60 - Ira Levy from Sunrise Detox

Ira Levy is the National Marketing Director of Sunrise Detox. Ira has 28 years in the sobriety industry and has been sober since 1980. Ira got into the industry by accident, but continued to learn, educate himself, and move up. He has worked in every aspect of the industry and is as passionate about helping clients as he is about educating their families. Tom, Ben, and Ira talk about the detox process and what patient and family members can expect. Ira shares some of his own personal experience about how important it is to decide not to use and then find other ways to cope with life events. We talk about the importance of family members learning about addiction, how to find a good treatment facility, and the importance of individualized treatment. Show Notes [03:02] Ira stumbled into the recovery business by accident. 28 years ago he moved to Florida as a health tech and worked his way up. [03:57] The owners of Sunrise Detox needed a marketer who understood the treatment industry. Ira has been with them for 15 years. [04:54] Sunrise started with one facility and perfected their program, and now they have 8 facilities. [05:04] Ira has really worked in every aspect of the industry. [06:52] Ira has been sober since 1980. [08:31] Ira went through [09:18] Ira finally gave sobriety a real try. Mistakes happen in sobriety and life, but you really just need to try. [10:18] A turning point for Ira was when his father passed away, and he wanted to get high. A friend of his said if that will bring your father back let's do it. This was a turning point in his life and he didn't get high. [11:03] Ira tries to get patients at Sunrise to understand some of the right ways to success. [11:55] When something bad happens, and you want to use, stop and think about where you will be in 72 hours. [14:48] Ira is available 7 days a week to speak to families and explain what's going to happen. Sometimes people just want to know what happens in detox. [15:15] Ira tries to educate the patient and let them know what detox going to be like and that it's going to be a positive experience. [15:42] He wants to educate people, and he will help them find the proper place even if Sunrise isn't for them. [17:27] Sunrise won't take people in if it's not a good fit. [18:17] Ira recommends to trust your gut and your gut feeling. You want to feel warm, welcome, and nurtured. [20:26] Education is so important in these centers. The client or patient needs to be detoxed, and the family needs to be educated. [23:52] Sunrise does accept people on methadone. The detox process is longer. It can be done and Sunrise has success. It's usually a 14 to 21 day detox. [26:45] They also mix clinical in with medical. [28:49] MAT or medication-assisted treatment doesn't have a great success rate. It needs to be done right. Treatment needs to be individualized. [32:05] It's a struggle to get insurance companies to cooperate. [35:42] Ketamine is now having a resurgence. [37:58] Contact people who have a passion for recovery and don't make a rash decision. Explore options. [40:14] Research addiction to help your loved one. Go to Al-Anon and learn about the process. [43:59] The average time to get medically stable and detox is 6 or 7 days and then the client can move to a sobriety program. [45:51] After detox, some kind of therapy can be helpful. People need to commit to an aftercare program that fits their life. [48:08] From a medical standpoint, alcohol and benzos are the most medically dangerous to stop cold turkey. Links and Resources: Sunrise Detox Al-Anon