Aa
3 days on 3 days off myth opiate
is it true that if u never do more than 3 days on and u stay 3 days off ull never withdraw? anyone ever heard of this? what if you were an addict before?
great post thanks for the insight. i know im an addict so i dont take offense to it, and i know using in any way shape or form will only hurt me, i was just wanted to hear some personal experiences. im on day 14 and i still have the runs, but the sweats and chills stopped (thank god) ill keep posting updates here thanks for the love and responses everyone!
What a GRRRREAT post, CATUF!!! I loved all that you wrote....and thank you so much for posting "The Promises".....I dearly LOVE them!!! Think I will read them everyday for awhile again.
Also, congrats on your clean time both off opiates and ciggy butts....I love it when you drop back in.
Have a blessed Christmas~
Also, congrats on your clean time both off opiates and ciggy butts....I love it when you drop back in.
Have a blessed Christmas~
will beer help my h wth drawls i got caught and now on probation 7 days now no sleep i need somthing legale to take for this missory
[CONTINUED]
Not being able to find any flaw in my plan, I went, I bought and I used (like a pig) and I enjoyed my LAST TIME like it was meant to be enjoyed. But, I soon realized that I had perhaps been to hasty . . . I realized that the problem was only that I had been using too much -- if I just used on weekends, and only on weekends, everything would be fine. This was a Wednesday and I decided that every-Saturday would be the ticket. I could use Saturday and by the time I was at work on Monday everything would be out of my system . . . perfect plan.
So I just used that Wednesday (having been out of rehab less than 48 hours) and waited for Saturday. Thursday wasn't part of the plan, so I didn't use Thursday. But when Friday rolled around I realized that Friday woulld actually be a better day to use than Saturday, because that would give me two days to clean up before work . . . so I took off early Friday afternoon and went with my revised plan ONLY ON FRIDAYS.
Saturday morning I realized I needed just a bit to get me going. I didn't want to waste my first Saturday home dragging around, did I? As soon as that bit made me feel right, I realized that ONLY ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY would be a good plan, as I could enjoy myself for two days and then clean up Sunday so I'd be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for work on Monday. So I happily went with my revised plan.
Sunday was pretty much like Saturday and the revised plan became ONLY ON WEEEKENDS. But I needed to get going Monday and without any further revision the plan was out the window and the fact of the matter was that from that previous Fridan until 11 days before my birthday I used all day, every day. So, instead of picking up that 6 month chip on my birthday, I was on day-11 of my next (and I plan to be my last) rehab.
That six-month relapse almost killed me, but it saved my life. Until I got to the other side of that relapse, I was unable to accept the fact that I don't have the ability to control what happens when I ingest mood or mind altering substances. With that relapse under my belt, that knowledge forms the foundation of my life and I really, really believe what they tried to teach me in my first rehab "DON'T USE AT ALL, NO MATTER WHAT, OR YOU WILL REACTIVATE YOUR ADDICTION."
Life in early recovery is tough. It's hard to see the progress while you're in the middle of it. But as tough as it is it's better than life in active addiction and it's movement in the right direction instead of continuing the downward spiral. Life in sustained recovery is amazing -- not just better than life in active addiction, but better than anything before tht . . . better than anything I thought possible.
Life is sustained recovery is well described by The "Promises" of The Big Book. I used to think these promises were simply not possible, or perhaps possible for some chosen few, but not possible for the worthless likes of me. Never for me, no way.
But I was wrong. The Promises are possible for everyone, even me.
THE PROMISES
If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.
Merry Christmas, everyone! :)
CATUF
3123
Not being able to find any flaw in my plan, I went, I bought and I used (like a pig) and I enjoyed my LAST TIME like it was meant to be enjoyed. But, I soon realized that I had perhaps been to hasty . . . I realized that the problem was only that I had been using too much -- if I just used on weekends, and only on weekends, everything would be fine. This was a Wednesday and I decided that every-Saturday would be the ticket. I could use Saturday and by the time I was at work on Monday everything would be out of my system . . . perfect plan.
So I just used that Wednesday (having been out of rehab less than 48 hours) and waited for Saturday. Thursday wasn't part of the plan, so I didn't use Thursday. But when Friday rolled around I realized that Friday woulld actually be a better day to use than Saturday, because that would give me two days to clean up before work . . . so I took off early Friday afternoon and went with my revised plan ONLY ON FRIDAYS.
