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!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

On and on...

NOT A LOT NEW TO SCRIBE in the few minutes available today...

I freaked out a couple of days ago... my mind broke up, I heard weird voices and got extremely paranoid. People shouting out of flats windows, people wandering past glaring at me like they wanted to kill me...

Yesterday I saw a dead body reflected in the bathroom mirror. I was on the bed and the corpse standing behind the bathroom door. Should it open its eyes, as it appeared highly likely to do, it would be staring right into me...

Actually it was clothes, chucked over the back of the door, drying.

Apparently seeing faces in folds of clothes, wrimples of carrier bags etc or wherever is quite common in depression. I'm hoping my pills are finally at 3 weeks plus kicking in... Sleep has fled me. 2 or 3 hours seemingly and very little more at night and almost nothing by day...

I am feeling a bit antidepressed and far better than my great slough of despond from the weekend when I appeared to be in all-time pits.

(Even back then I WAS indeed better than I'd been in the week... what with those lost days and all that diarrhoea, sweating, horrible illness. Maybe stopping drink had triggered that. It's called "cross-habit"...

Sorry I must go. 3 mins left! All the best to everyone. Take care!

Gleds
xx

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would have certainly thought that giving up drinking may be the reason your depression and paranoia have hit an all time high.

I really, really do hope that you are able to find it within yourself to overcome these demons. I have been reading your blog on a daily basis for about 6 months now, there is a reason why I come here everyday. You seem to be insightful, intellegent, compassionate etc. You have to find a way to value yourself the way that others do.

I don't claim to know what you are going through or what brought you to this point. I have, however, had people in my life that have been brought down my excess. I have had people taken away from me that I have cared deeply about, and it made me furious at them for being so selfish. I have also had people that have battled and won. They have had to do some deep soul searching to be able to determine why it is that they continue to abuse themselves the way that they do. I hope that in your case you can gather the strength to be able to venture down that road to sobriety.

I think it is wonderful that you do have this online support system that knows but does not judge. There is a whole world out there that is sitting and waiting for you to join and engage. I hope this message finds you in better spirits. So keep it up and remember that we are all hear waiting for you on the other side.

Lates!

Akelamalu said...

I wish you strength Gleds, keep trying won't you? xx

Baino said...

Good to see you picking up a bit Gleds and I couldn't agree with Eileen more. One drug at a time my friend, one drug at a time.

Audrey said...

You take care too Gleds, hope you feeling more antidepressed as the days go on, that would certainly be my wish for you...In my thoughts x Auds

Unknown said...

Three weeks is about right for most maintenance meds to start becoming effective. I pray that they that the desired result.

Anonymous said...

Giving up drinking can create hallucinations Gledwood. Take it easy, one baby step at a time :)

tut-tut said...

Yes, take it a minute at a time. Keep going forward, no matter what that means.

Nicole said...

At least you're smart enough to analyse your situation and not freak out. It must be quite terrible. I know I'd be seeing things if I had that little sleep and I'm not a drinker or into drugs.

Gledwood said...

Eileen: I think you might be right about the drink. I hope I do make it to the other side. I have always been convinced I would never die from my addiction (unfortunately) but would eventually have no choice but to reach the bitter end and battle through to the "other side" (ie life straight) and upwards from there...

Akelamalu: I will!!

Baino: I am HOPING that with antidepressants I may eventually get enough of an improved perspective to be able to really "bother" about striving to be clean :: it just seemed impossible before :-<

Audrey: I am trying I'm far less depressed than a week ago or abouts; then it seemed to get to a real low!

Gledwood said...

Nick: I hope they really do work properly and no side effects that would be nice (for once)..(!!)

Anon: that's v true I totally 4got about that at the time...

TutTut: I will, thanks!

Nicole: o no i learned LONG AGO not to trust anything unusual I see or hear (partly it has to be said from tripping on acid etc!!) but that did teach me the valuable lesson NOT to make flash decisions or do anything major when I knew things were weird for whatever the reason

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

Manic Magic

Gledwood Volume 2: A Heroin Addict's Blog

Copyright 2011 by Gledwood