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  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

Rehab/Detox

Agree with Azron on AA/NA - always seems to be those with the most to say have the least experience of them.

Footscrazy why do you think rehab/detox is less successful with meth? My brother is going to detox for meth shortly (he's been taking just about everything else as well lately). It's his first time in a proper detox after 20+ years as an on-again, off-again injecting meth user. Previous time he's kicked has been willpower and Valium but now he's proper stuffed after only a few weeks on meth after 3 years off the gear. He just cannot handle it any more, it used to be he'd use for months or years before crashing out in paranoia and depression but now a few days into it he has massive anxiety and turns to booze, benzos, morphine, bupe and everything else to manage the meth use. He'll be doing an inpatient detox then outpatient visits to counsellor and doctor.
 
Mr Blonde said:
^ There's girls on Bluelight!? Awesome. ;)

I haven't been to detox, they wanted me to for... codeine. 8)

But I refused.

Good thing I didn't tell them about everything else. :D

I have been to a psychologist a lot which included discussion about drug use, and a drug and alcohol counselor. The D&A guy didn't help too much, maybe because it was a 'youth' type service which can be good but I felt wasn't for me.

The psychologist though helped a lot with not just drug use, but anxiety, stress, and getting back to functioning normally after a very bad episode of mental illness.
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fuck its good to see you posting again mate i thought something bad had happened to you :)

i havnt had any expirence with detox or rehab personally but a close friend of mine (and a ex BL'er hes dead now RIP :( ) has and from what he told me it was a really bad environment for quitting drugs,they had little to no activity's,stuck inside the majority of the day until they say your "stable" enough to go for a walk around freo (the place he was in was in fremantle) and if you have a bad addiction and not much self control can send you right back to the first step.when he was aloud on his walks he would go chemist to chemist getting packets of codeine.The staff musnt of paid much attention at all cus he was telling me he was doing CWE's in his room using ice water insted of the freezer and him and most of the people in there went out the back and shared a joint together.he said he was sure the nursers/volunteers knew they were havving a smoke but didint seem to mind :\ after about a month in there he was let out to live with his mum n brother within a month he died from a overdose to 3 grams or so of codeine.i spoke to him hours before he died :(

also studys show that addicts have a higher rate of getting clean if its there choice to do so rather than being forced into a clinic.......
 
Azron said:
DUNNO - It was many years ago I went to Wellington House so shit might have changed there. It's a good place to Detox. It's not Re-Hab. You wont get over your Xanax addiction there because it's not the point of Detox. When I was there, the meds. that they dispense is whatever your referring Dr. tells them to give you and there certainly was Rivotril there. (Although the patient on it was possibly epileptic)

They will slowly wean you of Xanax and are probably limited to swapping onto just Valium as Detox. is just the catylist before you go to long term rehab. if you choose. I only know of 2 rehabs that take people on Benzos and that is Odyssey houses circuit breaker (6 weeks re-hab before going to Odyssey in Lower Plenty Melbourne where no benzo's are allowed. You work with the dr. at circuit breaker to come off everything before going to Melbourne, and then theres M.A.R.P... which u can go into on a 10mg a day (diaz.) only with the intention of ceasing completly. There are no other rehabs i know of in Vic or NSW that will take you still on benzo's at all. If you want to get of Xanax completly then a simple 7 - 10 day detox. such as wellington house won't work for you.

I have done Odyssey houses circuit breaker (6 weeks) 3 times now. It is generally what it says. A circuit breaker. U then get a clean pass and bed to their sister house in Melbourne in Lower Plenty for long term rehab. Odyssey house is probably the hardest and moast intense rehab there is but it works. (Not that I chose long term rehab.)

Getting of any Benzo is a bitch because nowhere will take you and I believe they dont understand just how damn hard it is to get off the shit.... especially shit like alprazolam.

Wellington House is (was when I was there) a great place to detox. but for years of Xanax use... It probably wont do you much good.
Try calling a place called Re-connexion in Glen Iris. Google will have their number. Hope some of this made sense and helped a it....

