KCI The Anti_Meth Site

Can I stop and quit meth on my own?

twitter texan	Can I stop and quit meth on my own? This is my first post, even though I visit this site a lot just to read what everyone has to say. After 3 years of smoking meth, I have just recently admitted (only to myself) that I have a problem. I hate the life I am living now. The time I waste is unreal. I sit down at my computer in the morning and surf the internet, then what feels like only a couple hours has turned into 24 hours and I hear my husband's alarm clock going off because it's 6:00 the next morning. This is how I've spent the past two years. I no longer have friends, I have gained weight(don't ask me how) Years ago, I was first runner up in Miss Texas Pageant but since I started doing meth, I can't believe how much I have aged. I no longer get dressed up, fix my hair or wear make up. I don't like the person I have become at all. I have tried quitting over the past 3 years, but have only made it two weeks before going back. When I stop using I gain weight, have no motivation to get out of bed and I feel SO DEPRESSED. I always end up using again. NO ONE KNOWS about my addiction, and I don't want them to know. Once my husband told me if I ever did drugs he would divorce me and make sure I lost custody of our children. I know I have to go stop, and was just wondering if any of you have any advice for recovering on my own ~ without checking into rehab. Since I no longer have a job (NO SURPRISE!)I am prepared to sleep for two weeks when I get off. To those of you who have been through rehab, could you share with me any information or tips that helped you recover. Thank you for anything you can do to help me kick this. I have to kick it -- before it kicks me.
Replies...
colie 5150	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? I started going to meetings 3-4 times a day. Totaly consuming myself with them. got into out-patient treatment just for the support. Did everything that was suggested to me by my sponsor and really applied myself to the recovery process. Work just as hard for your recovery as you do for that next hit of meth. Pray alot!!!!!!!!
Just Ol Ma	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? Hon, you can quit on your own, but why would you when you don't have to? There are online recovery options, there are meetings and there are people who are ready to talk. You have hundreds of options all which involve quitting. You know about the withdrawal, depression can be treated, and for rehab help there is more than one place to look. NA, AA, CMA, Crystal Recovery, Smart Recovery, the choices are there for you to make. You DON'T have to do this alone.
twitter texan	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? I feel like I'm forced to do it on my own no one will ever find out about my addiction. (My husband says he will divorce me and get custody of our children if I ever do drugs.)
desp house wife	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? By all means go to an N/A meeting! Hon, you got into it without him knowing, it can only get better if you get out while you still have your husband, kids, and sanity!! Good Luck..and Welcome!!
Sfj	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? You can quit on your own. What are your core values? It is very difficult, but it happens everyday. Once you get into it, withdrawal, you will probably realize it is the most difficulr thing you have ever done in your life. The pain of withdrawal is relentless. It doesn't let up for even an instant. After a few months have passed, maybe. However, if you can access this website, you CAN get some good help. Not quite the same as real live people, but take what you can.
Loraura	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? *Quote:* When I stop using I gain weight, have no motivation to get out of bed and I feel SO DEPRESSED All of those symtoms are being CASUED by the meth you are using. Meth causes your brain to waste and destroy dopamine, leaving you with very low levels. This is directly responsible for the lack of motiviation, the craving sweets and eating the house down, and the depression. It will never get any easier than right now to quit. Every time you use, you destroy more dopamine, making those side effects you hate so much, worse. If they seem bad now.... they will be worse the more you use. *Quote:* I feel like I'm forced to do it on my own no one will ever find out about my addiction. (My husband says he will divorce me and get custody of our children if I ever do drugs.) Worry about saving your a$$ right now. You can save face later. There are recovery meetings during the day. Go when your husband is at work. NA Meeting Locator
deee 44	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? yes it is possible to quit on your own as i am living proof(327 days clean) it does take a lot of inner strength and determination i would recommend na meetings and nightly even daily visits to this posting site for there is a lot of positive energy and strength to be found here
RIP	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? welcome Go to recoveryroadmap.com, there is an abundancy of information contained in this site for free. Re that you are not powerless over anything you have amazing power and you are starting to use it now by asking for help. Seek answers to your problems throughout your community there are plenty of resources for you to tap into . YOU can do it!
forget suzette	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? ...........are you asking if you can quit on your own? yeah, sure, if you want to. smiles
waking up1	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? You can quit on your own, I'm doing it. But -listen to the more experienced people here before you decide. I quit March 15th- 7 months clean! The ONLY WAY I could do it on my own was to stay completely AWAY from anyone else who uses!!! If you can't do that, please find meetings or as many other resources as you can for support. Avoid dealers and other users like the plague. You are smart enough to know you need to do something now. Sleep and rest whenever you can. Realize you are going through this detox to save your life. The depression and other symptoms will fade. Don't worry about weight, just think about giving your body a break from the poison. I pray, and I re how horrible I felt coming down. I said "I will never use again because I never want to have to come down again". When I think about getting high now, I feel sick thinking about all the ugliness that goes with it. The people on this board have helped me immensely, even though I've never posted until now. Keep reaching out...YOU CAN DO IT!
