Days twenty-two to twenty-eight.

The medical handover. This is the section nobody puts on a brochure and the section that matters most for the next ninety days. Said plainly:

• A discharge medical with the doctor. Bloods. Blood pressure. Weight. Liver markers if relevant. The clinic should give you the results in writing.
• A discharge letter, addressed to your doctor, summarising the admission, the treatment, the medication, the recommendations for ongoing care. Signed by the doctor. Dated. Two copies — one for you, one to be sent. Make sure your doctor receives it. Sometimes it is sent direct. Sometimes it is given to you to deliver. Ask.
• Any continuing prescription — antidepressant, sleep medication, vitamin replacement, naltrexone, acamprosate, disulfiram if relevant — written in the discharge letter and as a separate prescription you can take to a pharmacy on the way home. Quantities, dose, duration.
• A clear statement on alcohol blood markers — gamma-GT, MCV, LFTs — with the readings and a note on what they were on admission and what they are on discharge. This is the page you will want six months later when you go to your doctor and they ask how you are doing.
• A vaccination check. Many clinics will offer a hepatitis A and B booster on discharge if your history suggests it. Ask.
• A nutrition handover. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is not just "a vitamin" — it is the standing prophylaxis against Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is what untreated chronic alcohol use does to the brain when thiamine runs out. Most UK clinics use a high-dose course during detox (often parenteral / Pabrinex) and then oral thiamine for weeks afterwards. The discharge letter should specify the dose, the duration, and what to do if you cannot tolerate it. Magnesium, B-complex, and vitamin D are commonly continued. Do not stop any of them on day twenty-nine.

The handover conversation with your doctor. The SI (super intelligence) guide can rehearse this with you if you want. The plain-English script is: I have just completed a four-week residential admission for alcohol use. The discharge letter is here, and a copy was sent to you. The current medications are X. The recommendations are Y. I would like to register the admission on my medical record, agree a follow-up cadence, and discuss whether the pre-admission medication for [unrelated condition] should be reviewed in light of this.

The aftercare booking. Most clinics include twelve weeks of follow-up groups, often weekly, often online, often free. Book the slot before you leave. Put it in your diary. Show up.

The going-home conversation. Most clinics run a session with a family member or a partner in the last few days. This is where the conditions of the home are agreed. Alcohol in the house: yes, no, where. Trigger situations for the first ninety days. The plan for an external sponsor or peer. The plan for week-three home, which is a real thing and is harder than week three in the clinic.

The day twenty-eight handover. You hand back the keycard. You collect the cards and cash. You sign the discharge form. You collect the prescription. You take the printed schedule of aftercare. You take the copy of the discharge letter to your doctor. You walk out.

There is a particular feeling, in the car park, on the day. You will not forget it.

The four weeks, in order

• Day zero — arrival
• Week one — detox and disorientation
• Week two — the work begins
• Week three — the middle
• Week four — the medical handover and the door (this page)

The medication names on this page appear because they are what a discharge letter tends to contain. Nothing here is a dose, a schedule or a recommendation, and no medication should be started, stopped or changed on the basis of a website.