hey. my boyfriend is now doing time for a drug offense. i have decied to stay with him because he's says this time he's really done with the drug. he is a serious meth addict. he's been using for about 3 years. i've heard that it is one of the hardest drugs to get clean from, and in most cases, people relapse. how true is this. what does it take for someone to get clean and stay that way. how long does it take? do they go through period of back and forth between sober and relapsing? how long does it take for their body to stop cravings? what are the best treatments for this addiction? what can i do to help? what are some signs that a person my relapse? oh! i have some many questions and worries! please help!!!!!!!!!:confused:

Jk's girl,

welcome to the site. There is some really good information on here about the effects addiction has on the family. I don't wish meth addiction on my worst enemy. You have some really good questions that don't have simple answers. Your boyfriend has only been using for 3 years. That can be good and bad. Anyway. Look around because there are answers to most of your questions.

I found some of this info on the website http:// msnbc. msn.com

Though not impossible, meth addiction is a difficult disorder to treat, according to Anglin. “There’s not severe physical withdrawal with methamphetamine, but rather a feeling of anhedonia, an inability to experience pleasure, that can last for months and which leads to a lot of relapse at six months,” he said. The anhedonia appears to correspond with the period when the brain is recovering and producing abnormally low levels of dopamine. “When you think of treatment of drugs like methamphetamine, you have to think of it like fixing a broken leg — treatment provides a structure to allow their brain chemistry to return to normal. Their brain is out of tune, it’s not working very well, and it takes a while to recover,” Rawson said.The Matrix model, a method of outpatient cognitive-behavioral therapy backed by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), a division of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is the only program with evidence of effectiveness for methamphetamine addiction.(from msnbc.com on meth addiction)

You need to get yourself into naranon support group. You can find them online as well and then find meetings close to you if you wish to attend them. I don't have a loved one that is on meth (although my sister was but wasn't around her much when she was) I have heard any drug is hard to get off of, it all depends on how badly the person wants to get help, I mean if he doesn't want help and you make him get help it usually doesn't do any good for him. This is a diffulity time for you and for him, you need a support group as well as he does. I am sorry I don't have the answer to all your questions but look on here I am sure there is a lot of information that will help you on here and also just type in meth use on the search engine tool on the net and see what you can find. I wish your boyfriend a healthy recovery. Best wishes

My man is a heroin addict. He's been clean for a year and 3 months now. I already knew alot about the drug from watching friends battle with this addiction also. I did a report for one of my medical classes on heroin addiction and I was able to find a ton of info on the internet. I'm sure you can find the same on meth. I'm scared to death that he may relapse when he gets out but I will do my best to be there for him and help him live a clean and sober life.