Didnt have to wait long....

[toughlovin]

It is not a detox center... it is a sober house for the down and out. i really have no idea how much they monitor him... according to gfg he hasn't used in a week (no one believes that) and it is only spice that he is showing positive for so I dont think he needs detox. And yes he can walk out of there and in fact has to be out of the house from 10-3 during the day... so they are going to push him to look for a job. This place for the down and out was on his original list of 3.... and I was told that its where they send those who have no money. So it is a holding place really. My hope is that it won't be too pleasant and he will be happy to get to the nicer place. But if he keeps using he wont get out of there either...and then i guess we would have to refuse to pay for it. So to some extent yeah it is a bed out of the elements....

[Nancy]

Gotcha. The shelters here either provide at least one meal a day or tell them where to go for feed the poor centers. I suppose there are not many open on the weekend though.

I think of detox as getting the drugs out of your body though, so in a sense he does need detox. He may not have physical withdrawal symptoms but his body needs to be detoxed from the drug. If he used spice over a week ago it should be out of his system for sure by now. I don't want to give you anything else to worry about but I would think that if this is just a holding cell he may not stay clean. The other thing that worries me in all honesty is that if he is not addicted to a high why does he keep going back to it in the face of all these serious consequences. I would think his body is craving drugs, craving the high. Therefore when he doesn;t get them he has some physical reaction which causes him to use.

I wish he could be someplace that made sure he did no drugs by watching him 24/7 and providing food so that he does not leave. It may be unrealistic to expect him to stay away from drugs on his own, he hasn't been able to do it yet.

Nancy

[Nancy]

TL,

you may want to read some information on spice from google. I found this:

Stopping the intake of spice after a period of consistent spice usage invokes unpleasant side effects. Withdrawal symptoms from cessation of spice abuse involve:


Internal unrest, agitation and anxiety
Trembling extremities
Tremor
Heart palpitations
Panic attacks
Headache
Nausea
Vomiting
Feelings of depression
Hopelessness and desperation

Physical withdrawal from spice addiction is an uncomfortable process and is best pursued within a professional care facility where the spice addict can be medically monitored. Spice withdrawal symptoms can be draining and exhausting, especially if co-occurring substance abuse issues are present. Inpatient drug treatment centers ensure that staffed clinicians watch the detoxifying patient to see that he or she is progressing in the spice detoxification process appropriately. After a physical detoxification from spice is behind the client, he or she can engage in an emotional detoxification from the drug as well.

Spice Addiction

I'm just saying he may be having a tough time staying away from it or getting clean enough to get into the other place.

Nancy

[toughlovin]

You may be right about all of this...although he did get and stay clean when he was on the beach for a week....and he seemed to feel he would be clean in a week ( although of course i cant trust what he says)....

All i know is there is nothing i can do about it except to wait and see.

I do think he has some real emotional /psychological issues that are at the core of his relapses. I am not saying there are not physical cravings but i dont think that is the main issue for him. I think he cant face his pain and uses drugs to avoid it.....but i also am very aware that i really dont know the full story because he does not let me in very much at all.

All i can do this week is hope for the best. He is getting drug tested where he is at and they will test him for spice.

I think his attraction to spice has been his belief that it wont show up on drug tests. That fact has now changed.

TL

[toughlovin]

The other thing is that gfg was saying yesterday that he didnt need detox....which doesnt mean he doesnt but as an adult he isnt going to get it if he doesnt want it. He is in an area where there are lots of resources if he will use them.

[rejectedmom]

fingers crossed. -RM

[exhausted]

TL hoping with all my heart gfg stays clean so he can go to the other place. Hope he is able to do this on his own. Hoping that he wants to get help and this will be the place he finially gets real and does the work to be sober. Always thinking of you and your strength.