PLAYING WITH FIRE

It is late. It has been another long fourteen-hour day. I have just finished my third consecutive five-hour evening of foster training after spending eight hours on the computer.

It was an emotionally wrenching class tonight. We watched videos on physically, sexually, and emotionally abused children. We hear an alcoholic father shout obscenities at his daugher at the dinner table before forcing her to have sex with him that night. She is six-years old. We listen to Ken, an intelligent, good-looking teen, admit his foster parents did nothing wrong and then three seconds later burst into an angry tirade, stating that in the end everyone lets you down. We later learn he became a male prostitute. How can anyone undo the damage done to these children?

The last thing I want to deal with now is a problem.

I flip open my cell phone and listen to a message I received from a friend while in class. "I need your help. I think my boyfriend ___________ has a heroin problem. I suspect he is secretly using."

My friend lives thousands of miles away. With the three-hour time difference it is now past 3 a.m. on the East coast. What can I do?

I drive home, switch on the computer, and email her information on the signs of heroin abuse. I then text her a message of loving support.

It is the age of electronic comfort.
I wonder if a hug would have mattered more.


SIGNS OF HEROIN ABUSE

"There are many signs of heroin abuse to look for if you suspect someone you care about is using. Heroin abuse affects the user's brain. It enters the brain quickly and slows down the way they think, their reaction time, and their memory. This affects the way they act and make decisions. Nine out of ten heroin abusers when questioned about their heroin abuse will deny it. However, there are several early warning signs of heroin abuse that may serve as pointers.

"One of the many signs of heroin abuse takes place when the heroin abuser wakes up in the morning. On waking up, the heroin abuser rushes to the bathroom. But unlike most people, they spend longer periods of time. This may extend to well over an hour because heroin, being a narcotic, causes constipation. Also, while high the addict is disoriented in time. It is also possible to detect withdrawal symptoms when the addict wakes up in the morning. This usually manifests in a running nose and eyes, restlessness, yawning, coughing, sneezing, gooseflesh, fever, chills, cramps in the abdomen, back and calf muscles, muscular twitching, aching joints, loose motions, vomiting and mental confusion.

"Another one of the many signs of heroin abuse includes the user's eating habits. The heroin abuser generally has a poor appetite. This can make it easier for parents to notice that their child is eating less or losing weight fast. On an average, a heroin abuser will lose 22 pounds by the time they complete one year of heroin abuse.

"There are also changes in heroin abuser's food preferences. There is a sudden craving for sweet dishes. Often, the heroin user may interrupt his or her meal and go to the bathroom to vomit. Also, the user may slip into a heroin 'nod' and doze off at the table. Their sleep pattern becomes owlish. They stay awake during the night. At times the sleep is punctuated by bouts of coughing. In the later stages of addiction, the abuser does not seem to sleep at all.

"Some addicts when interviewed also revealed that heroin initially triggered off sexual promiscuity. Male heroin abusers talked of frequenting brothels. This is because, during the first few days, heroin serves as an aphrodisiac, and delays ejaculation time by as much as 45 minutes. However, after a month or two, the sex drive wanes. Users often complain of impotency. The impotency that sets in is reversible. In about a month after giving up, the patient is back to normal. Depression sets in at this point. An average college male, who has a keen interest in the opposite sex, suddenly loses all interest. (This is usually more marked from the third year of addiction.)

"There are other tell-tale signs of heroin abuse. If the heroin abuser is allowed to smoke cigarettes in the house, the contents of the ashtray will be different from the non-abuser's. There will be loose and un-burnt tobacco. This is because a little bit of tobacco is removed from the cigarette to create room for the heroin to be added. If the addict is chasing the drug, one can notice matchsticks much more in proportion to the cigarette butts. The match sticks will be burnt to the end. If the drug is smoked in cigarettes, then one finds that the cigarette is smoked down to the filter."