Grants for Rehab?

[Lolleedee]

That sucks that the treatment that works for you is out of reach.  Is there any chance that you can qualify for Medicaid?  The reason I ask is because there are some people at the clinic I go to who have Medicaid and it pays for transportation to and from the clinic (and other doctor's appointments as well).  If that's not an option, I would call the clinic and see if they have any type of ride share program for clients.

One more thing, and I'm sure this differs by state, but because here (n.j) there are very few clinics in the northern part of the state, they have the ability, at their discretion, to start weekly take-homes almost immediately if they have no transportation and live far from the clinic.(it has to be over an hour each way for them to consider it).  It rarely happens, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

The only other thing is to beg anyone you can for help!  Desperate times call for desperate measures!  Would it be possible to trade a ride for work?  Maybe someone would be willing to take you if you would do yard work, or painting or dog-walking or any other of a million things in exchange.  Just a though.

I'm going to keep thinking on this one because you deserve to have the treatment that you know works!  Maybe we can all get our collective, junked-out heads together and come up with a viable option!

[Dopeless Hopefiend]

Good ideas @Lolleedee! Medicaid also pays for medical transportation to the clinics here (in OR). And I've seen the clinic I went to give take-outs almost immediately for people who live a certain distance from any methadone clinic. I can't remember if it had to be 60 or 100 miles away at mine but they definitely do it on a case by case basis. Of course I knew one girl who was on it, then dropped a dirty and they pulled those take homes like that. She was driving 2 hours each way for like 60 days, then she had to start earning them back. Do you have Medicaid @theSWPK?

[Dog Food]

I just got outta detox yesterday, that was fully paid for by a grant from my state.  I know i had to have no insurance to get a free ride this time though.  Its honestly easier and free to not have private insurance. When i was younger on my parents ins, the only inparient place cost a 2500 copay for the detox part, then i stayed there for almost a month.  Youre gonna definitely be in a nicer resort type of place with ur own insurance, but this place i was just at was in a hospital, and they actually gave you 6 buprenex shots, 2 a day for 3 days.  I felt better there and liked the lower class and a few homeless addicts better than the expensive 40k a month rehab i was at years ago. It felt like being in high school with a bunch of rich kids that could care less about stayimg sober

I know my state has a grant for at least one detox per year(i could have gone into further treatment from there for free if i wanted to though) they also signed me up for a year of free medicaid that will pay for me to go back there every 3 months if needed.  My experience is you get better treatment with no money and no insurance.

And chipper, ur comment about never doing rehab for meth, in my what 8 rehabs, ive Strictly ONLY seen addicts for opiates or the older ones there are Usually for alcohol, sometimes heroin too.  The resort i went to had maybe 300 people there and only ONE was there for cocaine, the rest were and are always for heroin(sometimes benzos too, which is about the same as alcohol anyway) or alcohol.  Never seen a meth addict ever and i KNOW its around here too

[Chip]

I just saw a doco about the unregulated booming Meth rehab industry where 30K for a bed is the norm for a 3 month stay.

I don't get it, Meth isn't anything like opiates and too much for too long makes you feel like crappy anyway.

I don't even believe that they work for Meth.

It's an easy drug to get sick of but I suppose lots just don't want to stop.

It's never been anything I couldn't sleep off and wait out but maybe that's because I've been dabbling in it for so long.

Sure you get cravings but it's nothing like opiates where you get extremely physically unwell and NEED to get right, often any way possible.

There is only one place offering replacement therapy with Dexamphetamine but it's too hard to access and it's abstinence targeted so no maintenance.

The Meth. rehab private industry is opportunistic and preys on worried parents. There are some full public beds but I'm sure that most go back to the drug within a year.

[Dopeless Hopefiend]

I've seen a lot of people do in-patient treatment for Meth here over the years, but never seen any Meth addicts in any of my stints in detox. What would the protocol be? A cheeseburger & a nap? 😅
I do remember back in the late 90s when I went to jail a few times (always dopesick of course), girls would come in & I'd hear them crying about how they were "kicking" meth. It used to piss me off so much. I'd be a couple days into cold-turkey wds and they'd put some tweaker in my cell. I had no patience for their whining. I'm sorry, but there's no comparison between kicking opiates & coming off meth. Not that the long term psychological withdrawal & staying clean from meth isn't difficult I'm sure, but opis are a whole different beast.

[Dog Food]

Exactly. I can handle the mental aspect of it, but its the withdrawals that made me keep going back to it.  Even after a week and completing their detox, i still have hot/cold flashes all day, sweating, and basically still feel shitty. 

Id stay away from any real ghetto place, the one that takes a lot of homeless around here doesnt even give you shit to make it bearable.  Definitely make sure theres nurses there and that they give you bupe and tramadol at least.  Thats the standard protocol for my area

[Griffin]

Don't want to get off subject too much but I have always wondered does meth(i've never even tried it) have the long term mental effects that come with opiate w/d. Like 6 months after not doing opiates, I still want to off myself even though I am not sick do you get that from meth use? I always thought anything that messed with your happiness chemicals in your brain would have that effect but wondered to what extent it was with meth and if it was comparable to opiate use. I figured that was the reason why long time recovery doesn't have better success rates.

