The debate on this site is now closed. We have received over 800 comments from you.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:56:32 GMT
si, liverpool
methadone turkey takes a lot longer than smack so that's why mandy is not rattling...
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:57:33 GMT
Pheonix, London
... how does addiction affect an unborn child. I have heard that it is possible for children to inherit a parent's addiction at birth
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:53:16 GMT
debbie, colne
i was a heroin addict for 12 yrs, i had to do the cold turkey myself. my 10 yr old son found his dad dead of a overdose, that 1 day changed my life. the kids lost their dad and i was not going to see them lose their mum the same way. i just stopped never got cravings for it, was poorly don't get me wrong but i've been clean for 8 yrs now, but i think sometimes it takes something really bad to change your ideas. the group i don't think will stay clean as they don't seem to have actually hit rock bottom. i hope i'm wrong, but it will be interesting to know.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:56:05 GMT
Sinead, London
Once again, thank God for the Nurses who are working night and day to help these people through their darkest hours.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:56:07 GMT
Samantha, Nottingham
Hi i am a former heroin and crack addict and have been clean for 18 months. i just wondered what sort of after treatment you will be giving the patients after their detox? Will they be going to extended care? Have you thought about sending them to NA to work a 12 step programme? I got clean through a 12 step rehab and i couldn't have stayed clean without the help i got from NA. Any clean addict is a miracle!!!!
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:54:51 GMT
ashleigh, leeds
I know you're trying to help people although I am not sure they will come out and stay clean as they are going back to their lives they have been taking drugs to get away from, they are going back to the group of friends, house and community. I really feel for the families that think their children are coming off the drugs as I can see the addicts going back to their old ways.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:53:42 GMT
Dave, Farnham
hello, I am a heroin addict, have been clean for 3 months now. took me a few attempts to get off it, it was hard, i think Subutex is much better and easier to you that Methodone, that's evil ... it gets in ur bones. good show ... i am liking it... makes me think, there's no way i could go back to that.
Created: Tuesday 21-Feb-2006 09:40:28 GMT
kirsten, truro
I'm emailing to complain about the programme set for your going cold turkey. As a support worker who deals with addiction every day i have a huge interest in this area and waited with bated breath for this programme to be aired. however watching the first episode last night i was highly dissapointed to see that you are actually replacing their addiction with sedatives. this is NOT going cold turkey. i deal with hundreds of clients each and every day who have been in the true sense of the word rattling for weeks going through the real torture and agony of going cold turkey. although understandably every addict wants to alleviate those symptoms of coming off heroin or any drug we are not looking at the reality of coming off the gear. these people are unfortuantly not experiencing the true symptons and could probably restart their addiction when the pyschological effects become too much. for the sake of the addicts i am horrified and truly upset for them that they are not learning the hard way. all that is happening is you are replacing one drug for another. have the researchers actually reasearched the effects of going cold turkey properly. in my professional opinion i think not.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:25:22 GMT
gemma, the midlands
my boyfriend has been a heroin addict for 4 years now and i've been with him for just over two of them and he's only just turned 19. it was only the last year that i found out that he was on it as he always keept it well hiden, always clean and tidy never stole from me. but i caught him using a few times and i've been trying to help him ever since. i've told him that this is his last chance to get clean because i can't stand by and watch this any more i'ts killing me two, he's doing his cold turkey right now and it has been 7 days. the first 5 days were very very bad but he has stuck in there because i really belive that this is his time and he knows it, it's either do it now or spend the next 20 years this way. but i know the real test for him is when he steps back in to the real world. i have never touched the stuff and never will i suppose because i've seen the effects of this drug as i have a brother who is also an addict and has been for around 7 years and is always in and out of jail because of crime to feed his habit, me and the family have tried all sorts to get him clean but he never wanted it and was only interested in this next fix, i pray that one day he will see sense and get clean.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:14:09 GMT
les, paisley
it is not always peer pressure that makes addicts. myself i had problems since a slipped upper femeral epiphisis at 13. after a year on my back in hosp i was left 2 go home with a habit of heavy painkillers (temgesic). now 25 years of using illicit drugs and prescription drugs from doctors. been attending a rehab since 1991 and i have been left on METHADONE since then on a maintanence script. this is a short term answer only in my opinion used H along side for years...
