Detox

Some addictive substances and perscription drugs can cause unbearable withdrawal effects. These effects are very hard on the body, and it is ill advised and potentially dangerous to just stop ‘cold turkey’. Medical detox will help you safely detox from the drugs while making you feel as good as you did on the street. This is a medically supervised drug detox in a residential treatment center that has expert staff trained in dealing with prescription drug addiction and substance abuse

Medical Detox

Most recoveries begin with detoxification. This process clears the body of the toxins accumulated during the period of drug use and provides a physical “clean slate”. Once the physical addiction has been addressed, the process of mental and emotional healing can begin. If the body is not cleared of the addictive drug and the toxins it creates, the physical and mental urges to consume more of the drug can be so overpowering that recovery is much more difficult a process - it may even be impossible.

Extremely painful symptoms are experienced when drug use is stopped.

Some drugs, like heroin and other opiates, narcotic prescription painkillers such as Hydrocodone, Oxycontin, Lortab, Vicodin, and Xanax, and alcohol can cause an overwhelming physical dependence, sometimes even altering brain chemistry to the point that the body believes it needs the drug to function properly. Because of this, extremely painful withdrawal symptoms are experienced when drug use is stopped. These symptoms can range in severity, and include everything from intense cravings, shaking, sweating, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, headaches, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, inability to sleep, seizures, anxiety, depression, confusion, and agitation.

Medical Detox helps control withdrawal symptoms.

Because these symptoms can be so intense and painful, it is extremely difficult, sometimes even dangerous, to quit these drugs “cold turkey”. The process of medical detox seeks to lessen the severity of theses symptoms by weaning the body from the addictive substance and simultaneously providing relief from the symptoms associated with withdrawal.

Medical Detox addresses all facets of an addiction.

Medical detox is accomplished under the supervision of a doctor or other qualified medical professional, on either an inpatient medical detox program at a hospital or qualified rehabilitation center, or on an outpatient basis. While both inpatient and outpatient medical detox programs can be successful, and outpatient programs are usually less expensive, detox that takes place within the framework of a full-scale addiction treatment program also provides 24-hour support, surveillance and counselling, and addresses all facets of the addiction, not just the physical dependence.

The Detox and Detoxification process is dependent on the addiction

Depending on the drug the body is being weaned from and the length and amount of its consumption, the detox program can vary. In cases where the withdrawal symptoms are less severe, a medical detox program may consist solely of providing medications to ease the discomfort of the symptoms, such as anti-nausea drugs, anti-anxiety drugs, and anti-depressants. In more severe cases, such as severe addictions to heroin, prescription painkillers, or other narcotics, decreasing doses of a drug similar to the addictive substance are also administered, effectively tapering the amount consumed and thus weaning the body from the addictive drug over time, without the painful side effects caused by stopping use at the height of physical addiction. On average, medical detox takes one to four weeks.

Rapid Detoxification

In extreme cases, rapid detoxification can take place under general anaesthesia in the intensive care unit of a qualified hospital. Under general anesthesia, opiate blockers, which stop the action of narcotics and opiates on the body, and pain medications, are administered intravenously and detoxification is achieved in about eight hours. While rapid detoxification can spare addicts the pain and discomfort associated with more conventional detoxification programs, its cost, and the risks associated with it, usually make it a last resort to be used only when other attempts at detox and recovery have failed.

Benefits of Medical Detox

Regardless of the particular method used, medical detox can be a tremendous asset to the recovery process because it seeks to minimize the pain and discomfort of detox, and thus decreases the desire to keep using, that often ends up defeating the recovery before it can even really begin. There is a program suited to the unique needs of every individual.