30 Days Sober, Rehab, and Sober House

[tch2296]

So late in February my parents found my rigs and dope and shipped me off to detox. I had been shooting dope for about 2 months and depending on what I could get I was shooting between .5-1 gram a day.

While I was in detox the counselors there persuaded my parents and I that a stay in a residential rehab was the best idea. I spent a week between my time in detox and rehab shooting suboxone and feeling like shit.

I got to rehab around March 20th. It wasn't really a true rehab center since there wasn't any nursing staff and more than anything else it concentrated on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. This concept at first horrified me, since I had never seen any value in this method of recovery, and there aren't any medical professionals on hand. Supposedly there are only a couple places like this in the country. Most, like Betty Ford and Hazleton, focus on things like relapse prevention and triggers, based on the standard medical models in place.

The place was staffed exclusively by people who had been through a serious addiction themselves and have recovered. Almost all of the staff were former dope addicts with serious habits and who actually understood what I was going through, which was a welcome change from doctors and nurses who view dopesickness as "mild flu-like symptoms".

I won't get into the idea behind the recovery because I don't want to sound completely fruity but I will say that it actually made sense to me. I haven't taken an opiate in a month, haven't had a beer, no weed, nothing at all, for a month. What's more important is that I don't feel any desire to get high. It's like I have learned to be content with myself, which is a great feeling for someone who needed opiates to feel decent for the last 4 years.

I am now living in a sober house in Burlington, Vermont trying to find a job and working on my recovery. It is still very early in the process but I can honestly say it has done me a lot of good and I haven't felt this way - just content with myself - in years (unless I was jammed :p).

I hope none of this came across as preachy or arrogant, that is certainly not what I intended. I just thought i'd post my experience since it was not at all like I expected and actually seems to be working well for me. I honestly thought I'd be shooting dope the first day out of rehab. Peace guys

[hydro chris]

Hey congrats, there nothing fruity about anything or for that matter, that makes people wanna live their lives for the better.
i DO NOT find anything preachy or arrogant about anything you have spoke about at all. if you want CLEAN you know what you have to do. thats great!
and not wanting to shoot or do anything to jeopardize what you accomplished is great also, keep it up.
the best to yeah.

[dharma bum]

Impressive tch. I'm curious as to what "method" they use but it's your business if you wanna keep it that way.

[Nonphixion]

Hey congrats, there nothing fruity about anything or for that matter, that makes people wanna live their lives for the better.
i DO NOT find anything preachy or arrogant about anything you have spoke about at all. if you want CLEAN you know what you have to do. thats great!
and not wanting to shoot or do anything to jeopardize what you accomplished is great also, keep it up.
the best to yeah.

I feel the same nothing wrong or preachy man , sometimes u know u better off without the money on ur back, keep it up man...

[tch2296]

Impressive tch. I'm curious as to what "method" they use but it's your business if you wanna keep it that way.

It's nothing novel really. It is basically an intensive approach to the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. They take you through each step slowly and carefully. They make sure you don't progress through each step until you have come to fully accept the conditions of each.

The cool thing about this place is that they make very little money. If you are not committed or are slacking off, they send you home with your money for the rest of the stay. They are not invested in holding on to people who don't really want to get sober. They really are dedicated to the process.

The people that run the program find it necessary and fulfilling to help people through the process of recovery - helping others is the essence of the 12-step, and according to their program it is extremely difficult to stay sober without helping spread recovery among others. So rather than being invested in keeping people onboard to make money, they are personally invested in the recovery of the people who go there. They do it as much for themselves as they do for others.

There is much, much more to the process than this, and if anyone really does want to know about the process in more detail, feel free to ask or PM me. It is working pretty well for me so far, and I thought I was hopeless. I came into it stubborn and skeptical, and although I am still a bit skeptical I have gained a ton of respect for this method of recovery and it is working for me. I can already see results. However I know that if I had read a post like this while I was still shooting dope I probably would have laughed.