I wish I kept a diary to post here when i did my 3 6week courses at Odysseys circuit breaker in the country. It would be a very intresting read.
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Yeah I don't know why I was referred to only a 7 day place and even my local GP is confused and doesn't see any point in me going there.
Thanks for the info on Odyssey house and M.A.R.P. I know I need to be there as 7 days isn't going to work but the idiot who referred me seemed to think it would and also the people that assessed me (I explained I have been on them for about 8 years and I don't see how it will achieve anything, they just said something like looking to the future, I know their not doctors so I just tuned out for the most part.)

I was given a pamphlet of Re-connexion & I called them and I don't think they will be of any help.

Also, "Getting of any Benzo is a bitch because nowhere will take you and I believe they dont understand just how damn hard it is to get off the shit.... especially shit like alprazolam." Too true!

Forgot to add, Do you believe in the Ashton manual taper schedule? Over at that certain forum i'm pretty sure you would know which one, they all seem to swear by it but a lot of them are maybe just a little bit crazy in my opinion & are brainwashed... my username says it all about that forum, I Dunno.
 
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Junkie Skumbag - What do you actually know about AA and NA? How many meetings have you been to? I want you to justify yourself agreeing with Mr.Sqiggle's post? I'm not an advocate for AA or NA by any means, but what I do know is that it works. It's not for everyone (including myself) but my reasons have nothing to do with brainwashing or Christianity.

You obviously have no idea about AA and NA and is very inappropriate on a Harm Reduction website for you to be spreading lies and misconceptions on ideas and programs aimed at helping people get their life back on track. How irresponsible is it for you to possibly scare people away from it with bullshit.

I'll tell you what's amazing.... That's going to an NA meeting and hearing someone share that because of this fellowship they have been clean and sober for 20 years and they owe their lives to the open doors of the fellowship.

I recommend people try AA and NA meetings. There are thousands of them. If you dont like one in particular, dont judge the whole fellowship on a couple of hours of one meeting. Try another one, and another one.
 
DUNNO- Personally I am in 2 minds regarding the Ashton manual taper schedual. But I am certainly no clinician. Id bring up your concerns with your GP and make a tapering schedual that includes your concerns. But yeah it seems to be the schedual of choice. I have to say that I 'Dunno' either. IMO benzos are the hardest drug to get off and tapering scheduals and swapping and changing is all to confusing and physically/mentally draining and dangerous to me.(And of course not just me) Probably why I still cant kick my habbit. I believe this issue needs to be addressed and studied furthur.
 
zilog said:
Footscrazy why do you think rehab/detox is less successful with meth? My brother is going to detox for meth shortly (he's been taking just about everything else as well lately). It's his first time in a proper detox after 20+ years as an on-again, off-again injecting meth user. Previous time he's kicked has been willpower and Valium but now he's proper stuffed after only a few weeks on meth after 3 years off the gear. He just cannot handle it any more, it used to be he'd use for months or years before crashing out in paranoia and depression but now a few days into it he has massive anxiety and turns to booze, benzos, morphine, bupe and everything else to manage the meth use. He'll be doing an inpatient detox then outpatient visits to counsellor and doctor.
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My comment was regarding detox for meth rather than rehab, as I've never been to rehab so I can't comment personally on that. The reason I think detox is less succesful for meth, is that IME detox is really just that - 'detoxing' you - a place to get the drugs out of your system with its main focus on this physical withdrawal. IME there's less focus on the psychological reasons for using, which is fair enough, one. because I don't think acute withdrawal is an effective time to get into intense psychological discussion or a realistic time to make any long term goals for yourself, and two. changing the psychological habits associated with addiction takes far longer than 7 days, in my opinion. I think therefore that detox has its main use in supporting withdrawals that are difficult, need management and/or can be dangerous - things like benzos, opioids and alcohol, or simply a place to get all the drugs out of someone's system before they go on to a long term rehab, which generally wont take people with any drugs in their system.