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:19:46 GMT
Pauline, St.Austell
I only saw part of last night's detox programme. Will you be following these people as they try to cope once the drug is out of their body? I supported someone who wnet through this kind of detox and they were in a very bad state of withdrawal for several weeks afterwards and needed massive amounts of medication and help. They did not remain clean.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:16:21 GMT
Jade, Leicester
i think this is a really good show, because it could change the mind of the people that are drug users. I know someone who is very close to me and he is on heroin. I have been reading things about it and speaking to people so i can help him go cold turkey. Is there anything you can tell me that will help me get him through it? Good Luck Guys.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:08:34 GMT
Diane, London
My ex-boyfriend of ten years and his friends were using heroin for eight years. His friends are still addicts and injuecting heroin just to survive day to-day life. He however is finally off heroin and has been clean now for a year and 4 months. He tried re-hab, leaving his area, going abroard to work and nothing worked until he had an implant fitted into his stomach which has finally got him off drugs once and for all. He was lucky that he had a supportive family that paid the £2,000 that it cost privately. I think this should be available on the NHS, it worked for him and at 7 stone and injecting heroin daily it was his last straw. Good luck to anyone fighting the horrible drug that is heroin that destroys not only the user but their family and friends.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 09:00:08 GMT
Victoria, Brighton
I am completing my degree in psychiatric nursing, and this is the field i want to go in to once i am qualified. I am so interested in this subject, and i thought that the three patients going cold turkey show great courage and i hope they do continue to stay drug free after the detox. I think this is a fantastic programme and there should be more media support for those who misuse substances & alcohol(not just the negative side). I would like to say thankyou to the Dr's, nurses and all you guys at Channel 4 for the fantatsic support and help you are giving the three patients.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 08:38:43 GMT
mel, nottingham
My son's father passed away due to a heroin over dose and i feel this show is great for helping people to understand the effects of heroin. However i don't feel the detox will help them to stop. i feel to come off heroin you have to go cold turkey for real without the support and feel the pain of cold turkey that way however hard it is, those who truly want to give up will and those who don't will give in to the pain and return to heroin. You can't help someone come off the heroin and wrap them in cotton wool they have to want it and if they want it bad enough and it means experiencing the pain that goes with it then they would do it.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 08:18:08 GMT
Angie, Horsham
I have worked in Substance Misuse for 25 years and never in my experience has any one of my clients been able to detox effectively over such a short period of 5 days. The last client I had was still withdrawing as she left this Detox clinic. Heroin is much easier to withdraw from as it is shorter acting and the onset of the withdrawal symptoms is much quicker but methadone being longer acting the onset is slower and drawn out for a longer period. When clients go in for detoxification I usually bid for a period of a fortnight for both heroin, methadone and alcohol, longer for bezodiazipines. I must stress that this is not usually in an NHS hospital so they do not have to go through a reduction of their methadone initially they come straight off. The withdrawal period needs much longer than five days in my experience. It is helpful for clients to leave detox feeling physically well in order to tackle the next stage of their recovery.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 08:14:13 GMT
mel, nottingham
I recently lost my son's father due to a heroin over dose and i would like the show to please make it clear that if a heroin user is off heroin for a long period of time then returns to heroin that their tolorence levels drop and they cannnot handle the same amount of heroin they previously were used to. This message needs to be cleaar to help stop heroin over dose increases.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 06:15:59 GMT
Mark, Bristol
