Heroin has a very high potential for addiction, rarely are people able to experiment with the drug without developing a dependency. The painful withdrawal process from heroin keeps users in a desperate, destructive cycle.

A naturally occurring psychoactive compound has been scientifically identified as possessing anti-addictive properties. Ibogaine is used in Africa by the Bwiti tribe, for ritual and medicinal purposes. Research has proven that Ibogaine creates an immediate reduction in craving, even eliminating the potent withdrawal symptoms of heroin.

Have you ever heard of Ibogaine? Chances are that you haven’t.

Due to its controversial nature it is not used to treat opiate…

Since I started Suboxone treatment 15 months ago, I’ve had my Google Alerts set to track news and blog posts for mentions of Suboxone and Buprenorphine (the active ingredient in Suboxone). Many of the items alerted are news reports of drug busts, where the bustee was caught with some heroin or Oxycontin - and a few Suboxone pills as well. Other alerts are people posting on message boards looking for advice or support regarding the use of Suboxone. And then there are the Suboxone rants.

Usually I just pass up these angry blog posts. Today however I allowed myself to be…

After tonight’s meeting, which I attended solo because right now, my husband isn’t like “those people,” I went out with a friend from my program and her spouse, who is among “those people” in the rooms across the hall. It is so wonderful and exhausting to be among people in recovery. I always love these folks…people who are acutely aware of themselves, their issues, their ups and downs…and I remember it most when I’m in meetings. It’s nice, though, to get away from the meeting setting sometimes, and to get a break from all the meeting rules. It’s nice just…

“I’ve got a lot of papers to grade,” I told him. “I’m going to go find a coffee shop where I can sit and get some quiet. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“Don’t go! We’ve got all these movies to watch…”

“Why don’t you watch one without me? I’ll be back soon. I’ve got to get this done before the class tomorrow.”

“I’ll grade them with you! Just give me the answer key, and I’ll grade them for you! Stay here!”

It was very sweet of him to offer to help me with my work, but it made me realize something.…

I got an email from a reader recently asking me if I ever imagined what my life would be like if I left my husband and found a new partner. It made me think if I come across as someone who never has even considered leaving. It seemed strange that I might make that impression on readers, as I feel like I spend more time thinking about leaving than thinking about anything else.

Each day is a weighting of options: How much would it hurt to leave? How much does it hurt to stay? As long as the solution to that…

I’m discovering more and more that my recovery touches areas of my life that I never imagined it would. I found my 12 step program to help me learn to deal with my husband’s addiction. That was all I was interested in…I hoped to find support in other people who had experienced addiction in their families, and secretly, I hoped that I’d find techniques to help me fix him. I wasn’t unwilling to work on myself as a part of the process; however, I was oblivious that working on myself would be a part of the process…that the same part…

I’ve got four days off from being a junky’s wife, and it’s delicious. I don’t have to be doing much anymore to feel like I’m really having an exciting vacation: Look! I can leave my purse lying around! Wow! I don’t have to carry everything with me every time I leave the house! Holy crap! Nobody wants me to pay for his stuff!

I’ve been spending as much time as possible outside of my house, which is good for me in so many ways, but it’s exhausting, too. Even the thought process behind not wanting to go home, ever, is exhausting.

He and…

I’m learning something about myself…

I’ve really thought that I had this boundary thing down for a long time. After my first few Nar-Anon meetings, I thought I really got it. I just needed to think about what I needed and let my husband know what I needed, and voila! We’ve got boundaries.

I am also a little bit appalled at how long it has taken me to realize that, no, I really didn’t get it.

With my car, for instance…I have gradually, slowly restricted how much I’d let my husband use my car. When we first got married, he had his own…