One of the major roadblocks for individuals contemplating rehab is undergoing the detox experience. It can scare a lot of people away due to the stigma and rumors surrounding it. It can be seen as painful, debilitating, and seemingly impossible. If you suffer withdrawal symptoms you experience when it’s been too long since your last dose, you may wonder how you can do a detox. Luckily, we are here to tell you that detox can be a comfortable experience. Keep reading to learn more about what to expect from detox and how to comfortably (and safely) experience it in our clinic.
The Effects Of Drug And Alcohol Withdrawal
If it is left untreated, drug and alcohol withdrawal can cause severe physical withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms are often the major roadblock to recovery, as they are so intensely uncomfortable that people would rather return to active substance addiction than deal with the symptoms on their own.
Each drug has its own unique set of physical and psychological symptoms, but generally, people may experience withdrawal symptoms such as:
- Shakes
- Chills
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Restlessness
- Sleep difficulties
- Intense drug cravings
- Pain
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
Sometimes, attempting to detox from drugs cold turkey can even be life-threatening. Detoxing from drugs such as alcohol and benzodiazepines can cause the central nervous system to become dangerously overactive, leading to seizures that are sometimes fatal.
Fortunately, a targeted medical detox can vastly reduce the effects of severe withdrawal symptoms and help people to withdraw from drugs in a safe and controlled manner. Using several targeted medications and therapies, withdrawal symptoms can be treated directly under specialized medical supervision.
How Long Does Detox Last?
Depending on the length and severity of your addiction, as well as what type of substance you are addicted to, timing can vary. However, a general timeline for detox is:
- Opioids and Heroin: 7-10 days
- Alcohol: 4-7 days
- Benzodiazepines: 1-4 days
Since timing can be so varied due to various factors, it is important you receive individualized care when it comes to detox. At Luxe Treatment Center, your detox plan will include the following:
- Customized plan for your individual situation
- Oversight from qualified addiction professionals
- Skilled medical staff, always available
- Good, balanced nutrition to promote optimum general health
- Beautiful, relaxed setting to ensure a feeling of serenity
Medication
One of the best ways to make you as comfortable as possible during the detox process is to take medication to help make you feel better. Detox can present many symptoms, such as nausea, shakes, high blood pressure, intense cravings, and more. Our professional team is Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)-certified, allowing us to prescribe certain medications, in combination with our recommended therapies and counseling, for your treatment. All medications that we prescribe are FDA approved for the uses specified.
How Detox Medications Work
The specific drug and alcohol withdrawal medications work in different ways to alleviate the symptoms of physical withdrawal. Depending on the substance, our treatment team will design an individualized treatment plan to provide the maximum benefit so that you can recover from alcohol or drug addiction in safety and comfort.
Alcohol
For people living with an alcohol use disorder, cold turkey withdrawal is incredibly dangerous. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, and when people drink large amounts for extended periods, their bodies become accustomed to the depressant effects. As a result, the central nervous system compensates by becoming highly stimulated. When people stop alcohol abuse suddenly, this overactive central nervous system can lead to intense withdrawal symptoms, such as:
- Delirium
- Hallucinations
- Shakes
- Seizures
Treating alcohol withdrawals is completed with a method known as a medical taper. Since the physical withdrawal symptoms are so severe, and there is a real risk of harm to the person detoxing, medical professionals slowly taper people off of alcohol use using other central nervous system depressants like benzodiazepines or barbiturates.
The length of detox for alcohol abuse depends on the individual. Over the course of treatment, medications are administered at rates that stave off the most severe physical withdrawal symptoms and are slowly reduced throughout the detox process. Within a week or so, people in alcohol detox will have completely weaned off medications and are ready to start inpatient addiction treatment and begin their journey to long-term recovery.
Benzodiazepines
Like alcohol, benzodiazepines are a powerful central nervous system depressant. The withdrawal effects of benzodiazepines closely parallel those of alcohol and can similarly result in life-threatening consequences if left untreated. As such, the treatment for benzodiazepine withdrawals also includes a medical taper, where people are slowly weaned off benzodiazepines under medical supervision over a period of a week or so.
