Last time I did treatment I did detox for a week, a partial hospitalization program 6 hours a day for 3 weeks, and an intensive outpatient program 3 hours a day for 2 weeks. It was for alcoholism, marijuana dependence, and co-occurring bipolar disorder. I don't want to sound like I'm not taking my problems seriously but back then, it honestly wasn't that bad- I had stopped smoking before detox and my alcohol withdrawals were minimal. I wish I had took treatment more seriously then because then maybe I would've stopped before it actually got bad. But I didn't and kept drinking a couple times a week during the outpatient stuff, then I'd just drink a lot of water so the alcohol didn't register in the drug tests. About 3 days before I was done with the program, I had a moment of clarity and I did truly want to get sober. I was clean on my own for 3 months while attended AA/NA, but then I went back. I've been a heroin addict ever since. I really want to be done now and I want to go back to treatment. But if I went back I'd probably just go back to detox and then do the IOP for maybe 6 weeks. Do you think this would really be enough to keep me clean the rest of my life or do I need a 30 day program for longer sustainability? I'm only 19 and the other people I met in treatment before had been doing this for years. I don't want to be like them. When I go into treatment I want to be done for good. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had success long-term with IOP programs or if I should look into residential.
Treatment Effectiveness of IOP programs in recovery and long-term sobriety
- Thread starter Gemini666
- Start date
Programs won't do a damn thing unless you really, honestly, 100% want to be done with it for the rest of your life. FOR YOU. I did drug court for a year which meant I had to piss in a cup 3 times a week, attend group meetings with a drug counselor twice a week, a one-on-one session with another drug counselor once a week, as well as attend an AA or NA meeting once a month. Funnily enough, I switched from sniffing Oxy to shooting heroin during this time. There were 3 locations where I could go to piss in a cup, and at one of them the guy didn't insist on looking at your dick while you pissed in the cup so I would always go to that one and used fake piss the entire time. Nothing can stop you getting from getting high except you.
Programs like you mentioned are just supposed to ease your transition into the sober lifestyle, it's not like you attend them and they will magically say and do the right things to keep you from getting high the rest of your life. You said it yourself, you were still drinking last time you went. I never went to actual rehab in my 10 years addicted to opiates, because I knew I didn't wanna get clean bad enough. Yeah I wanted to be off heroin, but I knew myself well enough to know I didn't want it bad enough to be done for good. I didn't tell anyone about my addiction or ask anyone for help because I knew I'd just be wasting their time and my time/money.
I can only speak from my experience, but In my experience, if you want to get clean, you have to really ask yourself WHY you want to get clean. If it's because you yourself really want to get clean and start living a real life again, you're on the right track.
I have heard that extended stays in inpatient rehab will be beneficial because, unless you meet someone else in there that is sneaking drugs inside (which I've heard is almost always the case), you can't get high while you're in there and you learn to exist without getting high and break the behavioral problems of using.
It's even harder when you're young, I think, because it hasn't completely ruined your life yet. It took a long time of my using dope, even though I knew I shouldn't be using and should be bettering my life because I had so much potential before my addiction, but I had to do it for a long time until one day it clicked and I looked back at the endless cycle I was in and got fed up with it and wanted to be done with it.
But Because I didn't have anyone on my back telling me to get clean I knew it was what I genuinely wanted for myself.
If you want to be clean bad enough you can do it in a dark room with a source of hot water and toilet nearby, and of course some solid food after a few days. I knew for awhile that I wanted to get clean before I finally did it because I didn't want to lose my job, but I also didn't want to tell my boss I needed time off to detox from heroin. So I waited until I could take a week of vacation and my initial plan was to get off heroin without getting back on suboxone. In hindsight I was a fucking idiot because a week is not enough time. As soon as I realized I had to go back to work in a day but knew there was no way I could work in the condition I was in, i landed on suboxone. Anyways, that's the hard way to do it. If you know with certainty you want to be done and can afford the time and money to do a special program that makes it easier to get off it, go for it. I think there's also something to be said for quitting cold turkey because the pain you feel makes you not want to ever go through it again. If you're going through assisted detox that eases the pain of getting off dope your mind might be more likely to tell you "hey that wasn't so bad, it's not a big deal if I use again because getting off it won't even really be hard"
Programs like you mentioned are just supposed to ease your transition into the sober lifestyle, it's not like you attend them and they will magically say and do the right things to keep you from getting high the rest of your life. You said it yourself, you were still drinking last time you went. I never went to actual rehab in my 10 years addicted to opiates, because I knew I didn't wanna get clean bad enough. Yeah I wanted to be off heroin, but I knew myself well enough to know I didn't want it bad enough to be done for good. I didn't tell anyone about my addiction or ask anyone for help because I knew I'd just be wasting their time and my time/money.
