Category: Drug Rehab

Benzo Flu: Benzodiazepine Detox and Withdrawal

Today, benzodiazepines are one of the most misused prescription drugs on the market. In fact, in 2021, an estimated 3.9 million people misused prescription benzodiazepines, whether for recreational or self-medication use. Benzos are challenging for users because they are highly addictive in that they are both dependence inducing and in that they result in significant withdrawal symptoms. Someone who starts using may be forced to keep using until a point when they can afford taking up to five weeks off to be sick – and that can be extremely difficult for many.

Benzodiazepines are mostly used under close supervision with medical doctors with Risk Evaluation and Mitigation programs in place. However, if you’ve been using before those measures were put in place, slipped through the cracks, or started using recreationally, you could easily be dealing with a significant drug dependence. Quitting benzos means withdrawing from them and doing so means seeking out medical care so you can do so safely. Benzo flu is the term used to refer to withdrawal – which can be two or more weeks of significant medical side effects.

What is Benzo Flu?

Benzo flu is the street term used to refer to the withdrawal period for benzodiazepines. Benzos significantly impact large areas of the brain and change the chemical and hormonal output of the brain. This means that withdrawing from them can be significant and can be dangerous.

In most cases, benzo flu results in symptoms like:

Heavy sweating
Panic attacks
Anxiety

Nausea and vomiting
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Headaches

Insomnia or sleeplessness
Hallucinations
Psychosis

Irritability
Mood Swings
Shaking and tremors
Seizures

These symptoms typically start out fairly light and increase over the first few days. Most people start shaking and sweating and will feel like they have the flu. You may also have a runny nose and watery eyes. These typically happen as your brain re-adapts to changes in chemicals like neurotransmitters. Here, GABBA, dopamine, and serotonin are the most effected.

Here, withdrawal is often called a “flu” because you basically have to take several weeks off work. You will be too sick to work. And, you may spend the entire time coughing and vomiting, just like with the flu.

What’s the Timeline for Benzo Withdrawal?

In most cases, you can expect benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms to last for about two to five weeks or a bit longer. In some cases, you might also suffer from post-acute withdrawal symptoms, which means that withdrawal may last for up to three months. In each case, it’s important to ensure you have medical monitoring so you can get intervention and treatment if things start to go wrong.

In addition, the severity and longevity of symptoms will depend on what kind of benzos you’re taking, how heavy of a user you are, and how long you’ve been taking them. Your gender, age, body fat, and other factors will also play a role. For example, benzos are stored in body fat, which means that the withdrawal process will take longer if you have more body fat.

In most cases the withdrawal timeline look something like:

Early Withdrawal – Early withdrawal starts within about 12 hours of your last dose but as early as 6. You’ll typically start craving more of the drug. That will evolve into anxiety which will continue to escalate over the course of the day. If you normally take benzos to treat panic attacks, the lack of benzos could also trigger panic or anxiety attacks. Most people also can’t sleep.
Peak – Symptoms escalate over the first 1-5 days. This will mean that every day, symptoms are worse than the day before. This stage can last for up to 14 days if you have long-acting benzos. Here, you’ll develop extra symptoms like sweating, anxiety, panic, nausea, vomiting, general malaise, and headaches. You’ll also be at risk of hallucinations and paranoia. Most people also tremble, and you may have seizures. However, if you do, it is important to contact your doctor immediately.
Plateau – Symptoms will stop escalating and will be about the same for about 2-5 days or for up to 3 weeks for long-acting benzos. During this stage, the symptoms will remain about the same and won’t continue to escalate. Therefore, if you’re suffering from severe withdrawal effects, you may need medical treatment so that it stays safe.
Recovery – Withdrawal symptoms will start to taper off and will take 5-15 days to go away for short-acting benzos and up to 4 weeks for long-acting ones. Here, the intensity of symptoms gradually declines, and some symptoms may fall away altogether.