Saturday morning I realized I needed just a bit to get me going. I didn't want to waste my first Saturday home dragging around, did I? As soon as that bit made me feel right, I realized that ONLY ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY would be a good plan, as I could enjoy myself for two days and then clean up Sunday so I'd be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for work on Monday. So I happily went with my revised plan.
Sunday was pretty much like Saturday and the revised plan became ONLY ON WEEEKENDS. But I needed to get going Monday and without any further revision the plan was out the window and the fact of the matter was that from that previous Fridan until 11 days before my birthday I used all day, every day. So, instead of picking up that 6 month chip on my birthday, I was on day-11 of my next (and I plan to be my last) rehab.
That six-month relapse almost killed me, but it saved my life. Until I got to the other side of that relapse, I was unable to accept the fact that I don't have the ability to control what happens when I ingest mood or mind altering substances. With that relapse under my belt, that knowledge forms the foundation of my life and I really, really believe what they tried to teach me in my first rehab "DON'T USE AT ALL, NO MATTER WHAT, OR YOU WILL REACTIVATE YOUR ADDICTION."
Life in early recovery is tough. It's hard to see the progress while you're in the middle of it. But as tough as it is it's better than life in active addiction and it's movement in the right direction instead of continuing the downward spiral. Life in sustained recovery is amazing -- not just better than life in active addiction, but better than anything before tht . . . better than anything I thought possible.
Life is sustained recovery is well described by The "Promises" of The Big Book. I used to think these promises were simply not possible, or perhaps possible for some chosen few, but not possible for the worthless likes of me. Never for me, no way.
But I was wrong. The Promises are possible for everyone, even me.
THE PROMISES
If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.
Merry Christmas, everyone! :)
CATUF
3123
One time I was at the ER (waiting on someone else) and I saw a little pamphlet entitled ARE YOU AN ALCOHOLIC with a dozen or so questions. I answered the honestly, but when I got to the end I found there was no legend, etc., with which to score my "test."
I said to a passing nurse "how are you supposed to grade this without a legend or something?" She said "oh honey, nobody takes thoses tests except alcoholics."
It occurs to me that your three-day question would only be asked by, or make sense to, a true drug addict. I mean no disprespect by saying that, as the three-day plan makes perfect sense to me. For a split second the thought ran through my mind "THAT'S what I did wrong, I should have gone three-on and three-off, THEN I could have kept using without and negative consequences."
The problem with this system (or any system for "controlled" using) is that it ignores the problem . . . addicts don't have the ability to control their using -- they use more than they intend, they use more often than they intend, until they fall into the classic black hole of living to use and using to live.
For addicts, the problem isn't that X days of using will cause WD issues (i.e. physical dependance). If that was the problem, we'd figure it out quickly after the first (or second, certainly by the third) time we experienced the misery of WD. But we don't. Despite all our efforts and good intentions we end up in the same mess again and again and again . . . the only difference is that it gets worse each time.
It's just part of the addict-deal that we want to use as much as we can. When I first "discovered" opiates I affirmatively thought "I WANT TO FEEL LIKE THIS FOREVER" and I set out to make that happen. I have sense learned that while many addicts-to-be have the same or a similar reaction, most "normal" people do not. At most, the "normal" person thinks something like "this is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here."
The very fact that someone would want to spend half their time "impaired" (to be honest, at the time I thought I was "enhanced") points to the fact that they are reacting to using as an addict, not as a "normal person." Then, that fact make it likely that they will be unable to stick to the plan. It's like a Catch-22 -- if they were "normal" they would be willing to spend so much time using and because they are not "normal" they won't be able (in the long term) to stick to the plan.
Another aspect of the addict brain is that it thinks it's unique and that it can succeed where others (even all others) have failed. Thus, someone to whom this three-day plan appeals will not likely reject it until they have tried it (perhaps many times) and found it to be lacking. Even when it fails, they won't jump to the conclucion "that didn't work for me becuse I'm a drug addict and I don't have the ability to control any use." More likely they will think something like "that was such a good plan, but I wasn't able to stick to the plan . . . the problem was I went past the limit because X and then I HAD to use for a couple of more days because due to Y I couldn't afford to be in WD and then I got stuck (again) . . . so, from now on I am absolutely sticking to the plan no matter what."