I can only speak from my experience, but In my experience, if you want to get clean, you have to really ask yourself WHY you want to get clean. If it's because you yourself really want to get clean and start living a real life again, you're on the right track.
I have heard that extended stays in inpatient rehab will be beneficial because, unless you meet someone else in there that is sneaking drugs inside (which I've heard is almost always the case), you can't get high while you're in there and you learn to exist without getting high and break the behavioral problems of using.
It's even harder when you're young, I think, because it hasn't completely ruined your life yet. It took a long time of my using dope, even though I knew I shouldn't be using and should be bettering my life because I had so much potential before my addiction, but I had to do it for a long time until one day it clicked and I looked back at the endless cycle I was in and got fed up with it and wanted to be done with it.
But Because I didn't have anyone on my back telling me to get clean I knew it was what I genuinely wanted for myself.
If you want to be clean bad enough you can do it in a dark room with a source of hot water and toilet nearby, and of course some solid food after a few days. I knew for awhile that I wanted to get clean before I finally did it because I didn't want to lose my job, but I also didn't want to tell my boss I needed time off to detox from heroin. So I waited until I could take a week of vacation and my initial plan was to get off heroin without getting back on suboxone. In hindsight I was a fucking idiot because a week is not enough time. As soon as I realized I had to go back to work in a day but knew there was no way I could work in the condition I was in, i landed on suboxone. Anyways, that's the hard way to do it. If you know with certainty you want to be done and can afford the time and money to do a special program that makes it easier to get off it, go for it. I think there's also something to be said for quitting cold turkey because the pain you feel makes you not want to ever go through it again. If you're going through assisted detox that eases the pain of getting off dope your mind might be more likely to tell you "hey that wasn't so bad, it's not a big deal if I use again because getting off it won't even really be hard"
aihfl
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^ Yeah, I tend to agree with this. I did not stay sober after my first inpatient but I did after my second. Neither time did I do any of the things they say to do afterwards (PHP, IOP, sober living house, the last of which was absolutely out of the fucking question in my mind). I suppose after the first time people could have pointed fingers and said, "that's why you didn't stay sober," but I didn't do them the second time either and I've been just fine. In fact, I didn't set foot in a 12 step meeting for the better part of a year and I was still fine. As I've said elsewhere I go once in a while now but mainly just to vent about something that's been bothering me, or to see friends I've made in the program, but I don't work steps and I sure as hell don't want a sponsor. Meeting attendance can help early sobriety while you're learning how to live a healthy life, but I see people that have been going to 2-3 meetings a day for years, possibly decades, and I think "don't you have a fucking hobby???" The big pro of going inpatient, as has already been mentioned, is that it is a nice break from reality and sometimes addicts really need that, but unless you've decided you're one and done, it's meaningless. Best of luck to you.
EDIT: Was your outpatient program actually administering a EgT urine test for alcohol? I've only heard of court-ordered EgT testing. I've never heard of a treatment center using it due to expense.
EDIT: Was your outpatient program actually administering a EgT urine test for alcohol? I've only heard of court-ordered EgT testing. I've never heard of a treatment center using it due to expense.
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simco
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I did a sequence similar to yours, OP...hospitalization followed by 4 weeks of partial hospitalization followed by IOP. The big difference though was that I did IOP for two months and then did their "continuing treatment" (less frequent outpatient) for another two months.
Honestly, the IOP wasn't great in terms of quality. But I found that being involved in it for a long time was very helpful.
Whether you also need inpatient or not is hard for outsiders to say. But I do recommend that you try to find some program that you can participate in for a longer period of time than what you had previously.
Honestly, the IOP wasn't great in terms of quality. But I found that being involved in it for a long time was very helpful.
Whether you also need inpatient or not is hard for outsiders to say. But I do recommend that you try to find some program that you can participate in for a longer period of time than what you had previously.
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Imho if you get good counselors iop can be very beneficial. It allows intensive therapy while a person stays or returns to their lives. This allows a person to work through real life in the iop. Mine was very beneficial.
scubagirl200
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i was in detox for a week and then went to a residential facility. honestly, it's all about what you put in...it doesn't really matter where you are. i was supposed to go to IOP but decided not to because i want to go back to work. did you work the AA program and get a sponsor? or were you just attending meetings? i never got past the third step so i didn't really benefit from completing a program. right now i'm trying to tough it out on my own, but i'm curious also to hear how others feel about IOP. for me, it would have been 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for a month. as far as keeping you clean for the rest of your life...i think you just have to decide if you're willing to do the work and keep to whatever program is working for you. if that's AA/NA, keep working the program, turn your will over and make living amends and all that. i found residential to be enough for me, but everyone is different! best of luck to you in your recovery!
simco
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OP, I know it's been a while since you posted...I hope this is still relevant.