This extremely long and intense withdrawal is often why many doctors prefer to use a tapering schedule for benzos. This means you’ll cut your benzo dose in half every week to every few days, reducing the amount of benzos in your system slowly. You’ll still feel bad for the entire time, but you won’t be putting yourself at risk of life-threatening seizures. However, if you’re struggling with addiction and seeking behavior or self-control around benzos, this approach may not work for you.

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Risk of Seizures

Anyone who withdraws from benzodiazepines is at significant risk of seizures. Benzos interact with the GABBA receptors in the brain, which results in seizures during withdrawal in every substance known to interact with GABBA. (E.g., alcohol). In addition, some 20% of all persons withdrawing from benzodiazepines have a risk of grand mal seizures. These are significant seizures that can threaten your life and your long-term health if left untreated. For this reason, it’s extremely important that you either take a medically monitored tapering program to reduce benzo usage or that you receive anti-seizure and convulsant medication and detox under medical monitoring. Benzo withdrawal can have life threatening complications.

What is Benzodiazepine Detox?

Detox means getting medical monitoring and support during your withdrawal. Depending on your situation, you are also significantly likely to be recommended into a tapering schedule first. However, if your doctor doesn’t think you can safely manage a tapering schedule, you’ll likely be recommended into a clinic for treatment and detox instead.

Tapering – You might be asked to switch to a lighter benzodiazepine. You might also be asked to cut your dose down over about 10 weeks first. This will reduce the danger involved with detox. However, if you’re struggling with addiction, tapering programs rarely work.

Medical Monitoring – Your detox should include medical monitoring to ensure nothing goes wrong. That means checking in on your health, responding in case of alarming side effects, and giving you the medication and treatment you need to withdraw safely. Often that will mean reducing the intensity of symptoms. However, it may also mean simply responding in case of seizures or to prevent seizures.

Behavioral Health Treatment – Many detox programs integrate early behavioral health interventions to ensure you have the tools to stay off of benzos once you get clean. Of course, you’ll still need follow-up treatment for addiction and drug dependency. However, early-stage behavioral health interventions can help you to withdraw in a more comfortable fashion because you’ll have support, motivation, and help at every step.

Getting Help

If you or a loved one is struggling with benzodiazepines, it’s important to get help. That should normally start out with a visit to your primary healthcare provider – where you can talk about your usage, get input on tapering, and get a referral to a detox program and treatment program. Having medical monitoring during your benzodiazepine withdrawal can be lifesaving, so it is important that you check into a detox center to ensure you have the care you need.

Good luck getting off of benzodiazepines.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our alcohol rehab, detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

Why Traveling for Addiction Treatment is a Good Idea

a man traveling to rehab treatment center

Why Traveling for Addiction Treatment is a Good Idea

If you’re considering going to rehab for yourself or for a loved one, you likely have a lot of options. Not only do most areas have local outpatient programs, you can travel to one of the over 16,000 treatment facilities across the United States. Those treatment centers off inpatient care to local and out-of-state visitors – with an estimated 4 million patients each year. While that’s less than 10% of the total number of people who need treatment, it does mean that you have significant options to seek out treatment away from home.

And, while traveling to rehab treatment can seem like a big deal, it may be a good idea for your needs. That’s especially true for professionals who need discrete treatment to protect their career. Or, if you’re not yet ready to share about treatment with your community or your workplace. However, there are many reasons other than privacy that might mean traveling to rehab is a good choice for you.

You Want a Choice of Different Treatment Options

Most treatment centers in the United States offer 12-step treatment. If you’re going to an outpatient program, chances are it’s made up of counseling and 12-step and potentially cognitive behavioral therapy on a group basis. If you want something more intensive or more diverse, you might have to travel to find it.

For example, one-on-one motivational therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and dialectal behavioral therapy are proven to be effective in helping people to recover from a substance use disorder. In addition, you may benefit from family and relationship therapy, child care, pet care at the facility, EMDR, or any of a number of other treatment options that aren’t available locally.

