Denial is a good one. The family afterwards, Higher power in your life, What about the twelve steps of recovery?, What has drugs done to you and your family, what would you do for your drug of choice, how is life different now, gratitude meetings, how to deal with anger, how to deal with resentments!, fear, relationships in sobriety, being loaded all the time and what we all did to pass the time, sponsorship, how to get a sponsor, any of the steps, spirituality, etc.... you can get an NA or AA book and turn to just about any page and there are topics on all of them. Usually, whatever is going on in your life, will also apply to other peoples lives too. Let me know if you need more, I will look up as many as you like. Got my aa book right here. I wish we had a suboxone support group here too. I talked to my doc about it, and the dummy (non addict) thought it would be a good idea to have the meetings under his supervision, in his office, and charge about $35 per month to attend. He sure does not understand addicts does he? That would never work. Nobody is going to talk honestly in that setting with his dumb ass sitting there. What a moron. I could not even believe he suggested it. Good luck getting money out of drug addicts too. After we pay him, and buy our meds, who has money for that.

Wow, in his office???What a dumbass!! I am going to write all of those down, and yes veryone that is on this drug, SHOULD absolutely be in a suboxone group. Where you can go and talk about anything and everything, but where you can also talk about the suboxone, the ups and downs and everything else, Stephen you have been extremely helpful, thanks sooo much! And you are right, how many people that you know of are on subs there? Maybe you can start one outside of the office, like meet somewhere, a cafe,etc, and just have a group, start sharing and you sound like you would be a great leader!! Thanks again!! HUGS!

I have some ideas:
1. Why it's important to not take shortcuts during treatment.
2. Setting goals in recovery
3. How to cope with shame, stigma, and discrimination
4.What we can do when we are in situations that put our recovery in harm's way
5. Re- integrating into society

Maybe how others deal with family members that dont understand Suboxone?? How to put up HEALTHY boundaries between you and fam and friends... such as the WONDERFUL advice and opinions people give out ...

Awesome! You always have great advice lladyfairhair!!I knew there was a reason I loved your ass!! HUGS! Thanks Recovery!! Those are great, I am writing all of this down!

LOVE lladyfairhair's reply. nanakris, please post any ideas you guys come up with on how to deal with family! I'm having alot of trouble with this. My grandmother is VERY supportive of my treatment, but often thinks she knows the answer to everything, because she has been in ALANON since the seventies. She wants me to tell her every detail of my treatment and how I feel about everything, and I just don't want to do that. If I want to share, I will, but that's what you guys and NA AND my doc are for, ya know? I know she does it out of love, but it would be alot easier to share with her if she didn't have an OPINION (plus she's NEVER wrong, according to her) on everything that I say, or an answer, when I'm not looking for them from her. She's had two alcoholic husbands, and is projecting her past experiences onto me. It's very frustrating. So any ideas would be very welcome. Thanks, all!

One more- I also like the idea about re-integrating into society from recoverydefender. For me, all my "friends" are on the same drug I'm trying to stay away from. And even though some of them were friends of mine before the drugs started, I simply cannot be around them because they're still using, and I'm just not that strong (yet).Plus their whole lives are just like mine was or worse, everything is about drugs, how to get em, drama about getting them, etc. I just don't want to hear it. So basically, I need me some friends! Real ones. And I know I can meet people from NA, but I'd like to have some friends that don't have anything to do with any of it, ya know? Thoughts?

Hello Jackie30, Yeah, friends outside recovery would be cool, but I have not had much luck with that. I keep my friend list short. Close friends at least. More people equals more problems if you have the dumbass kind of moocher friends I do. I guess I have a sort of twisted viewpoint, or personality or whatever, but I have been let down enough by people, that I prefer to just be left alone most of the time. I dont borrow anything from anybody ever! That is something I cannot stand is when people want to borrow my stuff, because they always damage it, and then I usually have to end up going to get it back myself. Usually a trailer that you haul stuff on, or a boat, or something like that. People in recovery are going to have the same goals in life as you need to work on too, so early in recovery, I wouldnt waste my limited time and energy trying to make friends with new people outside of recovery. They really serve no purpose for you. We have to live recovery 24/7 It is not something you go do at a meeting, then go back and act the same way you used to act before you got sober. We simply will not stay clean if we hang out with our old friends. That is not my opinion, that is a fact proven by many generations of people who have gone before us. Thats how is was for me too. I screwed up several times before I realized that I really was not going to be able to hang out at a bar b q where everyone but me is drinking and smokin meth. It just does not work. I hope you find some good friends. God bless!

