OT: please get help with addiction if you need it [sticky]
Hi everyone--I hope the mods will indulge me here, but a close family member of mine died of an apparent drug overdose last night. I'm hoping to create a least a little good from that at the moment and am posting this accordingly. Please get help if you too are struggling with drugs and/or alcohol. Things can get better. I've seen it happen. And the world is going to need you at some point even if it doesn't feel like it now.
Here is a link where you can find help in Michigan:
https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-71550_2941_4871_29887-151431--,00.html
[Edited @5 pm -rob f:
I'm making this thread "sticky" in order to keep it up and readily available at the top of the first page when you hit the 'Go to MGoBoard' bar.
Please feel free to add appropriate links for any and all legitimate addiction treatment/counseling resources. Whether it be a member of the MGoBoard or a loved one that is in need of some support, one more readily-available source of assistance is always potentially a good thing.]
October 21st, 2022 at 5:55 PM ^
UPDATE: I reached one year on 9/4/22. Best decision I've ever made. I tore my ACL on 9/8/22, and was prescribed Norco (FKA Vicodin.) But I've taken them PRN like I'm supposed to. I'm doing it. Thanks to everyone for their kind words.
October 23rd, 2022 at 6:50 PM ^
I also have a torn ACL (have since February), and cannabis has been the best thing to treat the pain. Right after it happened I ate 300mg of THC and CBD and I felt no pain for about 12 hours, and it's the best thing for treating the pain when it's hurting from my various exploits of overzealous dumbassery.
My passion for cannabis stems (pun intended) from my struggles with using and being addicted to opiates for pain relief. It's more effective than opiates and has zero addiction potential. I'll literally never take opiates again because a few hundred milligrams of THC is so much more effective for me and doesn't turn me into a horrible human being for a day or two while it wears off. The last time I took Vicodin it was prescribed for a then-recent joint surgery. I realized that I was addicted three days after surgery, after taking less than the prescribed amounts.
So then on top of the shoulder pain I went through opiate withdrawal for the next three days with only nsiads for the pain because I knew it'd be better in the long run. Which it was.
I'll offer a few words of wisdom for everyone from my days in the opiate trenches: it should be an addiction red flag when your body wants to take opiates "preemptively," Like, those times when you're not in pain at the moment but you're about to go do something that might aggravate it so you might as well take one now so you won't be in pain if it does get tweaked. Or especially if you start needing them to sleep. That's where addiction starts. Be careful.
December 22nd, 2022 at 9:35 PM ^
I am so sorry for your loss. I am living proof that it does get better. It will be thirty four years ago on Jan.2, 2023 that I went to the EAP rep who had me check into Maplegrove Rehab. Center. Not sure what it's called now. Walked out thirty days later never to use again including today. I don't know what tomorrow holds but if I let someone else run the show I'm confident I can add another day.
February 14th, 2023 at 11:45 PM ^
^^^WTF is this?
The only valentine you received today is by posting something random in a thread where you think it won't be noticed, then giving yourself your own upvote?
If you have loved ones who struggle with fentanyl, or if you know someone who is ever around addicts, take advantage of the new approval making Narcan - the nasal spray version of naloxone - available over the counter. Narcan has saved so many lives. Street fentanyl is a crapshoot as far as concentration.
Never touched it myself, but I have worked with and befriended many addicts. Their lives have value, too. Thankful for this increased availability.
Great idea, and I'll add one more reason to consider:
If you have or know someone who has teens or young adults (middle school, high school, college, etc), get yourself or their parents/loved ones Narcan. Who knows when or where a situation might arise where a life potentially might be saved by having the stuff on hand.
November 19th, 2023 at 9:16 PM ^
I'd like to add 988 as a resource. It was created around 1 year ago as a 3 digit suicide and crisis line similar to 911.
https://988lifeline.org/current-events/the-lifeline-and-988/
I had to call it last week to get help for a family member. We are still in the journey but hopefully there will be a good outcome.
One caveat: it will connect you to a crisis center in the county of your area code. If you have a cell phone and have moved, this is something to understand. It's still good to talk to someone but if you need additional resources you will need to find a local direct 10 digit number.
December 31st, 2023 at 1:04 PM ^
Real name is Ryan I struggled with opiate addiction pretty much the entirety of my adult life. I'm currently 13 months clean.which is a drop in the bucket compared to 22 years but you got to start somewhere I guess.I went from pretty much nothing, a trash can of human being, i overdosed on purpose to find away out of the misery. Now I was able to be with my family on holidays for the first time in a decade and probably the best job a person with my past could ever ask for, actual friends who will hold me accountable. I did not do it on my own I went to treatment and completed every phase of a recovery program I'm still currently living in a sober living/transitional housing an hour and a half from my wife and kids but in 11 months my mortgage down home will be paid and the plan is currently for the wife and kids to move here with me. I didn't say any of that for me it's for the person sitting there dope sick feeling that it doesn't matter if you live or die I get it, I understand. You do matter to someone, and when you are ready do the bravest thing you can do and call a treatment center and give it a chance. Shit gets better. Not a big book, or basic text thumper but...WE DO RECOVER 11-11-22
January 9th, 2024 at 12:56 PM ^
Ryan,
I applaud the work you've done to recover. You matter. As you have learned or are learning, the opposite of substance abuse isn't sobriety. It's life and connection. Those are awesome things to experience. Keep up the good work.