Inpatient Drug Rehabs Blog

Why is it that when people are seriously considering entering rehab they rarely ever take the time to determine what the success rate of a particular form of rehab is? The unfortunate truth is this, most people do not check out the actual success rates of the various treatment types they are considering. Instead, they go with what they know (which is unfortunately most often the traditional 12-step program) or they go with what has the most hype.

Why is it that we will spend hours online comparing car insurance but when it comes to a matter of our health, oftentimes the difference between life and death, we simply settle on what we think we know? There is a desperate need for people to start educating themselves about what programs actually work, and which have hype behind them without actually doing anything for the people that are battling through addiction.

The problem with this
The problem is that people are told that they are going to be cured by a program that has a stunningly low success rate (more information about this later on). They do everything that the program prescribes and do their best – but ultimately they suffer from a relapse.

Now for most people drug and alcohol abuse is already a very personal thing, it is something most people are ashamed of. Imagine not only having to live with the label of “addict” but also with the label of “failure” – after all, so many other people were able to straighten up, why can’t you? This leaves a person feeling rejected by everyone, every step of the way they are going to be reminded of the fact that others have supposedly succeeded where they cannot.

Why it becomes important to learn more
So now, these people feel ostracized from both parties. They know they have an addiction problem but also feel like their attempts were for naught. However, once people educate themselves they will realize that traditional programs such as N.A. and A.A. have at least 90% failure rates – and unfortunately that is giving them quite a few more percentages than they should.

Really – 10%??
Now ask yourself this, if 100 people were sick and only 10 of them got better, would we suggest that they were “cured” or are we going to suggest that maybe these 10 were sick and tired of being sick, sick of ruining their lives with alcohol and drugs. There is a spontaneous remission rate for every disease we have ever come across. So it becomes important to ask yourself whether these traditional methods are doing anything at all other than keeping people off the street a few hours each month.

Want to get better? Educate yourself
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, it is important that you know the rehab success rate for any potential program that you may be considering. The risk of relapse and addiction only becoming worse is simply too great to go in uninformed.

Although it may not seem fair, simply wanting to free yourself of an addiction sometimes is not enough to get clean. There are instances where supervised drug detox is not simply preferred – it is required. In order to successfully rid the body of these drugs and to combat any possible negative side effects, drug detox is the most successful method.

Drugs that require medical drug detox
With the increase of people addicted to opiate drugs like methadone and heroin, and prescription medication abuse, including Vicodin, Xanax, Oxycontin, and Hydrocodone, drug detox is considered the only way to battle addiction to these drugs. Many of these drugs are associated with psychological dependence. Often times those that are detoxing are closely monitored. Being closely monitored can include a professional administering medication when needed, giving support, and keeping vital signs.

The goal of drug detox
The idea behind drug detoxification is to expel the poisonous toxins that are in the patient’s system. These poisonous toxins have accumulated from drug use. One of the reasons it is often recommended that drug detox be done with the help of a professional is because drug detox can be a painful and extremely frightening experience unless the proper treatment is administered. Sometimes patients are so physically dependent on drugs that the body enters a state of withdrawal after only a few hours of staying clear of drugs. This can make it physically dangerous and extremely difficult to quit ‘cold turkey’.

What people should realistically expect
Anyone who suggests that drug detox is a piece of cake is either lying, or has not gone through it. Addiction means that the body is used to getting certain chemicals, it craves these chemicals. Once you stop feeding your body these chemicals, people experience withdrawal symptoms. Depending on the drug of choice, withdrawal symptoms are going to be different in nature and severity. It also depends on how long the person has been using drugs and how often they administered them. Common symptoms and signs to expect in this situation are depression, insomnia, vomiting, nausea, sweats, and the shakes.

Beyond the short-term
Behind just getting rid of the drugs on the short-term, it is tremendously beneficial to complete a thorough detoxification of the body. These are often done through a complete nutritional program and full-body cleansing. This is often referred to as biophysical detox. With biophysical detox, stored toxins that are hidden in body tissue (often fat cells) are removed. These stored toxins can be a problem for people, long after they have completed a simple drug detox program. Biophysical detox is a proven method to restore mental capacity, energy, and most importantly eliminate physical cravings for drugs. If the physical cravings for the drugs are eliminated, it substantially reduces the chances of chronic relapse. Good drug detox can take quite a bit of time, but ultimately it is one of the most critical steps that should be taken when it comes to permanently ridding the body of cravings for the drug.

If you are dependent on drugs, you already know that not using for an hour a day is not the problem. That is one of the reasons that 12-step programs are not even comparable to inpatient drug rehab centers when it comes to effectively dealing with addiction. When you are in a 12-step program, you are expected to kick the habit yourself, perhaps with the support of a sponsor, but ultimately most of the day you are left to your own devices. Ask yourself– are people that can kick their addiction just by sitting around in a group a few hours a week truly addicted? Are they truly cured?

At no point does a 12-step program discuss the underlying problem behind addictive behavior. This means that even if people are able to stay off drugs for a time, the underlying problem is just pushed beneath the surface. The problem is not actually dealt with. Inpatient drug rehab centers address all three levels that are necessary to battle addiction: emotional, physical, and psychological. If you fail to address even one of those important levels, chances of relapse increase dramatically.

