HAMSTERS & HEROIN: Not all junkies are purse-snatching grandmother-killing psychos. I'm keeping this blog to bear witness to that fact.

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DIARY OF A SLOWLY RECOVERING HEROIN ADDICT

I used to take heroin at every opportunity, for over 10 years, now I just take methadone which supposedly "stabilizes" me though I feel more destabilized than ever before despite having been relatively well behaved since late November/early December 2010... and VERY ANGRY about this when I let it get to me so I try not to.

I was told by a mental health nurse that my heroin addiction was "self medication" for a mood disorder that has recently become severe enough to cause psychotic episodes. As well as methadone I take antipsychotics daily. Despite my problems I consider myself a very sane person. My priority is to attain stability. I go to Narcotics Anonymous because I "want what they have" ~ Serenity.

My old blog used to say "candid confessions of a heroin and crack cocaine addict" how come that one comes up when I google "heroin blog" and not this one. THIS IS MY BLOG. I don't flatter myself that every reader knows everything about me and follows closely every single word every day which is why I repeat myself. Most of that is for your benefit not mine.

This is my own private diary, my journal. It is aimed at impressing no-one. It is kept for my own benefit to show where I have been and hopefully to put off somebody somewhere from ever getting into the awful mess I did and still cannot crawl out of. Despite no drugs. I still drink, I'm currently working on reducing my alcohol intake to zero.

If you have something to say you are welcome to comment. Frankness I can handle. Timewasters should try their own suggestions on themselves before wasting time thinking of ME.

PS After years of waxing and waning "mental" symptoms that made me think I had depression and possibly mild bipolar I now have found out I'm schizoaffective. My mood has been constantly "cycling" since December 2010. Mostly towards mania (an excited non-druggy "high"). For me, schizoaffective means bipolar with (sometimes severe)
mania and flashes of depression (occasionally severe) with bits of schizophrenia chucked on top. You could see it as bipolar manic-depression with sparkly knobs on ... I'm on antipsychotic pills but currently no mood stabilizer. I quite enjoy being a bit manic it gives the feelings of confidence and excitement people say they use cocaine for. But this is natural and it's free, so I don't see my "illness" as a downer. It does, however, make life exceedingly hard to engage with...

PPS The "elevated mood" is long gone. Now I'm depressed. Forget any ideas of "happiness" I have given up heroin and want OFF methadone as quick as humanly possible. I'm fed up of being a drug addict. Sick to death of it. I wanna be CLEAN!!!

Attack of the Furry Entertainers!

Attack of the Furry Entertainers!

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Baby Itchy Roborovski: Bloody Urine!

OH NO! WHAT HAS GONE WRONG with my poor roborovskis? Following 2 days of food torment, during which Spherical took to frustratedly nibbling on the avocado stone that I put in as entertainment (it looks like a curled-up roborovski, only a curled-up robo is actually smaller than said stone...)... (but they did eat. They had plenty of stray seeds: just didn't know there the big stash was stored!...) eventually I relented and lifted their seeds dump-bin tube allowing a scattering of hammy food across the floor...

Because their fur's gone all shaggy, like baby Porkshire terriers or Airedales (or wire fox terriers, to use Canadian nomenclature) I put them in their diggery for a good hour yesterday. This combs them all over with innumerable pine-shaved-curlings and makes them look airbrushed from top to toe. Very posh. Just the thing for exhibitors at a roborovski show....

Anyway, Baby Itchy, in said former lollypop-jar diggery, lifted her bum and did a scent marking wee-wee. And for the first time I actually saw said wee-wee coming out. IT WAS BRIGHT RED AND FULL OF BLOOD..!

Please, someone! What does this mean?

Is she merely on heat? Surely you don't pee blood when you're on heat... the urethra does not come from the womb, so even if blood was coming out like a "period" she wouldn't PEE it out, surely?

She's showing no signs of bad health whatsoever (apart from the shaggy Porkshire terrorizer-style fur)... so I don't know what to think.

I just don't want poor Baby Itchy to die!

19 comments:

Monogram Queen said...

Oh no I don't know what it means as i've not had small rodents since I was a child. I hope someone can enlighten you on this!
Get well Baby Itchy!

Daisy said...

Oh dear! Well, let me start by saying I don't know anything about hamsters. But, I found this on line:

"Hamsters can suffer from bladder or kidney infections. The most common symptoms are excessive urinating, blood in the urine and excessive drinking. Other symptoms may include squealing when urinating and listlessness.

A hamster with a bladder or kidney infection will require antibiotic treatment by a vet to cure the infection and will need to be kept warm. Access to sufficient water is also essential. It is also advisable to clean the cage more regularly, using a disinfectant designed for small animal cages to prevent the Aspergillis Fungus developing in the area of the cage the hamster uses for urinating.

Once treated hamsters usually recover from bladder and kidney infections within a few days. However, very rarely a hamster may have a severe kidney disorder or kidney failure and as well as the above symptoms may show severe wasting. Unfortunately such severe problems may not be curable.

Hamsters that are fed a poor quality diet or a diet high in fat content are more susceptible to developing bladder infections as this causes the urine to become more alkaline."

I hope it's just something simple and Baby Itchy gets better soon.

Zen Wizard said...

Just stopped by to say "Hi"!

Plus, I find that English is like any other foreign language--if I don't read something in it every once in a while, the language skill atrophies...

Liz Hinds said...

Has she been eating beetroot? It has that effect on me!

Other than that, no helpful suggestions except: have you got a PDSA near you that you can take her to?

Liz Hinds said...

And, of course, meant to say: hope she's better soon!

xxx

Calfkeeper said...

Oh dear, that's not good. Sorry to hear she is under the weather. Here's wishing her all the best.

