When you are withdrawing from heroin, what are the side-effects, and can you work a daily job with only stomach problems?
218083
Check out these sites for Heroin withdrawals:\nhttp://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/heroin.html - Includes health hazards, withdrawal, treatment.\nhttp://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/heroin/herowith.htm - Discusses the withdrawal of heroin.\nhttp://www.heroin-addiction.info/withdrawal.htm - A quick summary of the withdrawal of heroin.\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin - Everything you want to know about heroin.\nhttp://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/heroin/ - All the facts about heroin.\nhttp://www.recoverythroughsupport.com/factsheets/heroin.html - Discusses heroin addiction, use, and withdrawal.
183090
As a former long term user (10+ years) I haven't really noticed a whole lot of long term side affects.  All of the side affects that I noticed stopped after about 2 months of being clean.  Some of those were short term memory loss, lack of motivation to the point of procrastination, laziness/tiredness, and social anxiety problems.  It is also thought that a person who uses does not mature mentally or emotionally past the point they were at when they started using until after they stop using.  Never noticed any kind of paranoid/schizophrenic type of stuff.  Also smoking seeds is supposed to cause sterility.  There is the possibility that it causes cancer or other respiratory diseases although as far as I know it has not been proven.  Also, I can state that I have not had any lasting affects to my memory or attention.  I am currently enrolled in college and am maintaining a 3.76 GPA with a lot less studying than a lot of people.  In addition I smoked before taking my ACT (was high when took) and scored a 27 composite score.
423608
I am a heroin addict.  I haven't used the stuff for 7 months or so now.  I was strung out  for 14 years.  I never considered quiting until presented with the choice of giving up anti-social behaviors, or accepting sanction...In my particular situation, the most difficult aspect was learning that while 'people' hated the idea that I was a junkie they turned out to prefer the me I presented while using...It is harder on the people who attributed anything they didn't like about me to my habit, and then discovered that Heroin or no, that is who I am.   \n\nIt wasn't what gave me identity - I wasn't 'just' a heroin addict, as I am not now, first and foremost,  a 'recovering addict'.  As for the happy ending part, my life isn't over yet, so...had I died from an OD I would have died in a state of graceful contentment (so that could be a happy ending), but I have been able to move on.  I find my happiness wherever I can.  It is our experiences that allow us to grow and while from the outside looking in most people would probably say that Heroin was a "low" point in my life...many of the strengths I now draw on came from being a junkie and as many have benefited by my Heroin use as have been compromised.
148759
The longest I didn't go to 'the little room' was 3 weeks. I ended up having a bowel investigation only to find that I had an intestinal blockage. Alongside stomach cramps however, I was loosing a lot of blood from my back passage. If not going for a few days is your only sympton, then I suggest drinking lots of water, eating more fruit and vegetables,fruit juices, licqourice in either herbal tea or tablet form and prunes (no matter how bad they taste -dried are least offensive!) Cut out red meat completely while you are constipated because it is very hard for your already struggling system to cope with. Please don't take endless laxatives, your intestines will become lazy if you do, leaving you in an even worse position long term. Good luck from someone who knows only too well how you feel xx
172707
I personally have never done meth, but my dad was a tweeker, my aunt is a tweeker, and so where two of my best friends. The town I'm from is a meth town. It runs rampant in the oilfield. It allows you to stay up hours on end until the job is done. (They don't shut down for to much) The effects are a lack of sleep and an increase in energy. Depending on how long they have been up and how much they have smoked, they will start seeing hallucinations. You get really board and have to find stuff to do. Like my two friends would clean your cars motor with Q-tips. Just because it would keep them busy. When they went to jail they both weighed in at about a hundred pounds. And one of them was about 280 lbs. in high school. This is because most people can't stand to eat when they are spun. They have a loss of appetite. From what I understand Meth makes you feel like your on top of the world, because you have this new found energy. Meth is bad because it's highly addictive. People will steal your shit to support their habit. It has overtaken heroin as the most addictive drug from what I understand. They have also declared Meth as an epidemic. Crazy huh. It now has the highest relapse rate. Parents will often loose their kids due to it and they don't even care. It also crystalizes your lungs. And forms divots in your brain from what I've heard. It's commonly refered to as the devil's drug. My dad has been sober for over 8 years now. And everytime he gets tired at work, he thinks oh man I wish I had an 8 ball, I'd be ganked then and could easily finish this job. Good luck with your report, I hope I helped a little.
