i had an awful morning

[sam]

calling 911 was the last thing i expected to do this morning when i went in for my AM cardio.

i finished up my 45 minutes of cardio and was getting ready to go home and enjoy my first carb meal in a day and a half. i stopped to talk to my training partner who is a trainer at my gym. as we talked, he became more and more nonresponsive. i knew he was an addict, like me, and i also knew he doesn't go to meetings. what i didn't know was that he was using. he told me he wasn't anymore and i beleived him. i told him that i'd never force my recovery on him, but if he ever wanted, i would be more than happy to go to a meeting with him.

anyway, as he got worse, i thought he was maybe having a stroke or had some sort of mental breakdown. he didn't look "high" in the sense i am used to seeing, as in booze, coke, heroin. he started twitching and ticking and repeating the same questions several times, then knoding. i was really scared. i told him i'd be right back, shut the office door behind me and went to speak to another trainer. thats when i leaned he takes GHB.

when i returned to the office, i realized the door had locked behind me. i knocked. no answer. i pounded. no answer. i remembered there is a window on the other side of the office so i went over to it. the blinds were opened wide enough, that i could see him in there, at this point, completely unconcious. i did the last thing i wanted to have to do. i called 911. for all i knew, he was going t /hoijad gotten close and were training for an up coming contest together. i'm not sure how to handle our relationship now. i know i can't hang out with someone who is using.

apparently, he is ok now, a few a hours later. while i was writing this i just got a text from him asking " are you ok?"

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!qkl;irweh jklaregu lia;eqkrjng;jngbfw;hhisd;bdfshnbghdsjio'gbenkl'

this is the last thing i expected to have to deal with today. i am alright though. i've been talking to people in recovery and am going to a meeting in a little bit.

thanks for listening to me rant about this.

s

[irishpride]

thats a tough one..i was in a simliar situation wtih a "good" freind.we grew up together and when i got sober he after a little bit decided he was going to as well.i brought him to his first meeting etc and he was doing really well for awhile..well i thought he was at least..one day he asked for some cash to help cover a bill of his and i gave it to him..he was really out on a relapse and i never got the cash back..he avoided me like the plague etc..finally he showed up at another meeting after one of his benders and i didnt confront him just said hi and hope all is well, well i personally cant be around him..he doesnt take the program serious enough and my life and soberity are more important..i am never going to get the money back and i am to close to him to be able to hang out without putting my soberity in jeapordy..i cant imagine what you had to go through as my problem wasnt as dramtic as yours but i would take the advice of people around you in the program and maybe let him go to do his own thing..if he wants the help he will ask and then you can re-evaluate the situation.

[sam]

thanks for reading and responding irish,
and i think you are right. i can't hang out with him. someone pointed out to me that i can't change him, but he could certainly change me. he was texting me to ask for a ride from the hospital. i responded telling him that i needed to step back and that i consider him a close friend so i hope he understands. it just sucks, you know. in my active use, i was the only one i had to blame for my problems. this is something i didn't ask for, didn't plan to have happen...it really makes me think about the people i hurt.

sorry to hear about your friend. i can certainly relate. i think you did the right thing, not pushing the money issue. maybe if he starts taking recovery seroisuly, he'll come to terms with paying you back...not that the money is the real issue...more so the trust.

speaking of trust, something else i'm wondering now is how long this has gone on without me knowing. was he using it all the time? being that we train together, we're in pretty close contact and i've noticed when i spot him, he's always had the same unique smell on his breath. kinda like alcohol, but not quite...kinda like chemicals...but not quite.




thats a tough one..i was in a simliar situation wtih a "good" freind.we grew up together and when i got sober he after a little bit decided he was going to as well.i brought him to his first meeting etc and he was doing really well for awhile..well i thought he was at least..one day he asked for some cash to help cover a bill of his and i gave it to him..he was really out on a relapse and i never got the cash back..he avoided me like the plague etc..finally he showed up at another meeting after one of his benders and i didnt confront him just said hi and hope all is well, well i personally cant be around him..he doesnt take the program serious enough and my life and soberity are more important..i am never going to get the money back and i am to close to him to be able to hang out without putting my soberity in jeapordy..i cant imagine what you had to go through as my problem wasnt as dramtic as yours but i would take the advice of people around you in the program and maybe let him go to do his own thing..if he wants the help he will ask and then you can re-evaluate the situation.

