I am an ex-hardcore drug user — speed and cocaine to heroin — with 25 months of sobriety from drugs and alcohol. Now that I do not go out to clubs or party, I am finding difficulty in relationships.

Women do not understand why I do not drink. When they ask, I tell them where drugs and alcohol have gotten me in the past. This always seems to scare them off.

I feel guilty not telling them that I used to be an intravenous drug user, but when they ask about the tattoo on my arm that symbolizes a promise to myself never to inject again. I am honest about what it stands for. I never shared needles, I have been tested for AIDS/Hep-C and all of the tests have returned negative.

I am having difficulty finding someone that understands.

I have been taking between 5 and 10 mgs of methadone daily. I cannot seem to stop. Every time I try, I get very, very depressed and experience abdominal pain, chills, hot flashes, and sleeplessness. The depression and tremendous anxiety are intolerable and I end up taking more to avoid it. Question: Am I harming my body and/or mind with this stuff? How can I get off without the horrible feelings?

I was just wondering — can drinking sugar-free energy drinks promote weight loss? I remember hearing somewhere a while ago that it is possible for those drinks to cause those sorts of results. I am a busy college student and would love to think that it would be possible to keep my energy level up while shedding a few pounds at the same time!

I have just realized that I am not able to handle alcohol. Whenever I go to a bar or a club, I drink to excess. I do not have any urge to drink. However, when I am in a club or a bar, the same thing happens: I drink too much! This is making me think that I am an alcoholic. My question is: Where can I go for help? Thanks.

I want to thank you and Columbia for this wonderful service! I have been browsing your archives for some help, here is the situation: I want to know what I can do to support my significant other when he is released from Drug Rehabilitation. Please help me!

1) What are the long-term and short-term effects of abusing NyQuil? I've heard it's very dangerous to use it recreationally, but I'm not sure what's dangerous about it. I've heard you can even die from abusing it.

2) I've heard some friends talking about the drugs they are doing and they keep mentioning DXing. What is it?

3) I have recently just finished my first year in college and on a few occasions, a couple of friends and I had decided to drink massive amounts of Robitussin DM (dextromethorphan, I believe). It was fun, but the day after I felt like I was hit by a car! They call it robo trippin'. I have no intentions on doing this again; however, I was wondering if there were any long-term effects of it.

My friend and I snorted a 10 bag each of heroin. Our heads began to feel heavy after ten minutes. Soon we entered into a dream world in which we hallucinated heavily. We talked to people who did not exist and we were very confused. I could not remember anything about who I was. I only remember certain parts of the four-hour trip that followed but I felt like I was on mushrooms for about two days. We could not read for that amount of time (nothing was in focus). What do you think we took? PCP? Bad synthetic heroin?

My new job requires me to travel by airplane quite a bit. While flying, I sometimes have a cocktail or two, and most of the time, I am really loopy by the time we land. Some colleagues of mine have told me that one drink in the air is the equivalent of two drinks on the ground. How is this possible?

What is, overall, safer for your body: alcohol or marijuana?

My dad requires me to take weekly drug tests since he found out that I was smoking marijuana. My first test came back positive for marijuana and cocaine. I was not surprised about the marijuana because I had only been clean for five weeks, but I have never done cocaine. Is there anything that could have triggered a positive result? Could opium or mushrooms or any other drug possibly trigger this positive result?