It’s a real tragedy that the U.S. finds itself caught up in the middle of an opiate addiction epidemic. It’s further tragic that the seriously dangerous illicit drug fentanyl is one of the primary culprits of the epidemic.
The best way to explain exactly what fentanyl is would be to call it heroin on steroids. Healthcare experts believe this narcotic is as much as 10 times more powerful than heroin. In the wrong hands, fentanyl has proven itself to be one of the deadliest painkillers on the planet. How dangerous? They give this drug to horses and elephants after surgery. That should tell you how harsh this substance can be on humans.
If you have a fentanyl addiction, you can’t keep messing around. Given enough time, this drug will take everything you have, perhaps your life. We implore you to stop taking risks and start thinking about getting treatment for your addiction.
It’s very likely you will need to spend a significant amount of time is a residential treatment facility. After factoring in a week or two for detox, you would probably be looking at maybe 60 days in treatment.
What happens if you can’t submit to residential treatment? There are a lot of reasons why some addiction sufferers can’t or won’t submit themselves to a residential treatment program. Here’s a list of common reasons why people say no to the inpatient treatment option:
- No insurance and can’t afford it
- Can’t find the time to commit due to work or school responsibilities
- Primary responsibility for the care of another person or persons (kids, parents)
- Family’s primary breadwinner who is responsible for financial support
While all of these are good and valid reasons, the serious nature of a fentanyl addiction still warrants all due consideration. If you can’t or won’t submit for inpatient treatment but want treatment just the same, that leaves outpatient care. Would that work with a fentanyl addiction? Let’s investigate.
Are There Drug Rehab Outpatient Programs to Treat Fentanyl Addiction?
When it comes to treating addictions, we would never say no to a question like this. What we would say is treating a fentanyl addiction through an outpatient program would not be easy. Before answering the titled question, we want to note the three primary types of outpatient treatment. They include (from most to least intrusive):
- Partial hospitalization or PHP
- Intensive outpatient or IOP
- Standard outpatient treatment or OP
The main thing that differentiates these options from one another is the amount of time clients have to devote to treatment. PHP requires an investment of 6 to 8 hours a day for as much as 5 to 7 days a week over several months. The IOP option is less intrusive at 4 to 6 hours a day for as much as 3 to 5 days a week over several months. Finally, OP only requires a day or two a week for a couple of hours per day at most. When looking at these options, the first thing you would need to address is getting safely past withdrawal. This is a serious drug that exposes addicts to some equally serious withdrawal symptoms.
You would want to commit to at least one week to an inpatient detox program. it’s simply too risky to try to detox off fentanyl while at home. When it’s time for therapy, the only outpatient option that makes sense for treating an addiction to fentanyl would be PHP. Why? You would need as much treatment as possible. The PHP option would seem to be the perfect compromise. You would spend plenty of time submitting to individual and group therapy sessions while still getting the opportunity to sleep at home. As for the other outpatient options, it would be really hard for you to get adequate treatment with an IOP or OP option. If IOP is the best you can do, it’s better to get some treatment as opposed to getting no treatment at all.
No matter which option you choose, your success will depend on your willingness to fully commit to the treatment process. If you are stuck in the cycle of fentanyl addiction, you have to find a way out before it’s too late. What you need to be doing is calling us on the phone and discussing your treatment options. If and when you are ready, you can contact us at 833-846-5669. Working together, we will find a treatment option that is going to work for you.