Well Friday was her birthday. Her boyfriend was going to talk to her on that day. Well he talked to her...he called her on the phone and said Happy Birthday...that was it. She thought he was going to do something nice to surprise her. It was devastating to watch her cry. She called him and text messaged him several times and he finally asked her to stop by and see him. He told her wasn't going to date her anymore. She left crying.
Over the course of her Birthday weekend he called her and sent text messages to her phone several times.
He asked her to meet him...she did only for him to tell her he wasn't dating her anymore. She was devastated again. Then he asked her to stop by and see him again and he acted as though everything was fine. He told her she was pretty and kissed her.
Later he sent another text message and asked her to meet him at gas station. I thought that was weird. So she met him and he asked her if she would loan him $200 bucks. She did. He was supposed to stop by and see her later that evening...when he wouldn't answer her phone calls she was devastated again. I had just happen to call her to see if she was okay and she told me about loaning him the $200. I told her that she needed to get her money back from him. She did.
He out of the blue sent me a text message yesterday and said that she had invited him to dinner but she wasn't returning his phone calls. Her phone was actually dead and when she returned home I told her he had been calling her about going out to dinner. She excitedly called him back and said she was just about to jump in the shower and what time did he want to go to dinner. He replied, he didn't know if he wanted to go to dinner. She was devastated again. Later he called her and said if she wanted to see him to meet him ...she did....he told her he still loved her but not to kiss him. ...He quit his job because he said they were being mean to him....His friends that actually did see him that night said he was very upset.
She doesn't know what to do to. I just told her to stay strong take her medicine and everything will work out one way or another. What a horrible birthday for her....
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Personality Disorder?
Wow, what a week. Her boyfriend wouldn't physically talk to her for over a week. He would text her but wouldn't answer her calls. He continued to tell her it was over yet in the same sentence tell her he still loved her, but just couldn't talk to her. Of course, she was devasted.
During this week, we've had some great conversations on relationships, addiction and her future. It's been sad but we've covered some important topics. I don't think that these converations would have occurred if she hadn't started taking prozac. She is very different.
Today, he wants to see her...WHAT? She's so happy...and I'm well, kinda weirded out. I started looking around for information about cutting and I found personality disorders, depression, etc. Honestly, I was shocked when he cut himself the first time...now he's cut himself again. Alrighty, now I'm dealing with a daughter who's recovering from heroin addiction and an ex-boyfriend [soon to be boyfriend again] who's carving himself up. Why are these young people so messed up! What's going on?
During this week, we've had some great conversations on relationships, addiction and her future. It's been sad but we've covered some important topics. I don't think that these converations would have occurred if she hadn't started taking prozac. She is very different.
Today, he wants to see her...WHAT? She's so happy...and I'm well, kinda weirded out. I started looking around for information about cutting and I found personality disorders, depression, etc. Honestly, I was shocked when he cut himself the first time...now he's cut himself again. Alrighty, now I'm dealing with a daughter who's recovering from heroin addiction and an ex-boyfriend [soon to be boyfriend again] who's carving himself up. Why are these young people so messed up! What's going on?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Her Boyfriend Cut Himself in Anger
I'll make this very long drawn out drama based teenage boyfriend/girlfriend story short. My daughter is still clean and has been since February 2008...She like most teenagers base their existence on drama...some more than others.
She still has the same anxiety, depression and low self-esteem she had before using heroin..she also has some of the habits associated with drug use too... like telling lies and a need to see her user friends.
Her boyfriend called her and asked her where she was...she responded, "I'm at home." He said, "No you're not because I'm at your house"...Then she said she was taking a girlfriend home and would be home shortly. He was not happy and he thought something was up...so he hunted her down at an old-user boyfriends house. She was walking out of the house and he picked her up and on the way home he was so angry he cut himself with a knife on the chest several times. Not enough to bleed but enough for me to notice. I took her to the drug store and bought a drug test and made her take it...it was clean...She said she just wanted to talk to him because he was the only one of her friends who was clean and who knew exactly how she felt...and what she was going through.
Her boyfriend has stopped talking to her. He refuses to take her calls but he will text message her. I'm not sure if he's actually going through some deep depression or if he's actually called it quits. Of course, she's totally devastated...It's been a week and he told her that he would call her on June 27th...That's in two days.
The fact he cut himself really concerns me... When she told her counselor and psychiatrist about the cutting they too were concerned. Her psychiatrist prescribed prozac instead of wellbutrin. I'm hoping this will help.
