My drug of choice (or, more accurately, my drug of necessity) changed many times over the years. I was treated with tranquilizers when I was as young as five years old, and I got plenty of belly aches to get the paregoric that that tasted horrible, but made me feel so good. I drank every chance I could get, and managed to be quite regular about it by the time I was nine. My first "run" on opiates came between 12-18 when I was treated for back problems -- beginning with Darvocet and ending with Dilaudid. I switched over to primarily to alcohol, meth, cocaine and pot for a few years, then just booze and pot, back to cocaine, and finally, the last few years of my active addiction, Oxycontin, Vicadin, any other pain pill I could get, and if I had to, heroin.
Twenty-five years from beginning of regular use and very active addiction to a very painful detox. That was over six and a half years ago, and each of those days was successful, as was yesterday, as do I expect today to be, though it is all dependent upon the work I put into it. If you define "success" as "cured" -- I'm not a success. If you define it as a remission dependent upon continued treatment, then, okay, today I'm a success. I started out in NA and AA, got a sponsor, took the steps, found purpose through a god of my understanding, and today, I do most of my 12th step work (working with others) in AA.
Good luck to your husband. My best suggestion to him is to learn and practice honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness.
Peace & Love,
Sugah