One thing that I think is really crucial about IOP is the fact that it can last quite a long time. Of course inpatient can too, but that's very disruptive, and with IOP I think it's great that you get a fairly long period of time dealing with your own life, but with a bit of support while to learn to handle that.
I did one IOP briefly and just flailed the whole time, going right back out afterwards (though of course, this was mostly b/c I wasn't really done with using then). But I went back a year or so later and did the IOP program for 6 weeks, followed by 3 months of their so-called "continuing care" where I just went for unstructured group meetings once or twice a week in the evenings. I found that long program to be really helpful. It really helped me deal with the issues that come up in my life from day to day...that is, when challenges come my way, I always knew I had group that night, and I'd make a point of brining that stuff to the meetings for discussion.
So I definitely think that (within reason) the longer you can devote to an IOP, the better.
One thing that I think is really crucial about IOP is the fact that it can last quite a long time. Of course inpatient can too, but that's very disruptive, and with IOP I think it's great that you get a fairly long period of time dealing with your own life, but with a bit of support while to learn to handle that.
I did one IOP briefly and just flailed the whole time, going right back out afterwards (though of course, this was mostly b/c I wasn't really done with using then). But I went back a year or so later and did the IOP program for 6 weeks, followed by 3 months of their so-called "continuing care" where I just went for unstructured group meetings once or twice a week in the evenings. I found that long program to be really helpful. It really helped me deal with the issues that come up in my life from day to day...that is, when challenges come my way, I always knew I had group that night, and I'd make a point of brining that stuff to the meetings for discussion.
So I definitely think that (within reason) the longer you can devote to an IOP, the better.
Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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Extended IOP programs (3 months to multiple years) are beginning to be considered more appropriate for the vast majority than inpatient, precisely because it doesn't remove the individual from their environment and then just dump them back into it after they've (mostly) dried out.
I've benefited from IOP type mental illness and substance use disorder programs far more than any of my many times inpatient. Especially when treating opioid or gabaergic substance use disorders, having that kind of extended support that support you living a more of less normal life at home/in the real world is absolutely crucial.
That said, it must be assessed on a case by case basis. I've been to some truly HORRIBLE Synanon style IOP programs that did far more damage than good, some that simply were neither particularly helpful nor unhelpful (although I didn't enjoy them), as well as those that have been truly supportive given my particular needs.
So any such program should be chosen on a case by case basis according to the specific needs of the individual using them. It's like, would you hire plumber to fix your broken toilet who doesn't know what he's doing? Why would you pay for a program that doesn't meet your needs?
As a general rule, IOP program attached to university hospitals is the best way to go - at least these tend to be the most up to date in terms of the advances modern medicine is making in treating substance use disorder.
The thing is, if we're going to talk about addiction as a disease, we must talk about it as a social disease too. IOP programs are useful to address this because they allow you the space to practice the skills you're leaning about in IOP in the real world even on the very same day you learn them! And life outside the confines of rehab is where the rubber meets the road, after all.
I've benefited from IOP type mental illness and substance use disorder programs far more than any of my many times inpatient. Especially when treating opioid or gabaergic substance use disorders, having that kind of extended support that support you living a more of less normal life at home/in the real world is absolutely crucial.
That said, it must be assessed on a case by case basis. I've been to some truly HORRIBLE Synanon style IOP programs that did far more damage than good, some that simply were neither particularly helpful nor unhelpful (although I didn't enjoy them), as well as those that have been truly supportive given my particular needs.
So any such program should be chosen on a case by case basis according to the specific needs of the individual using them. It's like, would you hire plumber to fix your broken toilet who doesn't know what he's doing? Why would you pay for a program that doesn't meet your needs?
As a general rule, IOP program attached to university hospitals is the best way to go - at least these tend to be the most up to date in terms of the advances modern medicine is making in treating substance use disorder.
The thing is, if we're going to talk about addiction as a disease, we must talk about it as a social disease too. IOP programs are useful to address this because they allow you the space to practice the skills you're leaning about in IOP in the real world even on the very same day you learn them! And life outside the confines of rehab is where the rubber meets the road, after all.