Heroin Addicts: Methadone Detox Facts

Question: 17 year old daughter denies being a heroin addict ( i have proven otherwise)?

(Posted by: Rachel on 2010-03-06 06:51:16)

My 17 year old daughter was taken into hospital for injection heroin for the first time and overdosing (accidental) the hospital rang me to tell me what had happened. ..She admitted to me that she had been smoking it for the last month, also smoking crack cocaine.When she came home i wouldn't let her out of my side i actually forbidden her to leave the house. Anyway i decided i needed a break and i asked her to move in with her dad, he is at work most of the time so he isn't around, so she is going out here there and everywhere he is also giving her money which i told him not too as she was buying heroin for just £5.00 a hit (she told me)..! Anyway i went round to check in her room and i found foil that was burnt and there was wraps of clingfilm on the floor. i even found a wrap with heroin still in that she had left. I know before she moved into her dads her uncle lived there (he was also on heroin) so she is telling me its what he had left and it is not hers. But her apperance is awful she is full of spots and rashes kind of thing on her face. she seems to be abit "dozy " and her eyes are very glazed and her pupils are either really large or really small, never normal. Don't know where to turn anymore, i love her to bits, she is attending a programme to get clean but her appointment is not untill next wednesday so in the mean time she will obviously be doing drugs as they havent given her a methadone script yet. She is doing nothing but lie but is denying being an addict. whats your advice?

Posted by: Monstermunch on 2010-03-06, 08:02:13

Why not contact your local drug and alcohol team for help and advice. There is a huge network of agencies out there that will help you. Try your Dr's as a starting point. The local NHS newspaper. Pharmacy. CAB or even ask the homeless charities for the link as the two run together. Best of luck.

Posted by: Kitty on 2010-03-06, 07:02:20

Maybe you shouldn't have shipped her to her dad's because you needed a break. Sending her where there are other addicts is just going to reinforce this behaviour. If you seriously want to help her, you are going to have try... Rehab and counseling are very good options.

Posted by: James on 2010-03-06, 07:49:26

You have my full sympathy. An almost identical scenario happened with a member of my family. I think the difference was that he acknowledged his problem and wanted to be cleaned up. He went through a program of detox (privately funded at vast expense) only to relapse 2 years later and admit his addiction to smoking heroin again. This time he was dealt with through the programmes available through the NHS and the myriad of agencies either publicy or chartiably funded. He got clean again and has remained so for 10 years now. The addict must face up to their problem and must have the willpower to get clean and stay off the drugs, if she won't start with this attitude any treatment will fail. This can be difficult when I would guess that some of her friednds are also into the same habit. You may find that your G.P. can help, not so much for her but to suggest places you can approach for help. Alternatively a Google search quoting your local area will also bring up a number of possibilities. This is not something that she can do by herself. She is an addict and will behave as one. You will need to personally take her to appointments, or she won't go. Observe her taking her methadone, make sure she swallows it, or she'll sell it to buy more drugs. Don't leave valuables in your house, they'll be stolen and sold to buy drugs. This really will require a massive effort in supporting her, both from you and her father. Unfortunately it will be a long road and will not be a smooth journey, but with willpower on her part, and support from you, it can, and has been done and people do emerge out of this tunnel of despair and rebuild their lives. I wish you the very best of luck.