Thank you for your honesty Dan.
Courageous, yes.
Pain is a terrible thing.
I’ve taken lortabs for tooth pain and they are a godsend. But I try to get back on ibuprofen as quick as I can. I know too many who have become addicted and they don’t think it’s bad because they are Dr prescribed. They are zombies and don’t even know it.
Thank you.
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I take my hat off to you coming out with your story i have the most respect for you well done mate
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for coming out with this. Talking about it, letting people know they’re not the only ones, that there are other people with the same struggles helps.
I am lucky the only addiction I have is vaping (previously smoking) and I know first hand how difficult it is to get rid of an addiction. My dad’s family was raised with tobacco and alcohol from childhood, so literally 1 half of my family struggles with alcoholism too (or at least the ones that are still alive) and because constantly being drunk increases the chance of accidents, my dad ended up in hospital and got hooked on sleeping pills (temesta or whatever it was called back then) too.
I’ve seen first hand how much damage addictions can do to the people themselves and everyone around them. So I can only congratulate people like you who open up, talk and share experiences and offer help to others in need. Addiction involves a lot more than just your personal self, it affects everyone you’re dealing with too and you’re indirectly helping them as well by not keeping it all taboo.
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@Dan_the_Man you are cool in my book… I think you are brave… (I could go on and on) Kind and proud to claim you as one of my vape brothers… I love your sense of humor… and your story.
We all have our demons, addictions and only by learning from others can we progress in our own lives.
Thank you! <3
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Thanks for sharing, my name is jc and i am an addict, english is not my first language sorry for my writing, i have been clean and sober for 12 years on next chrismas day, would have been 30 years if not for relapse… Your story reached me this morning, it is good to know that we are not alone, and it is possible to live clean! Again thanks to you sir!
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Hello there JC I am glad you took the time to say hay. I’m not gonna ask about your relapse but I will say this. For anybody listening.
Relapse will happen. To me a relapse is when you jump right back in with both feet. A “mess up” is when you had a moment of weakness but don’t jump right back in. There is a big difference IMO but forgiveness for both.
Addiction my friends is a sickness. A disease and sometimes you get sick again or the disease comes back but there is always healing right around the corner.
Oh ya, JC we have a thread for recovering addicts. If you are interested in joining the group just PM me. That goes for you too @Laura5 and anybody else that wants to.
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Thank you very much for this @Dan_the_Man.
My father was an alcoholic which eventually lead him to taking his own life. If he only got to know someone like yourself, it might not have gone that far. So a mighty thank you for being so brave an offering a helping hand.
For myself I tried a few drugs including alcohol but luckily it never became an addiction. They only thing that keeps me relapsing is tobacco. Vaping helps a lot but apparently I’m doing something wrong as I keep reverting to my old ways. Friends and research brought me to start vaping @ 6mg nicotine. Maybe I need to up that so it might help staying off the analogs.
What do you people think? Should I go up in small increments till I find a level where I don’t relapse OR go straight up to lets say 18mg and go from there?
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I think you’ll just have to experiment. Find a strength that suits you. I can’t advise because I believe my criteria is different than most. I don’t like throat irritation (throat hit) or nic buzz. I’m down to 2mg salts and I vape as often as I vape, lol. No concern regarding overall nic intake. I can go for extended time without a vape without noticing if I’m busy doing something. I could probably drop the nic but why? No different to me than a cup of coffee. I guess if nic or caffeine start to bother me somehow, I’ll adjust as necessary. I’m damn sure not going to change something because someone else says its bad for me.
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Quite scary to think I have the exact same feelings and experience as an Ogre. But ditto my hairy friend. Throat hit is not my friend.
@Koningmafkees I can only say to experiment, as Ogre says. If you find that a markedly higher nic % does help, but you aren’t happy with the additional throat hit, salts do a great job removing that aspect.
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rofl, OMG! You may have Ogre ancestry. The thought makes me tremble.
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@Koningmafkees bro just make different strengths for different moods! I vape 3mg but have a couple mixes of 6mg for when I’m in a mood!.
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I bounce too… I use a lot of zero nic to 3mg… I make a few of my most used juices at zero… and I do have 2 juices I consider my “specials” that I mix at 9mg… for stressful times.
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Hey Dan,
A most sincere THANK YOU for the share. I’m in much the same boat as you were- injured while working, given enough Norco to snow the New England Patriots before finally landing in front of a neurosurgeon that repaired the ruptured discs in my neck. More pills, more attempts to return to work but nobody wants a phlebotomist that randomly drops/throws needles or blood samples thanks to the nerve damage in my neck. I 've been opiate dependant for the last 12 years, but due to my physician getting arrested I wound up having to titrate off of all of the scripts. While I had a couple of days where I felt bleh, honestly the flu I had earlier this year was worse. Somehow I managed to not get “dope sick”. Guess I’m one of the lucky ones?