This medical taper can prevent many of the harmful effects of cold-turkey withdrawals. People in inpatient detoxification for benzodiazepines can experience a greatly reduced severity of withdrawal symptoms and recover in safety and comfort.
Opioids
Opioids are a class of drugs that include substances such as:
Opioid withdrawals aren’t life-threatening but can be overwhelmingly painful and uncomfortable. Opioid withdrawal symptoms are often compared to the severe flu, as people experience chills, nausea, diarrhea, and several other flu-like symptoms.
Fortunately, medication-assisted treatment for opioid withdrawals is remarkably effective. Using medications known as partial opioid agonists, such as buprenorphine, medical professionals can administer a drug that can ease withdrawal symptoms to an amazing degree.
These medications target the same receptors in the brain and body as opioids do but to a much lesser degree. This drastically reduces withdrawal symptoms while not providing the euphoric rush of opioid misuse.
Stimulants
Stimulant drugs include both pharmaceutical medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin, and illicit drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine. At high levels of stimulant drug abuse, drug detox is often required to ensure that people successfully make it through the withdrawal stage and enter drug addiction treatment.
Stimulant withdrawal is different from other forms of substance abuse withdrawal in that it primarily creates psychological symptoms that need to be addressed. The primary concerns for people detoxing from stimulants include:
- Sleep difficulties
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Lack of motivation
- Intense drug cravings
To treat stimulant withdrawal, medical professionals provide supportive medications that can improve these psychological symptoms depending on each client’s particular needs. This could include medications to help people fall asleep, manage their anxiety, or help with the symptoms of depression.
Other Drugs
Drugs such as marijuana, inhalants, or psychedelics can also produce powerful withdrawal symptoms. Depending on the amount of substance used, a person may just experience mild symptoms or severe physical withdrawal. After undergoing a detailed assessment by our team of treatment providers, individualized treatment options for effective treatment are created to deal with each unique case and help people break through the detox phase and enter substance abuse treatment.
What To Expect From Detox
Learning what to expect from detox can help ease the detox process and ensure that you are prepared for future addiction treatment. The goal of a detox center is to help make this difficult first stage of recovery more easily attainable and keep you safe in the process.
Support
Detoxing alone can be dangerous, as well as extremely uncomfortable. To ensure your total comfort and safety, we provide around-the-clock support and care from addiction and detox professionals. Our caring nurses, doctors, and other clinicians are on standby to help whenever you may need it. We welcome the chance to make your detox period stable and hassle-free so that you can begin your treatment and stay in the best possible state of mind. Our support system carries through your entire treatment stay, and even beyond.
Stabilization
Untreated drug and alcohol withdrawals can lead people to act in ways they never would while sober. Through our targeted treatment options, we aim to stabilize people’s physical and mental health and to prepare them for future addiction treatment at an evidence-based treatment program.
Transition
The last element for what to expect from detox is transition. While medical detox is incredibly helpful in getting people through the first stage of recovery, it is not enough to produce long-term sobriety on its own. It must be followed by quality addiction treatment at an evidence-based treatment center if you want to truly overcome addiction.
As such, the last stage of detox is planning your transition to one of these centers. At Luxe Treatment Center, this process is as seamless as possible, as our comprehensive treatment program is connected to our detox programs directly.
Luxe Treatment Center
Detox does not have to be uncomfortable or done alone. With the right support, medication, and individualized protocol, you can have a safe and comfortable detox experience to take you into the next phase of your life.
Luxe Treatment Center applies evidence-based treatment methods. Therapies rely upon behavior modification and motivational interviewing as solid cornerstones for long-lasting recovery. Combined with non-invasive detoxification and psychotherapy, we utilize a wide range of proven tools to facilitate the best outcomes possible.
We know that this is a difficult time for you, and we recognize how brave you are to come forward and ask for help. For more information, please visit us at luxetreatmentcenter.com or fill out our confidential online form.
