Dear njw,
Yes...the dual-diagnosis. My younger RAD has several...depression, eating disorders, ADD, suicide attempts and a few more that popped up from under the drug haze. In fact, I think she may have turned to illegal drugs in the first place to self medicate herself BC she was in so much pain.
When your son is ready and willing to accept sobriety, the medical staff will evaluate him for other conditions too. I'm not real big on giving a legal drug to control a disease caused by an illegal drug...but in my children's case it worked, so far. And when my youngest daughter was diagnosed with all these other mental illnesses, she was given meds that are very difficult to abuse. Now about Suboxone...
The Suboxone took away those physical cravings and she said it made her feel normal again. She has weekly psychology appts and monthly Dr appts and is drug tested at each appt. this is at an outpatient counseling center. (Behavioral Health) look in the phone book and call them.
There is so much more...PAWS, triggers, relapse...please read the stickies above.
As allforcnm has said, your child is still young. His habit, his disease may be new to him and he might not even recognize the long term harm he is doing to himself, or how to get away from it.
When he gets out of jail...or maybe the judge may order it, an inpatient evaluation. Has he ever been to inpatient care?
Well, whatever happens, it happens to him...we feel the fallout. Take care of that craziness you feel, take care of you first.
And as you take care of YOU, do it one second at a time.
TF