FORMER TWEAKER	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? Hi. Yes it is possible to quit on Your own. Though the % of quitting seems to be allot better if Your able to do the following. Sorry to say. There is no real easy way to avoid the withdrawals. The saying goes what goes up must come down. When my body would crave the drug. I went in the Jacuzzi for long periods of time. After I started getting my energy back. I would workout swim, racquetball, walk. This would take care of my Body for awhile. But there is more to prepare for. I would have Night mares and kidney stone "very painful" I would wake up and my heart beat was racing away. After that passes. Then its the Mind I have to work on for the rest of my life. That's were the meetings kick in CMA,NA or this KCI board. I would ask and see if there was away to take away the pain. There are no short cuts in recovery and its not for sale. You can't buy Your clean time. You got to tuff it out. Its there if you really want it. But if it was easy then allot more people would be clean. I don't want to candy coat but anyone who wants to quit will be in for a painful ride. But in the long run its worth it. Eventually I would let Your Husband know what You are doing after You have started a program that has been effective. I hope this was useful
Drk Donnie85	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? My opinion - which will probably sound similar to what other people have already said is YES, it is possible to quit on your own. I did it and have thus far been successful. But that's what worked for me. I decided to quit on my own because I went to an NA meeting and found that it really wasn't for me. But I'm painfully shy and not comfortable in groups. More outgoing, or even less shy, people tend to benefit greatly. Some people find NA/CMA/AA meetings very helpful. I did not. It all just depends on your personality and what you find works best for you. I would try quitting on your own (if that's what YOU want to do) and then if you find it too difficult - add something more each time to help you quit. Maybe come to this site more often. Maybe try an NA meeting - you may be one of the many people (from what I hear, the people that are not helped by NA are a minority compared to those that are) who benefit. Try asking for help from someone you know/love. If you can handle it, take the time to find what works best for you - because you'll be relying on that choice to possibly save your life. If you can't handle taking the time to do that, then I think you've reached the point where you have no choice but to ask for help (loved ones/NA/rehab). If you don't find that NA is helping you - my opinion is to not go, but if you sought help there as an alternative to quitting on your own, rehab may be the best/only solution. Good luck.
Hemet chik	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? Every time I quit on my own, I was basically on my own. I believed it was me who picked up and me who could quit, on my own. I was wrong, I struggle everyday with this addiction that has consumed me for more then half of my life. I CAN NOT do it on my own. I have tools and people who I meet in person daily that keep me in check, EVEN if I dont feel like being put in check and they really piss me off. I would rather sit there after a meeting and someone come up and say hey lets talk about today, right now and your feelings then be at home trying to deal with it ALL ALONE and probably go back out to using. MY way did not work and I have tried to quit over and over and over again.
Penelope	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? I quit on my own at least a thousand times. It was STAYING CLEAN that I was not able to do alone! Like Hemetchik said, my way just never worked for me. I was finally able to stop using and STAY CLEAN with the help of Narcotics Anonymous. I needed to learn not only how to stop using drugs, I had to learn how to live without drugs. It has been almost 2 years since I have used drugs of any kind. I am very grateful to have my life back.
danimal 55	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? "on my own" hmmmm...is'nt that where we've been with our drug, alone? People do quit without a program of recovery, but do they stay quit? I suppose some do....but what about changes within ourselves? Eliminating meth use is a beginning, but what do we do to ensure we do'nt go back to it? I see people saying here that they quit on their own, but is participating here "on my own"? You are not on your own now. Keep in mind that you can work the 12 steps without going to meetings, peronally I like [love] meetings now and the fellowship that resides there, shyness and lonliness are things of my past. Your post suggests that meth is taking a high toll on you, 3 years is a LONG time to poison yourself, and what about the cost? Who is paying for your dope? You have no job and after 3 years of meth smoking the cost has to be high, Hubby just might know more than you think...the ultimatum he's given you suggets it, is he supporting your addicton, while you tell him lies? Does'nt he deserve the truth? Meth addiction is contingent upon lies and deception, behaviors that the 12 steps confront and correct, the reason many people say "12 step does'nt work", addicts have a tough time being totally honest after being totally dis-honest. Attempting to hide your "recovery" is too much like trying to hide your addiction, and it will lead to more lies, more guilt, shame, fear, and remorse, the cornerstones of meth addiction. More lies and deception will likely cost you your family, and possibly your life. Consider total honesty, it will ultimately save your butt.