I’ve been medication free now for about 6 months and the pain just isn’t going away. My new doctor won’t prescribe anything until I’ve had some x-rays done and the insurance adjustor won’t approve them. (Have I told y’all how much I despise work comp?) Ive been looking into going on methadone or suboxone as an alternative to the heavier pain meds, but everything I’ve read is a mixed bag. Guess what I’m trying to get at is this: Did you start with methadone or did you try suboxone first?
Thanks again for shining a light on the mess that BP, the CDC and the DEATH have caused. Far too many people have been eaten alive by the opiate juggernaut.
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Going back to cigs can be due to a lot of factors. Nic, throat hit, flavor, convenience, … you kinda have to ask yourself why it is.
If it is just nicotine, that’s an easy fix. Increase your strength. Next time you mix, just make the same liquid in different strengths (e.g. 6mg, 9mg and 12mg) and see you how feel about vaping it.
It’s less bad to vape a little more nic in e-liquid than to go back to smoking, so don’t feel bad about a nic increase.
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Well said @Dan_the_Man!
Many do not know that Methadone can be used for chronic pain management and to avoid the use of opiates.
Thankyou for sharing your story 
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To be honest, I didn’t think this video would get such a good response. I focus too much on myself sometimes.
That my friend is sad and I hope I can save a life. I wish it could have been your dad.
How about salt nic? I have heard it is easier to get off the smokes with it. Yes, I would up my nic if I were you but the issue is the cigarettes (and this is only a guess) cigarettes are so much more difficult to quit than nic. they (big tobacco) add extra addictive chemicals to cigarettes so that is damn near impossible to quit. Which is the reason vaping is spreading like wildfire. Nothing else works as well with quitting the cancer sticks. If I’m wrong then just tell me I’m wrong but maybe you just need to make the decision with your heart, mind, soul and then stick with it no matter what. I know, easier said than done. I would go up to 18mg and see what happens. Personally, that is what I use in my MTL setups. I am curious though. When I finally quit, it was because the cigarette tasted so horrible I couldn’t bring myself to take another toke and that was the end, for me. Good luck and don’t hesitate to PM me if you need to vent or talk or whatever. I’ll help if I can.
Ain’t that the truth.
First, let me invite you to the group. There are folks that know more about suboxone than me but I do know a little. Also, one of our members is very good at alternative pain relief. You might also want to research Kratom. I know only a very little about it because I don’t need it and didn’t do much research but it is legal in the states, it’s not an opiate but it is quite the pain reliever from what I hear. If you decide to try it, I do know not to get it from a “store”. It needs to be fresh.
I did try suboxone and didn’t like it for pain relief. It’s not bad for getting off opiates and not going through withdrawal but you already did that and I am quite jealous because you didn’t get “dope sick”.
Granted your pain is bad and I wouldn’t want it. BTW I have always loved your name Paingawd. Anywho, I would highly recommend methadone. Though, it sounds to me that you used your pain meds like your supposed to. Even so, it sucks being on them. It pisses me off that our gov. is so… government. They are going about this epidemic all wrong.
I can give you true info on methadone. I can also recommend where to go if and when your ready. PM me and I can find out where you live and I can go from there (with where to go). I didn’t realize you have no way to help your pain. I don’t know what you think of Marijuana as a pain med but it works at least enough to give you some relief. Now I want to help you and if you let me I will. I know what it’s like to have more pain than you know what to do with. It gets to a point where you NEED RELEF and you need it now or you just might go harry carry on the beeches.
I feel like I’m not making any sense so I’ll stop it here.
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Ya, it’s sad really. It has a bad rep. but it comes from ignorance and the “war on drugs” campaign didn’t help either.
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Sad it is 
I only learned this 10+ years ago when my MIL was offered it for pain & to try to stop using Pethidine and because I was in the appointment with her & the doctor. Man, the reaction of her son, my BIL, was narrow minded to say the least! Trying to convince him was frustrating. (Edit - reappearing myself - lol)
I’m glad that you’ve shared this here. Others may also not be aware & for me, awareness, about many topics, opens the door to communication and possibly solutions to people’s pain - mental or physical.
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I had to look up MIL and as soon as I knew what it meant, then I knew what BIL meant and then I understood the post LOL. So were you able to talk some sense into your BIL? It amazes me that people will argue so adamantly about something they are completely ignorant of. Not that he was adamant
With all of the positive feedback I have had for the video, makes me want to start an “addiction” youtube channel. HHHMMMMHHMM just a thought. 
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Do it, Dan… you never know who you might reach out to.
Everybody is worth at least that. You are too. 
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