I don't think detox is much use on its own for anything, I think it's the start of the process, but as anyone who has had an addiction knows, physically stopping the drug is just the very beginning. I think that often more is expected from detox than it can realistically deliver - I know I thought that, I thought getting away for 7 days would be enough to break the cycle I was in, that being in a residential, intensive environment would somehow make it easier to quit and stay off, but realistically I think that's unlikely to happen. You're still much the same person when you get out, and unless you have a really solid foundation to work from from there and go forward with in quitting (which you'll need to develop yourself, detox won't do it for you), it's still just 7 days clean when you get out, and that's very new.

I guess my point is that I think if that someone isn't ready to quit, detox isn't going to make much difference, it wont be the turning point that gets them on the right path. And if someone already is ready to quit - I just don't see detox being essential or even useful for something like meth, which doesn't have a dangerous withdrawal. On the other hand I can see detox helping for someone on alcohol or opioids or whatever who wants to quit, but needs support and medication through the withdrawal. This is just my opinion though, I hope it works out for your bro.
 
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Im just wondering if anyone has experience, or knows anything about MTAR at Rozelle in Sydney?

I have just enrolled to do the program to get off bupe and stop using as well. I was on methadone for about 2.5 years then swapped to bupe for the last 2 at 8mg(as of now). I didnt use H while I was on methadone but for the last year or so ive been chopping into the heroin pretty bad as well as the benzos so I feel I need to get away and get my life back as im only 22 and think now is a good time to get this done before I lose all hope as there are times when I believe im going to be a lifelong user(and at the rate im going my life wont last much longer) or im going to be stuck on a program for the rest of my life and going to the clinic or whatever is taking up so much of my time and I want to live, I want a career and more friends and a partner and none of this is hapening while im on the buprenorphine program and still using drugs.

Ive done Rehab 3 times, twice at PALM Ted Noffs when I was 16 which was a 3 month residntial program at Randwick in Sydney and then again when I was 17 that was just for pot and speed, E etc, I think I was just more depressed and wanted to get out of home more than anything because it was a pretty good escape at the time. Then I did Triple Care Farm when I was 19 and that was great, it was for opiates and while I do admit I used a few times there I did finish the program and it was a good experience but I was the only IV user there and the place wasnt really designed to deal with hardcore addicts as I was at the time. Shit I was using so much heroin, oxy, xanax, meth and everything and thy just didnt know what to do with me at times so yeah, it was good but not for your hardcore addict. These were all youth rehabs, I have no experience with detox though. MTAR is kind of half and half and I am extremely sensitive to lowering my doses of bupe so im just hoping they can cater to my needs and not keep me suffering.

Anyway if anyone needs advice on any of the rehabs ive mentioned that ive been to then dont hesitate to PM me.
 
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Thanks for your considered reply Footscrazy, I can understand your perspective on these. A few days of Valium, sleep and food seemed to help my brother overcome withdrawal before but the bright side of finally getting some "proper" help via this centre is the follow up appointments with psych and doctor. If he can stick to those he might just get a little more insight and start to put a life together. He really just doesn't know how to live - sadly this last relapse occurred when he was making good progress quitting pot. We'll see how it goes, after many many years of heartbreak no one in the family is expecting miracles.
 
My daughter is 22 years old and addicted to heroin. She also suffers from Bi-Polar (probably bought on by earlier drug use, cannabis, speed etc.). I have only just discovered the heroin addiction and am at a loss as what to do. She has a boyfriend who feeds her the drug and I guess she thinks she loves him. I am so lost as to what ot do. Im pretty broke but I will rustle up money for rehab but where and how. I know it would mean taking her there kicking and screaming but I love her and I dont want her to die.I have just stumbled on this forum and just thought I could get some inspiration and information on rehab and how to go about it all.
 
Hi Francine. Welcome to Bluelight & hopefully you will find useful information here. You can't make any addict "do" rehab etc & in my opinion it would be a waste of your money if your daughter is not genuinely willing to try rehab.

