Rehab clinics; how, where, who, when and what you have experienced..

[cassandragemini]

Hey guys
I'm currently sitting in the Raymond Hader rehab clinic awaiting a first consultation to see if rehab is right for me and while waiting for anything I like to browse bluelight and I realised that in my several years of bluelighting I have not seen a dedicated thread for rehab related info. People have bought it up in other threads and told stories but that's about as much as I've seen. Mods is this ok? Has it been done and ive missed it? Can we have a thread dedicated to info on rehab centres, what people found good and bad about them and maybe even the contact details of the better ones?

Ok fast forward an hour; I had my consultation and while the centre seems absolutely amazing it's also really really expensive, more than twice my reasonable weekly wage for a week with a minimum 3 month stay - way out of access for someone in my financial position. They have a charity bed system which is fantastic, they deduct 80% of your benefit each week for your stay however there is a waiting list and is no good to a new zealander without permanent residency like me. You can pay a monthly amount of $900 to claim a charity bed for the 3 months however this is stil out of many peoples reach, mine included.

I have to say the clinic seemed really really good for those who can afford it, their success rates are impressive and the staff seemed really lovely, the doctor who saw me was a past heroin addict (she has been clean for 26 years and now dedicates her life to helping other addicts) and was honest, caring and professional, if I could afford even the charity bed I would give it a shot for sure. If anyone would like the contact details for the Raymond Hader clinic PM me and I'll pass on as much info as possible, provided this is ok? Surely having information on the rehab clinics in Australia would be excellent harm reduction?

I'm going home now to do some further research on the clinics that would be suitable and affordable for me, if the mods are ok with it I'd be more than happy to share the information I gather, as well as contact details (or I could hold them and pm them to anyone who needs them?) And if anyone has any tips, hints, stories, do's, donts please post and let me and others considering the last line of treatment know of your experiences, I personally would be really really grateful. I'm at the point now where I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, I'm on suboxone and Valium for maintenance and ive had enough of both of them, I want a fresh slate and having to go the doctor, pharmacy, be on drugs all the time, lose respect from my friends and family and the constant struggle with keeping this up while trying to work and break into the industry I love has worn thin, im ready to clean up now and the sooner the better, I've slowly reduced my doses over the last few months but I can't wait any longer, I'm willing to shit the bed for a fortnight to have this behind me in a month or so and wake up feeling good without fumbling for a bottle of pills and wasting my time at fucked up doctors clinics and pharmacies, I think it's great that they're there for the people who they genuinely can help but I've had my full.

Back to the point: if people who have been to rehab, have friends or relatives who have been and could share their advice and experiences and point people in the direction of good centres that can genuinely help people in need that would be flippin' awesome.

 

[Mr Blonde]

This thread sounds like a good idea to me.

I've only experienced HADS (Herston Alcohol and Drugs Service) here in Brisbane at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. The nurses were rude, arrogant, vindictive and had no respect for their patients. The doctors were alright, and the doctor I was assigned was understanding when I explained that I was not very happy with the treatment from the nurses, especially since I was there voluntarily. I understand that they have to put up with shit sometimes, but that is not an excuse to then put that on to patients who have done nothing at all to them, and it was my first fucking day at that. I was there for a benzodiazepine WD/taper, but after one day and having books confiscated from me because they were medical related, I rang up a friend on the outside, organized to get enough clonazepam to do a taper myself and checked myself out.

 

[footscrazy]

Good luck Cassandra in achieving the goals you want, it sounds like you've got the right mindset for it.

Definitely do keep us updated

I have never been to rehab as such but I have been to detox twice, once for 2 weeks and once for 3 days.

I think I was 20 the first time I went and I went to a detox especially for people under 21, called Windana.

I really liked this place, and despite the fact that I was in there for detox, I still have fond memories of my time there. The staff were fantastic, very involved, caring, intelligent and so on. They were all past addicts. The detox was very activity based, which I think is a really good thing. We went on a walk daily, in the bush or around a farm, and did other things like going to a movie, playing footy, going op shopping, going to the pool etc. We got out of the house at least once a day, and there were several programs inside the house like art therapy, reiki, meetings on different topics (cravings, relapse prevention etc etc). Everyone was put on a natural supplement program and as well as your medications you could choose a range of herbal medicines for sleeping, anxiety and so on.