She still has the same anxiety, depression and low self-esteem she had before using heroin..she also has some of the habits associated with drug use too... like telling lies and a need to see her user friends.
Her boyfriend called her and asked her where she was...she responded, "I'm at home." He said, "No you're not because I'm at your house"...Then she said she was taking a girlfriend home and would be home shortly. He was not happy and he thought something was up...so he hunted her down at an old-user boyfriends house. She was walking out of the house and he picked her up and on the way home he was so angry he cut himself with a knife on the chest several times. Not enough to bleed but enough for me to notice. I took her to the drug store and bought a drug test and made her take it...it was clean...She said she just wanted to talk to him because he was the only one of her friends who was clean and who knew exactly how she felt...and what she was going through.
Her boyfriend has stopped talking to her. He refuses to take her calls but he will text message her. I'm not sure if he's actually going through some deep depression or if he's actually called it quits. Of course, she's totally devastated...It's been a week and he told her that he would call her on June 27th...That's in two days.
The fact he cut himself really concerns me... When she told her counselor and psychiatrist about the cutting they too were concerned. Her psychiatrist prescribed prozac instead of wellbutrin. I'm hoping this will help.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Addiction: A Faulty Switch in the Brain
HBO.com has an interesting site dealing with addiction. An article I found to be quite interesting called Stop! Go! A Rogue System in the Brain gave me a better understanding of actually what addiction is and why it happens.
To summarize, healthy people have a Stop! Go! system located in the front part of the brain. When this system is working correctly the Stop! Go! send messages to each other letting us know when to Stop! or Go!... This system considers the risks before taking action, otherwise we would all just step out into traffic without looking.
A leading addiction researcher says that an addicts system operates in the Go mode! The Go! just stops talking to the Stop!...and the Go! runs wild along with the consequences of their actions. That must be why an addict always thinks their okay and why they keep taking the drug even though the drugs are dangerous-they're in the Go! mode. The front part of the brain in adolescents is still developing connections to the rest of the brain. They too are operating in the Go! mode. That's why some teens take risky actions because their Stop! Go! system is not completely developed.
Even for addicts in recovery, anything that reminds them of where and when they used, a parking lot where they used drugs, a song, a person they use to buy drugs from, even a scent can [trigger] the Go! and the Stop! is disconnected again. A trigger disconnects the system...and the Go! goes wild again.
The seboxone helps with this...because once my daughter had been on seboxone for a couple of months she began to realize the consequences of her actions. But, triggers are still something she struggles with...and I guess this will be something that she will have to learn to deal with by staying away from the triggers...and how do you do that if the brain switches to the Go! mode?
If there was a way to hard-wire the Stop!Go! system in our brains we could solve a very large problem ...addiction.
To summarize, healthy people have a Stop! Go! system located in the front part of the brain. When this system is working correctly the Stop! Go! send messages to each other letting us know when to Stop! or Go!... This system considers the risks before taking action, otherwise we would all just step out into traffic without looking.
A leading addiction researcher says that an addicts system operates in the Go mode! The Go! just stops talking to the Stop!...and the Go! runs wild along with the consequences of their actions. That must be why an addict always thinks their okay and why they keep taking the drug even though the drugs are dangerous-they're in the Go! mode. The front part of the brain in adolescents is still developing connections to the rest of the brain. They too are operating in the Go! mode. That's why some teens take risky actions because their Stop! Go! system is not completely developed.
Even for addicts in recovery, anything that reminds them of where and when they used, a parking lot where they used drugs, a song, a person they use to buy drugs from, even a scent can [trigger] the Go! and the Stop! is disconnected again. A trigger disconnects the system...and the Go! goes wild again.
The seboxone helps with this...because once my daughter had been on seboxone for a couple of months she began to realize the consequences of her actions. But, triggers are still something she struggles with...and I guess this will be something that she will have to learn to deal with by staying away from the triggers...and how do you do that if the brain switches to the Go! mode?
If there was a way to hard-wire the Stop!Go! system in our brains we could solve a very large problem ...addiction.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Is Heroin Addiction an Obsession?
Lately I've been thinking about addiction nonstop...It's become somewhat of an addiction to think so much about addiction. Why do some people become addicted to heroin and some don't? Why do some people become addicted to cigarettes and some don't? In a nutshell, there are many theories but no one really knows what causes it.