From my experiences the best bet would be to investigate William Booth House or another long term in patient charitable rehab. My only issue with the charitable rehabs is the religious agenda. That said the Salvos really want to help people & I know numerous people who have got their shit together & live fulfilling lives because of what they learnt at WBH. Unfortunately I know just as many who back where they started but even if it is a 10% chance of long term sobriety, that one in ten chance is worth taking IMO.

The physical detox is only the first step in recovery & I don't subscribe to the belief that you need to find the root cause/causes of the addiction but addicts need to learn to manage their addictions so that they do not start where they left off once they leave rehab. It is so common for addicts of all sorts to start using after a few months of sobriety because they feel normal again & using is normal to an addict whereas sobriety is abnormal.

I suggest checking out the dark side forum here as there is a lot of love, compassion & understanding from everyone from struggling addicts to family of addicts & everything in between.

The best thing you can do is let your daughter know you love her & are willing to help her if she wants your help but she alone has to make that decision.
 
Azron,

I'm considering Odyssey house. I've been told it has a 67% success rate whereas the other rehabs are lucky to have a 3 % success rate. Can you please share your personal experience of the place? Why is it so challenging? What's the average day like there? I'm looking at the 3 month program.

I'm not sure i need it, but I am on the waiting list.
 
Oxyuranus said:
Azron,

I'm considering Odyssey house. I've been told it has a 67% success rate whereas the other rehabs are lucky to have a 3 % success rate. Can you please share your personal experience of the place? Why is it so challenging? What's the average day like there? I'm looking at the 3 month program.

I'm not sure i need it, but I am on the waiting list.
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Do you mean the Odyssey House in Melbourne or in the country (Mollyhulla?)
 
Anyone intrested Pm me.... I done a lot of rehab and detox...
 
Oxyuranus said:
Azron,

I'm considering Odyssey house. I've been told it has a 67% success rate whereas the other rehabs are lucky to have a 3 % success rate. Can you please share your personal experience of the place? Why is it so challenging? What's the average day like there? I'm looking at the 3 month program.

I'm not sure i need it, but I am on the waiting list.
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I might see you in there! I am currently on the waiting list too, I just need to go to detox to get off the xanax then do the bupe reduction at Odyssey House. Would be interested to hear anyones experiences or knowledge of the place also. Im a little scared, mostly of the xanax detox but I know I need it, ive done 3 other rehabs and they werent used to IV users or heroin/benzo/meth users as much as pot, speed and the odd ice smoker so they werent really equipped for my circumstances.

Anyway should be in there within the next 2 months or so. I was dreading it but im starting to look forward to a new life as ive spent nearly $30 000 on heroin, meth and xanax in the last 5-6 months so I really do need it. Im sure it will be a good experience though extremely hard im sure. Hope you do decide to go because its the best rehab and theres a lot of evidence to support that. Look at it as a growing experience instead of a drag and something that you dont really want to do but have to. Good luck anyway mate :)
 
the_ketaman said:
I might see you in there! I am currently on the waiting list too, I just need to go to detox to get off the xanax then do the bupe reduction at Odyssey House. Would be interested to hear anyones experiences or knowledge of the place also. Im a little scared, mostly of the xanax detox but I know I need it, ive done 3 other rehabs and they werent used to IV users or heroin/benzo/meth users as much as pot, speed and the odd ice smoker so they werent really equipped for my circumstances.

Anyway should be in there within the next 2 months or so. I was dreading it but im starting to look forward to a new life as ive spent nearly $30 000 on heroin, meth and xanax in the last 5-6 months so I really do need it. Im sure it will be a good experience though extremely hard im sure. Hope you do decide to go because its the best rehab and theres a lot of evidence to support that. Look at it as a growing experience instead of a drag and something that you dont really want to do but have to. Good luck anyway mate :)
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Are we talking about Odyssey House in Lower Plenty Melbourne? Or The Odyssey House Circuit Breaker in country Vic.?
 
Dont want to give misonformation as the two vary very slightly...
 
Azron said:
Dont want to give misonformation as the two vary very slightly...
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Im going to the one in Campbelltown in Sydney, didnt realize there was one in Melb. Guess I wont be seeing any BL'ers in there :( lol
 
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