Quick Guide on How to Detox Your Body from Drugs

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Detoxing is not solely exclusive to the recovery process. Throughout the day, organs like the liver and kidneys work to rid your body of toxins.   

When a person abuses drugs, toxins build up to unnatural levels, causing many health concerns. Although the writeups on how to detox your body from drugs at home can seem enticing, it’s more likely to fail if you don’t have the support of a treatment team due to easier relapse. There comes a phase, where the addicts start thinking about, “How to Detox Your Body from Drugs 

While there are a handful of options for cleansing the body of substances, professional programs help you explore how to detox your body from drugs safely. These options are as follows: 

  1. Non-Medical Detox– When the serious physical symptoms are not much, and the addict only has anxiety and the urge to use drugs. 
  2. Medical Detox Program– This option is for those who are experiencing serious withdrawal symptoms and simultaneously have other serious complications as well.
  3. Rapid and Ultra-Rapid Detox Programs– In this method, experts use medicines to reduce the presence of drugs in the body of the addict. 

 These are some of the ways that can satiate an addict’s query on “How to Detox His Body from Drugs”. Please do remember, the side effects of drug detox, chronic health conditions, and mental illness can make detoxing unpredictable. A medical detox program is designed to maximize safety and comfort during the withdrawal process so you can continue your recovery journey with confidence. 

Understanding Drug Detox Programs 

Drug detox Programs provide more than just a venue to get clean, they also provide many crucial services that help to minimize the negative aspects of drug detox. These include: 

  • A health screening and evaluation 
  • A personalized treatment approach 
  • A relapse free environment
  • 24/7 medical supervision and support
  • On-site mental health resources 
  • Access to medications that can ease withdrawal symptoms 
  • Vitamins and other nutritional support 

Types of Drug Detox programs 

types of drug detox programs

When most people think of Addiction Detox, they picture a hospital bed in the ICU complete with IV’s and beeping machines. This is not, however, the only kind of detox program out there. 

Just like with other stages of addiction treatment, there are different kinds of detox programs as well. There are even centers that offer couples rehab and detox. 

Non-Medical Detox 

Sometimes during detox, serious physical symptoms are minimal but psychological symptoms such as anxiety depression and urges to use remain. This is where non-medical detox programs (or social detoxes) come. These programs provide psychological and social support through group counseling and individualized therapy.  

Non-medical detox programs are not recommended for those with severe cases substance use disorder. The lack of medical support could be dangerous and not everybody should quit cold turkey. 

Medical Detox Program 

For individuals who are at risk of experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms, have chronic health conditions, additional mental health disorders or are detoxing while pregnant, a medical detox is the safest possible way to rid your body of toxic substances. 

Medical Detox Programs are inpatient programs conducted in hospitals and addiction recovery centers.  

Using medical expertise and the most recent medical technology, medical staff closely monitor your physical health. Depending on the case, medications may be employed as well as vitamins to reduce the discomfort and severity of withdrawal symptoms. This also means that if anything should go wrong, medical staff will be available to treat the issue. 

Rapid and Ultra-Rapid Detox Programs 

Rapid and ultra-rapid detox are highly controversial forms of medically assisted detox. Unlike a traditional medical detox which may use medications that safely mimic the effects of certain drugs, rapid and ultra-rapid detox uses medications that reduce the presence of them in the body in order to compress the length of acute withdrawal symptoms.

Rapid detoxes were designed for individuals with opioid addictions. First, they are given an opioid antagonist such as Naltrexone which blocks opioid receptors from activating. Then they are put under general anesthesia for 4-6 hours. 

During this period, severe withdrawal symptoms are compressed and more severe but do not drag on for a week like typical detox withdrawals do. 

Despite being the fastest way to detox your body of drugs, rapid detox has come under criticism, with one article provocatively branding it as “evil”. There are two main reasons that experts are wary of these detox program. One reason they say, is these withdrawal symptoms combined with the use of anesthesia are unsafe for patients.  

Another reason lies in the promises they make. Some promise RD and URD as a full detox and send patients home with serious symptoms and powerful urges to use. This is particularly concerning because it increases the likelihood of relapse.  

What Happens in a Drug Detox Program? 

For some, Detoxing from Drugs can be as simple as abruptly discontinuing the use of addictive and harmful substances; what is often referred to as “quitting cold turkey.” In many cases this is ill advised. For those struggling with severe addiction the lack of medical knowledge combined with severe withdrawal symptoms can be dangerous and even life-threatening. 

Another way detox can be achieved is by replacing the substance with a safer alternative in lesser amounts. Are you familiar with the nicotine patch? Well in a similar way, medication assisted detox programs utilize substances such as methadone, buprenorphine and suboxone to reduce the harm of withdrawal symptoms  

Things Addicted People Feel During Medically Assisted Detox 

negatives of drug detox program

There are many things that a person experiences while in a Medical Detox Program. Many of them feelings tied directly to the discomfort of detox withdrawal symptoms. 

With people who have developed a significant dependance on drugs or alcohol, things tend to get worse before they get better. In many cases just 6-8 hours after your last hit, withdrawal symptoms begin to creep in. 

As concentrations of the drug in the body continue to diminish, severe symptoms emerge. These severe or acute withdrawal symptoms can include: 

  • Severe anxiety or depression  
  • Seizures
  • Psychosis
  • Insomnia
  • Extreme irritability
  • Tremors 
  • Irregular or rapid breathing 

How Long Does Drug Detox Take? 

The goal of detox is to stabilize the patient by getting them through the worst of the withdrawal phase. But how long detox lasts varies on a few things: 

  • The kinds of drugs the person was using 
  • How severe and long lasting the person’s drug dependency was 
  • How long and often a person had been using 
  • Whether or not the person had underlying health concerns  

On average, treatment lengths still follow certain trends. Getting an estimate of how long you can expect to be in detox, can help you plan and effectively budget for treatment.  

Here are some of the timelines of drug and alcohol detox:  

  • Alcohol (3-5 days) 
  • Heroin (7-10 days) 
  • Cocaine (3-7 days) 
  • Barbiturates (4-7 days) 
  • Benzodiazepines (10-14 days) 

If you or a loved one are considering drug detox or rehabilitation services in Los Angeles County contact us at (XYZ). Quest 2 Recovery is a Premier Recovery Center in Lancaster, California that offers a variety of drug addiction resources. 

Citations 

Gold, C. G., Cullen, D. J., Gonzales, S., Houtmeyers, D., & Dwyer, M. J. (1999, December 1). Rapid opioid detoxification during general anesthesia a review of 20 patients. Anesthesiology. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://pubs.asahq.org/anesthesiology/article/91/6/1639/38020/Rapid-Opioid-Detoxification-during-General. 

Health Risks of Rapid Detox: Death, coma & relapse. American Addiction Centers. (2019, September 4). Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/drug-detox/dangers-of-rapid-detox.   

The Evils of Rapid Detox. Ascendant New York. (2020, July 31). Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://www.ascendantny.com/the-evils-of-rapid-detox/.   

 

 

 

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