Need to Find an Alcohol Detox/Recovery Center

Nurses Recovery

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Specializes in Private Duty Pediatrics.

I need to find a treatment center that my friend will accept. She would be willing to pay for an upscale center - one that would not "have a bunch of people who are there as an option, instead of jail". (Is there such a thing?) She has been to one of those, and refuses to go back to where "junkies try to set her up with drugs on the outside".

This is outside my experience; my husband & I are teetotalers. I can google for treatment centers, but I don't know how to ascertain which centers have which type of clients.

She said she had heard of one that allowed personal computers, so she could keep up at work. Is that possible?

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).

Per TOS we cannot recommend a facility or give medical advise - still been there done that and an internet search of private for profit facilities and a willingness to make phone calls should reveal some likely facilities - let your friend know that these "High End" facilities can often cost up to a $1000.00 a day.

Hppy

Why is it your job to find your friend a treatment center?? If she is actually interested in getting clean, why isn't she doing the work herself? If she isn't willing to, how serious is she about getting into treatment?

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Why is it your job to find your friend a treatment center?? If she is actually interested in getting clean, why isn't she doing the work herself? If she isn't willing to, how serious is she about getting into treatment?

Well there's that too. People have to put their desire to be sober above anything else. Otherwise it doesn't matter what kind of program you are in!

Hppy

I went to one of the dumps you describe with the active drug users and repeat DUI guys who are forced to be there (me among them) and the place literally had no value. However, getting sober is a major commitment. If she needs her personal computer and pampered tell her to save her money and just keep buying dope. Being a good drunk or addict requires the accumulation of codependent friends and family members who will feel sorry and handle life's chores for you. Of course the addict or alcoholic always then has the convenient option of blaming the codependent friend if things go wrong because knows it's never the addicted person's fault or problem. If you are a real friend I think you need to recognize that your friend needs to deal with this on her own and stop with the conditions and unrealistic expectations. At the end of the day this person is an adult and needs to be held accountable for her life. The more you help the more you hurt that person

Specializes in Private Duty Pediatrics.

I appreciate your comments. You are right; the person has to want it so much she can taste it. Doing the footwork for her may not be best.

Would you believe, this is for a friend of the alcoholic. She is asking me how she can help, since I'm a nurse, and all nurses know how to respond to all situations, right? But I don't know what to tell her.

How do I help, when this is so outside my experience? (Yo, mods. I'm not looking for specific help for her. I'm trying to understand how I can help.)

Get her a meeting list and tell her to get to a meeting. In my experience that's about all rehab centers do. If she needs detoxed give her a ride to the closet ER. The rest is and should be up to her

Specializes in Private Duty Pediatrics.

Good news: Friend at treatment center now says alcohol is a poison.

Bad news: Friend waiting at home is afraid the treatment will change her too much.

Good news: Friend waiting at home says she has stopped drinking cold turkey, with no physical problems other than cravings.

Bad news: I'm too far away to offer much support. We do talk on the phone several times/week.

Bad news: Friend waiting at home refuses AA, AL Anon, or any such.

Good news: A friend who is an alcoholic (dry for 7 years, now) is there to offer support, visit often, etc..

Bad news: I don't know much.

Good news: I'm learning ...

I don't blame your friend at home for not wanting to go to rehab. Personally I'd rather die drunk, hungry and homeless than subject myself to that nonsense again. However, there are some good people in AA she ought to at least give them a chance. It's not for everyone. I only go because my monitoring program mandates it but it's free and unlike inpatient rehab you can easily walk out of any meeting. As far as her "changing" isn't that the point?

Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.

I don't know if this will help you or your friend at all but I can share this with you. When I found out I was going to rehab I had just lost my job and with that I lost my health insurance - I had NOTHING put aside to pay for inpatient treatment.

I found out the only place I would be able to go was our state hospital - they had inpatient treatment that was automatically 28 plus days. I was terrified due to some of the stories I had heard. I was there 29 days, and going there was one of the best decisions I could have made.

When my mom arrived to pick me up and head back home the business office staff told me I had no bill to pay at all - I was very surprised - Mom and I both expected to be paying a large bill.

This was in 1999, and i'm still thankful for that hospital- I have other colleagues who went to other facilities around the state, and some of them found out they would be paying for their treatment for years - some of those went to the "country club" type - I think that facility kind of scared the crap out of me at first and that's probably one reason I am still clean and sober today.

Hope this may help even a little -

Anne, RNC

Specializes in Private Duty Pediatrics.
As far as her "changing" isn't that the point?

Exactly! And I do hope they can both change. I'll bring up AA again, when I see an opening.

Their insurance is paying most of the cost, and they have enough money to cover the rest.

Alcohol can take a person down as surely as street drugs. I'm so glad that my husband & I are teetotalers!

I'm pretty sure that even with the newly noticed opioid "epidemic" (that the medical profession unfortunately helped create) I believe booze kills and messes up more lives than all the illegal street & abused prescription drugs combined. Booze is just a socially and cultural acceptable way of wreaking havoc on everyone around you and killing yourself

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