nine years clean	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? Hello and Welcome! If you need help quitting meth, you've come to the right place. Ask us anything, tell us anything, we are all here to help each other. *Quote:* I have to kick it -- before it kicks me. It's already kicking you, you just don't know it yet. Once you put down the poison and begin the withdrawls, you will understand what I mean. It is hard, very hard. But the cool thing about it is that each day you are clean you will know that you'll never have to go through withdrawls again, unless you use. Your body, mind and spirit will begin to heal, and in time, you will look and feel better than you have since you first picked up. I understand that you don't want your husband to know what's going on, but you're asking alot of yourself. You'll need to go to meetings when he's at work, you'll need to come here regularly, and you'll need to pray. Your desire to quit has already lead you to this wonderful site, and we are all here to love and support you. Be brave, be strong, be determined to find the old you, and it will be so. Keep coming back; we're here for you 24/7.
Hemet chik	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? I did forget to say welcome The weight gain is probably from not eating healthy when you do eat. Sugar and high fat foods is what I would always eat after a binge, but there are some people who can eat while using, myself was never part of that group. You don't like who you have become? To really wake up one day after 3 long and hard years of putting toxic crap in your body and go whoa cowgirl what ya doing I live in Texas also, so I can say that right It took me a helluva lot longer to wake up! Try the NA hotline, look up NA online, since your use to the computer and websurfing, take advantage of your skills and get all the education you can and figure out what is going to work in your life. Your husband has no idea? Do you have kids? My husband just move out of my house 5 days ago because he has decided my "NA bullshit and stupid azz website(here)" is to much for him, which means he is back out using while I try to raise kids and do this on my own...and let me tell you. Using has been a thought a gazzzzzzzilllion times. What good would this do??Being in NA I have people who come to get me and make me a part of this when right now I just dont feel like doing it. Please come here, visit, share or just read and understand that you are not alone in this struggle for freedom.
tim crane	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? I suggest that you should fully grasp the very serious nature of your addiction. I tend to think that keeping your addiction as a secret to those it so deeply effects is asking for trouble. You don't HAVE to tell anybody anything, I just believe that if you can keep your head up, make direct eye contact and state as a matter of fact that you've became addicted to meth and plan to recover. It will give you an incredible release and freedom. Irregardless of how its handled by the one you decide to tell, your now accepting yourself as a new found Human Being who is facing up and not ashamed anymore 'cause your going to do it with all you have. Please try to go to as many meetings as you can, get a sponsor as soon as possible. Study up on all the withdrawl symptoms, if you do relapse, be prepared to up the resolve to intensive outpatient or residential treatment. Don't smoke or drink coffee. Smoking is involved in the reward response areas in the brain that drugs are and they both are associated with one another. Coffee for me gave me mini to suprisingly strong high and crash episodes that made me very carefully monitor my caffeine use for around the first two months. I believe that you will enter a stage of utter and complete despair. You'll probably get by the first couple of episodes. Then pay attention to what your mind is saying to you, how you can do it just one more time, I can't handle the agony anymore, ect.. That will precipitate a relapse. It will be ugly 'cause you've returned to 'normal', now everyone will notice your change and it actually won't be anywhere close to the fun your mind convinced you it would be. Just a sharp increase in the good ol agony. So, study, study and then study a little more on relapse prevention.