I am a recovering Heroin and Crack addict who has been 'clean' for nearly 15 months. I tried several detoxes, both voluntary and forced (due to prison) and although I enjoyed being clean I always ended up relapsing due to a basic lack of life skills etc. I had spent years learning to take drugs and I needed help to learn to live without them! I am saddened by the fact that there is never any mention of NA (NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS) a life saving group of recovering addicts that is accessible by anyone who has the desire to quit using. If I had my way the helpline number would be shown after every programme on tv that tackles addiction and I urge Channel 4 to take the lead? 0845 3733366 or 0845 FREEDOM. PLEASE show these numbers and really help addicts to help themselves. Thanks
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 01:31:11 GMT
Jamie, Sheffield
I would just like to make a comment about the quote by the Detox 5 nurse on the Channel 4 website 'Not everybody who comes here is wealthy. When this is someone's last-ditch attempt, we often get people who have maybe saved for two years to afford it. It's £3000.' My own experience of Heroin addiction which I beat five years ago, along with past friends who are still living through this hell, suggest that most people who 'save up £3000' whilst addicted to Heroin are 'wealthy'. I have never seen or heard anyone from a working class background that have been addicted to any drug able to save £100 let alone £3000. More funding for drug rehabilitation should be given to the NHS due to it being a major problem in today's society. I have seen first hand the damage that lack of funding for such NHS drug programmes in the South Yorkshire area brings. Programmes like Detox 5 although they may have worthwhile success rates, do not, and never will have an impact on drug addiction/relapse prevention within our inner cities whilst putting profits first.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 01:28:57 GMT
Sue, London
I've been in detox 3 times and it wasn't until the 3rd time that i actually stayed for the prescribed time (the first time i left before getting off meds the second time got off meds but left early to use, the last time i stayed for the full 28 days only to find out that my health authority couldn't fund my next stage of recovery (day program). I then relapsed. Since then i've done subutex reduction and attended NA meetings, this isn't for everyone but i do feel my past detox experiences provided me with a foundation to current success. Good luck and love to the 3 featured in the series.
Created: Tuesday 21-Feb-2006 00:10:22 GMT
Adam, London
I think your program is shallow and exploitative. You have taken a group of extremely vulnerable people and their families; who appear in your studio with hope literally sparkling in their eyes at the thought that their children might, yes might, stop taking drugs. Yet you have chosen to use Detox 5, a private clinic using the UROD "Ultra Rapid Opiate Detoxification" method which has caused deaths and has the WORST success rate of all treatements. What will happen to these poor people if they do relapse? They will possibly be abandonded by their families meanwhile Detox 5 and Channel 4 will be laughing all the way to the bank... The only way that I could take your programme seriously is IF [and I sincerly hope they make it] the participants fail you brak the real "taboo" and draw the OBVIOUS conclusion between the ILLEGALITY of drugs and the crime and prostitution that goes with it. After all opium and heroin were legal in the UK until 1923 and there was no "drug crime". Since we adopted the appaling US War on Drug [Users] policy we know have a thriving black market rampant criminality and family breakdown. So come on tell the truth and show the British public how they have dealt with heroin addiction in Holland and Switzerland by making it legally available in clinics.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:15:48 GMT
RLC, London
