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The Faces of Meth

The TVClubHouse: General Discussion ARCHIVES: 2006 Mar. ~ 2006 May: The Faces of Meth users admin

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Archive through April 07, 2006Herckleperckle25 04-07-06  1:48 pm
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Author Message
Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 4:15 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Landi a private message Print Post    
it is a form of ritalin. long acting. my daughter used to take ritalin at 8am, it would be out of her system at noon. then she'd have to take another dose. with concerta she's able to not have the highs/lows involved with ritalin. it goes into the bloodstream smoother and last from 8am until about 7pm.

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 4:40 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
What about the patch version - Daytrana? Do you think it would be any better than the time-released Concerta?

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 5:03 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Landi a private message Print Post    
the patch is not for us. my daughter is 16. the patch comes in 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg and 30 mg dosage strengths. she takes 60mg of concerta.

Zachsmom
Member

07-13-2000

Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 5:22 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Zachsmom a private message Print Post    
Shadoe, ever child is different and reacts differantly to the drugs. My son does okay on Concerta, but turns into a violent child on Ritalin. Basically they are supposed to be the same type of drug of helping the neuological disorders of the brain.

My son is Autistic with ADHD tendencies. There was a time where they believed he was ADHD with Autistic tendencies, that makes all the differences in the world with a child such as mine.

These "drugs" for ADHD cannot be taken lightly. You have to be sure you are dealing with professionals who know what they are doing.

Karen
Member

09-07-2004

Friday, April 28, 2006 - 5:58 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Karen a private message Print Post    
Wow. I read this whole thread front to back last night, and I must say I'm shocked. And saddened. And proud of all the courageous people who not only survived to tell their tale, but actually had the courage to tell it. This board is wonderful... kudos to all who have had to battle this horrible addiction.

Someone upthread (ok, a few pages back!) mentioned Cat Stevens' Oh Very Young. I haven't been able to get the song out of my head since. I thought I'd post the lyrics for all to enjoy. This is one of my favourite Cat Steven's songs... (though, it's Cat Stevens... they're all my favourite Cat Stevens songs, lol.)

Oh very young
What will you leave us this time
Youre only dancing on this earth for a short while
And though your dreams may toss and turn you now
They will vanish away like your daddys best jeans
Denim Blue fading up to the sky
And though you want him to last forever
You know he never will
(You know he never will )
And the patches make the goodbye harder still

Oh very young
What will you leave us this time
Therell never be a better chance to change your mind
And if you want this world to see a better day
Will you carry the words of love with you
Will you ride the great white bird into heaven
And though you want to last forever
You know you never will
(You know you never will )
And the goodbye makes the journey harder still

Oh very young
What will you leave us this time
Youre only dancing on this earth for a short while
Oh very young
What will you leave us this time


Herckleperckle
Member

11-20-2003

Friday, April 28, 2006 - 6:40 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Herckleperckle a private message Print Post    
Zmom, I am so sorry you went thru all that--including the initial treatment after being readmitted. You make an important point about different people having different points of susceptibility. And I am really happy for you that you are okay now.


Yay, Karen. (I was the one who mentioned the song.) But I have NO clue why you know Cat Stevens. (You're too young!!) Thanks for posting the entire song. Both the lyrics and music are beautiful, aren't they? And so very, very fitting for this topic.

Karen
Member

09-07-2004

Friday, April 28, 2006 - 7:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Karen a private message Print Post    
LOL, Herkie! I joke all the time that I was born thirty years too late... though it's a tight race for 1st place between Cat and Van the Man.

I love Cat Stevens. Harold & Maude??! OMG! You'll notice in my profile, my personal quote is a Cat Stevens lyric, too! Thanks for stirring something in me -- that's a disc that hasn't been pulled off the shelf in years.

OK, that was totally off topic, sorry all!

Juju2bigdog
Member

10-27-2000

Friday, April 28, 2006 - 9:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Juju2bigdog a private message Print Post    
Heh, I always thought the lyrics to that song were, "So very young, why did you leave us behind?" In fact I was singing it about fifteen minutes before I saw this post.

Kearie
Member

07-21-2005

Monday, May 08, 2006 - 11:49 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kearie a private message Print Post    
A poem by Donnie Ray Woodcock.

