Smitty275

Could someone please explain how a regular law abiding citizen makes the jump to using heroin to control pain. I understand how people get hooked on prescription pain killer because they used them long after they didn't need them for pain OR they were on them for pain that lasted a long time and their body got to where it couldn't function with out the pain killers. What I totally don't get is how do these same people, many who have never even so much as J walked, end up on heroin, and loose everything often their life. What put it in their mind to seek it out and try heroin when they are so distant to the type of crowd that deals in the stuff.

jcdynamic88

I have had the occasion to ask the very same question(brother-in-law,close friends), apparently the only way to understand is to be an addict or susceptible to addiction. i guess their body 's needs are stronger than their mind. I think if you are not an addictive person you can't grasp what they are feeling.i personally don't sympathize with addicts but I have been called cold.i think if the fire is burning your hand you should be able to stop putting your hand in.

RandyS

As the need for pain relief dimishes over time, your intake of the pain meds should also decline. Some folks enjoy the euphoria they get from taking Oxy, and keep on taking it, or even increase their dosage. It's an easy jump from there as one tends to need a higher dosage to achieve the same result. Pretty easy jump from there to something stronger. Have had a few acquaintances that have used Heroin. They say the 'High' is so unbelievably good, you crave more. This is in the beginning stages. Then after a while, you develop a dependence on it and suffer terrible withdrawls if you quit. I don't know if it has anything to do with being an addictive personality or not, the drug is so strong it can overwhelm anyone.

455man

Most of those pain killers are the same type of drug as heroin. Pretty similar. Once they are on those drugs they dont care about anything except getting back to that feeling again. Their tolerance goes up so they need a higher dosage. When they come off the high they dont come down to normal they crash and look for another fix to get back to normal.
Jcdynamic that is the story they tell but I dont buy it either so I'm cold also. I think it's selfishness.
RandyS I've had morphine when I had my arm broken during wrestling. It didnt overwhelm me. Morphine is the same type of drug as heroin. Adrenaline held off the pain better than anything the Dr's could give me and the high did not impress me.

RandyS

Morphine is a derivitave of Heroin, but the high from heroin is much more pleasurable.

stellar

I don't know if I am blessed or cursed. Morphine has little effect on me and does nothing for pain. After surgery for a broken ankle with ligaments and tendons torn in a motorcycle accident, screws and a plate, I was given intravenus morophine and could pump at will. I pumped like crazy for about a day with no relief and could not sleep from the pain. When I asked to have the bag of morophine removed since it wasn't helping they fought me and insisted it did help. After the doc fought with me for a few minutes he agreed to remove it. I endured the pain without drugs. No difference than using them. After another surgery I was prescribed Vicodone and it was useless. After 2 days I returned them to the pharmacy and asked for another brand because these were not any good. He said they are all the same. I left them on the counter and walked out. Later I called my brother (a doctor in another state) and he told me it was a family trait (genetic) our mother had the same problem. And now I have found 1 of my daughters has the same problem. She was in an accident and they gave her 3 shots of morophine in about 1/2 hour. To their amazement it did not phase her. When they contacted me I told them about the problem and they gave her a shot of something called toradol and within a few minutes she had relief. My siblings and her siblings do not have the same problem. If pain meds work for you be grateful. I can see why someone may go to other drugs if in pain. Next time I will ask for the toradol, but from what I hear it can only be used for a couple of days and not any extended period of time. Something is better than nothing. I'll pass on the heroin, probably wouldn't work anyway.

501Paratrooper

Coldwar, I have to agree with you the free wheeling use of the prescription pad however, I have seen numerous Dr's look way beyond thier patient's profiles and still prescribe opiates. I see it way too much people wanting to escape reality, and use drugs/alcohol as the vehicle. It's very sad. A horrible trend now fentanyl mixed with heroin it's OD roulette.

Smitty275

Well, I'm a lot like stellar in that morphine and the likes do nothing for me. Vicodin is just a headache in pill form. I list it as an allergy. Maybe that's why I was having such a hard time understanding how heroin use and related deaths has had such a sharp rise in the last year or so. In NE Ohio heroin is the number one leading cause of death right now.
I'll have to give the toradol a try should I ever have another kidney stone. I know it works well on all but the severist of migraine. Just never considered it for the stones.

naphtali5725

hey smitty... yes toradol works fine for kidney stones short term, you're not supposed to take it for more than 5 days though, after that they always go to the oxycodone when i have stones

Professur

If I may ... I'm no expert of human physiology, but I have had occasion to pick up a few things. The human brain isn't a single organ as much as it is a collection of layers. Our logical thinking part is only the most recent addition and when push comes to shove, it's the first to turn off. Then the emotional, then the instinctual. This is why many people freeze up when confronted with an emergency ... the demand for energy by the emotional part starves the logical part. Addictions work below the logical. Pain, far below. As a consequence, when pain and addiction are in play, logic and will power, no matter how great the drive, simply don't have the leverage to stand firm. This is why many techniques for dealing with addiction address it at the emotional (meditation) and instinctual (retraining habits) levels. Like it or not, the animal still lurks beneath in all of us.