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Many (and I will admit up front that I'm one of them) feel that after detox, to continue to use a drug just because it's legal isn't exactly turning your life around. You're still dependent on a drug. Getting clean and sober, at least in my mind and based on the people I've been around with successful recovery stories, involves learning to live without a crutch.

Addiction is physical and psychological, and I think spiritual. If you keep taking something to avoid using your drug of choice, you've not -- to my mind at least -- looked at any of the pieces of your addiction; you've simply softened the need. I say that about alcoholics, drug addicts, and the guys who chew straws to quit smoking.

But that's what I've observed. Everybody finds what they can live with. If the addict has stopped meeting with other active people, has worked on issues that cause triggers, has changed his life in all other respects, who the heck am I to say he shouldn't use a crutch.

Thats exactly what it is sammig, a crutch. My feeling on that is if it helps them stop the hard stuff, they are making an effort to change and get their lives straight, then hooray for them.

Sammig and Joygirl,
Thanks for your thoughts re. Suboxone.
Linda

My son has been on Suboxone for over a year and I see no improvement in the way he lives his life. He still has all the 'rituals' of a drug user. Taking the Suboxone is not living sober. It keeps them off heroin, but they are addicted to Suboxone. And they MUST have medical care if they try to get off it. They can die from the detox without medical care. One of his friends had a baby while she was taking Suboxone and the baby had to detox for several days before he could come home. During labor and delivery they must take the drug or the mother and baby both could die. An OB nurse that I know says it is very dangerous for the baby and mom....but they can't take them off it because of withdrawal.

I feel that it does keep David from using heroin, but like Sammig and Joy say, he isn't living a sober life and he hasn't picked up the pieces of the mess he has made of his life. His life revolves around taking the Suboxone and that sounds way too much like using to me.

For detox, I get it, but as an every day drug....like my thyroid meds...no way.

My son took Suboxone for over a year. He would go to the doctor's office every week and get a prescription. The doctor was supposed to be counseling him. I later found out that the doctor met with my son for less than five minutes at a time and never gave him a bit of counseling. My son would sell the suboxone and buy the drug of his choice. He ended up in another detox and then another. He is now in a methadone clinic. He is required to go there daily. The counselors administer his dosage at the site. He must attend group and individual meetings at the facility. In addition, his is urine tested and his mouth swabbed for alcohol use. Take home doses are not even considered for three months. They start with one take home dose and work up to a week over time. Take-homes must be applied for and can be denied if you have not adhered to the structure of the program. He is doing well in this program - better than he has in several years. His weight is coming back, he has gotten a job and is studying for his insurance certification. I worry about the time that he will have to detox from this drug; however, I think that if he has a rebuilt his life and is happy, it might give him the incentive he needs to give up this crutch. I thank God that he found this clinic. I know that the key for my son has been the structure surrounding the clinic and the caring people that work there. Hope this has helped.

I couldnt agree more with Mommo3. My son is also on Methodone and it is exactly as she described at the clinic. He has had trouble with drinking and pills, which they also test for and had to go before the board to see if he could stay on the program or be weaned off. They voted unanimously to keep him, then sent him to a three day detox and have now enteread him in a 90 day treatment for dual diagnosis as he suffers from extreme anxiety. I believe the anxiety, which he has always had, is the basis for his addiction. I tend to be a very anxious person myself and use the Serenity Prayer a lot. My son is very grateful for the methadone and once told me, proudly, "I havent stuck myself with a needle in over a year". I pray that this is the answer for him. I just turned 75 and my hope is to see him completely sober and living a decent life before I die. He was a beautiful child, charming, kind and creative. He was movie star handsome as he grew older and the girls were throwing themselves at him by the time he was twelve and this gave him a bit too much ego. His natural charm became manipulation when he started using at about the same age. It was alcohol at first, then cocaine and then, his love affair with heroin, which he said made him feel normal. We went through everything that you have all described, the stealing, lying, petty trouble with the law and then prison. We stuck by him as long as we could but put him out of the house about fifteen years ago and eventually got a no contact order. He was on the streets for twenty years, living briefly from time to time with friends or women who thought they would change him. He is now 44 yrs old and has no bottom teeth, has Hepititis C and has a plate in his face from being attacked by a roving gang on the street during the night. I keep thinking God has a plan for him because he has survived for this long.
I pray this is true. I just know that when he isnt using alcohol or prescription drugs, he is my old son again because of the methadone.
I would like to see him weaned off of that if he gets some order in his life. Right now, I am relaxing and taking it one day at a time and enjoying the peace while I can. I dont know what will happen when he is out of treatment. Sometimes, I wish it was a three year treatment instead of a three month one. I love my son very much and want him to have some kind of a decent life so badly. But I dont want to throw away what I have left if he doesnt. Sometimes, life is just plain difficult. Sigh.........

My children are both on replacement drugs and their lives are not moving forward, but, they are not in the gutter now either, so I have mixed feelings.