One of the things that bothered me about the way I was so quickly shipped off to my first rehab was the fact that I didn't get to say good bye to my D.O.C. -- I didn't get to have what seemed like the important "last use when I knew it was my last use," a special and MEANINGFUL last use. So I had made the decision that I was going to use just one more time . . . it woulld be that very special time where I really enjoyed every moment of it because I would KNOW that it was my last time. My plan was to have that oh so significant last use on my birthday, which was 6 months away.
But (and here are 6 dangerous words for any addict) SUDDENLY THE THOUGHT CROSSED MY MIND that if I waited until my birthday to use I'd be throwing 6 months of clean-time down the drain. I quickly REALIZED, that the smart thing to do would be to get my one use in quickly, right then, so that by the time my birthday rolled around I be picking up a six-month chip. Oh, thank God that I had figured that out!
[CONTINUED]
I said to a passing nurse "how are you supposed to grade this without a legend or something?" She said "oh honey, nobody takes thoses tests except alcoholics."
It occurs to me that your three-day question would only be asked by, or make sense to, a true drug addict. I mean no disprespect by saying that, as the three-day plan makes perfect sense to me. For a split second the thought ran through my mind "THAT'S what I did wrong, I should have gone three-on and three-off, THEN I could have kept using without and negative consequences."
The problem with this system (or any system for "controlled" using) is that it ignores the problem . . . addicts don't have the ability to control their using -- they use more than they intend, they use more often than they intend, until they fall into the classic black hole of living to use and using to live.
For addicts, the problem isn't that X days of using will cause WD issues (i.e. physical dependance). If that was the problem, we'd figure it out quickly after the first (or second, certainly by the third) time we experienced the misery of WD. But we don't. Despite all our efforts and good intentions we end up in the same mess again and again and again . . . the only difference is that it gets worse each time.
It's just part of the addict-deal that we want to use as much as we can. When I first "discovered" opiates I affirmatively thought "I WANT TO FEEL LIKE THIS FOREVER" and I set out to make that happen. I have sense learned that while many addicts-to-be have the same or a similar reaction, most "normal" people do not. At most, the "normal" person thinks something like "this is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here."
The very fact that someone would want to spend half their time "impaired" (to be honest, at the time I thought I was "enhanced") points to the fact that they are reacting to using as an addict, not as a "normal person." Then, that fact make it likely that they will be unable to stick to the plan. It's like a Catch-22 -- if they were "normal" they would be willing to spend so much time using and because they are not "normal" they won't be able (in the long term) to stick to the plan.
Another aspect of the addict brain is that it thinks it's unique and that it can succeed where others (even all others) have failed. Thus, someone to whom this three-day plan appeals will not likely reject it until they have tried it (perhaps many times) and found it to be lacking. Even when it fails, they won't jump to the conclucion "that didn't work for me becuse I'm a drug addict and I don't have the ability to control any use." More likely they will think something like "that was such a good plan, but I wasn't able to stick to the plan . . . the problem was I went past the limit because X and then I HAD to use for a couple of more days because due to Y I couldn't afford to be in WD and then I got stuck (again) . . . so, from now on I am absolutely sticking to the plan no matter what."
One of the things that bothered me about the way I was so quickly shipped off to my first rehab was the fact that I didn't get to say good bye to my D.O.C. -- I didn't get to have what seemed like the important "last use when I knew it was my last use," a special and MEANINGFUL last use. So I had made the decision that I was going to use just one more time . . . it woulld be that very special time where I really enjoyed every moment of it because I would KNOW that it was my last time. My plan was to have that oh so significant last use on my birthday, which was 6 months away.
But (and here are 6 dangerous words for any addict) SUDDENLY THE THOUGHT CROSSED MY MIND that if I waited until my birthday to use I'd be throwing 6 months of clean-time down the drain. I quickly REALIZED, that the smart thing to do would be to get my one use in quickly, right then, so that by the time my birthday rolled around I be picking up a six-month chip. Oh, thank God that I had figured that out!
[CONTINUED]
I agree with the above....you will never be truly free of them if you do that. There's no miracle cure to get out of WDs unfortunately....you just have to buckle down and grit your teeth and do it...just remember it's temporary..it doesn't last forever.
I think you are just prolonging going into withdrawal using every three days, you will never stop using if you do it that way.
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