Former cocaine addicts detail the horrific realities of the drug, from crippling anxiety to painful side effects, as they attempt to combat its ‘glamorous’ image
- People who have used, and been addicted to, cocaine detailed their worst experiences with it on Reddit
- The thread was started by a former addict who detailed ‘the side of cocaine that isn’t glamorized’ in a spoof ‘starter pack’ meme
- Posting under the username moneymrly, the user opened up about having to lie to co-workers about why they were constantly sniffing
- The unnamed person also reveled how cocaine leaves you unable to eat for hours on end, and detailed the awful ‘come down’ after a night of partying
- Other users chimed in, with many revealing that the sound of birds chirping in the morning became a devastating trigger for them after an all-nighter
Former cocaine addicts and users are shining a light on the most horrific side effects of the drug in an attempt to fight its ‘glamorous’ image.
The drug users shared their very candid experiences with cocaine on Reddit, after one user took to the site to detail the ‘side of cocaine use that isn’t glamorized’ in the form of a ‘starter pack’ meme.
Posting under the name moneymrly, the former cocaine user revealed their struggle with all manner of side effects, from nasal congestion to the devastating come downs they faced after a long night of cocaine-fueled partying.
Speaking out: A former cocaine addict has opened up about the horrific realities of the drug on Reddit, prompting dozens of other people to detail the side effects that aren’t ‘glamorous’
Describing the bleak morning scenario, the Redditor wrote of their previous experience: ‘Coming down at 7:35am, all your friends have left, music is playing on your phone because the Bluetooth speak ran out of battery.
They noted that the cocaine use also affected their sex life, adding: ‘You’re more flaccid than ever, and you realize there was actually no endgame for the last 10 hours of partying.
‘You hear your upstairs neighbor getting ready for work.’
According to the Reddit user, other consequences of their cocaine use included permanent nasal congestion – which they treated by using neti pots and Flonase – as well as a total lack of appetite for up to 16 hours.
Then, when they found themselves able to eat, they revealed they couldn’t taste anything because their nose was so blocked.
The constant nasal congestion also forced them to lie to co-workers, with the user revealing that they would often fall back on the excuse: ‘I’m not sick, just my allergies acting up.’
The blunt post prompted a host of other Reddit users to come forward and share their own experiences with cocaine – with several revealing that the sound of birds chirping in the morning became a heartbreaking trigger for them, because it was usually the first sound they heard while coming down from a night of partying.
‘You forgot those birds that start chirping at 5am when you’ve run out and you’re coming down,’ one user commented.
‘The birds always made me the most sad. Probably drank way too much, knowing you’ll feel like literally dying when you wake up 4 hours after you went to bed, at most. I’ll never miss that f*****g stuff.’
Another person then added that the sound of birds in the morning still sends them into a ‘tailspin’ because of the memories that are brought to life by the noise.
‘Dude the absolute tailspin I enter when I hear the first bird chirp and see the sky slowly starting to brighten…stuff of nightmares lol,’ they wrote.
One other user agreed, adding that they thought the bird chirping was just a trigger for them. ‘I still get anxious when I hear birds chirping. I thought I was the only one,’ they wrote.
Others said they struggled with intense anxiety, panic attacks, guilt and depression while doing cocaine –
The friend of a cocaine addict who died of an overdose opened up about how the drug changed him – explaining that he spent years battling his habit, which eventually ruined his relationships with his family and his friends.
‘My best friend from teenage years died from an overdose this weekend,’ the person wrote. ‘I met him in 98 saw him take his first lines in 2003. He was my best friend, we were inseparable. Cocaine took him and never let him go.
‘He eventually got married, had a kid, seemed to be doing better… Nope. He’s dead now, and he was half dead for the past 17 years since he tried that s**t. He made his parents and family suffer through so much, and now they get to bury him too.
Heartbreaking: One Redditor revealed how his best friend from childhood got addicted to cocaine, detailing how the drug ruined his life before he eventually died from an overdose
A new dawn? Many posters said that they are still triggered by the sound of birds chirping in the morning – because it was often the first sound they heard while coming down from cocaine
Advice: A former addict urged anyone who is trying to quit the drug to avoid any friends or contacts who are still involved with it
‘I miss him a lot, but I miss who he was before that shit took over, not the selfish addict he turned into.’
A few former addicts also shared advice for those who are trying to end their cocaine habit, with one urging any other people struggling to quit the drug to avoid friends who won’t stop doing it in front of them.
‘Heads up from an ex addict. 7g a week was my worst, 4g a week was a good week,’ one wrote, before going on to explain what recovering addicts can expect while withdrawing from cocaine.
‘Statistically the 8-10 week range is the worst. Delete and do not associate with anyone that you can buy it from. And ask that people do not talk about it in front of you. If they’re you’re friends they’ll respect that, if they don’t they’re not your friends.’
Another person warned that ‘the first week is always the hardest’, adding that it is common for addicts who are trying to quit cocaine to ‘start remembering the good’ and forget the bad altogether.
‘The following weeks are gonna be rough, you’re going to start remembering the good and pushing out the bad (its human, everyone remembers the past more fondly because they forget the crap) but you gotta be stronger than the nostalgia. Its gonna suck, but going back would suck worse and going forward only gets better,’ the person wrote.
‘It may sound lame but every once in a while just take stock of things that are better since you quit, maybe you sleep better, maybe your teeth don’t hurt, maybe your head doesn’t feel like its in a fog, whatever it is just recognize that you earned it by being better and focus on holding onto your improvement. I
‘It’s easier to work towards a positive, holding onto your progress, than it is to stick to a negative (quitting).
‘I don’t know if that will help you but thats what did it for me. Went back too many times but it wasn’t until I started treating it like I was gaining something that it started to stick.’
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