Although I really liked that place and didn't even struggle while I was there, when I left I hopped on the train home and ended up scoring before I even got there.

The second place was called Moreland Hall, an adult detox centre this time. I was doing a clinical trial using modafinil for the treatment of meth withdrawal. I was really keen to go to the adult detox centre rather than the kids one, but it was pretty crappy. There was a whole different outlook/focus in there. It felt much more like somewhere that you should feel ashamed of being, and I always felt as if I was being treated as if I was a naughty child who'd done something wrong. The workers there didn't really give a fuck and immediately assumed you were a dumbass who knew nothing. I got sick with a bad cold before I went in there and they refused to believe that I was actually sick, and kept telling me it was withdrawal. I asked to see a doctor repeatedly but there was no set up for that, which I found incredibly stupid. Their answer for every complaint/grievance I had was to give me more benzos, which some may consider a good thing, but considering I had a valid complaint, pissed me off.

Being in meth withdrawal the main thing I wanted to do was sleep, but they would wake me up if I fell asleep during the day, and they seemed to think I was doing it to be obstinate or piss them off. Because of these issues I left after 3 days.

Overall I found detox fairly ineffective for me. They seem to have a limited understanding of methamphetamine withdrawal, and be designed for benzo/opiate/alcohol withdrawal, which makes sense.

 

[Mr Blonde]

^ It's a shame there isn't as much in the way of services for people dependent on methamphetamine or other stimulants. When I was in the hospital rehab/detox, no one was there for stimulant use, they were all in for either opioids, benzodiazepines or alcohol. Some had co-morbid marijuana problems, but that was not the main reason for their visit to the place.

 

[SpiritFolk]

I spent 4 months in a rehab called 'the buttery' up north NSW.

I have to say it was the most fantastic experience of my life and got me out of a serious situation I was living in back in Canberra.

I had been abusing heroin, methadone, and buprenorphine for about 4 years and was completley and utterly addicted to opiates. I also was shooting up meth at every opportunity as maintenance programs just wern't cutting it.

For the last year to year and a half of this period I actually wanted to be drug free and even once I had made this decision I wad just in way too deep and unsuccessfully tried to quit and taperdown only to start scoring hammer and start the cycle all over again.

Anyways after seeing my parents and family almost breaking down themselves from witnessing my addiction turn me into an empty vessel if a human I had become I decided that I would go to rehab as my probation officer
Had suggested.

I didn't want to go as my addict brain still wanted to use, but the guilt from seeing the pain I had caused my mum and dad made me finally decide to go.

Now the one I went to is totally government funded and basically you give your dole check to them and they let you stay there.

You have to be clean and go to detox before you are allowed in. The piss test you before and randomly once you are in.

You do therapy everyday with about 30 other addicts and also run the place in terms of cooking and cleaning. There were about 5 councellors who were all ex addicts but had been clean for years and had done degrees in how be rehab councellors.

Now the system is heavily tied to NA
And AA and you do meetings at night a few times a week. It was a long program (8 months) and for the first 2 you are not allowed any contact with the outside world- no family, no calls to friends, no photos, no books, nothing that
can remind you of your old life. It was very intense and very painful. The therapy is very intense and you basically get pulled apart and broken down and have nowhere to run or hide. It is very hard to explain but I learnt more about myself and why I use in those 3 months (didn't stick out the whole program) than I learnt in years of previous therapy.

I left in April 2007 and have never gone back to full blown addiction, but I was not allowed to stay with the program over my refusal to be completley abstinate
from using alcohol or weed and would not go to meetings after awhile. I was only 23 and could nit accept a life without drugs or alcohol and still thought that I could drink and smoke without to many problems. This had proven to be somewhat true, but I definitely struggle with alcoholism still even though keep a full time job and have a wife.

I know in my heart though that the rehab helped me a great deal and like I said was probably the most important thing I ever did. I also now know there
are places to go to where you can get very good from very good professionals who arn't just asshole doctors, but professionals who have been to the dark depths of addiction.

PM if you need any further info. And sorry if my spelling and grammar us poor ad I tried to write this all on iPhone.

 

[Crankinit]

This thread sounds like a good idea to me.

