just that bump in the road. It was a stupid mistake. I was late 30s. So stupid. I will never go there again. No desire at all.

[gnarly_1]

Hi  well addiction is a disease and will not go away on its own...the pills are a outward sine of a inward problem this is a progressive disease that will suc k you back in even if your able to abstane for a wile N/A is a great program that will help you arrest the disease and then recovery is possible google N/a meetings in your area.....
Keep posting for support.........Gnarly......................

[motye51]

I would almost bank, if u asked anyone on this forum when they started using, it would be preteen, teen, young adult. I am an addict that started at 12....i am now 42 and still dealing with what i now know is a disease! Willpower, knowing better, doesnt matter. Its the way drugs affect us differently from other people.
Son/daughter/spouse.....let them find out.  All u can do is wait for THEM to figure this out.
Addiction is a disease (dis-ease)...maybe can put in remission...but its always there!

[Jinx_777]

99% of the time, once an addict always an addict.

if someone used recreational, occasionally that is much different than someone who was addicted and could not control themselves and had a hard time stopping.  

the same as being an alcoholic.  once you have crossed the line into
addition your brain will always be laying in wait for the substance it craves and will go right where it left off when it was stopped.  

that means, if a major surgery or something medical happens later in your life you have to tell the doctors that you have abused opiates in the past so they will only give you what you need for the shortest amount of time.

you go into remission. there is no cure

[PurrfectlyKrazy]

I mean I wasn't being honest with myself....

[PurrfectlyKrazy]

A phrase came to my mind when I read your post:  Once an addict, always an addict.  Just because someone gets clean and is in recovery does not mean that their disease just up and went away.  Whether it is gambling, alcohol, drugs or something else all of us are at risk ... and yes we are at risk for the rest of our lives.  That is why aftercare is so very, very important.

I'm not sure if saying "it is just a bump in the road" is denial of the addiction or denial that one is an addict.....but if I said that I would think that I was being honest with myself about my addiction.