[irishpride]

thanks for reading and responding irish,
and i think you are right. i can't hang out with him. someone pointed out to me that i can't change him, but he could certainly change me. he was texting me to ask for a ride from the hospital. i responded telling him that i needed to step back and that i consider him a close friend so i hope he understands. it just sucks, you know. in my active use, i was the only one i had to blame for my problems. this is something i didn't ask for, didn't plan to have happen...it really makes me think about the people i hurt.

sorry to hear about your friend. i can certainly relate. i think you did the right thing, not pushing the money issue. maybe if he starts taking recovery seroisuly, he'll come to terms with paying you back...not that the money is the real issue...more so the trust.

speaking of trust, something else i'm wondering now is how long this has gone on without me knowing. was he using it all the time? being that we train together, we're in pretty close contact and i've noticed when i spot him, he's always had the same unique smell on his breath. kinda like alcohol, but not quite...kinda like chemicals...but not quite.
yeah its a tough situation that requires kid gloves..personally when i encounter situations like this i think how much am i willing to let it affect me? is this situation going to help me keep progressing in my life and soberity or is there a chance that from all the drama and BS can it push me closer to using/drinking? is it really worth it, is what it boils down too..you cant help someone who isnt ready to ask for help, you can plant seeds which you already have telling him he would take him to a meeting etc..now step back and do your own thing and let him do his..no need to risk your well being considering it seems he is pretty set on doing what he wants to do..being an addict/drunk i can still get caught up in chaos and it never leads to anyhtng good..move on..youll be better off..he was probably using the whole time..shit i know a guy who just celebrated 3years and has been popping painkillers and smoking pot now finally admit he hsant been sober fro more than a day..its a sneaky nasty disease..stick with the winners..i have no connection to people i used with or are active..most of my real freinds are in the program..and life is much easier now

[egokiller]

calling 911 was the last thing i expected to do this morning when i went in for my AM cardio.

i finished up my 45 minutes of cardio and was getting ready to go home and enjoy my first carb meal in a day and a half. i stopped to talk to my training partner who is a trainer at my gym. as we talked, he became more and more nonresponsive. i knew he was an addict, like me, and i also knew he doesn't go to meetings. what i didn't know was that he was using. he told me he wasn't anymore and i beleived him. i told him that i'd never force my recovery on him, but if he ever wanted, i would be more than happy to go to a meeting with him.

anyway, as he got worse, i thought he was maybe having a stroke or had some sort of mental breakdown. he didn't look "high" in the sense i am used to seeing, as in booze, coke, heroin. he started twitching and ticking and repeating the same questions several times, then knoding. i was really scared. i told him i'd be right back, shut the office door behind me and went to speak to another trainer. thats when i leaned he takes GHB.

when i returned to the office, i realized the door had locked behind me. i knocked. no answer. i pounded. no answer. i remembered there is a window on the other side of the office so i went over to it. the blinds were opened wide enough, that i could see him in there, at this point, completely unconcious. i did the last thing i wanted to have to do. i called 911. for all i knew, he was going t /hoijad gotten close and were training for an up coming contest together. i'm not sure how to handle our relationship now. i know i can't hang out with someone who is using.

apparently, he is ok now, a few a hours later. while i was writing this i just got a text from him asking " are you ok?"

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!qkl;irweh jklaregu lia;eqkrjng;jngbfw;hhisd;bdfshnbghdsjio'gbenkl'

this is the last thing i expected to have to deal with today. i am alright though. i've been talking to people in recovery and am going to a meeting in a little bit.

thanks for listening to me rant about this.

s



Listen man you did the RIGHT thing. I am a recovering GHB addict and ill tell you what I used to pass out in random places all the time in mid conversation. That was until one time when I passed out and hit my head on the toilet. Then another time when I passed out and didnt wake up even after the EMT came and shot me with 4 things of epi. My breathing went as low as 1 breath per min. You did the right thing and probably saved his life!