[webay]

congratulations thats huge keep it up man

[ka11ink]

I don't think tch will mind if I post this. Tch and SWIM <--- both went into the same detox center on the same day after running together for a while. This post is the first time SWIM has heard of him since he went into that 30 day program. SWIM took a different route and moved home instead (which is rly like a rehab in itself). SWIM is doing rly well too Tch, today is day 40 for him. And I myself am very happy u've found something that works. I remember your attitude towards this kind of thing and I too never thought u'd take to it. But congrats man. Get ahold of SWIM when u can, I'm sure he'd like to hear from u.

[lilred0005]

Great news! Hey, whatever gets ya thru the nite. I am glad to hear that you've found something that works for you. Good luck!

[HandMeSomeOpiates]

Great news!! Posts like this really give me hope. I'm very happy for you tch. Keep up the good work and Keep your guard up. There will always be triggers and temptations. Even though you dont have the urge to use right now, there might be times when you do. You just have to resist that shit man. I'm sure life is so much clearer for you. The future is all yours man, take advantage of this and live your life bro!

[tch2296]

Yeah, I'm still far from cured. I'm only like 40 days sober, but the important thing for now is I am not overcome with the obsession to get high. 40 days is the longest I have been sober since I was 16 years old. So this is the longest stretch I've had in 6 years - no booze, no weed, no pills, sleep meds, nothing at all. And somehow I feel alright.

They sent us out with a warning, however - a lot of people leave rehab and feel great for a few months, don't feel any desire to use, but after a few months, when they get lazy with their writing and recovery work, the cravings will creep back. Obviously a relapse will soon follow.

I am the type of person that if I feel like shit or if I get bad cravings I don't stand a fucking chance at staying clean, so it's all about being able to maintain a feeling of being content with things and at peace with my own thoughts. I am just praying that things keep going this smoothly. The key is that I stay committed to staying sober because if I get lazy I can almost guarantee I will relapse.

I met several people in rehab who spent 8 months clean, sober, and happy, only to relapse suddenly and seemingly randomly. This is especially common with opiate addicts. From what I saw in rehab, opiates are the hardest habit to break, followed by alcohol (and maybe benzos). Opiates and alcohol create such a strong compulsion to get high that often times people can't even explain why they relapse, and often relapse after months or even years of sobriety.

It scares me to realize that my addiction to opiates will probably always be a part of my life, because I will always either be using them, or making an effort and doing what I need to do to stay away from them. There is no middle ground for me - I'm either jammed or sober. Which is a pretty intimidating prospect.

It was good to talk to you, ka11ink, glad to hear you're still clean, and that your approach seems to be working well for you also. I'll be in touch dude, stay strong.

[Raz]

got any gear....Or weed/valuim, sheet, even a dirty bird i'll do right now....


Only messin hombre...

If it works for you, good luck and stay strong.....Cravins eventually pass, and they only have power if ya giv in to em....

[HandMeSomeOpiates]

It scares me to realize that my addiction to opiates will probably always be a part of my life, because I will always either be using them, or making an effort and doing what I need to do to stay away from them. There is no middle ground for me - I'm either jammed or sober. Which is a pretty intimidating prospect.


You took the words right out of my head bro... That's "real talk" right there.

[NOLA]

You took the words right out of my head bro... That's "real talk" right there.

Yeah, that is a pretty scary thought, basically because it's so true.

I'm only in my mid-twenties, and I'm already fearing a similar fate.

[OxiContinKing]

Congrats man.

40 days is a long time, even if it doesnt seem like it.

Just keep on counting them days and moving forward, you will get there quicker than you think...

That goes for you too, Ka11ink...

[dalottafun]

i've seen it work for other people and it's workin for you. just remember 40 days is still the beginning, sure it's clean time however don't get comfortable and complacent always stay strong when you're clear headed with the views they teach you in AA. you are your problem and drugs are only a symptom keep up the good work it only truly works for people who want to be clean don't let anyone trick you and most importantly, don't trick yourself!

[Chipper]

Firstly congratulations are in order. I feel that what really worked for you was that you respected the people who were guiding you and that can make all the difference.

Stories like yours are inspiring and give hope.