Just as I thought I was a recreational user of just about every drug ever known to man/woman, along comes ICE (methamphetamine). At 38 years of age, I thought I had my life under control and managed with drugs. I was introduced to ICE one sunny Queensland day, a friend called in and said “would you like to try some ICE?”
I replied “yes of course”. That was the start of the absolutely worse period of my life. Not sure what happened next, but suddenly every 20 minutes I needed another pipe. Then I couldn’t leave the house for long periods because of the separation and anxiety. For the next 12 months there was a roller coaster of three days awake then the three days down.
During the time feeling up, it was just about impossible to do any normal things, and then the three days down would consist of eating high carb/sugar foods and sleeping for 12 or 13 hours straight, popping Stilnox (a medication for sleeping) and Valium — my body would scream out for nothing else but more ice! until I scored more.
Nothing, I mean nothing, would cut it! ICE was such a new drug on the Australian shores, no one seemed to know a lot about it. After 12 months of the roller coaster I’d had enough! A user friend and myself spend four days ringing hospitals, drug rehab centres, local doctors, anyone that might have had some insight into ICE. We finally contacted the Palm Beach Currumbin Drug and Alcohol Hospital at Currumbin on the Gold Coast.
They said it would be $4,000 for one week and I booked in. The whole hospital was full of loonies. I attended all classes, just wanting to meet someone that may have walked down this lonely road of ICE. I started doing head stands up against the wall within two hours. I was doing them without any help from the wall, from then on I took back some kind of control of my life, I stayed one night, returning to the head of the hospital and convincing him that I would stay straight and be responsible for my life, he signed the release form.
I stayed straight for one year. Then came the relapse — never expecting to go down that road again... I did! Another roller coaster ride, this time it only lasted three, maybe four months. This time I discovered a book only available on the internet at www.nomoreaddiction.com so I downloaded The Game of Life. It made sense to me I was a drug addict, or I could be a recovering drug addict, or I could LIVE LIFE, and so I did.
I have studied for a Licence that has enabled me to find full-time work in a industry that I love... My message to anyone battling the strongest drug I have ever had, is to never stop giving up on giving up — there is no SAFE way to take this drug. - L.
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