QuickBen

Hey folks. My last post was, I guess, about a month and a half ago when I was setting out on day 1 and committing to being more present here. Needless to say, since I haven't been present here at all in that time, day 1 didn't go so well...

I've spent some of the time in between being frustrated with doctors and with others in my life. I talked fairly candidly with my psychiatrist about my concerns. He referred me to a specialist counselor. The specialist counselor suggested the root of my alcoholism could be ADHD and referred me to ANOTHER doctor for ADHD testing. I went BACK to my psychiatrist and told him this, told him I didn't want to keep sinking money into appointment after appointment, and also didn't want to potentially add an ADHD medication into the mix. My psychiatrist gave me a "tapering" plan for drinking and sent me out the door. The tapering plan failed miserably.

I finally stopped blaming other people and realized the agency is all on me. I called my psychiatrist yesterday and more or less demanded an outpatient detox. My fiance and I are going to see him together this Friday to plan the whole thing out.

My question here is--aside from finding some community (if not here, then AA, or some other group support... I know this is priority 1), what can I expect from detox? Not necessarily in terms of withdrawals, etc... I'm braced for that. What sorts of things can I do to ensure I have the most successful detox possible? Not painless, or comfortable, but successful, because I want this to be quitting time for real. What kinds of questions/comments should I have prepared for my psychiatrist for the appointment Friday to make it clear to him that this needs to be the real deal, and to ensure that we aren't just swapping in a long-term benzo addiction for the drinking or something along those lines?

Thanks in advance for any counsel.

freethinking

So wait, are you going in for outpatient treatment? Or to a place to detox for a few days?

QuickBen

Outpatient treatment.

freethinking

Your psychiatrist doesn't sound like he has much knowledge of addiction if he decided the root cause of your addiction was ADHD and sent you to an ADHD specialist. It doesn't really matter WHY we are addicted when we are in the throws of our addiction(I personally think we are born with it, but that is neither here nor there); what matters is getting help for the addiction. I am not necessarily convinced, based on what you have written here, that your psychiatrist is going to have a ton of answers about addiction. I also wonder if he/she would even know how to administer the right drugs for a detox. I don't think my psychiatrist, whom I see for anxiety/depression, would ever know how to help me detox. She doesn't specialize in that.

I have done all of it: rehab, inpatient detox, IOP (intensive outpatient), AA, Rational Recovery, 1 on 1 addiction counseling....if you are not willing to do anything inpatient, I think seeking an addictions counselor would be very beneficial.

I did see a psych once who specialized in addiction, that begrudgingly let me do a detox at home. It wasn't a great idea. There is no support that way. Not that the places where I have done a 5 day detox are fabulous, but at least I am around other alcoholics while detoxing...and also have AA meetings available as well.

Whatever path you choose, I urge you to get a support system. Right now, mine consists of AA and an addictions counselor - that doesn't mean to say yours has to be the same. But I believe regular support, specifically for addiction, is key.

Good luck.

tomsteve

" What sorts of things can I do to ensure I have the most successful detox possible?"
continue to work on recovery afterwards. get into AA or another support group.
and no matter what, don't drink even if yer arse falls off.

KateL

I so love your posts lol xxx

QuickBen

Best advice I've found on here.

Stung

How does outpatient rehab work? My husband is probably going to start an outpatient rehab program soon but neither of us is really knowledgable on the subject. Is it just 5 days a week like before or after work? Is it just really intensive daily therapy or is there more to it than that? Thanks in advance and sorry for my ignorance on the subject, I'm still learning a lot about addiction and recovery.

freethinking

Is it an IOP? (intensive outpatient program) These are the most common outpatient programs I know of. Around here, they are at least a few hours a day (3-5 times/week) either during the day or after work. As you progress, you go less and less until you complete the program.