I've only experienced HADS (Herston Alcohol and Drugs Service) here in Brisbane at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. The nurses were rude, arrogant, vindictive and had no respect for their patients. The doctors were alright, and the doctor I was assigned was understanding when I explained that I was not very happy with the treatment from the nurses, especially since I was there voluntarily. I understand that they have to put up with shit sometimes, but that is not an excuse to then put that on to patients who have done nothing at all to them, and it was my first fucking day at that. I was there for a benzodiazepine WD/taper, but after one day and having books confiscated from me because they were medical related, I rang up a friend on the outside, organized to get enough clonazepam to do a taper myself and checked myself out.

Nurses are like that all the time It seems like 10 or 15 years on the job and they end up as a black ball of misery and stale cigarette smoke...

 

[cassandragemini]

awesome thanks guys. ive checked out raymond hader a little more from the info pack they gave me (dvd included!) and while it seems like a really professional and successful centre the out of this world cost is a bit ridiculous for me. just looking at their price breakdown reminds me of the private boarding school i went to for a while, everything is about 1000% more expensive than i feel it really should be and this leads me to think that its a bit of money making enterprise - while they seem to be very very good at what they do and they do seem very genuinely caring i just dont quite agree with charging drug addicts that much money for rehabilitation, it seems they are riding a fine line between altruism and flagrant capitalism and that doesnt sit right with me. if you check out the website you'll probably see what i mean.
also a 3 month minimum stay isnt what i need, i need somewhere safe, caring and understanding while i purge myself clean then with the help of friends and family i can take care of myself. while it seems a few people are against detox i think that is what i need, im dead certain i want off drugs and i dont need to perform 3 months of bikram yoga and intense routine to get me there. i have a really cool therapist who ive been seeing for 6 months, an incredible girlfriend who has never used heroin or had addiction problems and amazing, loving friends. i am the black sheep so to speak of my friend group, i actively sought out heroin and did a damn fine job of getting myself addicted without most of them even knowing, i have a murderously impulsive (metaphorically speaking) and addictive personality which got me into the mess im in and i am very very aware of it, now ive learnt what triggers me and how to avoid and distract myself from those triggers, i just want to be clean now.

anyway rambling again, im going to check out and call around the salvo's short in and outpatient courses and my girlfriend emailed me a link to a centre that does short rural and city detoxes with a short stay in hospital first to get over the worst of the withdrawals, that sounds absolutely perfect for me. ill update tomorrow afternoon after ive checked them out and give my impressions as well as contact details for the ones that seemed to my sceptical eye to be of note. also here's the link for the raymond hader clinic, dont let my opinions scare you off if you think you need that level of support to get rehabilitated, it really does sound and feel very professional and if i could afford it and they had a program that suited me i would seriously consider them.

http://rayhaderclinic-px.rtrk.com.au/info/general/Home/get/0/0/

by the way be wary of narconon rehab, after a relatively quick inspection i found them to be scientologists - they sneakily mask this by not actually saying that's their bent, its just that there's only so many times L Ron hubbard's name can get mentioned in bold print before it gets weird. i cant think of anything worse than getting to rehab and in the middle of withdrawals find i was being read excerpts from an L Ron Hubbard hardback (haha or browsing the clinic library and finding there was no non-fiction, only ron-fiction). here is the link just to let you know.

http://www.narconon.org/about-narconon/

thanks so much for your help so far guys, ill post up again tomorrow with some more data

 

[Crankinit]

Haha yeah narcanon is a front for Scientology's anti-psychiatrist vendetta.

Always wondered why they hate psychs so much, they're no worse than any other doctor Maybe Hubbard was diagnosed schizophrenic after telling one about his religion and the whole thing left him bitter...

 

[Mr Blonde]

^ Scientology and psychiatry.

It's not clear why there is this hate for psychiatry in Scientology, but it is interesting reading. Seems as though it just started with Hubbard and carried through after that.

Also a 3 month minimum stay isnt what i need, i need somewhere safe, caring and understanding while i purge myself clean then with the help of friends and family i can take care of myself. while it seems a few people are against detox i think that is what i need, im dead certain i want off drugs and i dont need to perform 3 months of bikram yoga and intense routine to get me there

I can understand that; being somewhere away from the things that perhaps make you want to use, or led to your use or allow you to continue using makes a big difference in those first few steps of getting clean. A good rehab center will also help you with techniques for when you leave as well, because you need ways to deal with staying sober on the outside. That would be another complaint of mine against HADS, they offered basically no support at all. There were NA/AA 'meetings' which was actually us just sitting around and listening to the stories of people from the outside telling us about their substance use history... while the patients just sat there and listened. No counseling or anything either.