That’s especially true if you have a co-occurring or dual diagnosis, where you might need specific treatment to offer support for getting substance abuse treatment while continuing medication. Or, if you want to go to a program that offers support for LGBTQ+, female-only, male-only, or medication assisted (or the lack of) programs.

The further out you’re willing to travel, the more options you’ll have. And, those will extend to complementary therapies and options like mindfulness, music therapy, physical therapy, nutritional therapy, etc.

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Taking Time Off Shouldn’t Feel Like a Hospital Visit

It’s also true that if you go to a local rehab clinic, especially on an outpatient basis, you’re essentially taking a lot of time out of your life for what will feel like work. It is important to note that rehab is work. You will have to spend a significant amount of time and personal effort on changing yourself, your behavior, and the way you think.

Traveling for rehab allows you to reduce the stress of that investment by making it something of a vacation. You also don’t have to go to a luxury rehab to get that feeling. Almost every rehab center has activities, group exercises, and entertainment, designed to help you to be happy and healthy throughout the program – while building the life skills you need to be happy and healthy outside of treatment. That means you can:

Let go of daily responsibilities and focus on treatment
Dedicate all of your time to recovery and building yourself up
Get to relax in a private and safe environment
Step away from the possibility of relapse into an environment where you can’t drink or use

Going to rehab doesn’t have to feel like you’re visiting a hospital everyday or staying in one. That’s stressful and demotivating. Traveling to a rehab center in a nice location means you can enjoy weather and nature and get to relax and destress while you work on yourself, and that should improve the quality of your experience and how much you can learn.

Getting a Fresh Start

Most people build habits around where they live and who they live with. This means that if you’re going to rehab and not changing the habits of how you live or who you hang out with, chances are, you are likely to relapse again. Stepping out of that environment means you get a fresh start, away from the people, places, and things that could trigger you to use.

That’s especially important if you frequently drink or use with friends or family. Or, if you have habits built around getting home and drinking or using. The more barriers you put between yourself and falling into automatic habits, the easier it will be to actually get clean or sober.

Of course, that does come with a caveat as well. If you travel to rehab, you’ll have to readjust when you get back and you’ll have to learn to avoid those triggers, to cut them out, or to mitigate them with better coping mechanisms or strategies. That can mean you’ll want to stay in a sober home when you get out of rehab, it may mean you’ll want to move, and it may mean you’ll want a new set of friends. However, getting the fresh start will be an important first step in helping you to step away from habits and give yourself the opportunity to build new ones.

You Need Extra Help

If you’ve tried to quit drugs or alcohol in the past and didn’t manage, have been to outpatient care, or qualify as having a significant substance use disorder, you may benefit from the extra support, hands on treatment, and higher rate of personalized attention in an inpatient center. While personalized treatment and more one-on-one time with counselors and therapists doesn’t guarantee better outcomes, it does mean you get the benefit of a program that is built around your needs, adapted as you move through therapy to match your progress, and based on your personal treatment history. And, when you graduate, you can move into aftercare programs, often via virtual therapy, so you can continue getting support as you navigate early recovery.

There’s no one right way to go to addiction treatment. In fact, if you’re choosing between outpatient treatment at a local facility or no treatment at all, the outpatient treatment is always better. However, traveling to treatment can offer a lot of benefits that will help you as you progress through your recovery journey.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

My Man Says He’s Not an Alcoholic: Signs of Alcoholism in Men

My Man Says He’s Not an Alcoholic: Signs of Alcoholism in Men

If your partner is drinking too much, you probably notice a lot. At the same time, they may argue or even outright deny drinking too much or having a problem. That’s a common problem with alcoholics. They convince themselves that they are in control and they can quit whenever they want – even when they can’t.

