Fentanyl addiction is devastating, but recovery is possible. At Ranch Creek Recovery, we’ve walked with families from Riverside County through the darkest nights — and we’ve witnessed them step into healing. Not sure how to spot fentanyl addiction, check out this resource on signs and symptoms.
These stories (names and details changed for privacy) reflect the real struggles and victories we see every day.
Maria’s 17-year-old son collapsed in their Temecula living room after taking what he thought was a Percocet. It was fentanyl. Paramedics revived him with naloxone, but Maria was left shaken.
“I couldn’t sleep for weeks,” she remembers. “Every time I passed his bedroom door, I thought I might find him gone.”
Her son resisted treatment at first, saying he didn’t need rehab. But when Maria brought him to Ranch Creek Recovery for a tour, he agreed to try.
The first week in detox was brutal. He battled chills, nausea, and mood swings. Maria recalls the team calling her daily with updates, reassuring her that what he was going through was normal — and that he was safe.
Over the following weeks, therapy sessions with Maria and her son opened wounds they had both avoided: his struggles with anxiety, her fear of failing as a parent. Through counseling, they learned how to communicate without yelling or shutting down.
Today, Maria’s son is back in high school, attending NA meetings, and plays basketball on the weekends. “I got my son back,” Maria says. “And I learned how to be his mom again without trying to control everything. Ranch Creek saved us both.”
David, a 42-year-old engineer from Murrieta, began misusing fentanyl-laced oxycodone after a back injury. At first, it helped him get through the workday. Soon, he was sneaking pills into bathroom breaks, hiding use from his wife, and falling behind at work.
When his employer confronted him after repeated mistakes, David broke down. “I thought I’d lose my job, my family, and everything I had built,” he says.
At Ranch Creek Recovery, detox was his first hurdle. “The withdrawals felt unbearable — the sweating, the bone aches, the anxiety. If I had tried it at home, I would have gone back immediately.” With medical supervision, his symptoms were managed, and he safely transitioned into residential care.
David thrived in the holistic environment: morning yoga helped him reconnect with his body, while equine therapy challenged him to face control issues he’d ignored for years. Group therapy gave him peers who understood his shame and helped him rebuild confidence.
Six months later, David is sober, back at work, and volunteering at a local recovery support group in Temecula. His marriage is healing. “My wife says she trusts me again,” he shares. “I never thought I’d hear that.”
At 20, Kayla was buying “Xanax bars” from friends in Riverside. She had no idea they contained fentanyl until she overdosed at a party. Her parents, desperate to keep her alive, brought her to Ranch Creek Recovery.
“I didn’t want to go. I thought I could handle it,” she says. “But after my overdose, I realized I couldn’t.”
Detox was overwhelming. Kayla describes it as “the worst flu and panic attack at the same time.” But in Ranch Creek’s small, six-client program, she felt supported instead of lost in the crowd. Nurses checked on her constantly, and counselors guided her through the fear.
As treatment continued, Kayla discovered tools she never expected to help: amino acid therapy boosted her energy, meditation calmed her anxiety, and art therapy gave her a safe outlet for emotions.
She also faced her trauma in therapy — the pressure of perfectionism in school, the anxiety she’d numbed with pills. “I realized fentanyl wasn’t my real problem,” she says. “It was how I ran from pain.”
Today, Kayla is back in community college, studying psychology with hopes of becoming a counselor. “I want to help people the way Ranch Creek helped me,” she says.
Maria, David, and Kayla’s stories show that fentanyl addiction doesn’t discriminate — it impacts teens, parents, and professionals alike. But they also prove that recovery is possible. Check out some resources for families dealing with fentanyl addiction.
If fentanyl has touched your family in Murrieta, Temecula, or Riverside County, your story can be one of recovery too. Call us today to take the first step.
View treatment options at Ranch Creek Recovery or learn more about the insurance verification and costs of treatment.
Let us do the heavy lifting to call & verify your insurance. We are in-network with most major insurance carriers including Aetna, Anthem BlueCross, Cigna, Humana, United as well as many others. And we are here to help you and your family figure this out.
Please note we DO NOT work with Medicare or Medi-Cal insurance policies.
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