Anyone who is requesting the legalisation of cannabis is either too stoned to realise it has/is destroying their potential life, or is flirting with psychological addiction. How could anyone in their right mind want such a life-suppressing, health-harming, youth-destroying, society-mocking drug legalised? If you walk into a secondary school, are the self-confessed (or otherwise known) dope heads underachieving? Are they happy to leave compulsory education with no qualifications because all they'll ever need is 'a bit of cash' for dope? Or are the known figures truanting so irresponsibly that they might as well not be on the register? A hand full of GCSE students all over England are now failing to be amused by cannabis and its antics; a hand full of GCSE students in this country are now resorting to the widely-available, increasingly-socially-acceptable Class A drug, cocaine. Is this not a problem? Is this not a disaster brewing? If marijuana was to be legalised, I would be counting down the days till the re-classification of other drugs, e.g. cocaine. If marijuana were to be legalised, or maybe even if it is not reverted back to its previous classification, in order to be fought against, there will be junk-food-craving, lethargic, pre-junkie, zombies darted around locations that occur in every walk of life, as marijuana currently does. Marijuana no longer rests in the local park. Marijuana needs to be tackled.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:41:11 GMT
chris, woolwich
I've been a problematic drug user for 16 years, a registered heroin addict for 9yrs. i've tried residential nhs detoxes and countless home and community detoxes. I really empathise with the 3 people in there and hope they get continued support after as they seem like they've truly surrendered. My fear is that while they will have changed the world outside and its pressures will have not and this is the hardship i currently face. Please take heart that we addicts do recover and there are many of us out here doing it now. I do feel though that 5 days to come off of a 500ml a day benzo. habit is medically impossible, my friend suffered fits coming off of a 30ml a day habit. whoever scripted her that should be struck off.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:30:35 GMT
Adam, Walsall
An addict will only break the habit if they really want to, fully understand in advance the challenges that will need to be faced in the process and remain focussed on their goal for long enough to establish a new life. Even then it is very easy to sink back into old ways even years down the line.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:27:07 GMT
Bredean, Dublin
Having looked at C4's programme Addiction, one question comes to mind, What other supports are being offered to these people. There has been no mention of other therapies ie, self help and group support such as the 12 step programme, counselling, personal development, aftercare etc. Getting clean is easy maintaining the sobriety is the difficult part.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:15:29 GMT
susan, mansfield
MY DAUGHTER IS 33 YEARS OLD. SHE HAS BEEN ON HEROIN NOW FOR 15 YEARS, I HAVE BEEN THERE FOR HER AND TRIED TO SUPPORT HER, LIFE HAS BEEN HELL FOR ALL THE FAMILY. ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO SHE STAYED AT THE CLINIC IN HARROGATE, I HAD NO IDEA SHE WAS GOING TO DO THIS, IT WAS PAID FOR BY HER BOYFRIEND AT THE TIME WHO HIMSELF WAS A DRUG DEALER, I WAS NOT PREPARED TO DEAL WITH HER WHEN SHE CAME HOME I HAD NOT HEARD OF THIS PLACE BEFORE AND BECAUSE I WASN'T PREPARED MY DAUGHTER CAME OUT OF THE CLINIC AND WENT STRAIGHT BACK ON HEROIN, I THINK WHEN THE PATIENT IS DISCHARGED FROM THE CLINIC THERE IS NOT ENOUGH SUPPORT FOR THEM WHEN THEY COME HOME. I WOULD LOVE MY DAUGHTER TO TRY THIS CLINIC AGAIN BUT THE I KNOW WE COULD NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT. MY DAUGHTER HAS TAKEN EVERYTHING WE HAVE. I LOVE MY DAUGHTER VERY MUCH AND I KNOW THAT IT'S HEROIN THAT MAKES HER DO THESE THINGS TO HER FAMILY, DEEP DOWN SHE IS A VERY KIND CARING PERSON BUT HEROIN HAS GOT RIGHT DOWN DEEP INTO HER SOUL AND WE CANNOT SEE A WAY OUT NOW AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:27:56 GMT
Jem, Norwich
Seldom on National television have I seen a programme with a more misleading title than "Cold Turkey". What these three people are going through is not cold turkey but detox assisted by sedation. "Cold Turkey" refers to withdrawing from opiates with NO medication. The participants in your programme were practically unconscious. As an ex-user finally clean through expert help and subutex I resent seeing this misrepresentation. I once did 14 days straight cold turkey and I guarantee it was far worse than what we are seeing on your programme. Maybe not good TV, but I feel Channel 4 is being misleading for the sake of a snappy title. Also, allegedly, Detox 5 has been known to discharge patients too early* (presumably in order to free up beds) leading to patients going into withdrawal again once they are home and also to relapse. Are Detox 5 paying for the free publicity, or is someone at CH 4 a shareholder? *source – The Guardian. Friday September 2, 2005
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:14:51 GMT
Roisin, Banbury