Recognizing that your loved one is struggling with an alcohol use disorder is one of the first steps of getting them help. It can also be important for your own mental health – especially if they are lying and hiding drinking. Unfortunately, if your loved one doesn’t’ want to get help, they won’t and you can’t make them. However, taking the steps to help them learn about substance use disorders, why alcoholism is a treatable thing and not a personal failing, and how they can get help may help. And, that all starts with recognizing the signs of alcoholism and how it impacts people.

They Get Sick Often

If your man is drinking so much that he has cold or flu symptoms when he stops, he’s struggling with alcohol dependency. This means that his body is so accustomed to alcohol that it has to adjust to lower levels of it when he stops drinking. With alcohol, this happens because alcohol interacts with the central nervous system and therefore the respiratory system. As a result, someone going through withdrawal will have shaking hands, sniffles, a headache, and will likely be extremely irritable.

Even if you notice that they periodically have these symptoms, especially if they can’t drink for a few days for medication or for work – then they likely have a problem.

He Sneaks or Hides Drinking

Someone with a healthy relationship to alcohol will never sneak or hide drinks. It doesn’t matter how much you “nag” them about it or feel negatively about it. If they have a good relationship with alcohol, they won’t hide using it.

This means that finding bottles hidden in a drawer or behind a couch is a sign of alcoholism. It means that someone who fills water or soda bottles with alcohol and takes them with them through the day is an alcoholic. It means that someone who often or normally slips alcohol into their normal beverage is an alcoholic. And, it means that someone who hides or tries to throw away bottles or evidence that they were drinking is an alcoholic.

They Drink More than They Say

If your loved one promises to have a single drink and then gets drunk, it’s fine once, but more than that and it’s a bad sign. Even if they jokingly go “I can’t just have one beer, it turns into two and then three”, it means that they don’t have self-control around alcohol. Lack of self-control around alcohol means they have a substance use disorder.

That’s also true if he tells you he drank less than you know he did. For example, if your partner comes home smelling strongly of alcohol and says he only had a few beers. Or, if he lies about not being drunk but is drunk. If he has to lie about it, it is a problem.

Unfortunately, this can be difficult to argue or work around. Why? People often lie so well that they convince themselves. That’s very easy in a bar, where you don’t have bottles and cups to get rid of. It’s also easy at home when you sneak drinks and hide them – because you don’t see the evidence of how much you’re drinking either. When that’s the case, it means alcohol consumption can get significantly out of hand, because they aren’t keeping tabs on what they are actually drinking.

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They Frequently Binge

Binge drinking, or drinking more than four servings of alcohol in a single sitting, shouldn’t be a regular thing. Healthy alcohol consumption involves moderation and being careful of how much you drink and why. Yet, 80% or more of Americans will sometimes binge drink. If that happens once or twice a year, it’s usually fine. However, if it’s a thing that happens more often, it usually means there’s a problem.

That’s also true if they:

Save up to get to drink more on the weekends
Drink to the point of blackout
Drink to the point of throwing up
Have memory lapses while drinking

They Overprioritize Drinking

It’s normal to look forward to having a few beers with friends. However, if someone has a problem, they over think about drinking. Sometimes that can take the form of making it a hobby. People invest in craft beer or spirits to make their alcoholism more socially acceptable. However, if they spend a significant portion of their time thinking about or drinking alcohol, it’s usually a bad sign. You can have a healthy relationship with craft alcohol and put more time and attention into it. However, that should not be paired with also frequently getting drunk.

Overprioritizing drinking looks like:

Spending a lot of effort to ensure there is alcohol
Skipping meals so alcohol hits harder
Skipping meals so they can drink without gaining weight
Refusing to go somewhere because they can’t drink
Refusing to go somewhere unless you are the designated driver

Essentially, if the most important part of the activity is drinking, your partner has a problem.

He Drinks to Self-Medicate

TV shows and media have normalized “having a drink to feel better” or to “unwind”. However, that’s a very unhealthy approach to life and one that can result in addiction. If your partner uses alcohol to make themselves feel better during extreme events, it’s probably fine. On the other hand, if they need a beer to unwind from work or to even be normal, they have a problem.