(Sorry about the length)

If my glamorous Lifestyle is appealing to you,
And you want to try me cause you've nothing to lose,
Then I must offer you a bit of advice;
You're a fool and you better think twice.
I destroy homes. I tear families apart.
I take your children and that's just a start.
I'm more value than diamonds and more precious than gold.
The sorrow I bring is a sight to behold.
If you need me, I'm easily found.
I live around you in school and in town.
I live with the rich and the poor.
I live just down the street and maybe next door.
I'm made in a lab, but not one like you think.
I can be made under your kitchen sink.
Or even in your child's closet, or out in the woods.
If this scares you to death then it certainly should.
I have many more names, but this is the one you'll know best.
I'm sure you've heard of me, my name is Crystal Meth !!!!
My power is awesome, try me you'll see.
But if you do, you may never be free.
Try me just once and I might let you go.
But if you try me twice, then I own your soul.
When I possess you, you'll steal and lie.
You'll do what you have to just to get high.
The crimes you'll commit for my narcotic charms,
Will be worth the pleasures. You'll feel in your arms.
You'll lie to your family; you'll steal from your Dad.
When you see their tears you won't even be sad.
Forget your morals, and how you were raised.
I'll be your conscience! I'll show you my ways.
I'll take kids from parents; I'll take parents from kids.
I'll turn people from God and separate friends.
I'll take everything from you, your good looks, your pride.
I'll be with you always, right by your side.
You'll give up everything, your family your home.
Your money, your friends, you'll be all alone.
I'll take and I'll take till you have no more to give.
When I finish with you, you'll be lucky to live.
If you tried me be warned, this is not just a game!!
Given the chance I'll drive you insane!!
I'll own you completely, Your soul will be mine.
The nightmares I'll give you, While you're lying there in bed.
The voices you hear will be in your head.
The sweats, the shakes, the visions you'll see.
I want you to know these gifts are from me.
But you came to me, not I to you.
You knew this would happen, how many times were you told?
But you challenged my power, you chose to be bold.
If you could live that day over again, what would you say?
My power is awesome, I told you before.
I can take anyone and make them a wh0re.
Go ahead and curse me with every breath.
Just make your choice, will it be life or will it be meth?
You'll take unknown paths on your journey through life.
Some will bring you happiness, some will bring you strife.
But my path is one you should not cross.
Although it is well taken, many lives will be lost.
Now that you've met me, what will you do?
Will you try me or not, it's all up to you.
I can show you more misery than words can tell.
Come take my hand, I'll lead you to Hell.

Tigerfan
Member

11-06-2003

Monday, May 08, 2006 - 12:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tigerfan a private message Print Post    
Thank you for posting that Kearie...How true it is.

Baby
Member

01-08-2006

Monday, May 08, 2006 - 1:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Baby a private message Print Post    
Wow, I don't know what to say, Kearie. That poem is so sad, so very powerful. I believe it really gives a very good idea of what drugs can do to lives!

Herckleperckle
Member

11-20-2003

Friday, May 19, 2006 - 9:16 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Herckleperckle a private message Print Post    
Hooked, America on Meth is the title of the main story on next Friday's (5/26) Nightline. It must run 11-12 EST--as I just finished watching tonight's show.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:14 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Hey, I haven't checked out this thread much. Can anyone tell me what kind of effects methamphetamines would have on an unborn child?

Racsan
Member

04-09-2004

Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 6:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Racsan a private message Print Post    
Unfortunately Julie I'll let you know any day now. My niece is due and she has used meth before her pregnancy and during the whole pregnancy. I have another niece who just found out she is pregnant, and she's a meth/pot/coke/alcohol user.

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 7:45 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ladytex a private message Print Post    
Meth Addict Hopes His Pain Helps Others

By JIM SUHR, Associated Press Writer Sun May 21, 7:09 AM ET

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Wide-eyed and appearing catatonic, Shawn Bridges couldn't muster any talk from his hospital bed, his gaunt, tattooed body wracked by years of abusing the powerfully addictive witch's brew of chemicals that is methamphetamine. The footage from the documentary the 34-year-old trucker commissioned about his slow, agonizing decline does the talking for him. And he hopes the 29-minute film, shot by a southern Illinois television videographer, speaks volumes to children and others headed down a similar path to drug addiction.

By his family's account, Bridges already died twice, his heart so ravaged by meth over the years that it stopped and had to be shocked back into beating. "The bottom half of his heart is dead," his dad laments on camera.

As the documentary "No More Sunsets" shows, Bridges' life now isn't much. Largely bedridden, his constant companions are the catheter that funnels the urine out of his body and the feeding tube sticking from his stomach.

When he does speak, it's in guttural slurs. "Ahmmmmmmm collllllllllllllllllllllld," Shawn, dressed in boxer shorts and sweat socks, said recently from a hospital-style bed wedged into his father's living room. His dad hustled to blanket him.