Congrats on your new digs; hope your new neighbourhood treats you well.

Akelamalu said...

Oh dear it doesn't sound too good does it? Is there an RSPCA nearby you could take her there, they will probably treat her for free as you're not working.

Bimbimbie said...

I was going to say bladder/kidney infection ... had the same happen with one of my cats - you have to act fast and get antibiotic treatment. Can you get to an RSPCA for help?

none said...

Ouch I hope your critter gets better soon.

Anonymous said...

Poor Itchy! I think Daisy and Bimbimbie have covered the problem... hope she feels better sooner than later!

Anonymous said...

Ouch, sorry about the little thing!

Just ask on a forum, I'm sure people who own little rodent could help.

That said don't panic. Pets can be strong, just like humans... might need some antibiotic though. Seeing a vet would be best.

Janice Seagraves said...

Hi,

I was going to say that sounds a lot like bladder/kidney infection but that was already covered.

My brother's dog Bell peed blood when I was taking care of her while he was in the hospital. I took Bell to the vet and it was kidney stones. She was an older dog. She was put on medication and got better right away.

I don't know if this will help your hamster, but I either drink plenty of cranberry juice or take cranberry juice extract when I have a bladder infection. It cures it in two to three days.

If your can't afford vet care for her, maybe if you could find some cranberries for her to nibble on that might help?

Janice~

Baino said...

Awww poor wee wee roborovskeeee. Gleds. RSPA defo.They're too little to muck about with. The longer you leave it the harder it will be. Don't know where you live but here are the branches in London . .http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=rspca+london&btnG=Search

How odd . .coming from Australia. Quick now . .

Unknown said...

You should attend a vet.

CrystalChick said...

Hope your baby is better soon. Might need the antibiotics. Many years ago we had one that needed to be treated but off hand I can't remember the symptoms she had. Good luck.

sally in norfolk said...

sounds like a bladder infection..... hope she is well soon x

Daisy said...

How is Baby Itchy doing?

Monogram Queen said...

Checking in on Baby Itchy! It's Thursday a.m. in the United States

taco said...

I'm frightened for little baby itchy!

Daisy could be a vet, she could!

I WANT OFF METHADONE AS QUICK AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE!

METHADONE ~ A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH







Heroin Shortage: News

If you are looking for the British Heroin Drought post, click here; the latest word is in the comments.







Christiane F

"Wir, Kinder vom Bahnhoff Zoo" by "Christiane F", memoir of a teenage heroin addict and prostitute, was a massive bestseller in Europe and is now a set text in German schools. Bahnhoff Zoo was, until recently, Berlin's central railway station. A kind of equivalent (in more ways than one) to London's King's Cross... Of course my local library doesn't have it. So I'm going to have to order it through a bookshop and plough through the text in German. I asked my druggieworker Maple Syrup, who is Italiana how she learned English and she said reading books is the best way. CHRISTIANE F: TRAILER You can watch the entire 120-min movie in 12 parts at my Random blog. Every section EXCEPT part one is subtitled in English (sorry: but if you skip past you still get the gist) ~ to watch it all click HERE.

To See Gledwood's Entire Blog...

DID you find my blog via a Google or other search? Are you stuck on a post dated some time ago? Do you want to read Gledwood Volume 2 right from "the top" ~ ie from today?
If so click here and you'll get to the most recent post immediately!

Drugs Videos

Most of these come from my Random blog, which is an electronic scrapbook of stuff I thought I might like to view at some time or other. For those who want to view stuff on drugs I've collected the very best links here. Unless otherwise stated these are full-length features, usually an hour or more.

If you have a slow connexion and are unused to viewing multiscreen films on Youtube here's what to do: click the first one and play on mute, stopping and starting as it does. Then, when it's done, click on Repeat Play and you get the full entertainment without interruption. While you watch screen one, do the same to screens 2, 3 and so on. So as each bit finishes, the next part's ready and waiting.

Mexican Black Tar Heroin: "Dark End"

Khun Sa, whose name meant Prince Prosperous, had been, before his death in the mid 2000s, the world's biggest dealer in China White Heroin: "Lord of the Golden Triangle"

In-depth portrait of the Afghan heroin trade at its very height. Includes heroin-lab bust. "Afghanistan's Fateful Harvest"

Classic miniseries whose title became a catchphrase for the misery of life in East Asian prison. Nicole Kidman plays a privileged middle-class girl set up to mule heroin through Thai customs with the inevitable consequences. This is so long it had to be posted in two parts. "Bangkok Hilton 1" (first 2 hours or so); "Bangkok Hilton 2" (last couple of hours).

Short film: from tapwater-clear H4 in the USA to murky black Afghan brown in Norway: "Heroin Addicts Speak"

Before his untimely death this guy kept a video diary. Here's the hour-long highlights as broadcast on BBC TV: "Ben: Diary of a Heroin Addict". Thanks to Noah for the original link.

Some of the most entertaining scenes from Britain's top soap (as much for the poor research as anything else). Not even Phil Mitchell would go from nought to multi-hundred pound binges this fast: "Phil Mitchell on Crack" (just over 5 minutes).

Scientist lady shows us how to cook up gear: "How Much Citric?" Lucky cow: her brown is 70% purity! Oddly we never see her actually do her hit... maybe she got camera shy...

And lastly:

German documentary following a life from teenage addiction to untimely death before the age of 30. The decline in this girl's appearance is truly shocking. "Süchtig: Protokoll einer Hilflosigkeit". Sorry no subtitles; this is here for anyone learning German who's after practice material a little more gripping than Lindenstraße!































Nosey Quiz! Have you ever heard voices when you weren't high on drugs?

Manic Magic

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Gledwood Volume 2: A Heroin Addict's Blog

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