Alcohol should not be a way to cope with stress. It also shouldn’t be a way to manage emotions, including social anxiety. Alcohol also should not be a social lubricant. If you “need” it, you have a problem.

They Can’t Quit

If your partner goes “I can quit anytime I want”, and then doesn’t, it usually means they can’t. That’s also true if they keep trying to quit and then relapse and find a reason for that. Or, if they say they will quit or cut back, and then keep finding reasons to not. “I’ll stop drinking when that stressful thing stops” is the same as saying “I can’t quit”. It’s also true if they blame it on you, “I might drink less if you didn’t nag so much”, also means “I can’t quit”.

Most people will at least try to cut back or to quit and then may find that they can’t actually do so. That’s true even if it seems like they have a valid reason. Or if quitting really is inconvenient right then. If someone cannot quit, especially if they say they want to, they have a problem.

If your partner is struggling with alcohol, it’s important to try to get them help. Unfortunately, getting someone to acknowledge that they need help can be extremely difficult. You may need professional help or an intervention to get your partner to face the fact that they do have a problem. And, that starts with recognizing the ways they do struggle with alcohol. Good luck getting your loved one into treatment.

Who is Best Suited for Residential Addiction Treatment?

people outdoor in recovery sitting on the grass

Who is Best Suited for Residential Addiction Treatment?

Today, an estimated 16,000 rehab centers deliver addiction treatment services to millions of Americans. On average, some 4 million of us go to rehabilitation every year. However, with dozens of choices in treatment type and style, it can be difficult to decide what’s right for you. Here, one of the biggest first choices is whether you’re attending inpatient or residential addiction treatment or outpatient treatment.

Both treatment options have pros and cons. And, residential treatment is definitely the best fit for some people and outpatient treatment for others. Therefore, making that decision will mean reviewing your needs and possibly talking to a consultant to help you decide what’s right for you. However, this article will help you get started with an overview of who’s best suited for residential addiction treatment.

Those with a History of Relapse

If you’ve tried to quit before and ended up relapsing, you likely go into rehab with a mindset that it isn’t going to work and you’re just going to fail. That can mean that you don’t even try – not even to get clean and sober to begin with. Going to a residential treatment facility means you’re forced into being clean and sober because you have no access to drugs and alcohol over the duration of the program. That duration can be 28, 30, 90 days or even longer. This means you’ll have plenty of time to detox and recover physically from your addiction – without having to navigate the hurdles of being able to just buy something and get drunk or high whenever you want.

However, if you do have a history of relapse, it’s important to talk about it with your counselor. That may result in preventive steps like ensuring you go into an aftercare program after you graduate, extra checkups, or a MAT (Medication-Assisted Treatment) maintenance program to ensure you can’t relapse once you’re back on your own.

People Without a Stable Home Situation

Addiction treatment relies on you having a comfortable routine and a good basis to build your life on so that you can work to rebuild your life and your behaviors. This means that if you have a tumultuous situation at home, if your friends and family at home also use, or if you don’t currently have a stable living situation, it’s better to go to an inpatient rehab facility.

Residential treatment can also vary from clinical settings to home-like settings with small groups brought together for treatment. They can offer all of the comfort and most of the privacy of home, although you will be asked to participate in social behavior, which typically means sharing a room, communal eating, and communal activities.

In addition, you can often move out of residential programs and into sober homes or halfway homes to benefit from that same level of stable home situation so you can maintain your recovery after you graduate the program.

Those Who Need Privacy

Many people don’t attend rehab or treatment because they’re afraid that other people will find out. In some cases, it’s important to learn to talk about your mental health and your substance abuse issues. In other cases, doing so could actually hurt your career or your study. In the latter case, it’s usually a good idea to travel to rehab and to attend treatment with full privacy. While that will cost more, it may be an important step for your career and your long-term well-being.