The physical
Whether you are giving up alcohol, drugs or both, you are going to notice significant consequences if you choose to quit ‘cold turkey’. If you have trained professionals around you as you do at an inpatient drug rehab centers, the chances of you relapsing because of your physical needs are drastically reduced. Furthermore, when you are receiving inpatient treatment, chances of any unforeseen medical complications are also lessened. While it may not be a pleasurable experience, it does help that someone is there to guide you as comfortably and quickly as possible to the other side of the detox process.

The psychological
As mentioned before, there is more to drug addiction than just the physical dependence. Whereas the physical affects may wane after a while, often the underlying psychological dependencies cause a person to relapse. It is necessary to remember that what works for one person does not necessarily work for someone else. Every individual needs different styles and types of treatment. These depend upon their individual circumstances.

The emotional
Some people refer to it as the spiritual or mental process instead of the emotional process. Regardless of what you call it, it is a crucial step. If you choose outpatient treatment, you have to worry about every-day occurrences that distract you.  The peace of mind and emotional safety that inpatient drug rehab centers provide is a critical aspect to your success. Drug rehabilitation takes all of your focus. If you argue with your significant other or have stress from work that you take home, or a disruptive home life, you are not fully focused on rehabilitation. Inpatient drug rehab centers provide you with a shield between you and the rest of the world. That means you can focus on recovering rather than have to focus on everything else.

Choosing where to do your rehab is one of the most important choices in your life, the right choices significantly reduce your chances of relapse.

Watching a drug addict or alcoholic be lost in the world of addiction is a sad and heart wrenching event. What is just as sad is to see the elated friends and family of an addict who has decided to reach out for help. Perhaps the addict has signed into a two week or month long rehabilitation program, or has begun to faithfully attend meetings every night of the week. In many cases the true fact is what has happened here is the family has been handed a Band-Aid to ease the pain of watching their loved one be lost in a sea of drugs for a very short period of time.

So often when moms and dads or sisters or brothers drop their beloved drug addict at the doors of a rehab center to begin their month long treatment, they are just beaming, and will say it’s like a dream come true. Finally their son or daughter is going to be drug free. Yes they are, but for how long? There are certainly those that do make it in that short of a period of time. If the facts were really looked at though, what would the percentages be for this small group of successful addicts?

The reality is that drug addiction of any kind no matter what the drug is, including alcohol, affects the mind and the body. It is extremely difficult to fully treat both of these in a mere few weeks. Yes, the addict can manage to remain drug free for that period of time they are in there. Think about it though, a month to get the system totally free of any after effects of the drug, while at the same time deal with the fragile state of mind that the addict is in. Then they have to get to the point of being strong minded, stable and confident enough to walk back out into a world that they have not really been part of for whatever length of time they have been addicted. All of this in a matter of a few weeks?

Looking at it from this perspective it sheds a new light on why the optimum choice would be a long term inpatient rehab program. To begin with it lifts the mental pressure off the addict of having to try and accomplish everything a rehab program is meant to do in a short period of time. Every addict had a start to their addiction and unless they are taken back to this period to find the trigger, there is no way that one can move forward. If this isn’t addressed then there is a much higher risk of returning back to the old ways once the program is completed. This is the risk with the older types of programs that addresses the physical addiction, and relies on the addict to handle the emotional addiction.

There are two individuals that make the choice of the type of rehab program that the addict should go into. It’s either the addict himself who will usually go for the first one that he may know about and is the cheapest, or the family members will make the arrangements. The family members are so distressed at the state of their loved one they will push for the first available rehab, and the one that is most well-known to them.

Making a decision for drug rehabilitation is a big, big step and if any decision called for the need to be an informed one, it would certainly be this. Time is of the essence of course to get an individual into a program, and there are professionals who have done all the research, so all it takes is following the advice of experts who can expedite the choices that are going to give the addict the best possible chance.

Over the years I have worked with thousands of families in providing advice and help for addiction. It is surprisingly common for a family member to ask “how do you know when someone is addicted enough to need inpatient drug rehab treatment?” What is more surprising is that most of the time this is asked even when they know the loved one is using hard drugs and they are smoking, snorting or using needles.

While this is not a hard rule for all situations, it could be applied as such and would probably only be helpful to ANY family. The rule is that if any super class drug use exists (heroin, crack, meth or oxycontin), then run don’t walk to an inpatient rehab center.

Those drugs are simply so powerful that they have the very strong likelihood of consuming a person’s body and mind after just one use and certainly after multiple uses. This does not mean that other addictions are any less severe, but with these drugs there is just no wiggle room. If someone is using them there is no time for urine tests and Q&A of thinking that maybe someone can beat it on their own. Statistics show that just won’t happen and worse, by waiting things like overdose, legal/jail, and accidents involving injury or death occur.

Inpatient drug rehabs allow someone to step away for a bit to get out of the environment and daily use cycle and if long term even better so that they have a real chance to get their head clear and get the necessary help to resolve the underlying issues for using such drugs.