 

[collier]

Nurses are like that all the time It seems like 10 or 15 years on the job and they end up as a black ball of misery and stale cigarette smoke...

LOL not all of us are like that, I have been a nurse for 10 yrs now am more of a 'black ball of misery' with the drunks who get pissed on the weekend then come in to waste our time be rude and aggressive and then piss off when sober. Some of us still have some compassion when it comes to people with addictions. I do work with a couple of dinosaur nurses who work one day a fortnight, have a doctor husband and treat work as a social outing. One fuck twit treats anyone who have either a history of drug use or who attend for drug related reasons as less than human and she gives them less than optimum care. Basically she is a moron, unfortunately twits like her give us all a bad name.

Sorry the nurses that looked after you treated you so badly. I do get frustrated with the patients who although we are doing the right thing for them still think we are crap just because we are not giving them what they want.

 

[neilluken]

Good luck Cassandra!

 

[rockee]

Good luck, a client of mine (I am a PT) went to one near Chiang Mai. He spent 4 weeks there, and has been back 4 months now, and is just going from strength to strength. It's amazing what a different person he is - was heavily addicted to ice and weed. Again, he said that most were in there for heroin/opiates and alcohol. The key seems to be to have the support you need back home readily sorted, so that you don't fall back into those habits, and reasons for using so much in the first place, escape from the drudgery of life. Hope it goes well for you.

 

[psycosynthesis]

Any Aussie Bl'ers been to long-term rehabs?

Just wondering if anyone here has been to long term rehabs i/e the Buttery, WHOS etc.

Would be keen to share experiences.

 

[psycosynthesis]

Avoid narcanon like the plauge. Scientology money-grubbing moochers.

I went to a 28 day program in Malvern, covered mostly by Private Health insurance, with about 700 out of pocket. It was good, very good detox program (40mg valium for a few days, reduced to about 15-20 on your last day), then you're in for a few days of pain but they still give you Clonodine for a few days after that. Had sleep troubles for weeks afterwards, but that's a usual bug-bear for long-term addiction recovery. I stayed clean for about 60 days after that then got accepted into the Buttery, and I only had to be 4 days clean to get in there. So I took that as a green light to go on a 4 day bender in which I nearly drowned in my bath after taking too much Xanax and booze.

Got kicked out of there after about 4 months, came back to melbourne, went on a 2 week bender now I'm back attending Narcotics Anonymous, still using benzos but not planning too for long.

Buttery is probably the best rehab in the country, but it is FUCKING intense and they will drag ALL your shit and core issues out of you and hold you accountable for your actions and have quite strict rules and regulations. However I recommend it. Waiting lists are very long though unless you can pay 15 large upfront. Most people who graduate from there stay clean for at least a year.

 

[cassandragemini]

^ thanks man, you're right any and all of the private clinics are very very expensive however they (for the most part it seems) also seem to be good at what they do.

Sorry I was supposed to put up a list of the clinics in Melbourne, I'll put up all the free ones ive talked to and my general impression of them. There seems to be about a 5 week waiting list for them at a minimum so if you're thinking of rehab get it organised ASAP. I've got an appointment with de Paul's detox unit in abbotsford in 2 weeks time which is perfect for me because I'll know for certain within 2 weeks if I need to go into detox. I've managed to drop from 20mg to 8mg of suboxone in a week and a half, I went from 20 to 12mg with virtually no I'll effects whatsoever which leads me to believe that having anymore than between 8 and 16mg of sub is pointless, the theoretical limit is 32mg which may be true for some people but for the most part I don't think anyone would really gain from anything above 16mg..? Maybe if you were doing 2-3grams of h a day for a long time but otherwise it seems useless. Does anyone have any personal experience with this? I cannot believe how little it affected me, plus I feel so much better on a lower dose, more energy, more wit, more sex drive, less concrete in my shit and just generally happier. Tomorrow in going down to 6mg which may prove more difficult and from there I'll see what happens.. Also I've managed to drop from 15 to 10 mg of Valium a day, soon to be 7.5 - I have to say benzo withdrawals are worse for me than opiate wd's, the effects suddenly just hit me and I get a headache and anxious and ill and the symptoms increase quite rapidly. And waking up in the mornin is the worst, bleery bloodshot painful red eyes, headache, depression... god I wish I'd thought about throwing back a handful of Valium more when anxious in the past. Another item to the list of regrets I guess haha.