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Anyone in Need of Intensive Care

Residential treatment gives you the benefit of 24/7 medical monitoring and care. You also get more contact with nurses, doctors, therapists, and counselors, because they are working around you all the time. Therefore, while outpatient treatment can be as effective as inpatient treatment for those with a light to moderate addiction, anyone in need of intensive care is normally recommended into residential treatment.

Residential treatment also normally means you get more personalized care, because your therapist is better able to see your progress, gauge your reactions, and adjust your program to you and with your progress. This can mean you get support for dual diagnosis, that you get extra help with something specific you’re struggling with, or that you have the full program tailored to your needs rather than being put in a general recovery program. In each case, it can and does improve outcomes.

Who needs intensive care? In most cases, anyone with a predisposition to substance abuse (e.g., family history of, family history of abuse, family history of trauma), co-occurring mental health disorder, repeated history of treatment and relapse, high substance abuse (e.g., blacking out using alcohol, risking overdose with drugs), etc. Of course, there are many other reasons you might need intensive care and personalized treatment, so talk to your doctor.

Getting Help

If you’re struggling with a substance use disorder, it’s important to keep in mind that any help is better than no help at all. If you can’t afford or can’t make time to go to residential addiction treatment, it’s better to go to an outpatient program and see what you can learn from it. Outpatient treatment can also add significant value to your recovery and may be enough to help you quit drugs or alcohol for good.

However, it’s also a good idea to talk to your doctor and your counselors to determine what is a best fit for you and your needs. People are often recommended into residential treatment when:

They have a long history of drug or alcohol abuse
They are heavy users
They have no stable living situation
People in their close friends and family also use
Their family life is tumultuous
They experience a high amount of stress in daily life
They have significant complicating factors such as a dual diagnosis
They have specific career needs that could negatively impact treatment
Medical or mental health complications require extra medical or therapeutic attention

In each case, you don’t have to tick the boxes to benefit from residential treatment. Anyone can benefit from stepping away from day-to-day life and focusing fully on treatment and therapy. However, if this profile does sound like you, you are likely best suited for residential treatment.

Eventually, the best option is to get help. If you talk to a counselor at a treatment center or to your doctor, they can help you make the right choice to get the help you need. Good luck.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

What Happens to My Pet If I Go to Rehab?

young man hanging out with his dog at the rehab center

What Happens to My Pet If I Go to Rehab?

Going to rehab can be an important step in getting your life back on track. Substance use disorder treatment can give you the tools to get clean and sober, to cope with cravings in the future, and to manage the underlying causes of substance abuse so that you don’t need drugs or alcohol to cope with life. At the same time, for many of us, stepping away from responsibilities like jobs, homes, and pets can be challenging.

If you have a pet and you live alone, that can be especially pressing. What does happen to your pet when you go to rehab? Depending on your situation, there are multiple options and all of them have different pros and cons. This article will discuss what those are and will help you to make a decision.

Leaving a Pet with a Friend or Family Member

Even if friends and family members aren’t particularly happy with you as a person, they are unlikely to ignore a request to help care for a pet while you’re gone. If your friends and family can be trusted with your pet, this can be the most affordable option. However, it is understandably not an option for everyone. For example, if you’re not on speaking terms with anyone, if those people aren’t trustworthy around pets, or if they have too much on their plate already, you may not have this option.

Another option here is to try to break up the work across several friends. For example, your pet stays with one person for a week and then someone else picks them up, and so on. This means less constant work for someone who may not want a pet for 30-90 days. However, this option also means the most stress for your pet.

Paying For Professional Kennel Care

Professional kennel care means taking your pet to a professional pet boarding center and leaving them there for the duration of the stay. This option can be expensive. For example, pet boarding rates average about $500 per month. This does mean your pet will stay in a professional care center with someone to watch them, take them out, and offer play or walking.

Unfortunately, most professional care is available for dogs and cats. If you have a bird, you’ll probably have to seek out and travel to a professional center. This can mean added hassle and expense, which means the option isn’t for everyone.