[AVBG]

You did the right thing and he is extremely fortunate to have a friend like you.. Do you think now this episode may have him reconsider taking the next step to recovery?

[sam]

Listen man you did the RIGHT thing. I am a recovering GHB addict and ill tell you what I used to pass out in random places all the time in mid conversation. That was until one time when I passed out and hit my head on the toilet. Then another time when I passed out and didnt wake up even after the EMT came and shot me with 4 things of epi. My breathing went as low as 1 breath per min. You did the right thing and probably saved his life!

i met a guy at a meeting on friday who was an former bodybuilder who used ghb. he said the same thing. had a huge scar across his forehead from cracking it open. glad to hear you got yourself help. i hope my friend will ask.

[sam]

You did the right thing and he is extremely fortunate to have a friend like you.. Do you think now this episode may have him reconsider taking the next step to recovery?

i dont know man. i would love for this to be his time to find recovery, but i can't even keep my fingers crossed. we haven't talked yet. only through text. i told him i needed to take a step back and explained that i couldn't do anything to change someone who is using but someone using could change me. he said he understood and respected that. it's been a couple days now and i feel my emotions have settled. i'm going to call him this afternoon to see where he's at. following my sponsors guidence, i won't be hanging out with him anymore, but if he wants to go to a meeting, i'll meet him there. btw, awesome condition in your avitar.

[R.I.P.]

everyone has to hit their own bottom.only until i was ready, was i ready. i agree , it is easier for a using addict to take someone out than to get them to a meeting.

as far as wondering if they were using the whole time, i wouldn't worry about it much. that's on them. we all have our own path.i pray he makes out alive. that's what i use the moment of silence at the end of the meetings for. the addict who still suffers, wherever they might be.i have to remember jails,institutions and death.until the bitter ends.unfortuntely, some of us die. that part sucks, i have buried friends and it sucks every time.

[sam]

as far as wondering if they were using the whole time, i wouldn't worry about it much. that's on them. we all have our own path.

you're right. i think that emotion was more of a reaction when at first, i felt betrayed and misled. i started posting about this situation within a few hours of it having happened. now that i've had a little time to cool down, i just feel sad for him and see this as such a shame to have happened. i also feel thankful that i'm no longer in that place myself.

at the gym, he kept alot of MMA pads, gloves, ect that he used with his clients. when i went in to train today, i saw they were gone. i assume he was fired.

i called him this morning and left a message. i just said i was thinking of him and wanted to know where things are with him. i can't hang out with him but i will do what i can to impress on him that i do care and would offer a hand if he wanted to make a meeting and ask for help.

[R.I.P.]

some times that's all we can do bro. that and pray. i would make one suggestiontho. you can keep it or not and it is, if and/or when he does reach out; tell him you will meet him at the meeting and you'll take him home. if he doesn't drive that is.i wouldn't suggest picking him up,not for a little while. let him demonstrate willingness. the HOW of the NA program.

i am glad you are ok now. i know how it feels to see your friends go out. it has happened many times in my recovery as well.all i can do is be an example.i have to remember i am here for me.

[sam]

some times that's all we can do bro. that and pray. i would make one suggestiontho. you can keep it or not and it is, if and/or when he does reach out; tell him you will meet him at the meeting and you'll take him home. if he doesn't drive that is.i wouldn't suggest picking him up,not for a little while. let him demonstrate willingness. the HOW of the NA program.

i am glad you are ok now. i know how it feels to see your friends go out. it has happened many times in my recovery as well.all i can do is be an example.i have to remember i am here for me.


good point tim. i'll take that into consideration. thanks.

btw everyone, i heard today from a 3rd party that he is moving his stuff into his moms house and going back into long term treatment. i hope this time was enough. he did in fact lose his job, but amazingly, his boss was not angry at him. he was very understanding, but of course, he can't have someone using in his gym. i found out that this episode was his sixth time blacking out at that gym. it sounds like the owner was more than understanding. i left him a message yesterday but haven't heard back yet.