I've noticed in dealing with my own daughter's heroin addiction... [she's been taking seboxone and is still doing very well by the way] I think that addiction whether its an addiction to drugs, eating, or even to blogging...they're all dependencies, obsessions, habits, or cravings. The addict uses the addiction to self-medicate for a deficiency in the brain. Is this true? Could this be genetics? Using seboxone does reduce the cravings...counseling helps tremendously...however, I still notice the obsessions, habits, and dependencies if you will, are still intact. Once a person is clean...should they be redirected towards a new obession a new addiction? An obession that is harmless but yet still satisfies the brains need? What would that be? Will it be enough to prevent the brain from taking her right back to heroin, and to addiction?
I've noticed in dealing with my own daughter's heroin addiction... [she's been taking seboxone and is still doing very well by the way] I think that addiction whether its an addiction to drugs, eating, or even to blogging...they're all dependencies, obsessions, habits, or cravings. The addict uses the addiction to self-medicate for a deficiency in the brain. Is this true? Could this be genetics? Using seboxone does reduce the cravings...counseling helps tremendously...however, I still notice the obsessions, habits, and dependencies if you will, are still intact. Once a person is clean...should they be redirected towards a new obession a new addiction? An obession that is harmless but yet still satisfies the brains need? What would that be? Will it be enough to prevent the brain from taking her right back to heroin, and to addiction?
Monday, June 16, 2008
Heroin: Do You Know the Signs?
I thought I was really smart about drugs and what to look out for...boy was I surprised and shocked when I found out my daughter was a heroin addict. I read all the information about different types of drugs, drug paraphernalia, the effects of drugs, what they look like, etc. I'm what you call a dumb parent. There are many signs of heroin use but I didn't see them until it was too late. According to http://www.theantidrug.com/ei/signs_symptoms.asp changes in mood, temper, and sleeping routines are common in teens. They have compiled a list of everyday things to look for...which could be a sign of drug use, depression or simply just being a teenager.
What I now know is that its difficult to tell physically ...but there are some telltale signs that my daughter exhibited but I just ignored them thinking they were normal teenage mood swings and that she would grow out of them. Right, she grew into something she couldn't get out of - HEROIN.
These are some of the things I noticed but didn't really think anything about it...hopefully this list will help you make a determination before its too late. Continuously wearing long sleeve shirts [even in the summer], change in hygiene by not taking baths or showers as usual, wearing the same clothes, pin-sized pupils, small bruises on the arms [dime, quarter sized bruises], small red dots on the arms or hands [look closely, you'll see them]...being tired, nodding, puffy under eye area...throwing up [you might think they've been drinking]...itchy...face may break out and they may have sores on their arms and face from scratching themselves...flu-like symptoms...achy muscles, always cold, etc. If you find bottled water, straws, small bags, bottle caps, etc. in their room they are using heroin. And, remember that heroin is addictive no matter how its used [snorted, smoked or by using a needle]. Do you have any others?
What I now know is that its difficult to tell physically ...but there are some telltale signs that my daughter exhibited but I just ignored them thinking they were normal teenage mood swings and that she would grow out of them. Right, she grew into something she couldn't get out of - HEROIN.
These are some of the things I noticed but didn't really think anything about it...hopefully this list will help you make a determination before its too late. Continuously wearing long sleeve shirts [even in the summer], change in hygiene by not taking baths or showers as usual, wearing the same clothes, pin-sized pupils, small bruises on the arms [dime, quarter sized bruises], small red dots on the arms or hands [look closely, you'll see them]...being tired, nodding, puffy under eye area...throwing up [you might think they've been drinking]...itchy...face may break out and they may have sores on their arms and face from scratching themselves...flu-like symptoms...achy muscles, always cold, etc. If you find bottled water, straws, small bags, bottle caps, etc. in their room they are using heroin. And, remember that heroin is addictive no matter how its used [snorted, smoked or by using a needle]. Do you have any others?
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Wellbutrin is Her Anxiety Med Choice
Well, she's changed her mind about the anti-anxiety medication. She researched the three choices [Wellbutrin, Prozac or Cymbalta] her Doctor had given her and she's decided on Wellbutrin. Why, this change of heart?...Her boyfriend. He convinced her it was what she needed to do. The reason she chose WellbutrinSR is because of the side effects. The side effects may include: Agitation, constipation, dizziness, dry mouth, insomnia, nausea, rash, sweating, weight loss. She chose Wellbutrin because of the last side effect listed...yep, its weight loss. Has anyone using Seboxone also used Wellbutrin?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)