10 Helpful Tips Before Going to Medical Detox (Part 2)

Part 2:  Inpatient Care

The thing about sobriety is that there’s no such thing as finished. I’ve said it many times before, there is no finish line, no final check mark, or graduation when it comes to being a person in recovery. As long as you’re breathing, you’re still on the path to and through sobriety. With that being said, there are a few checkpoints along the way, milestones if you will. For some of us, the journey begins with medical detox, transitions into short or prolonged inpatient care, and if everything goes well, a “normal” life lived in long-term sobriety.

Last week I released part one of this post, which to be fair only included 5 tips, but true to the title, the post more closely focused on medical detox. This week I plan on rounding off with another 5 helpful tips. This time, the scope will broaden to include inpatient care in general. The phrase inpatient care is a bit vague, so what do I mean by that?

Great question! While in my opinion the majority of these 5 tips can be applied to any level of care for drug/alcohol rehabilitation, they’re most applicable to those of you who might find yourself labeled as, medical detox, PHP, or IOP status. Don’t worry if you’re a little confused by all the different classifications, I’m about to help you out by explaining everything in tip number 6!

Tip Number 6: Technical Terms

So, this is it, you finally decided that inpatient care is right for you! Perhaps you’ve already been attending some 12-step meetings, seeing a therapist, and have some family members in the medical field whom you’ve shared this news with. If not, no worries, that’s okay. If you have, however, perhaps someone has asked you how long you plan on being away for, if you’re going to IOP, or whether or not the facility you’re going to is strictly medical detox or if they offer a PHP program.

Chances are if this is your first go at receiving inpatient care, your head is spinning with all the medical jargon, technical terms, and acronyms. Fear not, I’ve got your back. Here’s a basic rundown of what all that crap means. Hopefully, this will help explain the difference of each level of inpatient care, and help determine which on may be right for you!

A little boring perhaps, but hopefully that helped clear up some of the confusion that often overwhelms folks like us when considering inpatient care. Now, let’s get back to the fun stuff with tip number 7!

Tip Number 7: Other Patients

I’m just going to go ahead and throw this out there; SOME are sicker than others. Yup, that’s another fortune cookie sobriety quote you can jot down in your journal today if you’d like. When receiving inpatient care, unless you’re a real bougie and can afford to rent out an entire facility to yourself, there will be other patients and you will have to interact with them at some point or another.

As I’ve mentioned before, every facility is different. Depending on what treatment center you attend it may be a co-ed facility or one separated by gender. Similarly, you might have a private room, or you may find that you have to share a room with one or more roommates. Don’t worry though, I have yet to come across any inpatient care facility that has a co-ed living situation.

Regardless of the aforementioned details, you will be surrounded by others who, like you, are just beginning their recovery journeys. It’s often said that no one who receives inpatient care is coming in on a winning streak, so bear that in mind as you mix and mingle with other patients with whom you’re sharing space.

Truth be told, most other patients are kind, fun-loving, and easy to get along with. After all, everyone is there for a common problem, and some folks even make life-long sober pals during their time in inpatient care. However, there do always remain a few who are grumpy, irritable, struggling to adjust, or just plain don’t want to be there. We’re all sick, some are just still sicker than others (If you’re anything like me, sometimes the sicker one is YOU!).

My best advice: stick with the winners. If you’re there for the right reasons, it becomes pretty clear which patients “want it” and which patients don’t. This isn’t me throwing shade, it’s a simple fact, not everyone is ready or willing to get sober. Watch and listen, you’ll find your tribe in no time!

Tip Number 8: Phone Calls/Visitation/ Outside Communication

This tip is short and sweet. The number one question I hear from people considering inpatient care is “When can I talk to my husband/kids/parents?” This answer, like many others is dependent on your facility’s policies. One thing I can say with some certainty is that almost every treatment center I have ever been to or heard about confiscates all cellular/electronic devices for a minimum of 48 hours. In many (not all) cases, your inpatient care facility will have phones available for personal use between certain hours of the day.

When it comes to visitation, well that’s a whole other animal. There are many variables in the visitation equation. Some treatment centers have designated family weekends, others offer day passes, and some allow no visitors at all. Most commonly, though, I have found that some form of visitation is granted as a privilege after a designated amount of time (2 weeks, 90 days, etc.) As far as outside communication, you can pretty much guarantee that you won’t be answering work emails, or scrolling Facebook for the majority of your stay (unless of course, you enter an IOP program.)

Number 9: In-House Meetings

Whether you’re a fan of Alcoholics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, Double Trouble in Recovery, All Recovery, or any other recovery program for that matter, you can rest assured that some type of peer-led recovery program will be on the itinerary throughout your time in inpatient care. Some treatment centers are 12-step based, while others are not, so again it honestly depends on the destination of your choosing.

If you’re lucky like Stan, your facility will take you and your cohort to a local meeting off-campus. If you’re like me, the facility you attend may have meetings brought in or hosted by fellow patients. Either way, there’s a pretty high chance you’ll make a meeting or two while in treatment!

Number 10: Discharge/Aftercare Plans

Last but certainly not least… discharge plans. When I first went to treatment I was overwhelmed and terrified by how early the conversations surrounding my discharge came up. Honestly, without exaggeration, the mention of discharge plans occurred on day 7. I was baffled because the day before I had just committed to the 30-day program and now they were already talking about discharge planning. Chances are, the same thing will happen to you, so listen up because I have a little secret for you!

The secret to not panicking at the phrase, “discharge planning,” is… (drum roll please) … plan ahead! Yep, when your counselor, therapist, psychiatrist, or whoever begins asking you about discharge plans, start thinking ahead. Believe it or not, the days in treatment might seem long, but the weeks are short, so getting a head start is a good idea. Once they start tapering those detox meds it’s time to start asking yourself the following questions:

1. What happens when I leave here?
2. Do I have a place to go “home” to?
3. Is long-term treatment right for me?
4. What are my options for continuation of care?
5. Do I know where I can receive outpatient services?
6. Are there any AA/NA, Celebrate Recovery, or All Recovery meetings near me?
7. Do I feel ready to be on my own?
8. What have a learned here that I can take home with me?
9. What hesitations do I still have about staying sober?
10. What resources can my counselor provide me with before discharge?

So, there you have it. 10 helpful tips before going into medical detox and inpatient care! Of course, this is nowhere near an exhaustive list of tips or advice, but I hope it was a good place to start. Maybe you still have some apprehensions about inpatient care, aren’t even sure if you need detox, or perhaps you’re still not sure you have a problem with alcohol. Any variation of those things is more than okay.

If taking the leap of faith and making the decision to go to treatment was easy… so many more of us would go! If the only thing holding you back is the question, “When is the right time to go to treatment?” The answer is today! I have yet to hear someone say they regret going to treatment and getting a jumpstart on their sobriety!

Feel like I left something out? Want to give a shoutout to the treatment facility that helped you start your journey? If you have any questions about inpatient care, medical detox, or any of the information provided in this article please leave a comment below OR email us at help@thegratefulnuts.com