What to Bring to Detox

Most of what you need for detox is four things you already have and five questions you can ask on the phone. Every program sets its own rules about medication, food, phones and tobacco, so the honest version of this list is short on packing and long on asking. Nothing below was made up: each item traces to SAMHSA’s own guidance on starting treatment, to the federal treatment protocol for detoxification, or to the federal rule named next to it.

1. Have these in your hand

Short on purpose. SAMHSA’s instruction for starting an inpatient program names ID, insurance card, a medication list, and being ready to talk about what you have already tried.

• A photo ID, if you have oneSAMHSA’s own instruction for starting an inpatient program is “bring your ID and insurance card (if you have them).” Note the words “if you have them.” Not having ID is a thing to tell them about on the phone. It is not a reason to stay home.
• Your insurance card, if you have oneSame SAMHSA instruction, same “if you have them.” If you have no insurance, SAMHSA’s National Helpline says it will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs, and can often point you to places that charge on a sliding scale or take Medicaid or Medicare.
• A list of every medication you take, and what each one is forSAMHSA asks for this by name: “bring a list of any medications you’re on and what each one is treating.” It also says you can just put the bottles and boxes in a bag if that is easier. That counts. A photo of the labels on your phone counts too.
• What you have tried before, and what you want out of thisSAMHSA says to be ready to share what treatments you have tried before, why they did or did not work, and what you hope to get out of treatment. Nobody is grading the answer. Being asked it cold when you are already sick is the part that is hard, so think about it now.
• A phone number for one person who should know where you areDetox programs are covered by a federal privacy rule that is stricter than the usual one, so they generally cannot tell anyone you are there without your written consent. That protects you, and it also means nobody gets told unless you say so. Decide who, before you go in.

2. Ask these before you go

SAMHSA says to make sure you know what you can and cannot bring — “especially the medicines you take, food, phones, and if you use them, tobacco products” — and to ask what contact with family and friends is allowed. That is five questions. We have added one more, and said why.

We are not going to guess at the rest. There is no national packing list for detox, because there is no national detox program; a hospital unit in one state and a freestanding program in another can have completely different rules. Anyone who hands you a confident twenty-item list is inventing most of it.

• Ask: can I bring the medicines I already take?SAMHSA lists this first among the things to check before an inpatient program. Programs handle outside medication very differently. This is the question most worth asking on the phone.
• Ask: what about food?Also on SAMHSA’s check-before-you-go list. Some places allow nothing in from outside.
• Ask: can I keep my phone?Also on SAMHSA’s list. The answer varies a lot, and for many people it is the single biggest worry about going in. Ask it out loud instead of guessing.
• Ask: what about cigarettes, vapes, or other tobacco?SAMHSA specifically says to check on tobacco products if you use them. Nicotine withdrawal on top of everything else is worth avoiding if the program allows an alternative.
• Ask: who am I allowed to contact, and how?SAMHSA says to ask what type of contact is allowed with family and friends. Tell the person on your contact list what the answer was, so silence does not read as something being wrong.
• Ask: what happens the day this ends?This one is not from the packing list. It is here because the federal treatment protocol for detox says getting you into ongoing treatment afterward is one of the three things detox is supposed to do. Detox on its own is not treatment. Ask what is arranged before you are discharged, not after.

If you are calling programs anyway, the questions to ask a treatment facility checklist is the longer version of that call, and it prints too.

3. Sort these out at home first

SAMHSA’s guidance on getting ready is mostly about this, not about packing: transport, childcare, and knowing why you are going.

• A ride there, and a plan for getting backSAMHSA: “make sure you have transportation to and from treatment.” The trip home is the one people forget, and in much of the country the nearest detox is a long way off.
• Childcare, arranged and confirmedSAMHSA names this in the same breath as transport, and says you can ask your health care professional or a support group for help with the planning. It is a normal thing to need help with.
• Pets fed, plants ignored, door lockedNot from a federal source — just the thing that most often makes someone leave on day two. Hand the keys to someone.
• Work: know where you stand before you tell anyoneUnder the federal FMLA rules, leave can be taken for substance-abuse treatment by a health care provider, but not for absence caused by using. The same rule also says that if an employer has an established, written, evenly applied policy allowing termination for substance abuse, taking FMLA leave does not block it. Read the rule itself, and if the job is at risk, talk to someone who does employment law.

The three things people actually worry about

“Will my job find out?”

The federal FMLA regulation on this, 29 CFR § 825.119, is worth reading in full because it cuts both ways. It says FMLA leave may be taken for treatment for substance abuse by a health care provider, and that absence because of your use of the substance, rather than for treatment, does not qualify. It also says plainly that taking that leave does not stop an employer acting under an established policy, applied the same way to everyone and communicated to all employees, that allows termination for substance abuse. What it does forbid is the employer taking action against you because you exercised the right to take the leave. We are not summarising your situation here — read the rule, and if your job is genuinely at risk, that is a question for an employment lawyer, not for a directory.

“Will anyone be told I am there?”

Substance use disorder patient records get their own federal rule, 42 CFR Part 2, which is stricter than the general health privacy rule most people have heard of. Section 2.13 says those records may be used or disclosed only as that rule permits, and may not otherwise be used in any civil, criminal, administrative or legislative proceeding by any federal, state or local authority. It says the restriction applies whether or not the person asking already has the information, is a law enforcement or other government official, or has a subpoena. And it says that if a facility is publicly identified as a place where only substance use disorder treatment happens, the fact that you are there can be acknowledged only with your written consent or a court order.

That is a real protection, and it is why the person you want informed needs to be named by you, in writing, at admission.

“What if I cannot pay?”

SAMHSA’s National Helpline is free and answers this directly: if you have no insurance or are underinsured, it refers you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs, and it can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. It will not ask you for personal information; it may ask your ZIP code so it can find what is near you. 1-800-662-4357, free, confidential, 24 hours a day, every day, in English and Spanish.

Keep going

• The first 72 hours in detox: what actually happens — the part this checklist is preparing you for
• Detox, inpatient, outpatient or MAT — which one is me?
• Which level of care applies?
• Questions to ask a treatment facility
• How far is the nearest detox facility? — state by state, from the federal directory
• Browse treatment facilities by state