lindylou53 Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Recently visited an old prison and was given a guided tour by a retired prison officer - very interesting. He told us that prisoners who entered prison as drug addicts were forced to go cold turkey back in the day.This was awful for everyone concerned for two weeks or so but then the prisoner was 'cured' - often permanently, so that on release they could hold down a job and not be a drain on society. Nowadays however, they are given methadone - often for life - hence not being able to keep a job and everything that entails. He hinted that he thought the old method worked better even though it was not seen to be as 'humane'.What are people's thoughts on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mossway Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 I’ve never heard a druggie use the term cold turkey, it’s usually ‘rattling’ or ‘doing me rattle’ However the availability and use of drugs is rife in prisons now. All you need is money. Unless prisoners are put in solitary I can’t see how you can force withdrawal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister M Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Aren't there health risks with coming heroin cold turkey, or is that alcohol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickey finn Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Anyone who thinks cold turkey can cure an addict is deluded, there are so many factors involved in them relapsing, drastic detox methods like going full withdrawal are just a tiny part of it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Aren't there health risks with coming heroin cold turkey, or is that alcohol? There can be serious health risks coming off either without proper medical supervision, including the possibility of death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinBak Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Recently visited an old prison and was given a guided tour by a retired prison officer - very interesting. He told us that prisoners who entered prison as drug addicts were forced to go cold turkey back in the day.This was awful for everyone concerned for two weeks or so but then the prisoner was 'cured' - often permanently, so that on release they could hold down a job and not be a drain on society. Nowadays however, they are given methadone - often for life - hence not being able to keep a job and everything that entails. He hinted that he thought the old method worked better even though it was not seen to be as 'humane'.What are people's thoughts on this? "Back in the day" ?...Yeah without all the stigma and problems we have today..It would have been feasible to go cold turkey and be cured. Try that in TODAY'S world?..Totally different mind set and near on impossible without proper medical supervision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Anyone who thinks cold turkey can cure an addict is deluded, there are so many factors involved in them relapsing, drastic detox methods like going full withdrawal are just a tiny part of it all. Absolutely this. Total physical withdrawal does not fix the mental side of addiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apelike Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Absolutely this. Total physical withdrawal does not fix the mental side of addiction. It did in my case as the mental side is cause by the drug, and methadone also causes some and can prolong that. I went through it all with just pain killers and low dosage tranquillisers for a month but the whole wanting it bit waned after around 2 months. I had to cut myself off from so called friends and keep clear of them, which is the problem with some who want to get clean as they still tend to associate with users. Most of those friends who were also users at the time have subsequently died from overdoses or heroin related problems, I can count at least 8. Some who went on methadone relapsed and a few I still know have been on methadone long term which they say they cant do without. The trouble with methadone is it is easy to get prescribed so coming of heroin is not a big deal as if you then go back you can get it again. I have now been clean and free from it since 1984 but in my case I actually wanted to as it had by then totally screwed up my life and a promising career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ontarian1981 Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 It did in my case as the mental side is cause by the drug, and methadone also causes some and can prolong that. I went through it all with just pain killers and low dosage tranquillisers for a month but the whole wanting it bit waned after around 2 months. I had to cut myself off from so called friends and keep clear of them, which is the problem with some who want to get clean as they still tend to associate with users. Most of those friends who were also users at the time have subsequently died from overdoses or heroin related problems, I can count at least 8. Some who went on methadone relapsed and a few I still know have been on methadone long term which they say they cant do without. The trouble with methadone is it is easy to get prescribed so coming of heroin is not a big deal as if you then go back you can get it again. I have now been clean and free from it since 1984 but in my case I actually wanted to as it had by then totally screwed up my life and a promising career. I have read about people successfully coming off heroin going cold turkey. Eric Clapton locked himself away for a long stretch in the early 80s and cleaned himself of heroin and alcohol. He swears he became a better entertainer and a better person and opened a rehab centre in Antigua called Crossroads.Ray Charles was also well documented as a user who quit cold turkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindylou53 Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 It did in my case as the mental side is cause by the drug, and methadone also causes some and can prolong that. I went through it all with just pain killers and low dosage tranquillisers for a month but the whole wanting it bit waned after around 2 months. I had to cut myself off from so called friends and keep clear of them, which is the problem with some who want to get clean as they still tend to associate with users. Most of those friends who were also users at the time have subsequently died from overdoses or heroin related problems, I can count at least 8. Some who went on methadone relapsed and a few I still know have been on methadone long term which they say they cant do without. The trouble with methadone is it is easy to get prescribed so coming of heroin is not a big deal as if you then go back you can get it again. I have now been clean and free from it since 1984 but in my case I actually wanted to as it had by then totally screwed up my life and a promising career. Good for you! Did you manage to get your career back on track? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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