Meth RehabBy Ned Wicker Kelly’s story is pretty typical of a meth user, read it and you will begin to see why using meth is so terrible and also about the best way to find a good rehab program.Kelly’s Story: Zombie Walking Kelly’s mother could hardly control her emotions when trying to describe what years of meth amphetamine use had done to her daughter. Holding back tears she tried to describe how a vibrant 18 year old with a college scholarship was turned into a homeless 24 year-old with a criminal record. It’s one of those stories that you can’t believe. It just can’t happen like that, but it did. It was only six years ago when Kelly graduated from high school. She had earned solid grades, good enough to earn a partial scholarship to a state university. The game plan was to put her on the path to becoming a veterinarian and she had a passion for larger animals like horses and cows. Since her childhood she dreamed of working with horses especially, any breed, any kind, from the large draft horses to Thoroughbreds. Her parents delighted in her enthusiasm. They didn’t see the storm clouds coming.College Started Out Fine But Not For Long Kelly went off to school and enjoyed her first semester, making new friends, going to football games and immersing herself in the college life. Her grades were adequate, her routine daily activities showed no signs of trouble ahead. She befriended an older student who introduced her to meth at a fraternity party. This was not something Kelly did and at first she resisted, but after a few drinks her ability to reason was compromised and the persistence of her acquaintance broke down her resistance and she joined in. She liked how she felt and as she would later describe, it was a little piece of her that seemed better somehow when she smoked. Addicted Right Away Not everyone who does meth is going to become an addict, and not everyone becomes an addict after the first experience. For Kelly this was a process, a kind of slow decline into the pit, but by the middle of her third semester things had deteriorated. She told her parents that she was thinking of taking a semester off, maybe changing majors. The rigors of the medical curriculum required for her major was wearing heavily and she was having trouble “keeping up.” She thought teaching might be a good choice, or perhaps political science. She pondered a time way from college to reassess her situation. Of course, it was all a smoke screen, as by then her meth habit had begun to completely consume her life. She dropped out after three semesters, but ironically had three 18-credit semesters to her credit. She completed her courses. Nothing Suspected She explained that college was getting too stressful and that she just needed some time off. Her parents were supportive and did not suspect any problems, although her mother did comment that Kelly had lost some weight. College students often do not eat properly, so this was easily handled. But things did not change, Kelly did not relax and recharge her batteries. In fact, the time off she said she needed just made her more stressed out and by the end of summer, Kelly and her parents were at odds. Instead of going back to college after a semester off, she moved into an apartment with a friend in a nearby town.Only Called When She Needed Something There was rarely a phone call to just talk. Kelly would call if she needed something. Her mother still suspected nothing, but was getting worried. Little did she know that her daughter was now a daily user, desiring more and more meth to achieve her desired high. As the months went by she began to work the streets to raise drug money. Her parents began to see that something was dramatically wrong, but any expression of concern was rewarded with a stern warning and admonition. She was an adult, so what could they do? And so it was. In and Out of Jail For the next three years, Kelly was in and out of jail, mostly for prostitution, but twice she was busted for possession. The small amount of meth, deemed for personal use, resulted in a slap on her wrist. She moved in and out of apartments, and would sometimes take up residence on the street. She was now nearly 24, but she looked decades older. Once a 135 pound college student, she hovered below 100. When she failed to return phone calls and after nearly two weeks without contact, her father went looking for her. He found her in a vacant house, where sever others had been bunking out. Fearing that she might be in serious trouble, he took her to a local hospital emergency room. Seen So Many Times Before The ER staff had seen this all too many times and knew exactly what to do to save her. The doctor said she might have had another week, maybe two. Kelly was furious and difficult to handle, but the staff gently handled that problem as well. She refused all treatment, so her father, against everything he believed in, agreed to have her arrested. Her body was getting ready to shut down and she was in jeopardy of suffering cardiac arrest. She had advanced periodontal disease. She was severely malnourished and dehydrated. She received the necessary treatment that afternoon and was placed in a room on the medical unit, where she remained for nearly 10 days before being transferred to a drug treatment center. Parents Blamed Themselves Her parents blamed themselves for not seeing the problem. However, she had never given them any cause for concern. It really wasn’t until her disease had taken full hold of her that there were any real signs for them to comprehend. She was an adult, out on her own, making her own way. She lived in another town. Little did they know that she had made so many bad choices, that she was on the pathway to dying at such a young age. Over the six years things just got worse, slowly. Parents often don’t know what to do. Turned to Al-AnonSince that day when her dad rescued her, both her parents have turned to Al-Anon for support and education. They have realized that when one member of the family has the disease of addiction, every member has it. They are now, as they say, much more “street smart” and they know what to look for to help their daughter stay clean and healthy. They are doing their part, actively and with intention. Drug Treatment programs for drug addiction are as varied as the types of drug addiction, and while our purpose is not to endorse one kind of treatment over another, we’ll try to give you a primer on the topic.Types of TreatmentDrug Rehabilitation Treatment may consist of: behavioral therapy, medication, or a combination. Behavioral therapy would include counseling, cognitive therapy and psychotherapy. Also, there is the 12-Step recovery developed by Alcoholics Anonymous, which is now used by over 250 self-help groups.

