As a 50 year old long time opiate user (recreationally not pain related) The thought of stopping opiates is as foreign to me as stopping eating or breathing. It has become entrenched in my life , I still have a good job, family and have not had to resort to crime to feed my habit but I have certainly told many lies to get money from family/friends when I was younger and had a bad habit. NOw I use most weeks and have a script to fill in the gaps (methadone).
When I was younger 16-20 I went through most of the drugs available, weed, speed, acid etc and in 88-92 was off opiates alltogether but was taking Ecstacy most weekends. THen I was back on the gear. I won't smoke spice when i have heroin with/in me but only when I having a forced break and on methadone.
I have smoked a fair few times and had some wonderful visuals but only came close to breaking thro once (after buying a pipe and doing an ash sandwich) My thoughts are around the possibility that by smoking spice it may give me the clarity and knowledge to stop taking heroin by showing me another path my life could follow.
I would be interested to know if there are any others on here in a similar situation - I know that most of you are alot younger than me and hopefully wont let the monkey climb on your back because once its on its damn near impossible to shift. I know about Ibogaine but don't fancy that - so I will leave the door open and see what comes in.
Peace

Courage such as yours is not to be dismissed. Many people cannot even face their addictions, let alone share them with others.

Namaste, and welcome to the Nexus.

Though I , myself, have never had a run in with the brown demon, I have had my bouts with the lady in white. So while I can easily sympathize and empathize, there is little else I can do when it comes to your questions. I can however say this; you already have the will necessary to control your life and it is apparent by the maturity with which you approached the concept of spice while still dancing to the tune of your own vice.

So I welcome you, and I sincerely hope you find that which you need.

I know from having it happen and from my general attitude towards spice,it's like thinking about getting fucked up around my mom.the spice tells you how it is or more like the thing it connects you to momentarily tells you how it is.your walking through a dark forest and all of a sudden you see a strand of light illuminating the best path.while illuminating all the trolls you were walking towards(or are right next to).
you've got a family that you care and think about.you'll make the right choice.
i believe in you.

Have you considered Kratom? In my experience, it was an amazing plant-teacher. I'm 32 and have been doing opiates since the age of 21. DMT (and LSD) was my compass to show me where I could go, but it didn't really help me with addiction, that was the hard part I had to do myself- practicing saying no to myself when I had a craving, building up that Willpower Muscle.

I was injecting heroin, got on methadone, then, realizing it was just another crutch, reduced my dosage and tapered down using kratom to ease the withdrawals. I decided I would reduce my tolerance to the point where I only used kratom once in a while as an anti-depressant and energy-booster in the morning. I still use it once in a while as a boost, but have learned not to be dependent on it. Balancing my life (body, mind, and spirit), saving emotional energy (not becoming emotionally attached), and learning to appreciate what I had were the key that turned the latch of change.

It's easy to quit an addiction and hide from temptation, but the real challenge (and reward) are learning to use your willpower in the face of temptation, so you can balance your life and have the strength to practice moderation in all areas.

I was a heroin addict as well. I was on buprenorphine (suboxone) for a long time. I can tell you this, a lot of my experiences with psychedelic drugs have left me with a reinforced opinion that stopping it was one of the most positive things in my life.

I first had an experience on mushrooms while i was still using that broke down my ego. I was left traumatized for a long time after seeing how selfish i was being. This planted a seed in to stop using.

I ended up on buprenorphine and was on it for a couple years. I can tell you that this addiction was just as bad as the heroin. I ended up using kratom to help me off of it. I would recommend you look into it.

And to answer your question. I think that someday you will be faced with this head on while on a dmt journey.

I think that DMT can allow you to put into sharper focus your disatisfaction with the opiated existence but this is at best a catalyst to hasten the life-changes you need to make; if you are habituated to methadone in particular then it still requires the gruelling endeavour of getting well to be mastered.

Its a case of how badly do you really want it? If you want it badly enough then it can be done, and the rewards are immense.Theres quite a few different options for making the withdrawal physically much more bearable, but the hard work begins after when the head-games kick in.DMT can help with these, if ones intention is sincere.

If you are habituated to the methadone then a slow taper is the best option (barring perhaps ibogaine) to deal with this.Your duration of use is very long, and if your doses of opiate have been high then the readjustment (PAWS) phase may also be a battle in itself.

Sincerely, I weish you luck.The opiates are very seductive and giving in a unique way, and the desire to just use occasionally will probably remain.It can be done, but only by a tiny minority who have had habits.

I think one of the big benefits I've had from DMT use is that it has stopped my desire to use opiates occasionally.

I can see it as a pitfall, a steeply sloped trap, and the once coveted buzz is revealed as a sickly security blanket.