What to expect from a detox clinic

[keefer22]

hello first time on here, i have been dealing with oxy problem for about a year now, and really want to go to detox, what should expect from a clinic. do they help with anxity and sleeping problems. the only withdrwals i cant stand are the restless bouts i get. do they give you anything for that.

[chronicmistake]

I have never been to a detox program but if you have the chance I would do it.  You will be under doctors supervision and they give you medications such as valium and antinausea shots to keep you comfortable.  I think you will feel safe there.  It is not jail, they just want to see you succeed.  Good luck and keep us posted.

[perch101]

Hi I have done a detox so I can tell you what happened to me there - I was there for pain pills too, it was a 9 day inpatient detox. Where I went they give you valium - starting off on quite a high dose for the first 3 days - then lowering it day by day so that when you leave youre down to none. On day 1 first up you see a doctor to discuss the valium dose, they set it your dose individually - based on your drug usage, other meds you're on, etc, and you can ask for additional medications (eg sleeping tablets or whatever), that's between you and the doctor and what they think is appropiate for you. Because the doc had me on quite a bit of valium he felt that would be all i'd need - he was right. The valium takes the edge off most of the withdrawl symptoms - the restlessness, anxiety, etc. I actually slept well there - better than I expected. And because it's only for 9 days you don't get physically addicted to them. The medications are dispensed 4 X a day - and they assess you at these times - giving you more or less valium as needed. Where I went they had like a scale they used to judge your withdrawl symptoms on. (I remember they'd make you put your hands out flat to assess your tremor, there were other things too.)
We also had alot of groups/classes about addiction, and they took us swimming every day, we also had meditation, and people from AA and NA came to speak to us.
When you get there you have all your bags searched, your mobile taken off you, you're only allowed one phone call - it can seem pretty full on but it's all about getting you back to basics and making you focus on getting clean with no distractions. The only time we left the detox centre in the 9 days was to go swimming and then you have to  stay with staff at all times. Of couse, it's a voluntary program so a few people just walked out the door before the 9 days were up! I guess they werent ready to stop.
This is in Australia, I see you're in Vancouver.... I'm thinking it would be pretty similar.
Good luck, you've made the first step of wanting to stop which is great. Hope this helps some.