What is Medical Detox?
When you are ready to address your drug addiction and quit your drug abuse once and for all, there may be concerns about the drug withdrawal symptoms that will arise for you. Many have heard about the unpleasant and, sometimes, painful symptoms that can occur. Choosing to detox within a medical detox provides you with the comfort in knowing that your time in drug detox will be monitored by medical professionals who are experts in supporting patients with safe, healthy medically assisted detox practices. Throughout drug detox, you will be monitored by licensed RNs and doctors who will be alongside you every step of the way to ensure that you are feeling comfortable and relaxed as we mitigate your withdrawal symptoms. Through the use of medical protocols including medication assisted treatment, behavioral therapy, and holistic treatments, patients will be able to safely remove the harmful influences of drugs and alcohol and begin on the right path toward a life in drug addiction recovery.
Which Drugs Require Medical Detox?
Before beginning your detox process, it is important that you speak with an addiction specialist or medical professional who will gather information from you on your history of drug abuse. This will allow the detox center to be able to provide you with the appropriate levels of care and medical protocols to ensure that you remain physically, emotionally, and mentally safe and healthy throughout your drug detox program.
Commonly abused drugs that require a medical detox are:
- Alcohol
- Opioids including heroin or fentanyl
- Benzodiazepines
- Prescription opioids
Alcohol
Alcohol is a highly addictive substance and that creates a strong physical dependency within its users. When you quit your use of alcohol abruptly or cold turkey, there can be serious, and sometimes life-threatening, alcohol withdrawal symptoms that should be monitored by a medical professional. As alcohol withdrawal symptoms arise, there are medication-assisted treatments available to ease the severity of your withdrawal symptoms and reduce the intensity of any alcohol cravings you may be experiencing.
Common alcohol withdrawal symptoms are:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Poor concentration
- Difficulty sleeping or experiencing insomnia
- High fever
- Tremors
- Seizures
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines are prescribed for individuals that are living with an anxiety disorder, panic attacks, bipolar disorder, or seizures to ease and regulate their central nervous system functioning. When you begin abusing benzodiazepines, a physical tolerance is quickly developed and when you end your use of benzos without the support of a medical professional in a medically supervised detox, individuals will often feel uncomfortable physical symptoms with the onset of the original symptoms that you were trying to treat, to begin with. Medical detox allows patients to quit their use of benzodiazepines without having to endure unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms of withdrawal.
Common withdrawal symptoms from benzodiazepines are:
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Nausea or vomiting
- Excessive sweating or chills
- Headaches
- Muscle spasms
- Tremors
- Seizures
Heroin
Heroin abuse is highly addictive as individuals become physically reliant on heroin to be able to function normally. Individuals detoxing from heroin will experience both physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms that are uncomfortable and unpleasant. These symptoms are often a deterrent for individuals to get sober without the support of medical detox. Detoxing from heroin with the support of medical protocols and guidance provides you with the support of medication-assisted treatment that will alleviate the severity of your symptoms and keep you feeling comfortable and relaxed.
Common withdrawal symptoms of heroin are:
- Muscle and body aches
- Excessive sweating or chills
- Stomach cramps and diarrhea
- Increased heart rate
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Muscle spasms
Prescription Opioids
Similar to heroin, prescription opioids cause an individual to have a severe physical and mental dependency that creates significant challenges when attempting to detox on your own without the support of medical professionals. Medical detox provides patients with the opportunity to gradually taper off the prescription opioids to ensure that their physical safety remains intact. With the support of behavioral therapy, medication-assisted treatment, and holistic treatment, patients are able to safely detox from prescription opioids while maintaining a level of comfort and safety.
Prescription opioid abuse will cause the following withdrawal symptoms in detox:
- Anxiety
- Abdominal cramps
- Tremors
- Flu-like symptoms
- Muscle aches and pains
- Fever
- Vomiting or nausea
- Insomnia
- Hallucinations
- Seizures
Medical Detox at Serenity Oaks
Serenity Oaks offers patients a medically assisted detox program that provides patients with individualized care to ensure your detox process maintains your utmost safety and comfortability. Our team will take the time to get to know you and your history of substance abuse through various addiction assessments that will provide us with the necessary information to develop a detox process that will meet all your physical, emotional, and mental health needs. Within our recovery center, we believe that addiction treatment is a continuum of care which is why we offer a variety of addiction therapy methods including treating co-occurring disorders, treating the emotions and behaviors associated with your substance abuse through cognitive behavioral therapy, and educating patients on tools for relapse prevention.
Healing from your drug addiction is possible and the team at Serenity Oaks is waiting for your call to tell you more about the individualized programs offered within our treatment centers.
Read about some drugs that require medical detox!#medicaldetox #drugdetoxhttps://t.co/9S2bC8wlNm
— Serenity Oaks (@Serenity_Oaks_) May 6, 2022