"I'd say he's got a 34-year-old body on the outside with 70- to 80-year-old man on the inside," Jack Bridges says of his son. "You see what meth has done to my son and what my son has let it do to him.

"If the documentary helps just one person stay away from this terrible poison, it's worth it."

Bridges prays his son's story sways the young, including the 12 million people ages 12 and older the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says reported in a 2002 national survey that they had used meth at least once in their lifetime.

According to federal estimates, roughly 28,000 people sought treatment for meth addiction across the country in 1993, accounting for nearly 2 percent of admissions for drug-abuse care, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. But just a decade later, the meth-related admissions numbered nearly 136,000 — more than 7 percent of the national total for drug-abuse treatment.

The man who shot and narrates the film calls it a cautionary tale.

"He's dying because of the decisions he's made," Chip Rossetti says in the film. "Long ago, he chose to give in to temptation. Long ago, he chose a life of drugs. But he wasn't always that way."

Bridges' story is one of tragedy and torment.

Family members say he forever was haunted by the dreary day in 1976 when younger brother Jason, barely a year old, died in a car wreck. Shawn was just 4 and nowhere near the wreck but inexplicably blamed himself, wanting to trade places with his dead sibling, his father says.

Bridges' parents were lenient with Shawn, convinced their "wishy-washy" disciplining would ease the grieving, his father says. It backfired.

"We didn't realize we were making a little monster of him," Jack Bridges says.

By 16, Shawn was a high school dropout, a partier with little regard for authority. He struggled accepting his parents' divorce in 1996 and drifted in and out of his own relationships. Between two failed marriages and a girlfriend, he fathered three daughters.

Jack Bridges insists he didn't suspect his son was doing drugs; if the boy was using, he artfully hid it. But Jonathan Bridges says in the documentary that he witnessed his brother's addiction and how it tormented him.

Twice, Jonathan Bridges says, his brother tried to kill himself. When Shawn tried to hang himself from a tree, the rope snapped. When he purposely veered into an oncoming vehicle's path after a night of heavy partying, Jonathan was there to grab the wheel and avoid the wreck.

At 26, Shawn had a heart attack his father blames on meth, a concoction that can include such toxic chemicals as battery acid, drain cleaner and fertilizer. When pressed by his dad, Shawn admitted using the drug.

Several years ago, Shawn sought redemption from Buddy Walls, the former southern Illinois pastor to Shawn's grandparents. He told Walls of his struggles with drugs, talked of wanting to get clean from a drug he said made him feel bulletproof.

"He was really struggling," recalls Walls, now living in Springfield, Mo. "I told him, 'Get your heart right with the Lord.' I just wanted him to feel comfort from that, if nothing else. He was truly sorry for what he'd done."

Soon after that, what Shawn thought was pneumonia was diagnosed as congestive heart failure, his heart enlarged two or three times its normal size, his father says. The back of that vital muscle was stretched so thin doctors feared it would burst, Jack Bridges adds.

Shawn insisted to relatives he had quit using meth, famous for fatally damaging a chronic user's heart and other internal organs because it puts the body in overdrive for prolonged periods.

A little more than a year ago, Shawn was spitting up blood. When his heart quit, doctors brought him back. His weight continued diving because he couldn't keep food down.

His epiphany came months later, when he told Walls he'd like to find someone to videotape him going through his "nightmare, so the kids can see the pain I'm feeling."

"'I know I'm dying,'" Walls recalls Bridges saying. "But he had a real desire to live to get his story out. "

Walls eventually contacted Rossetti, a videographer for WSIL-TV in Carterville, Ill. To Rossetti, the project wasn't "about just what drugs did to this guy. This is about what drugs did to his entire family and everyone he knows."

For now, the documentary — available for $20 from the Web site of Rossetti's production company — closes on the note that Shawn's fate is "yet to be determined." If he dies, that signoff will be updated.

Mike Townsend, who heads the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's programs to curb meth demand, said any impact by the documentary would hinge on whether teens or others could relate to Bridges and "see themselves in that world" someday.

Jonathan Bridges wouldn't wish that on anybody.

"It just really hurts seeing him the way he is," he says in the documentary, wiping away tears. "As soon as he knows he's done good, he'll be able to go home."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060521/ap_on_he_me/apn_addicted_to_meth_2

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 8:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Thanks Rac. I sure hope the babies are okay!

Vacanick
Member

07-12-2004

Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 8:57 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vacanick a private message Print Post    
My sister used meth before/during and after her pregnancy. Her son is very small for his age. He also has ADHD which we believe her drug use contributed to. Amazingly she went full term and it was a healthy birth.

I sure hope your nieces babies are okay!