[Chip]

In my case, I just get depressed and fearful.

Everything is a drag and a chore.

Take too much for too long and it could take a year to feel the simple pleasure that normal things bring but I haven't experienced anything that a few weeks abstinence won't fix but then I've heard of people dying from 15 years of heavy use.

Severe reactions I have also seen are similar to Parkinson with involuntary movements but these are extremes.

Give me a Meth detox over an opiate detox 100 times over.

My weekly Meth use brings me a few days of lethargy and sadness by day 4/5 but it clears up within a week.

The real problem comes from gram-a-day using for years on end and if they don't suffer a stroke or haemorrhage then I believe there is irreversible brain damage ... no amount of rehab will bring them back.

The issues with Meth. are also about sleep loss and nutritional deficits which impact the immune system and the sores they pick at from the imaginary bugs or the issues associated from psychosis.

I have never let myself go that far because it all sounds like a living nightmare.

But many do.

[dizzle]

My weekly Meth use brings me a few days of lethargy and sadness by day 4/5 but it clears up within a week.

so, by my count, you use meth once and week and are sad and lazy for the rest of the week? I mean, that in itself seems kinda crazy, no?

[Chip]

Only for 2 days of the week does it really bother me.

It is crazy but this shit defies logic.

I am alone for the week and I really look forward to the day that I get on ... this week, we got ripped off as the gear was crappy so I have to contend with that too.

Dizzle, you know that we do stuff like this despite the toll it takes, are you really surprised?

I need something to really look forward to and apart from company, Meth. is it at this point in my life.

The price may be too high but i still go back for more.

[dizzle]

Dizzle, you know that we do stuff like this despite the toll it takes, are you really surprised?

you're right WTF am I talking about??!? Also, I don't want you to think that was me judging you, because it certainly isn't. Frankly, that is the last thing I would ever to someone like you, especially right now! Regardless, I am sorry if you took theat the wrong way. I didn't mean to sound like I was shaking my finger at you. It was more of a "is this worth it?" sorta question/statement. I personally HATE HATE HATE uppers, cocaine and meth, adderall, all that shit makes me sick when I think about it.YUK!


anyway, carry on!

[Chip]

We cool. I also HATE uppers when used too much or for  too long.

Most people I know keep benzos and/or opiates etc. handy to soften things up.

I still don't understand Meth. rehab and I have never considered rehab for any of my drug use, it just isn't for me.

For those that opiate rehab does work for, you are the lucky ones. I always feel the need to do it on my own and I'm still stick in limbo with my own MD taper - life keeps getting in the way.

[theSWPK (OP)]

Dizzle, you know that we do stuff like this despite the toll it takes, are you really surprised?

you're right WTF am I talking about??!? Also, I don't want you to think that was me judging you, because it certainly isn't. Frankly, that is the last thing I would ever to someone like you, especially right now! Regardless, I am sorry if you took theat the wrong way. I didn't mean to sound like I was shaking my finger at you. It was more of a "is this worth it?" sorta question/statement. I personally HATE HATE HATE uppers, cocaine and meth, adderall, all that shit makes me sick when I think about it.YUK!


anyway, carry on!

I'm the same way Dizzle, barring the once a year or so cracking use. Normally any Stims just make me start to get dopesick fast. The thought of being wide the duck awake for days in ends all sweaty and sore, exhausted but unable to sleep, ugh sounds like hell.

Oh yeah, no medicaid, private insurance but no way to pay my copay...
I wish medicaid even covered methadone in MS but it doesn't - even if I did have it. It seems like I'm ducked until I can get a good paying job.

[Lolleedee]

@SWPK don't give up yet!  I would go to whatever clinic you would be going to and ask about scholarships or sliding scale fees.  Go in person because I know some clinics have these resources, but they do not advertise them and usually they won't disclose it over the phone, cause let's face it, they want to charge the full amount as often as they can!  But, it is worth a shot!

[theSWPK (OP)]

@SWPK don't give up yet!  I would go to whatever clinic you would be going to and ask about scholarships or sliding scale fees.  Go in person because I know some clinics have these resources, but they do not advertise them and usually they won't disclose it over the phone, cause let's face it, they want to charge the full amount as often as they can!  But, it is worth a shot!

The nearest clinic is right over in Alabamaland,
The pharmacist used to give me cold hard cash to help me when i was homeless. He was such a kind man. It made me WTF that this methadone pharmacist would give me cash instead of credit my account because im an addict, but i can honestly say i never spent it on any dope. It was a big no-no for him to even greet me by their rules.
But Alabama does 7 dailies a week, takehomes start at phase 2 for 90 days clean.