Dear Jenny, oh sweetheart my heart breaks for you and your brohter. Okay Jenny here is some real info. I am a herion addict. My husband and I both have been addicts for a very long time. I have been using for over 10 years, my husband used for over 25 unti it finally took his lie feb 4 2004. Jenny the real truth is herion addiction is by far the hardest addiction to beat. There are very few happy endings. The reality is herion addicts usually at some point either end up accidently overdosing or the go to jail, or the end up in a mental hospital long term. The year most we hope for is to build " periods of soberity" in our life. months, and sometimes years. 3-5 years.. Sometimes longer. We hope to have some kind of a normal life. Its sad, but it is our reality. And your brother knows this. We barry a lot of friends with this disease. Your brother will lie cheat steal, sell everything he and his family owns to get well. To get that fix. He needs to be medially detoxed off the stuff, because it is extreemly painful going cold turkey. All ready if he is hooked then most days he feels sick with flu like symtoms until he can get well, or get a fix. He will tell you anything, believe that. Get your brother into a medical detox center, sell him on the fact that they will give him drugs to take awy the with drawel symtoms. N.A and A.A do help. I would hook him up with other recovering herion addicts, and a good support group. But first he needs to get clean. Half of the sddiction is being addicted to the needle. For yourself I would get plugged in to addicts in recovery so they can help you too. Good luck I will pray for you both
Coffee

I can't say too much, but I'll say what I know. I am in early recovery from a IV Heroin addiction. I know for a fact that you can not change someone that is not ready to change. Some take much longer to want to change then others. My ex and I started snorting heroin about two years ago, with in weeks we were shooting it. It all happened so fast. I had not choice but to leave him. Everytime we would try and kick it together, whether it be cold turkey or treatment... He wasn't ready. Which in turn caused me to stay and try and help him and i would end right back were i started. Same thing everytime. Before i decided that i couldn't make that decision for him. I have been sober now since April 13 2010. I know thats not a long time... But I feel awesome about it, and have confidence that I will do everything in my power to never go down that road ever again. My ex on the other hand ended up in Jail... which hopefully will help him is one way or another. Keep your head up, and know that your Brother has to make this decision for himself for him to come out on top. Best of Luck to you and your family.

Veronica

thanks for this post

In 2011 I will be celebrating 10 years of sobriety. I used it for 4 years, IV and until I cut the cord with my ex boyfriend, I couldn't quit. I had to realize that my recovery comes first.

As long as your brother can't see that his recovery is his first responsibility, he won't quit.

Good luck, and don't forget to take care of yourself!

I def agree that half the addiction is the needle.I commend myself on being clean but the reality is that instead of shooting heroin I shoot subutex,it doesnt get my high but gives me the momentary joy of the needle and dark blood,it almost feels as if it releases resentment or something,but for me,compared to shooting a gramme a day for nine years and literlally living in the most surreal,depraved,and vapid state I have ever known,it seems like a minor miracle.The hardest part for me is actually caring about what people think of me now and not having that secret that would make me feel better no matter what anybody said or did to me.In a way,me being semi-clean,trying to get a decent job trying to figure out how to at first just be normal is much harder than organising my next hit,I always knew as long as I can organise that next hit,somehow Id b fine.I have an iq that sits at the upper echelons of what intelligence is defined as,and am an artist and poet,but everybody seems to judge me upon seeing my insecurity which is a direct result of my addiction I dont trust myself to know anything anymore:I have been out of society for so long,I just recently learnt the benefits of e-mail and the internet.i have tried to kill myself and experienced a very definite if not confusing epiphany.tell your brother it has been done but dont always reiterate how hard it is h addicts are defeatests(if its barely impossible why try)aks him that if he by no doing of his own still managed to live thru the abuse tolled on his body and mind,can he see himself as a 60 year old h addict,cant find veins,got some kind of sepsis,got no home,no-one that cares,too frail to attempt to get money,cold turkey on a street or in a jail.I always thought h would mercifully kill me after 5 yrs or so,and even though i tried my hardest to overdose nothing ever came of it,so now i try,I dont have a choice but the longer I live,strangely enough,even whith my jaded psyche,the longer I want to live,and now things like ambition and relationships and bettering myself all seem like valid enterpises,there does sometimes shine a little light.