If you do have a dog or a cat and you want to ensure that your pet gets the best possible care without you having to worry about anything, paying a professional kennel to care for your pet is a great option.

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Pet Sitters

Pet sitters are friends, family, or professional sitters who come and stay at your home for the duration of your treatment. Pet sitters may also drop by to exercise, play with, and feed your pet. This second option is the cheapest. For example, it may cost from about $20 per day to have someone walk and feed a dog. That still costs more than many kennels. However, it reduces the amount of stress your pet is under and is suitable for smaller mammals and fish.

Pet sitters will need access to your home, which means getting them keys, organizing when they will be there, and ensuring they have everything they need to provide for your pet while you are away. Often, that means choosing pet sitters who are licensed and bonded or choosing people you know. In each case, it will require organization and ensuring that you trust the person in question to continue doing the job while you are gone.

Choosing a Pet-Friendly Rehab

Pet-friendly rehab centers like 10-Acre Ranch allow you to simply bring your pets with you when you get treatment. This option offers the most peace of mind, because you know what care your pet is getting because you see them every day. In addition, the rehab center offers daily pet care, so you don’t have to watch or mind your pet while going to therapy or treatment. Plus, many therapies can work very well with having a pet, which means that your pet can actually take part in your recovery with you.

Pet-friendly rehab centers vary in offering from establishments that allow you to have a pet in your room to establishments that offer kenneling and care for your pet during the day, which you can access when not in treatment. In most cases, you should be able to keep your pet in your room – although that will be at the discretion of your roommate as well.

In addition, keeping your pet with you at rehab usually doesn’t cost more than going by yourself- although you may have to pay a small fee for boarding your pet and you may have to pay for pet-food acquired by the rehab center – as it’s unlikely you’ll be allowed to go shopping on your own.

Making a Choice

There are plenty of care options for people with pets who need to go to rehab. However, choosing an option normally depends on your situation. For most of us, keeping our pets with us in a pet-friendly rehab center is the best option because it reduces worry and stress. On the other hand, if your rehab center doesn’t allow pets, you’ll want to prioritize for either affordability, reduced stress for your pet, or professional care. Depending on which you choose, family care, kennel care, or a pet sitter may be the best option.

Going to rehab is important for your health and well-being. Luckily, having pets doesn’t have to get in the way. Often, you can just bring your pet with you and enjoy the company of your companion while you work to improve yourself and your health.

If you’re looking for a pet-friendly rehab, 10-Acre ranch offers substance use disorder treatment in a setting where you can bring your pets. However, it’s always important to get in touch and discuss your needs upfront. Good luck going into treatment.

What is Evidence Based Addiction Treatment?

What is Evidence Based Addiction Treatment?

In 2020, some 4.1 million people (or 1.5% of the population received substance abuse treatment across an estimated 16,000 treatment facilities in the U.S. Those facilities offer a wealth of options, ranging from 12-step and Christian-based treatment to rigorous evidence-based treatment and therapy built around research and long-term outcomes. That wide variety of choice means you’ll have options to choose from, to select a type of therapy that works for you or your loved one’s lifestyle, beliefs, and preferences. However, it also means you may want to learn what those treatments actually mean and how they work.

One of the most pressing questions is “what is evidence-based” therapy. This term is typically used to reference a standard of quality, which means that methods have been researched and proven to be effective in achieving recovery. This gives you more assurance that the program will actually help you to recover – although results almost always depend on your mindset and motivation.

What Does Evidence-Based Mean?

Evidence-based is a term that means research has been done and has produced evidence that the treatment has a positive effect. However, the term doesn’t say anything about the quality or scientific rigorousness of the study.

For example, LSD was used for years to treat mental health patients based on a study of just four people. On the other hand, CBT is now used to treat substance use disorders based on studies containing thousands of test subjects.

