Why Didn’t Drug Rehab Work for My Kid?

It’s an unfortunate fact that many people have been to drug rehab facilities and have later relapsed. The news is loaded with stories about young people who died from overdoses, and their parents, who had done everything they could, including getting them into a treatment facility, wondering what they did wrong. What many parents don’t realize is that drug rehab isn’t likely to work unless certain steps are taken. If you want to have any degree of confidence that someone will complete a program and actually stay off drugs, you need to know what a successful addiction treatment center should offer.

Withdrawal: The first step is to get the person off the drug – withdrawal. Depending on what drug(s) they’ve been taking, how long they’ve been taking it, how much they’ve been taking, and the addict’s physical condition, this could take from about four to ten days. If the person is not in a facility that can get them through withdrawal in relative comfort (it can be pretty painful), they’re likely to leave during the withdrawal. They can’t take it, they leave to get drugs. But a good facility with a kind, caring, and experienced staff can get them through it.

Restoring health: Once the withdrawal period is over, there is still drug residue in the body. And both the body and mind are affected. Before getting into the next phase – figuring out what caused the addiction – the person has to be restored to good health to at least some degree. They need to be ‘there’ enough to think clearly.

Getting down to the bottom of why the person was taking drugs: This can take a while. But if it’s not done, they’re likely to go back on drugs.

A plan of action for returning home: The steps on this plan vary widely and depend on the individual’s home environment. They need, and will want, to be in an environment that’s drug-free. They might also need to find another job or career, live in a different place, drop their friendships and form new ones – it can be pretty involved. But without ensuring the environment is conducive to staying sober, their chances of relapse increase.

Once the person is home for a while and back on their feet, they’ll probably be able to tolerate things in their environment that would have led them to take drugs in the past. But when they first leave, they’re just finding their way in a new life and they need all the help they can get.

These steps usually take about three months – sometimes longer.

As most of the residential drug treatment programs available only last about a month, you can see why many fail to get lasting results.

If you’re considering getting help for someone you care about, choose an addiction treatment center that offers all these steps. And beware of facilities that say they do all those steps, but only take 30 days. The fact is, it takes longer. Period.

It’s tempting to choose something that’s going to take less time (and probably cost less) in the hopes that it will work. But seeing someone you care about go back on drugs is not only a very painful experience, it’s also very dangerous for the addict – they can build up a physical tolerance to many drugs, which means that the dose they take after using the drug for a while is much higher than the dose they started off with.

Addicts who relapse often start off with that higher dose, unaware that their body can’t handle after having been off them for a while. Many overdose deaths occur right after someone has allegedly completed a treatment program. And the dosage problem is generally what’s behind it.

The resolution is a drug rehab program that follows the steps above. If you’re considering getting someone you care about into an addiction treatment center, make sure you choose one that offers all the above and doesn’t take less than three months.