I watched my ex go from using any & all drugs to get high to finding recovery, working his recovery & turning his life around. But it took a few years. When my 1st husband was in rehab in 1987, I was told it takes 5 years sober for an alcoholic/addict to "be totally free of the drug". The HBO programs are just one more idea of recovery. I have heard the whole dopamine thing myself, but I have also been taught that the brain just begin to heal itself in time. Bottomline to me is that an addict has to be willing to go to "any" length to recover. And it's NOT easy. And there are no guarantees.
Somehow, though, seeing the recoverying addicts I've seen with long term clean time, there is always hope! In fact, I read somewhere that there is hope until the day you die. And somehow that made me feel better.
Lynne