Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew Pinsky

[cablejockey]

Who knows--maybe they would have crashed and burned even sooner without Dr. Drew? A lot of these people were hard core addicts when they came to the show in the first place. And I think a lot of them only agreed to be on it so they could be on tv, not so much for the treatment.

[Debb70]

I don't think it's Dr. Drew's input that caused all those people to relapse. It's like that with any treatment plan. Recovery for addicts is very low no matter how you spin it. Relapse is a characteristic of the disease.

I'm still not keen on Dr. Drew lately, but not because of Celebrity Rehab. He has shown extreme ignorance and inappropiate comments toward the Teen Mom stars. He has done them a disservice IMO. That's why he's on my blip list.

I remember this guy very well. I think he may have had two stints on the show. He was VERY hardcore into drugs though. For someone who was as deeply dependent on drugs, I would expect to need inhouse patient care for a year or more.

I loved the song he did called Starry Eyed Surprise. Here's the video:
Shifty (Shellshock) - Starry Eyed Surprise (feat. Paul Oakenfold) - YouTube

Prayers for him and his family. He has an adorable little boy and I think he had a new baby the last time they did an update on their former patients. This is very sad for them all.

[Critical]

I saw this earlier today. Very sad for his son This show doesn't have a good track record - Dr Drew needs to hang it up

Like Debb and cablejockey said, the recovery rate for addicts is very low, no matter who their doctor is or which rehab they check into. Addicts generally relapse many times before they find long-term sobriety, if they ever find it. It's not realistic to expect all of the people on this show to get sober and stay sober. Addiction is just more complicated than that.

[JunkieGirl]

Think I saw video of him recently, and he seemed right out of it. If he comes out of this coma and I hope he does, maybe this will be the wake up call he finally needs. It doesn't look good at the moment though.

I really cannot stand to watch Dr. Drew at all. I won't watch future seasons of Rehab, nor do I watch his nightly talk show anymore. Gawd, that man is annoying and pompous. He covers issues that need to be talked about, but only gives his guests at the most 2 minutes to talk. Then he is interrupting them, spouting off his own take and then tells his next guest they have 30 seconds to respond. Annoying man he is. I think I'd almost enjoy watching Rachael Ray again instead at this point. lol

[redsox girl]

You know sometimes families have to draw the line with addicts for the families own emotional survival. I hope Binzers little boy Halo is receiving therapy so he knows his fathers behavior, including about a million broken promises, isn't his fault. Sometimes you really do have to say " you cannot be in our lives anymore..." that might sound cold and judgmental but an addict can absolutely destroy a family, both immediate and extended-they are manipulative, irresponsible, selfish and unbelievably cruel. Having experienced that kind of dangerous, addiction fueled behavior firsthand and living in the aftermath I have very little empathy for those who refuse treatment, deny they have a problem and blame the world for their problems. Functioning addicts are the worst because they fall back on the excuse that they hold down a job. I've watched my husbands adult daughter systematically pit the entire family-extended including, extended family against one another. My husband spent years cleaning up after her messes, emotional and physical. She spent his deployment threatening me (we were newly married) ,including my new neighbors, while verbally assaulting me via e=mail and through third parties. MY husband, upon returning from his deployment, set up parameters she needed to follow , including getting help-if she could not follow the rules she could not be a part of our lives anymore. Interestingly enough, she called distant relatives my husband hadn't talk to in years, to say her father was choosing me over her and all kinds of crazy things. This is a woman who has been an alcoholic for 20 plus years and has always refused treatment. She's caused so much pain and so I now really have all the empathy in the world for those people who are collateral damage of the addicts behavior and do not judge them when they choose to lay down rules which may very well keep the addict from being a part of their families lives.
I hope people watching these shows remember that Shifty has victimized the people who love and trusted him, children and adults alike. Both old and young are innocent victims who may require years of psychological help in order to live lives that are not riddled with self-doubt, depression, anxiety and massive trust issues.

