Have Questions About Addiction? Ask an Addict!

Hey guys my names Lexi im 21 years old and as of a week ago today my boyfriend has been in a rehab center just an hour away for heroin use. We have been together since summer of 2012 before we met he was doing heroin for a good year had been clean for a year before we met and up until this past Janruary of 2015 hadn't touched dope in years but in jan it began again and he went down a very bad path. I occasionally drink but i have never done or touched any hard drugs but i love him for who he is and what hes done for me and i am not going to give up on or neglect the person i love because they suffer from a disease (sorry if i sound ignorant to the subject but i dont know much about addiction) he didnt want help he was forced to get help at one point a month and a half ago but never followed through finally 3 days before last friday he admitted himself by himself to the hospital for detox and said to his friend i miss my girl i miss my old life my old friends i miss who i am.. and its true i would see him everyday and go to barely talking to him and seeing him maybe once a week or once every other week i cant be around heroin addicts i cant be around people who think its ok to shoot up in front of me i cant be around him shooting up its uncomfortable and lots of the time the people he brought over would steal from me... i feel like a bad person because towards the end i distanced myself from him because its very hard to see and deal with from my end also it was very hard to be in that position i dont know if i did the right or bad thing i cried about it and apologized so much when he was in the hospital but i didnt know what else to do. he couldnt re assure me anymore that he would never leave me i mean its true ive stuck around for years and years through pills through heroin he always needed something to be high i would do everything and anything for this kid to wiping his piss or poop off of him because he was unconscious... its true ive stuck through all the bad. im currently in the process of rennovating his entire apartment he recently purchased and turned into a trap house from fixing doors walls painting to steaming carpets to spending almost 700 dollars buying new things to completely throw all the old away so that after rehab he comes home to a new home to a beautiful home he loves somewhere that doesnt remind him of where he did heroin and nothing that will trigger him... is that a good idea? also i thinlk hes only going to be in for 30 days due to no insurance maybe so how should i be when he gets home? i dont want to do the wrong things is it weird that im so happy to be with him again? im just excited to have him back will he be just as excited i havent talked to him since he went in i wrote one letter positive one nothing bad or reflecting on the past is it possible that sometimes they arent aloud to call their girlfriends hes 22 almost 23 years old in 6 days.. any advice? i just hope i dont loose him! hes amazing and i want to cherish the good times ahead and be his biggest support system...

 My son has been battling an opiate addiction for 8 years. He has been to 4 rehabs. He has been living with me for the past 5 years. He really wants to get clean, cries when he still uses, goes to meetings, has a sponsor, probably doesn't consistantly do his step work. He is gung-ho for a few weeks, then gets complacent and relapses. For the past 2 years his fiancee has lived with me too. She is a very sweet girl and I love her dearly but she is an alcoholic. Together they struggle with sobriety all the time.

The idea was for them to stay with me to build up a "nest egg" and move into their own place. There is never a "nest egg" as their addiction depletes their finances.

I am in a very nice relationship and have been for 3 years. While my boyfriend loves the "kids" (they are 36 andf 35) he does not want to live with me with them as it is too dysfunctional and I don't blame him. I don't have the financial resources to continue to live where I am living. My Mom lived with us until she died in January and now half of the household income is gone. My boyfriend wants me to sell my house and move with him, but he mentioned many times, ONLY ME, not the "kids". While I understand and agree with him it also scares me to death. Where will they be without a roof over their heads??? How will I be able to sleep at night worrying about where they are? 

I realize that I have not helped them by being here for them and giving them a place to stay. Maybe I am "loving them to death". But I need someone to tell me what I probably already know. I need someone to say "you are doing the right thing by moving on and taking care of yourself now". 

My son is going into rehab voluntarily this coming week if they have an opening. When he comes out is it my responsibility to provide him with shelter if he is doing well?????

Also what about my future daughter-in-law, I can't just put her out on the street.

Please give me some advice.

 My husband of 9 years recently admitted that he'd relapsed this past uear. He had been a iv meth addict before we were married, but was 5 years clean when we were married. He told me that he'd cut off the contacts he'd made (he'd not only been using, but apparently also selling), and he promised he was done. Honestly, I knew nothing/know very little about addiction. Apparently, I missed a lot of obvious signs. We had a very bad year last year, so I attributed the behavior changes to stress and depression. It wasn't until I started looking into why we were suddenly so often short on money, and questioned him about where it was all going, that he admitted to me. He has supported me through so much, I told him I would stay, but he needed to get help and stop using. He promised that he would. I guess I handled that wrong. I'm so naive about this. Turns out, he kept using, but took out a very high interest loan to hide the spending. He promised again, he'd stop and get help. I found needles under the bed last week, he had excuses. I found meth under the couch yesterday. He had excuses. He has been through so much and he has helped me through so much, I can't just leave him. But I know I can't stop his addiction. He gets distant and  angry and I find what look to me like fresh track marks on his arms, he says mood swings are a part of the withdrawls and the track marks will take a long time to heal. He says he can't heal if I don't trust him, but I feel like if I'm not a little suspicious, he'll just take advantage of my naivete. How can I find a balance? What are the chances he's still using? How can I convince him to get help? I'm so lost and I don't know what to do. I'm sorry this is so long. I've lost the man I love, and I want him back.

 hello all. Sorry I have not been on. As many of your know My AD was just released from prison in mid June. I had alot of fears as eveyone was telling me that there was NO WAY she would ever be clean, including her own lawyer. Everyone said she would kill to get to a bag of dope including me her own mother. I went to pick her up and we were in the car for over ten hours along with my little one. We laughed and enjoyed one anothers company. I had MY DAUGHTER BACK and even BETTER! We dropped her off at a halfway house in what I tell the locals here "an undisclosed location" as we decided it was best for her not to return to the old people,places, and things. AS of today she is doing extreemly well, and my relationship with her is growing more each day. we text and talk all of the time and she has even formed a loving relationship with her lil sister. I just went to see her for my birthday and it was a gift from God that I spent my Bday with BOTH of my daughters ans it was wondeful. I waske up everyday and I am thankful for another day that I have with my duahgter, It has been unbelievable what has occurred in our lives. PLEASE NEVER EVER GIVE UP! My AD was supposed to be hopeless....nobody ever is. DO NOT GIVE UP FIGHTING for them when they can not fight for themselves! Help those around you that need the support! Take care of YOU and PRAY ALOT! There is NO prayer like that of a mother!! May God Bless  you and keep you and your addicted loved one under his wing!With much love, wannarun ( At least for today I do not wanna run )

 I am beginning my journey of tapering off suboxone.  I have done this before successful with no withdrawl, but I do not remember my method in full and was on half the dose I am now.  Curious if anyone has any taper methods they swear by, and for the love of god, dont tell me to take opiates to get through the weeks following my last sub dose.  Its amazing how many people have.  Again, I know its possible, I just need some ideas to help me along as I forgot my exact method.

I am a recovering opiate addict here to pretty much help those I can through my personal experiences.  I am also well aware of meth addiction as I had to deal with that through someone else.  If anyone needs help or advice in regards to opiates, heroin, or methamphetamine please feel free to contact me.  I know it can be rough getting help or dealing with an addicted family member.