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"Medically supervised" is a toughie, because what pretty much any government program (or insurer/HMO whatever, for that matter) is going to do is stick this person into a 12-step program, because it's cheap for the precise reason that no expensive medical personnel are required. And really, you can just do that yourself.

Has this person been taking stuff that wasn't prescribed to him/her? Because if it was prescribed, the dispensing shrink may be the best resource for actual supervised medical care for kicking the stuff. Otherwise, dunno...if I were in that position, I might try to seek help for related psychological problems and only 'fess up to the drug abuse later. You might still get stuck in a room full of gabby addicts, but on the way there, you might get some real help, too.

Just a suggestion. (Rhetorical "yous," in case that needs to be said.)

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The main concern was the withdrawal from the benzos. Basically we're after "affordable detox" here.

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There are likely places in SoCal indigent, poor and uninsured people can commit themselves to for detox. That's a pretty serious thing to do, though, no matter how you go about it, and I doubt the government-funded version is going to be very pretty. Sorry to come off so negative about the whole thing, but your friend's in a hideously tough spot. At the very least, you both might want to check out some stuff about kicking benzos on your own, stuff that can help you ride it out, etc., on drug-friendly sites like Erowid.org.

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BTW, here's something I just found:

http://www.addict-help.com/states/california-drugrehab-detox.htm

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Yup, that's known. I can't go into all the details to preserve anonymity, but none of that is news. I did find some useful internet resources already. Thanks!

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Okay. That's really the best I can do, without knowing exactly where your friend is, etc.

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BTW, I'm sorry for your friend, and wish him/her the best.

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And I see you already know what I posted below so not only is the Internet smarter than me, you are too. YEY.

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I toddled over to one of my most favoritest websites in the known universe, Crazy Meds!, just to see if there was some info about getting off benzos in general. While there I found something sort of unnerving about when and if a person has to quit anticonvulsants/mood stabilizers (especially if that person is also on an anti-depressant such as, say, Wellbutrin), but that's another story.

Anyhoo, this is what it said:

6. Abrupt discontinuation of high doses of benzodiazepines can lead to seizures in addition to dysphoria, insomnia, muscle cramps, vomiting and sweating. If you do wind up taking them daily for longer than four weeks and don't build up a tolerance and don't abuse them, be sure to refill your prescription a few days before running out, just in case something happens to prevent you from getting that refill when you do run out. Otherwise a normal discontinuation schedule is usually all it takes to safely and painlessly withdrawal from benzodiazepines. There's just one proviso - you can only discontinue from Xanax (alprazolam) using Xanax. All other benzos are interchangeable for purposes of discontinuation, but not Xanax. It figures that Xanax is the most addictive of them all.

No, this is not a medical website, but it's a fantastic resource by and for people who have had to be on every med under the sun. So for what it's worth... depending on the severity of the addiction, I don't know that a twelve-step will work as well here. I'll keep asking the innarnet, in the meantime.

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Yeah, that's a good site, too, for that kind of stuff.

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I love that site in general. Also, funny. Especially what it says about Depakote because OMG SO TRUE.

The msg boards are often helpful as well.

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On another note, and no this doesn't surprise me, but wow are there a lot of drug/alcohol treatment facilities in Newport/Laguna. All $$$ though. I keep looking.

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The worst part is that a large number of those are "Sober Living Houses" with the quote marks indicating irony because they're just a loophole to get around the occupancy limit, and they're full of idiot party animals who are not at all sober.

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eris-devotee.livejournal.com

You might be asking for something that doesn't exist. There is very little supervised medical treatment for the mental health a category in to which (addiction, especially to benzos, certainly falls) needs of the uninsured, unless one is a clear and present danger to society.

I know this because this is my own personal story. Catholic Charities will be your best chance, but... in SoCal... it means group therapy with Meth Heads, or maybe independent sessions with some aging jaded hippie whose education is a 30 year old sociology degree from Arizona State.

My point is that it is going to take determination and desire, because even the process of finding help can be demoralizing.

Kicking klonopin was the scariest most horrible time of my life. I went from episodic schizophrenia to full-blown ranting shrieking paranoia. It took 4 months of shakes, visions, nightmares, a lack of ability to sleep, heightened skin sensitivity.

And the truth is you do it alone, anyway. You kick addiction alone. You could have the best doc in the world, the best family, and it doesn't matter. Only the addict can live through the withdrawal and recovery and very little can help with that. It's about will, and that can't be begged borrowed or stolen.

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