hello, i know what your goin through. my husband is on heroin. i was on crack 13 yrs working the streets. he got clean when our son was born i got clean about 7 months later. that was in 07 life has been great. i got all my kids back moed to the "burbs" and love it. now hes back on heroin. i put him out saturday. we just got married a lil over A month ago. wow heroin will break up a family. if you wanna talk email me for my # plpntab@yahoo.com god bless you

tons that i know of , and some of the keys they tell me are that they got involved in 12 step programs and got away from their enabling buddies, enabling family members and other enabling relationships. peace. :)

Hi

As noted in all of the replies addiction to IV Herion use is a huge challenge to overcome. I am a 34 year old woman who was addicted to heroin from the age 18 to 21. Prior to my addiction I was subjected to a traumatised childhood and as a result moved out of the family home at age 15. To cut a long story short got involved with an older man who was a heroin addict and from their my journey began with the addiction. I am not responding in a professional capacity however I believe that for me the turning point in my decision to choose to discontinue with the lifestyle of lying, stealing from family/friends/strangers, prostituting myself for money, being used and abused by other users with the funds I earned from prostitution, being physically and verbally abused in the relationship and the envitable waiting on corners junk sick for dealers for sometimes hours to turn up with the gear, came about after I hit rock bottom. I woke up one day junk sick needing a fix, had no money, was too unwell to walk let alone come up with some scheme to get money to buy the junk I needed. I looked in the mirror and I truely didn't recognise myself. I was a beautiful young girl who resembled a shadow of myself at 45kg, looked gaunt, pale and huge dark circles under my eyes. I can't say what it was - but that morning I heard myself screaming to myself silently. Stop. Someone help me please. I cried on my bathroom floor alone feeling so ashamed. I wanted to be a good person but my habit had resulted in almost every member of my family wiping me. Almost everyone. And that is what saved me. I had an Aunty who lived an hour away and I rang her sobbing and pleaded for her to help me. She arrived at my home in 45 mins and I went to stay with her for a month. She supported me to see a doctor who assisted people who wanted to recover from heroin addiction. During my recovery I lost everything. I went bankrupt, lost my car, was not employable and found myself on the methodone program for 2 years with a daily battle of fighting the urge to give in to the temptation of the needle. It has been 10 years since I have been clean. I studied social work and have worked in human services for 8 years working alongside young people in statutory care, homeless woman with severe mental health issues, drug and alcohol issues and traumatised backgrounds, and parents who have an intellectual disability who require support to keep their children in their care. I have 2 beautiful children and married the type of man I never thought existed. I own my own home and investment property. Even my 10 years of being clean it has been a hard road. I have spent many of them trying to prove to my family that I am a good person. I often reflect on my choices as young person and I still beat myself up for them. More than any member of my family ever could. I guess my message is this. Only each of us can make that choice to change our life story and for some it takes longer than others and some it never happens. What I can say is having a family member, friend or even a professional support person accept and care for you no matter what negative, self destructive life choices you make and tell you that there is nothing you can do to make them stop caring for you and being there when you are ready to help yourself. It makes all the difference. It's a gift I'll never forget. I am only starting now to allow myself to feel worthy of all the blessings life has provided me. Maybe now I can even start to work on my self respect. Thank you for allowing me to share my story. I sincerely wish you all the very best life has to offer and success in your ongoing recovery.

I was a stone cold heroin addict needle freak for 10 years I have been completely off heroin and the needle and all other drugs for 8 years it was a real hard time and I tried to quit many times before it finally took but I was ready to die I hated who I had become.I went to treatment for 2 years at an inpatient treatment program it saved my life.I had been to jail no less than 25 times I haven't been in trouble once since I gave heroin up and actually have a very satisfying life today it is a miracle and I'm here to tell you it can be done but takes many years and many struggles with self-good luck

Hey red, my boyfriend has been shooting heroin for 10 years now... He is only 23 years old, we had a daughter in 2010 and even the birth of his own child coukdnt save him... I started nar anon meetings in April and they have saved my life, but he went to rehab in august but could only get a 28day. I saw you were in a 2 year rehab? I believe my bf needs a long term stay but I have no idea how he would do that with no money...do you have any suggestions on where he could find one like that?