591430
I work in a jail setting and we frequently have heroin addicts to deal with. Generally speaking they detox without serious side effects and most are improved after 5-7 days. Rarely we have an inmate on methadone but that is a controlled substance just as a narcotic is and must be prescribed and well controlled to be effective. Primary concerns when detoxing are increased temperature and increased blood pressure and again these are usually rare. Your friend really needs to get into a program before they do wind up in jail where they will be forced to detox whether they want to or not. They will be quite uncomfortable but they will survive.
635309
This is a difficult one, and I understand your concern.  Although I'm not faced with a surgical possibility, I too am in a situation where it is a choice of pain or addiction...sleep or addiction...functioning or addiction.  I have some degenerative Arthritis in my lumbar spine in addition to fibromyalgia and some central nervous system issues.  Acid reflux prevents me from using NSAIDS like Advil or Aleve.  I'm left with Tylenol with \nCodein... or pain.  My stomach and esophagus can not tolerate the more caustic meds.  So I have no answer for you, but I do feel for you.  I would be weary of a "could make it worse" situation.  I was faced with that at an early age myself.  I was losing circulation and feeling in my arms.  Being a pianist/vocalist and conductor, the possibility of severing a nerve in surgery as opposed to dealing with the meds and such was a no brainer for me.  Good Luck with your decision.
456239
Diarrhea for sure because something is always coming out of that end everyday anyway. When you throw up it hurts your throat and you just feel horrible. I think the nausea is worse then a stomache anyway:(
556975
I used to live on the streets for 8 months because of a drug addiction problem. I slept sitting upright in a bus terminal on most nights [I was 5-months-pregnant at the time]. There was a janitor that came in every day at 5:00AM, and if he found me asleep, he used a high-pressure water hose [like the ones firemen use] to chase me away. One day, I took some blood from another addict's vein who was infected with HIV, Hepatitis B & C [I was only infected with Hep. C]; paid the guy a couple of dollars to let me take the blood from him. I mixed the blood with water in a syringe to prevent it from coagulating, and kept it in my pant's pocket. I waited for the janitor to show up for work; as he was sitting with his back to me sipping a cup of coffee, I surreptitiously walked until I was right behind him, stuck the needle in his upper arm and injected him with the infected blood. When he realized what had happened, he started weeping like a baby. I told him "just a little token to remember me by to the end of your life". He had a nerve attack, and even peed in his pants. To this day, I've never seen him again; one of his coworkers told me that he quit his job and was in a deep depression. I hope that taught him not to abuse the disadvantaged of this world. On my part, I went to rehab, enrolled in college, got a bachelor's and a master's degrees in Nursing, and have never touched drugs again.
199374
yes, it is a horrible experience and one that will mess up your digestion track.  you will get long term side effects from it!!!!it is bad enough to even think, or being bulimic.  trust me, i have went down this path. due to the fact the the acid in your stomach comes up, you are looking at Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (gerd), it promotes tooth decay. i have lost some teeth due to the fact it eats at your enamel.  not to mention the stress it places on the heart.  please look very much into this and you will see that it is not worth it. there are other, more natural ways to lose weight.
211232
I would suggest Oolong Tea with GABA.  Since he is quitting Vicodin, his neurotransmitter, Dopamine is messed up, and so depending upon how much and for how long he took Vicodin, he will experience different levels of withdrawal: nausea, the runs, cold sweats, depression, anxiety, etc.  This is because without Vicodin, his body's natural Dopamine receptors have stopped producing Dopamine. Until the body's natural Dopamine receptors are able to produce the Dopamine again, the next best thing to take (that is legal) is Oolong Tea with GABA.  GABA is another one of the body's neurotransmitters and it has a very similar effect on the brain, particularly the feeling of calmness.  Take that for the depression and anxiety, and Pepto for the nausea and upset stomach.  He should be better in no time: good luck!\n\nIf you cannot find Oolong Tea with GABA, go to a Chinese market and look for the tea aisle, otherwise, if you are in Southern California, you need to go to Ten Ren's: the place that serves Milk Tea w/Boba. If not, try another Asian Boba (Tapioca) Milk Tea shop, they should have it.
604425
Many estimates are around 5% full recovery. Although it is interesting that in England where they prescribe heroin for certain medical conditions, that they seem to have virtually no problem weaning patients off of it. Perhaps if we used pharmaceutical grade heroin instead of methadone, we might have better results. Recovery from any drug addiction depends on amount, length and frequency of use. The prognosis is always better for people who have not used for more than a year.
