You probably told yourself that this was going to be it. This medication would do it; that you would no longer be bogged down by the burden of addiction.
Nevertheless, you find yourself taking one too many Xanax bars for the anxiety you still feel. The cocaine you’ve been snorting gets you out of bed in the morning to get to the clinic.
You genuinely believed methadone or suboxone would stop the insanity, but you are still abusing so many other drugs. Why?
Addiction is a tricky disease. It is the only one that tells a person that they do not have a disease. It tells their families it’s a phase or a lack of willpower. If only their daughter wasn’t so weak-minded.
The reality is that is not the case. Addiction is a disease of mind, body and soul. In our experience, we have found it very difficult for addicts to get and remain completely sober while on a maintenance program, such as Suboxone. Most times, if counseling or the 12-steps have not been initiated in early sobriety, an addict will abuse other drugs while taking an opioid blocker.
Sometimes unfortunately, addicts or alcoholics assume they only struggle with one substance, and if they stop abusing that chemical, life would simply get better. Typically though, when a person becomes addicted to one substance, the likelihood of them being addicted to other drugs increases tenfold.
The perception that the drug is the issue is incorrect. The issue lies within the individual. Addicts and alcoholics suffer from a constant feeling of unease and discomfort. It is what we AA’s call a spiritual malady. It is the inability to handle life on life’s term without being intoxicated, because every waking moment you are sober you want to crawl out of your skin. Thus, the drugs and alcohol become the single best coping mechanism you have.
When you take away that coping mechanism, it must be replaced with healthy ones. If not, addicts and alcoholics will revert to old behaviors or substitute one chemical for another. Again, the reason why medication alone will not do the trick.
Mixing other drugs with an opioid blocker, such as cocaine or benzodiazepines, can be dangerous and even fatal in some cases. Some side-effects from mixing drugs with suboxone or methadone include:
Cocaine
- Poly-addiction
- Increased body temperature
- Increased likelihood of overdose
- Restlessness
- Stroke
- Death
Benzodiazepines
- Slowed breathing
- Memory loss
- Disorientation
- Seizures
- Coma
- Death
While both cocaine and benzos are both extremely dangerous drugs, when you combine them with an opiate or opioid blocker such as suboxone, the effects can be life threatening.
This is why we urge anyone who is considering treatment for addiction, to educate themselves on different options and also the risk they may encounter when mixing a number of different medications and/or chemicals.
Clearbrook Understands Addiction
Throughout the years, Clearbrook has treated many who were abusing benzos or cocaine while on some sort of maintenance program, and usually we find the same result. The reason they began using other drugs was due to a complete and utter inability to feel comfortable sober.
We at Clearbrook recognize the grasp that addiction can have on a person. We know what it’s like to have the best intentions in mind, but in the end, you always wind up using again.
We can offer you a solution, where in time, you are free from the obsession and have the tools necessary to cope with life’s obstacles. Contact our Admissions Specialists today and begin your journey of recovery.
