Detoxing off meth

Question

My brother in law is a real good guy who is in bad shape after a few of meth addiction. He has agreed to get clean and the family has decided that me and his brother are going to get him out of town to our hunt cabin way in the bush. He says that he’s ready to quit but that every time he sticks around town he always gets back to using after a couple of days so the plan is we won’t let him leave and we have the only keys to the truck and it’s way too far to walk back to town. After a couple of weeks or a month of fishing and chopping wood and no meth then we hope he might have a chance to stay clean. Is there any dangers we need to be worried about for someone detoxing off meth? He says it sucks but it’s not dangerous and as long as we keep him there he’ll make it through ok.

Dr. David Sack · Accepted Answer

If your brother-in-law is not using other drugs in addition to methamphetamine, the physical aspects of withdrawal may include fatigue, insomnia, irritability, and indifference. Since most meth users also abuse sleeping pills and alcohol to crash, sedatives to manage their anxiety, and marijuana to calm down, it is never as simple as just coming off meth. For this reason, we recommend that anyone detoxing from meth be under close medical supervision.

The other serious problem with you plan is that most meth addicts don’t relapse because of their withdrawal symptoms per se, but from the intense craving they have for the drug. Being in a cabin will not do anything to dampen this. Only psychotherapy, support, and occasionally medications really help with craving. In the US, methamphetamine is readily available in rural communities and it is naïve to think he will not be able to find it if the craving is intense. He needs to be in a comprehensive rehab program to improve his chances for success.

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