The closure of Arapahoe House, which provides support and rehabilitation for drug abusers, will effectively eliminate the largest Colorado drug rehab program in the state. At a time when Colorado and other areas are seeing an epidemic of heroin and opioid abuse, the timing for the closure could not be worse, but financial losses are making it impossible to remain operative. With the January closure date looming, many friends and family members of addicts find themselves scrambling to determine which rehab facility may be right for loved ones struggling with drug abuse issues. From therapeutic approaches to simple factors like nutrition, there are a wide range of considerations to make before selecting one rehab program over another.
Program Length and Results
While some insurance companies limit the length of a rehab program for clients, others will pay for clients to complete a specific period of residential rehabilitation followed by an outpatient transitional program. Depending on a loved one’s insurance, addiction and personality, either of these options could be useful. Determining the length and style that will work the best for any given patient should include consideration of factors such as the type of addiction, personality and the ability of the individual to remain clean in a non-residential setting.
Many family members of addicts and the drug abusers themselves are swayed by rehab facilities that promise fast results or offer guarantees on the outcome of rehabilitative efforts. While expecting a change in addictive behavior is absolutely a result that families of addicts should look for in a program, those who promise that patients will remain clean after 28 days may not be the best choice. Before choosing whether or not to embrace the ideal results offered by a rehab program, patients and their families may want to ask for statistical evidence of such guarantees.
Use of Drugs to Eliminate Drug Addiction
Depending on the nature of a patient’s addiction and the likelihood of becoming addicted to another substance may help addicts and their families determine whether or not a program that uses medication is appropriate. While those programs that help clients stay clean through the use of Antabuse may be a good choice for those patients trying to avoid drug abuse shortly after entering a program, those that prescribe Methadone may simply create a new addiction while trying to treat the original dependency.
Like many other aspects of drug rehab, those clients who enter a program that relies on the use of drugs like Methadone may need to consider their goals and likely results of such an approach. If the main goal is to remove illicit drugs and their negative health risks and unregulated use from the life of the addict, a program using Methadone may be a good option. However, those in search of a completely clean, drug-free lifestyle may wish to find a program that takes a different approach. After all, those drugs that serve as substitutes for opioids can often cause a patient to quickly become addicted to a new substance.
Nutrition and the Recovering Addict
Those drugs users who having been living with active addiction for more than a few months often have incredibly poor eating habits. Lack of nutrition in drug addicts is caused by a variety of factors that range from financial instability to poor appetite when using, making it important for a rehab program to focus on better eating habits. Reteaching recovering addicts the principles of healthy eating may not seem too important when a drug abuser first enters a program, but doing so will help the individual to regain some control over his or her own body and provide other benefits.
Life After Addiction and Rehab
Although overcoming the physical and psychological effects of drug addiction can take awhile, those clients who succeed in staying clean may find that their lives are filled with the wonders of simplicity and stability. Instead of sitting around and asking themselves “what is the most addictive drug?” users may wish to focus on taking their first steps to overcoming their personal dependence on any drug. Completing a rehab program is just the beginning of recovery, of course, but it is also one of the most significant factors in ensuring that a drug abuser has the opportunity to live a healthy, happy lifestyle that will extend beyond his or her next high.