Hemet chik	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? I agree tim, cause when I was in rehab a couple of years ago, I was smoking like a pack a day and I never smoked cigs, I hate them. With caffeine I do have a problem. I am drinking coffee and soda all day and I do feel it has a huge impact on my moods
white widow 805	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? i am now 19 i started living this life of hell since 14. the first time i tried i was up for a month with no naps ao sleeping. then i quit for a year after it came to the point of disrespecting my mom by calling her @#%$ like it was nothing and then running from "shadow people" to her house and calling her a @#%$. so i was clean for a yaer and thought it was all good and thought i had the mind power of contrololling another time. thats when i was 16 and have smoked frequently now its like nothing i can eat a steak if i want to or sleep if im tired. lost my family so now i spend the holidays on my own dont get to be the brother i should have been and make my parents proud so they know they can rest in peace wiht a son they know will take care of my little sisters. during my moms 2nd divorce the state of california stated that i couldn't even babysit my own sisters because i was crazy. im not though how do we know whats normal and whats crazy. what is a "NORMAL" person if we are all induviduals.i haven't seen or talked to my dad in 7 years and have no idea where he's at. my mom just skipped town a month ago and do not know where she's at. can't see my sisters because their dad is scared of me. i dont want to go to any kind of clinics though. how can you do it with the people around you such as friends (or family if you still have any of these left)? if they cared don't you think that they would help you instead of looking down on you for an addiction that is so cruel and disgusting and can leave you somewhat powerless to it? Ill admit that i like satying up and pulling an allnighter with friends but does there have to be meth involved? not all my friends do it. just 2 weeks ago a close friend of mine died from it. 5 months ago my roomate , who is clean thank GOD, literally, had a heart attack from this poisin. if you could see me you would never even know i even messed with this drug. i still work, pay my bills, hang out with friends, surf, etc. it's like the drug isn't affecting me but the ones around me. im so lost these days. i want help but going to clinics i don't think its right telling a group strangers of your private life. this wibsite though i think is a little better than clinics cause you cant see me have no personel info besides a verryy veerryy brief story of a persons life but you don't know my first name. clinics are with people who know your name or see your face and now know what you do. plus your in the same town so you know you may see them outside the group, then look what happens hes with some friends and hes over there pointing your ass out "ya that guys in my NA class and smokes crank." and theres two more people that know what you do and you don't even know what they look like or your name. honestly i dont even want my roomates to know im on it walking down the hallway or even you. you try to hide it from your family but your gonna go throw these words on the street to people you dont know. how do you do it all in the end of this whole thing, how do you do it? how can you and the closest people you have to you work together and if by miracle someone comes up with that then it would make your stronger and you can help your (friends) and then people would know what they can do end if miracles do happen more people would get clean rather than the addiction spreding and hurting or even ending more lives. think about your kids or your parents think about how much you do need them there. think about your child (sisters or brothers) smile when they win a game or you come home from work cause there happy to see you. think about the first kiss or hug you get from your other half when you know they've been on your mind since you went to work that morning. ive coem to realize that this drug stops your emotion of even caring and blinds you of the people or things that actually used to make you happy without being spun or spracked or whatever you want to call that feeling. i wish i could just go back to when me and my bros would go spend like 20 bucks each on a bunch of candy and sodas and play video games all night. im tired of spinning the glass all night. it just has this hold on a person though. how do we quit so we can live the life we choose before we let the drugs choose your life and emotions for us.
25 years but no more	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? Yes, you can. I used for 25 years and have been clean for 18 months now. It takes a strong will to do it yourself, but the rewards are many. Not everyone can do it on there own. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. I had a backup plan in the works though in case I failed.
trying2	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? For me, being open and honest has been an important part of my recovery. I don't think that I could stay clean (5 months today) if it weren't for the fact that I am open and honest about my use. When I first tried to get clean, I told my girlfriend and my family about my use, about my behavioral patterns, about my triggers, and told them all of the signs to look for (i.e., staying up late at night, smoking cigarettes all day, irritability, lack of appetite,etc.) Although I relapsed a couple of times, I could not hide it any longer from my family and loved ones because they could tell that I was using. Because I have now admitted that I am powerless over my use, I know that once I start using again, all of the symptoms of my use will show up again. I cannot control my use to hide it any longer. By being open and honest, I force myself to consider all that I will lose if I use. I can't have it both ways anymore, and that is helping me to recover. Now on to step two...
XOutlaw Woman	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? Yes, you can quit "on your own". I never attended any meetings of any type, never went to rehab, or the hospital, and I have been free of all drugs and alcohol for 15 months now. I did not really do it on my own however. I had the help of God (Thanks God), a dear friend who loved me more than I loved myself (who is now the love of my life, thanks T.), a loving supportive family, real friends, a new job 200 miles away from all the dope heads I knew, and a LOT of will power. Change is never easy, but it is possible. I believe a person can do just about anything they put their mind to. I have other methods I use that keep me clean and sober. The power of positive thinking, personal responsibility, positive self talk. There are a lot of ways to get, and stay, away from drugs. You can do it if you want to.
Loraura	Re: Can I stop and quit meth on my own? *Quote:* it's like the drug isn't affecting me Trust me... it is. I could barely understand the post you made it is so all over the place. Shame is not a good reason to avoid a program that will GET YOU CLEAN, help you DEAL WITH THE DAMAGE of your use and TEACH YOU HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT IT. The more you avoid recovery and continue using, to avoid the shame, the more shameful deeds you will have to deal with eventually.