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Question: I have a daughter that is twenty-three and she is a drug addict. It began when she was 14. She went to a party with her older sister (16) and they both got drunk. XXXXXXX was date raped at the party. Then, three months later she began high school and started being bullied on the second day of school. She was bullied by ten Junior and XXXXXXX girls. She was tormented until she started cutting to deal with the pain. Her father and I sent her to a Psychiatric Hospital. We followed up with counseling and she never cut again, but the bullying continued. She was prescribed psych meds along with Ambien. This is when the first drug abuse began.
Since then, she has moved to: Marijuana, Percocet 30, Meth, Oxy, Morphine, and other drugs that I don't know about. She smokes, snorts and uses a needle. At this time, she is 5'8" and probably weighs 100 lbs. She looks good at 145. She also has a blood clot that is located in the main artery going to her heart. She takes Warfarin daily. She is so weak that she cannot work and the only thing she is interested in is getting more drugs. This is a dire situation!!!
Please help me figure out how to get her help. I know that they have to hit rock bottom, but she has been on the bottom for a while. Homeless, jobless, and poor health. She is one of those that will never ask for help....she's running 90 miles an hour straight forward head on to a bullet train.....she does not have much time..........
Since then, she has moved to: Marijuana, Percocet 30, Meth, Oxy, Morphine, and other drugs that I don't know about. She smokes, snorts and uses a needle. At this time, she is 5'8" and probably weighs 100 lbs. She looks good at 145. She also has a blood clot that is located in the main artery going to her heart. She takes Warfarin daily. She is so weak that she cannot work and the only thing she is interested in is getting more drugs. This is a dire situation!!!
Please help me figure out how to get her help. I know that they have to hit rock bottom, but she has been on the bottom for a while. Homeless, jobless, and poor health. She is one of those that will never ask for help....she's running 90 miles an hour straight forward head on to a bullet train.....she does not have much time..........
Brief Answer:
harm reduction strategies can be employed.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome to HCM.
I can understand the concerns of a mother for her daughter.
Your daughter is using multiple drugs. All treatment strategies have been employed in past with no success.
In such cases who are not willing to stop drugs, we employ the strategy of 'harm reduction'.
The goal of harm reduction strategies and approaches is to reduce the negative consequences of drug abuse, not to eliminate the use of licit or illicit drugs.
The aim is of minimising the risk of the client contracting infectious diseases, overdosing, or suffering other consequences related to the use of substances.
For your daughter, i can suggest some strategies:
Persuade her that she sticks to oral drugs and stop intravenous drugs or snorting. Explain her the risk of contracting needle infections.
Or
If she does not agrees, persuade her to use atleast new needles everytime.
Or
Allow her to use drugs but limit the quantity, atleast doesnot overdose herself.
Or
Request her to use the drug with relatively less adverse effects (marijuana and percocet in her case).
Or
She should use drugs only at home and not in public and friends.
These are certain examples. You can work out more strategies within your family.
Forcible abstinence is not a permanent solution to the problem. Addiction is a reccuring and relapsing brain disease.
You have to be supportive with her in all circumstances.
I hope my suggestions could be of some help for you and your daughter.
Feel free to ask further.
I wish for her good health.
Thanks.
Dr. Shubham Mehta, MD(Psychiatry).
harm reduction strategies can be employed.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome to HCM.
I can understand the concerns of a mother for her daughter.
Your daughter is using multiple drugs. All treatment strategies have been employed in past with no success.
In such cases who are not willing to stop drugs, we employ the strategy of 'harm reduction'.
The goal of harm reduction strategies and approaches is to reduce the negative consequences of drug abuse, not to eliminate the use of licit or illicit drugs.
The aim is of minimising the risk of the client contracting infectious diseases, overdosing, or suffering other consequences related to the use of substances.
For your daughter, i can suggest some strategies:
Persuade her that she sticks to oral drugs and stop intravenous drugs or snorting. Explain her the risk of contracting needle infections.
Or
If she does not agrees, persuade her to use atleast new needles everytime.
Or
Allow her to use drugs but limit the quantity, atleast doesnot overdose herself.
Or
Request her to use the drug with relatively less adverse effects (marijuana and percocet in her case).
Or
She should use drugs only at home and not in public and friends.
These are certain examples. You can work out more strategies within your family.
Forcible abstinence is not a permanent solution to the problem. Addiction is a reccuring and relapsing brain disease.
You have to be supportive with her in all circumstances.
I hope my suggestions could be of some help for you and your daughter.
Feel free to ask further.
I wish for her good health.
Thanks.
Dr. Shubham Mehta, MD(Psychiatry).
Note: In case of any other concern or query related to prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, or the recovery of persons with the any type of addiction or substance use, follow up with our Addiction Medicine Specialist. Click here to book a consultation now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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