why is it so difficult to get a place in re-hab. surely the government should make more funding available for addicts who want help, then the crime rate would improve no end. How long are they going to brush the problem under the carpet? Most addicts have a story to tell! Heroin takes away emotional pain. The misery you've got coming to you once you are addicted though is emotional pain like you've never known. Also there has to be support once you leave a re-hab, not to be housed in a bedsit with heroin sprayed up the walls from a syringe in a known area to score the stuff!! The very best of luck all of 3 you xxx
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:01:45 GMT
colin, glasgow
at the end of the day no1 will quit drugs unless they want to quit doing it themselves. I personally don't agree on the goverment's stance regarding cannabis. For a drug which has no recorded fatalities. It smacks of double standards from the goverment. alcohol and cigarettes kill more people than any other drugs available. Fact. The only reason the goverment doesn't make cigs and drink illegal is the huge amount of money they make from taxing these. Also cannabis is not a gateway drug it depends wholly upon the individual's stance on whether or not they are foolish enough to try heroin or crack. I smoked cannabis for 9 years but one day i decided i was bored with it and stopped. there is no addiction as far as cannabis is concerned ... But all i can advise to parents is I am a 24 year old father of 1. when my child grows up i will talk openly to him about drugs thus bannishing the stigma that there is between parents and their offspring regarding drugs. which is often the reason many teenagers take drugs 1.poor relationships within the family home (drugs r an escape from reality) and 2.because cannabis is illegal it is "naughty". we should adopt the Dutch approach and we would see the benefits ... But i would like to conclude in saying drug treatment should be inreased whilst abolishing mandatory minimum scentences for drug users.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:09:10 GMT
nicky, dublin
I think C4 are making guinea pigs at a vunerable time for these people. Do you not understand the mental obsession and compulsions to use drugs when a person gets clean. Drugs aren't the problem, the problem comes from within. Having been actively addicted for 12 years and clean for 2 I am wondering what aftercare is provided if any for these individuals when they leave. Getting off is the easy part, staying off is the hardest.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:09:51 GMT
alan, northumberland
as someone who is a heroin addict myself, i'm watching the show thinking how many addics can get into or afford treatment at detox 5. I've been on the gear 13 years now on and off with methadone inbetween. i'm now stable on a maintenence script which i've been on for 3 years, down the years i've been in rehab centres etc but never quit completely, not through lack of trying or wanting to get clean. I know 2 or 3 people who have been into detox 5 with varying cases of success. 1 thing which i do agree with though is channel 4 bringing this to people's attention because i'm sure people just think we are scum & no hopers and anything to change that way of thinking is great!
Created: Monday, 20-Feb-2006 23:59:06 GMT
ian, bolton
hi. my name is ian. i was on heroin 4 10 years. the reason i went on it, was because a lot of things went on in life i could not handle. i kept a job never stole off people always worked. i thought i would never get off it but i did "i went cold turkey" on my own. i also had 2 mates who were with me they never had experienced heroin. i have been clean 4 years now and it's the best thing that's ever happened. by the way 2 all bag heads "IT'S ALL IN UR HEAD" GOOD LUCK 2 ALL.C YA
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:14:31 GMT
Darren, Astley
Would just like to say and hope u will broadcast the fact that heroin and other drug use could be reduced drastically if the government really wanted to. It is obvious that there are corrupt forces at work where stopping drugs getting into the country is concerned, this is not only my opinion but i have also had agreement from police officers themselves on the matter, if there wasn't such a vast profit to be made all around for various different governing bodies then i'm sure they could do a lot more to stop drugs getting into the UK.
Created: Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 00:12:40 GMT
Alice, Hungerford
Hardeep Singh Kohli would do well to look at the World Health Organisation's definition of alcoholism – they define it as a disease. Some of his comments are mis-informed and frankly not useful. Come on Channel Four!