Goodluck with your withdrawals and detox psycosynthesis, let us know how you go and remember you always have someone here who gives a damn, I do.

 

[laugh]

check 'the buttery' as spirit said, and best of luck getting free!

 

[psycosynthesis]

BTW Cassandra, lovely user name. Frances the Mute ain't my fav album, but I sure love TMV.

 

[cassandragemini]

Yeah they're pretty god damned sweet, have you the pleasure of seeing them live? I candy flipped when I first saw them after Frances came out and it changed my life, those guys are freaks. Watching Omar play guitar is out of this world, he's so unbelievably good its almost well unbelievable. I'm not so into their more recent albums though my music tastes have changed a bit over the years. I used to listen to cassandragemini on my way into town when I lived on the farm, it took me almost exactly the length of the song to drive in. And I like the moniker because it's misleading, I'm not a girl and I'm not a Gemini. There the secret is out.

I'll check out buttery, if it's free or very cheap (I don't get citizen privileges in this country) I'll seriously consider it. I'll chuck up the details I have on the detox/rehabs I've looked at soon, I just need to finish the king of limbs basement session first, if you guys haven't seen it and are radiohead fans then I highly highly recommend it, it really puts the new album into perspective - its utterly brilliant to watch and hear.

Thanks for the encouragement too laugh, I feel great on a lower dose and I'm interested to see what a 2mg drop to 6mgs a day will do to me, I think it'll be rougher than what I've done so far but i know I can do it, if i can cold turkey of half a gram a day of very nice NYC smack then I think I can get through this. We'll see..

 

[psycosynthesis]

Seen the Mars Volta three times, first at a BDO years ago (I was one of about 10 people crazily dancing while the rest of the crowd watched on in bewilderment), then at Festival Hall a few years later (Amputechture tour), then at The Palace. The first gig I was on piperazines and weed, good mix. Second time I just had a few strong joints but the music itself got me tripping, the third time I was taking the odd bump of Ketamine, for some reason Ketamine and TMV go really well together.


The Buttery's list is usually very long, unless as I previously mentioned you or your family can afford 15 large up front then you'll be bumped to the top of the list. It takes a fair wack of your centrelink for board, lodging and food. Another Therapeutic Community in NSW is called WHOS (We Help Our Selves). They do maintenance reduction programs there over several months.

I don't know any other long-term rehabs but I'm sure a bit of research could help you find them.

Malvern Private clinic are good, good group therapy, NA meetings 3 times a week, food is very stodgy/carb based but helps you gain weight. Sucked for me being a veggo. Only about 7-800 out of pocket if you've got private health cover.

There's other short term Private ones in Melbs like Pine Lodge, VAC and there's a 2 week day hab in Ferntree Gully that I don' know the name for but I can find out.

In the meantime check out Narcotics Anonymous.

 

[Ashley]

My fiance and I were just recently in Bennelong's Haven, Kempsey. We were there for 3 weeks but got discharged after getting caught using heroin on the property. It was the start of the fourth week when we got discharged and we used the gear a day after we were drug tested (they do urine tests every 2 weeks), everything would have been fine if it hadn't have been for a loudmouth couple who moved in next to us. They were running their mouth trying to show off saying that they were having a great time and had a heap of oxycodone and MS-Contin in their deck room, anyway the office caught wind of that rumor and proceeded to drug test everyone that was next to their room the next morning. Hence a positive urine. They told us that if we were honest and admitted to using then the truth would set us free, so we told them. Then they said that if we told them where we got the heroin our honesty would save us, so we lied and said it was someone who was leaving the next day anyway (with their permission of course), still despite the fact that we were looking at 7 years jail between us, had sold our 3 bedroom house to be there and had waited 3 months to get in, as there aren't many rehabilitation facilities that accept couples we still got kicked out. All in all, it wasn't a bad rehab, laid-back, etc. But after going cold turkey off a 4 year 32mg/daily Subutex habit each and 40-50mg alprazolam daily and still hanging out 3-4 weeks later, I can't say that shot wasn't worth it.