Evidence-based can also mean that a program is based on results from the program. This means that the term can be abused. For example, if 2% of the total patient population go on to graduate into recovery, evidence shows that the program works. For this reason, “evidence” based isn’t good enough and you’ll always want to ask about completion rates, recovery rates, etc. However, even those can be difficult to use as a proof of efficacy, because treatment centers conduct their own research based on factors like program completion rates, sobriety in the months immediately following treatment, and alumni interviews at follow-up points of 6 months or a year.

Evidence-Based vs Research-Based

You’ll also often see terms like “research based” or “science-based” instead of evidence based. Here, terminology can be confusing because it may be used interchangeably. This means that it’s highly likely there is no difference between the evidence-based and research-based claim.

However, a good “research based” program would use a treatment method after initial studies have shown potential efficacy, followed up on how that treatment efficacy lasts, and followed up to understand which parts of the treatment helped and why to work on building a better program.

Unfortunately, you won’t know which a rehab center means unless you start asking questions. Or, if you do your own investigation into the treatment methods they use to see how well studied they are.

Here, most therapeutic interventions are well-studied and well-tested. In addition, any medication assisted program is actually regulated by the government, meaning that it is very well tested and proven. On the other hand, there are many complementary therapies, spiritual programs, and holistic programs that are not based on rigorous research at all.

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Do You Need an Evidence-Based Program?

Eventually, most studies show that any treatment is better than no treatment at all. Attending a 12-step program like AA or NA still gives you social accountability and motivation – which can empower you to quit and stay clean and sober. However, looking for and finding a scientifically tested and proven treatment option may improve your chances of recovery. For example:

Has this treatment method been tested on many people and been proven effective at a high level?
What is the program graduation rate?
What is the recovery rate at 6 months? A year? 5 years?
How much follow-up treatment is needed to achieve those success rates?
Are there rigorous and objective controls in place to ensure the quality of data from a study?

Evidence based treatment should be tested for:

Safety
Efficacy
Long-term results

That’s important for ensuring that you can easily move into treatment without questioning the treatment itself.

Eventually, most people looking for treatment don’t have the scientific expertise to determine if a treatment method is science-based. You also shouldn’t have to. However, looking for evidence-based treatments can help you to ensure that your program is based on research and evidence of success.

Choosing a Treatment Center

There’s no one best option for treatment for everyone. In fact, the best treatment programs are those that are tailored to the individual, updated as the individual progresses through treatment, and adapted to meet specific needs. However, some of the following include evidence-based treatment methods you can look for:

Medication-Assisted Treatment – Pharmacological interventions including acamprosate, buprenorphine, disulfiram, LAAM, methadone, and naltrexone.
Individual and group counseling
Interventions
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Motivational enhancement therapy
Multi-dimensional family therapy
Couples behavioral therapy
Family strategic therapy
Contingency management therapy
Relapse prevention therapy
12-step facilitation treatment
Problem-service matching for customized treatment

Other forms of behavioral therapy such as DBT and EMDR may have research-based and evidence-based claims as well. Many treatment centers also offer complementary therapy. However, this means that the treatment is added on to the primary treatment and will not, on its own, help you to get clean and sober. Instead, it may improve or enhance the primary therapy. They are almost always based on small scale studies rather than larger studies – which means they are not suitable primary treatments.

If you’re worried about the efficacy of treatment, there’s a lot to navigate. With over 16,000 treatment centers in the United States, there’s also a lot to choose from. Here, it’s important to take into account that CBT, family therapy, behavioral therapy, and medication-assisted treatments are the most proven treatment methods for recovering from a substance use disorder. However, counseling, 12-step, and other types of therapy can also be extremely effective – especially when used in conjunction with CBT. In addition, the best programs typically tailor their treatment to the individual, so you tackle your individual problems and overcome specific behaviors or issues. It can be extremely difficult to independently verify the efficacy of any therapy offered by a treatment center, however, asking about what methodology is used, how programs are built, and what you can expect in terms of treatment, counseling, and therapy, will put you on the right track to figuring out if the center uses evidence-based treatment or not.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.