150997
I was on methadone maintenance as recently as a month ago.\nIf you do a slow drop in your milligram intake it is not very painful to get off. I was ok in about 2 days and never really felt that bad anyway. \n\nThe key to the whole thing is slowly getting off, DO NOT try to rapidly drop the dosage and then all of a sudden stop taking it completely. You will experience bad withdrawl symptoms.\n\nMethadone maintenance saved me in a way. I did it for alomost a full year. But don't get too comfortable on methadone, it can be very addicting. Use methadone as a drug to get off drugs. \n\nI suggest after you get to the peak of your dosage, that you drop the methadone dose at a rate of 1-2 milligrams per week.
135368
You can take 10mg's at a time with no problem. I take 20mg"s 3 times a day. The side effects are not fun. One minute your fine and the next your sweating. I sweat a lot from it when I"m doing physical things. Also I feel like I am going thru withdrawals sometimes. This drug is worse than heroin when coming off. I have been on 4 years now and can't get off. My life is controlled by it. Try not to take it if at all possible. You can just put it in your mouth and take a drink of water and it will dissolve. Good Luck
334854
Heroin abuse is associated with serious health conditions, including fatal overdose, spontaneous abortion, collapsed veins, and, particularly in users who inject the drug, infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. The short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after a single dose and disappear in a few hours. After an injection of heroin, the user reports feeling a surge of euphoria ("rush") accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and heavy extremities. Following this initial euphoria, the user goes "on the nod," an alternately wakeful and drowsy state. Mental functioning becomes clouded due to the depression of the central nervous system. Long-term effects of heroin appear after repeated use for some period of time. Chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis, and liver disease. Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health condition of the abuser, as well as from heroin’s depressing effects on respiration. Heroin abuse during pregnancy and its many associated environmental factors (e.g., lack of prenatal care) have been associated with adverse consequences including low birth weight, an important risk factor for later developmental delay.
107923
I would definitely get an appointment with your Doctor for them to check you.  Although you seem to be tapering off (which is the correct thing to do with most medications) if you taper off too quickly that could cause withdrawal symptoms.\n\nSymptoms include:\n\nweakness, lethargy, tiredness, nausea and vomiting,  \narthralgias, myalias (muscle pains), low blood pressure (hypotension) which may cause light-headedness or even fainting when the affected person stands after sitting or lying down.\n\nhttp://adam.about.com/encyclopedia/000370sym.htm\n\n\n\nHere is some more detailed information:\n\nWhat are the possible side effects of prednisone?\n \nIf you experience any of the following serious side effects, stop taking prednisone and seek emergency medical attention or contact your doctor immediately: \n      · an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of your throat; swelling of your lips, tongue, or face; or hives)\n      · increased blood pressure (severe headache or blurred vision); or \n      · sudden weight gain (more than 5 pounds in a day or two). \n\n\nOther, less serious side effects may be more likely to occur. Continue to take prednisone and talk to your doctor if you experience \n      · insomnia; \n      · nausea, vomiting, or stomach upset; \n      · fatigue or dizziness; \n      · muscle weakness or joint pain; \n      · problems with diabetes control; or \n      · increased hunger or thirst. \n\n\nOther side effects that occur only rarely, usually with high doses of prednisone, include \n      · acne, \n      · increased hair growth, \n      · thinning of the skin, \n      · cataracts, \n      · glaucoma, \n      · osteoporosis, \n      · roundness of the face, and \n      · changes in behavior.\n \nSide effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is especially bothersome. \n\n\n************************************************************\nWhat other drugs will affect prednisone? \n •  Do not take any other over-the-counter or prescription medications, including herbal products, during treatment with prednisone without first talking to your doctor. Many other medicines can interact with prednisone resulting in side effects or altered effectiveness of the medications. \n************************************************************\nhttp://www.drugs.com/\n\nGood luck and God Bless!
566785
speak with your doctor and see if there is the possibility of starting the weaning process by asking for what is called a maintenance dosage.. that is just enough for you to naturally taper down the amount over time while your body adjusts.. stopping any pain med right away after repeated use can oftenly cause serious withdrawal traits. Addiction to pain meds is very very common.. your doctor should recognize what is happening and be able to help you out. \nGood Luck