Thanks Stephen12. I guess you're right. I'd just like to have some friends that I have more in common with than recovery. I guess it'll have to do for now. Goin to my sub doctor today, I'm excited. I love talking to him. When I screw up, it's just an appointment, but when I do what I'm supposed to be doing, like I am now, it's awesome, and we have really great conversations. I went to NA last night. It was a late meeting, which is hard for me to make, because I have a three year old. I'm going to try to visit another group tonight if I can get my baby situated and at her dads.
I got a call from my pain management doctor telling me I had an appointment yesterday, and it felt so good to not care about it, and not even think about going. Guess I'll just keep on keepin on.
Good Luck, everyone! And God Bless!

Jackie, about your Grandmother, at least she is supportive. I was going to say if she wasn't supportive than,I had some ideas, but she is supportive, well than, she is not going to change honey, she is in her 70's, and is not going to change now. I guess, not talk about the subject as much as you would, that might help. And OH YES do I agree with Stephen, change your number, delete all numbers that were drug dealers, old friends that used, you will be geting a whole new identity, and it wil happen for you. I hear you are going to start tapering now. How long have you been on it? We have people in our group still on it for drug abuse for two years and still haven't started tapering. So, how long were you on it, what level and when does he want you to start tapering??? love you my dear!

Here's my story, I've been an extremely heavy user of roxycodone for three years. I was taking anywhere between 8 and 18-- 30mg pills per day.
Before that, I was on vicodin, but then wanted to get pregnant, so I weaned myself down and CT the vics. Two days of what I now know to be VERY MILD WD's, no problem.
Then I got pregnant, had the baby, and went right back to the pain killers. The only difference being that now the docs were giving out roxy's by the bucketfull, and I went right along with it.
I've been on 24mgs (subs) for five weeks. We're going to see how it goes. My doc said that he will never force me to reduce my dosage, but that he'd like to try to see how it works. He's told me about cases where people were only on it for a few weeks, and other cases where they were on it for years. He said it's totally dependant on me and how I feel.

You do have a great doctor. He is right, some are on a short time and some are on for years. I will be on it forever because of my chronic pain. I have also been on 24mg now for 1 and 4 months, and works perfect for me. You will know if and when you will want to wean and taper down. I am very proud of you. I just went in one day to my doctor and said I am done, I can't do this anymore. The pills make me sick and I can't take it or the pain anymore. My nure, bless her heart, told me about the Suboxone program, and I remember taking it on the streets before and it worked on my migraines, I also remember paying $20 for one pill. I told him that I didn't want any more pills until I got into the clinic. He said unless I wanted to die, I had to take something util I started the Suboxone, he gave me the choice of morphine or methadone, I chose methadone. My nurse pulled strings and I got in two weeks later, it has changed my lie completely. Today,I got a very good friend an appointment with a Suboxone doctor tomorrow!! I and she are soooo happy!! I hope he is good and it works for her like it does for the rest of us!! hugs to all!

Here's my story:
For the last three years my DOC was 30mg oxycodone. I was taking anywhere from 10 to 20 a day, at the end, maybe more if I had alot. I started being miserable, because I spent so much time, energy and money on my addiction, and I was just tired of it being the first thing I thought of when I woke up, and the last thing I thought of before I went to sleep. And lots in between. I got a new job, and had about two weeks before my start date, and woke up one morning, and just told my grandmother everything. She was great about it, and I told her about Suboxone, (my sister had been on it) and I made an appointment for the very same day. I threw myself into withdrawls, taking my first dose too soon. It was a rough few days, but I've been fine ever since. And here I am!