Treatment is serious work but our modern culture doesn’t treat it that way, read more…

Selecting a Meth Rehab Treatment ProgramThere are several things to keep in mind when selecting a treatment program, or center. Foremost is the fact that everybody has an individual need and treatment programs must be tailored to meet that need. One size fits all does not apply. Recovery needs to take place in the right setting, with the right services and treatments to yield a positive outcome.Even if a person does not voluntarily check-in to a treatment program, it does not mean the treatment will be ineffective. Many people present themselves for treatment by court order, not of their own free will, and can receive the same benefit as those who are there voluntarily.When a person is ready for treatment it is important for that treatment to be ready for him/her. Services must be available, because if a person has to endure being put on a waiting list, or has to drive long distances to receive treatment, the odds are against them from the get go. It’s easy for people to fall between the cracks if help is not readily available.In many cases, people entering treatment need to go through medical detoxification. While it is an important first step in the treatment program, detox is not the whole answer to the problem. People need to get the drugs out of their system, but that does not address the long-term problems of addiction.Must meet your needs!Treatment programs need to meet the needs of people, beyond the physical and emotional addiction problem itself. We are body, mind and spirit. Intervention that does not include all of a person’s needs falls short of the minimum goal of the program. Addiction is as much about the spirit as it is about the mind and body. Many addicts going into recovery has legal problems to sort out, job problems, social integration problems. Every aspect of the person’s life needs to be addressed.Needs change and treatment programs need to change as those needs change. Progress or the lack of progress needs to be assessed on an ongoing basis. What was necessary in the first phases of treatment may need to be changed as time goes on. Perhaps a patient is on medication initially, but will later require counseling or psychotherapy. There may be family matters to work through, or vocational training. Why 12-STEP is Useful to Meth Rehab?We recommend that whatever treatment program you choose that you also enroll in a 12-step program. A 12-step program will help address your spiritual needs rather than just your medical needs.We have listed each step below and hope that you will take some time to review each step and consider what it would do for your/your loved ones recovery.
Go to the 12-step for Drug Addiction Treatment program.

Choose a Meth Rehab Treatment Program that is Age-AppropriateTreatment programs must be age-appropriate, and sensitive to the culture and ethnicity of the patient. Again, the individual’s need is the key to determining the most effective path of treatment.Sticking with Meth Rehab Treatment Programs is KEY!Patients need to complete their treatment programs. Treatment can be a long and difficult road, so patients need to be encouraged to stick with it. Research suggests that people reach a major milestone in recovery after 90 days, but additional treatment can be helpful in taking the patient farther down the road to good health. The problem is people leave their treatment programs early, often without reaching a significant stage in recovery.Patients cannot expect to recover if they have to do it alone. Connection to other people is necessary, and in the case of recovery, having sessions with a counselor or being part of a group is an important component of the program. Mental Health Needs to Be ConsideredPatients with mental problems can be helped with a variety of behavioral drugs and treatments. Patients with both drug addiction and mental disorders need a program that works with both aspects. Assessment of these needs is critical in establishing a treatment program that will effectively restore the patient’s health and well-being. Drug Use MUST Be Monitored!While in treatment, patients must not be using drugs. Drug use needs to be monitored, and this can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Most commonly, a urinalysis or some other test is sufficient. If a relapse occurs, and the patient uses drugs during the treatment program, his/her individual treatment plan may require modification. It is important for the treatment program to have a steady, objective monitoring program to meet the needs of the patient.

RememberOne size does not fit all patients, sometimes one a Meth Rehab Treatment program does not completely rid the patient of the addiction problem. Therefore, many patients need subsequent Meth Rehab Treatment programs to win over the addiction. By nature, people like to do things their own way They make mistakes They stumble and fall Sometimes long-term programs are the answer, or many times through the program. The important thing is to continue to try to stay clean.For more about Meth Rehab visit our home page.

Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth Rehab Meth RehabSYMPTOMS…

CAUSES…

EFFECTS…

TREATMENT…

Read these five pages and learn what you need to know to spot drug addiction in: Yourself… Your Family… Your Friends… Your Community…The rest of the pages are there for your reference to explain important topics in more detail.

Finally don’t miss the Spiritual and 12-step sections to fully explore how understanding THE SPIRIT can lead to recovery!