[redsox girl]

on an upbeat note i was very impressed with actor Tom Sizemore. He's been sober since the show, three plus years. He stays in regular contact with Bob, attends meetings regularly. He lives in a small apartment and is slowly rebuilding his careeer with small parts-and he spends every off day volunteering at a shelter in downtown Los Angeles-he's been doing that since the show. He seems to get `it' , the humility, taking one minute at a time, he is grateful for the small things in life, recognizes and accepts responsibility for the pain he caused. He used a baseball analogy to explain his view on his career ` I'm not the star of the team, I'm not even a starter, but I'm just grateful to have a glove at this point so I can have a chance to play.' Bob said Tom has truly turned the corner and has allowed the good Tom, the likeable, loving Tom to come back to the surface and it's joyous to see how sincere it is-and Bob is not fooled by the whole `fake rec overy' schtick. So when Bob says someone is sincere in their efforts I feel good about it.

[JunkieGirl]

Sometimes you really do have to say " you cannot be in our lives anymore..." that might sound cold and judgmental but an addict can absolutely destroy a family,

It does sound cold and judgmental, but it is often necessary. The other members of a family should not have to suffer for the choices of one family member's destructive nature. Hopefully you and your husband are at peace with the hard decisions that had to be made and are in a good place.

It is nice to hear the news about Tom. He was obviously a very arrogant man who believed his own hype and I thought he could go either way. Yet, there was something about him that I thought he could be successful in recovery. Hope he continues to do well.

[Debb70]

I recently caught Tom Sizemore on an episode of the NEW Hawaii Five0. I'm not sure if he is a regular or not. He played a detective. Good for him.

Co-dependency is a huge issue with addicts/alcoholics. If you watch many of the Intervention type shows, you will notice that the large majority of addicts/alcoholics depend solely on family, friends and the government for their support. Many have their rent, utilities, food, etc. paid by people they manipulate into paying. It boggles the brain how a hardcore drug addict who does nothing but drugs 24/7 and yell, fight and assault others, lives for free with a nice cell phone and newer car than I have!

You do have to set some boundaries. At my brother's lowest, he still had a job, but was totally devoted to drug use. I told him to never call me or contact me again, unless he wanted a ride to a rehab center. And I meant it. Thank God, he did go, (Twice) and has been in recovery for 3 years now.

[KatesMom]

It does sound cold and judgmental, but it is often necessary. The other members of a family should not have to suffer for the choices of one family member's destructive nature. Hopefully you and your husband are at peace with the hard decisions that had to be made and are in a good place.

It is nice to hear the news about Tom. He was obviously a very arrogant man who believed his own hype and I thought he could go either way. Yet, there was something about him that I thought he could be successful in recovery. Hope he continues to do well.

As a recovering alcoholic I can honestly say that it isn't. As bizarre as it sounds, it is one of the most loving things you can do - both for yourself and for the addict. An addict is not going to quit unless and until they have hit their bottom, where ever that bottom is. Sadly for some, that bottom is death. But for others, it isn't. All the coddling and cleaning up messes that loved ones do? All it does is prevent the addict from hitting their bottom, not to mention the destruction it does to those cleaning up the messes. And they are never going to thank you for cleaning up after them - they will only use it as an excuse to keep going, because there are no consequences. Just my two cents.

[JunkieGirl]

As a recovering alcoholic I can honestly say that it isn't. As bizarre as it sounds, it is one of the most loving things you can do - both for yourself and for the addict. An addict is not going to quit unless and until they have hit their bottom, where ever that bottom is. Sadly for some, that bottom is death. But for others, it isn't. All the coddling and cleaning up messes that loved ones do? All it does is prevent the addict from hitting their bottom, not to mention the destruction it does to those cleaning up the messes. And they are never going to thank you for cleaning up after them - they will only use it as an excuse to keep going, because there are no consequences. Just my two cents.

Oh, I agree with you KatesMom. To outsiders looking in, or even those involved with an addict, cutting off a family member while in their disease seems cold and uncaring. With addicts cutting them off is the only way to keep your sanity and also help them see that the loss of their family is a consequence of their own actions. Some may see that bottom quicker if they aren't able to continue their behaviours, have money lent to them, food, housing, etc.

Congratulations on your sobriety, KatesMom.