[piggyinthemiddle]

Detox 5 is more of a private hospital, as opposed to your traditional residential rehab.

It's purpose is purely to get you clean. You go in on a Monday morning (they recommend you have your last fix before you go, as the treatment doesn't start until they have finished tests around 2/3 in the afternoon) and come out on Friday with no Opiates in your body.

The main concern of the staff during your stay is to keep you as comfortable as possible.This is achieved by giving you drugs, I don't know what they are, but the Doctor who runs the place described it to SWIM like this;

"We will give you an anaesthtic type drug so that you will not feel any withdrawal pain, however for safety we try to keep you just this side of asleep. If we feel you are coming round too much we will give you some more."

Nurses are there around the clock to monitor your condition. Chances are you will come round a few times while you are there, but it is unlikely you will remember any of it. On the Thursday they give you a small dose of Naltrexone to flush any remaining opiates out of your system . Friday they give you a full dose of Naltrexone and discharge you into the hands of your next of kin.

You will come round Friday afternoon feeling rough and disorientated.Your body will be opiate free. You will have no memory of the whole week. SWIM remembered more about his dreams than about reality. It takes 3 or 4 days before you start to feel normal. Remember they were giving you pretty heavy medication there.

All in all, Detox 5 achieves what it sets out to do: - namely get you clean.

HOWEVER, I would not recommend using this service unless you have a place in a residential rehab to go to. As any experienced user will tell you "Getting clean is the easy part". You need to have some psychiatric/psychological help in place if you wish to stay clean.

It is also very expensive!