Addiction is a chronic condition that causes people to compulsively seek their drugs of choice even though they experience harm in doing so. It is classified as a disease that involves a person’s brain circuits, but it is a condition that can be treated. People misunderstand their friends’ or family member’s inability to stop using drugs or alcohol because they may have voluntarily taken their first drink of alcohol or sample of a drug. Although this is the case, their actions become compulsive after a while, and they lose the ability to choose.
The issue is pervasive throughout the United States. In 2021, 61.2 million people aged 12 and over engaged in illicit drug use in the past year. As a result, 46.3 million people aged 12 and over met the DSM-5 criteria for a substance use disorder in the past year. Of this population, 29.5 million people were diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder. In that year, 94% of people aged 12 and older who were diagnosed with a substance use disorder did not seek treatment because they did not believe that they needed it.
As you can see, most people with a substance use disorder do not believe they need treatment according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Because of this, friends and family must help guide these individuals into a treatment program. The case may be that your friend may not be ready to stop using their drug of choice, so the importance of medical detox cannot be overstated.
Understanding Medical Drug and Alcohol Detox
During medical detox, a client undergoes the withdrawal process so that they can eventually be free of the effects of the drugs or alcohol that are currently in their systems. When this occurs in a treatment center, the client has doctors and nurses to watch over them while the drug and alcohol detoxification process is going on. The treatment center’s staff administers medications so that they can complete this process comfortably. Without these medications, they would find it very difficult to abstain from using drugs or alcohol.
Medical drug and alcohol detox is the first step in drug and alcohol treatment. The client must continue into a residential treatment program at Liberty Bay Recovery Center to have the best chances of remaining drug- or alcohol-free forever. In a rehabilitation program, the client receives education, counseling and support group sessions to prevent relapsing back into their addictions.
Are There Other Ways to Detox From Drugs or Alcohol?
If you are concerned that it may be difficult for you to convince your friend or family member to enter a drug and alcohol detox program, you may consider helping them taper off of the substance. Tapering takes much longer than medical drug and alcohol detox, but it is something that you can do with proper planning. It prevents the most severe withdrawal symptoms from appearing and will help your friend avoid relapse.
Tapering may not be the optimal choice for you or your friend. You will begin to experience withdrawal symptoms a couple of hours after your last drink, and they will last between two and 10 days. The most severe withdrawal symptoms typically present themselves between 36 and 72 hours after your last drink, and they can be unpleasant.
Because medical drug and alcohol detox allows you to endure the drug and alcohol detoxification process without experiencing the most severe effects, the best option will be to enter the drug and alcohol detox program at Liberty Bay Recovery Center.
The Importance of Medical Detox
Someone who has been drinking alcohol heavily will experience physical and mental difficulties when they undergo the withdrawal process. They may have been drinking heavily for weeks, months or years, and if they stop suddenly, they will experience withdrawal symptoms. This would be highly risky because the withdrawal symptoms can be mild, but they can also be very severe. For example, some people begin to experience seizures at this time, and this can be dangerous.
Why Is It Unwise to Detox Without Medical Supervision?
Although medically supervised drug or alcohol detox is preferable, some people insist upon going through this process on their own at home. In most cases, people do not have medical supervision when they take this option. You will not have a trained medical professional to guide you through this very difficult process, and you will not have access to the medications that can make the entire process easier for you.
In addition to the above, drug or alcohol treatment does not end with drug and alcohol detox. You must continue with rehab, and most people who undergo the drug and alcohol detoxification process at home do not continue with their treatment, so they are more likely to relapse. If they do relapse, they are at a higher risk of experiencing an overdose. This occurs because the drugs or alcohol have been removed from your system after the detox program, so the body isn’t used to the level of drug or alcohol use that you were ingesting before withdrawal.
Medical detox keeps you from experiencing the scenario described above because you are not left to your own devices after the drug and alcohol detoxification process ends. You will enter either an inpatient rehab program or an outpatient program and continue to receive the support that is necessary to remain free of substances.
Medical Detoxification Methods
At Liberty Bay Recovery Center, our staff will place you in a medically supervised setting where you will receive medication to help you tolerate the withdrawal symptoms. We also offer medical detox for cocaine, heroin, opiates and benzodiazepines like Xanax
What Is Medication-Assisted Treatment?
Medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, is a holistic approach to drug and alcohol treatment. It uses medications to treat the physical addiction and behavioral therapies and counseling to treat the psychological addiction.
What Are the Benefits of MAT?
For opioid use disorder, for example, the benefits of treatment with MAT include the following:
• There are fewer deaths from overdose due to opioids.
• Fewer numbers of people use opioids.
• It increases the number of people who remain in treatment for opioid use disorder.
• It decreases the number of arrests of those with an opioid use disorder.
• It reduces the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C.
Detox Methods and Benefits of Medical Detox
Detox methods and benefits are numerous for those experiencing drug or alcohol substance use disorders. For example, a supervised MAT program is the safest way for you to undergo the drug and alcohol detoxification process. The doctors, nurses and therapists that surround you while you are in this program provide you with a high level of safety. They are all trained and educated in substance use disorders, and they know how to attend to your needs while you are going through the drug and alcohol detoxification process.
The medical staff monitors your progress while you are in the detoxification program. They check your temperature, blood pressure and heart rate regularly. They will know if you begin to experience distress, and they will address the issue so that it does not progress and turn into something that can harm you.
The thing that you may be the most concerned about is experiencing withdrawal symptoms. When you are in a drug and alcohol detox program, the doctors will prescribe and administer medications to ease your symptoms. You cannot have this if you detox at home.
Another thing you do not have at home is the support system at Liberty Bay Recovery Center. A support system helps guide you through the steps you need to take to become sober again. In addition to that, you may perceive at-home detox to be something negative that you did not enjoy at all. This is less likely to be the case when you experience detox at Liberty Bay Recovery Center, and this may contribute to the reason that you remain in your treatment program for the long term.
Choosing a Medical Detox Program
Choosing a medical detox program may be as simple as performing an internet search, however, the internet isn’t always safe. You may find advertisements that make their programs appear too good to be true, and you know that if it seems too good to be true, it often is. The center you come in contact with may state that they have a cure for substance use disorders. Addiction is a disease that can be treated, but it is a chronic condition, so it cannot be cured.
What Should a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center Ask You?
Once you find a telephone number on the internet, it must be the same number that they have listed on their website. Then, call the number. The representative must have a few questions prepared for you. For example, they will need to know how severe your addiction or your friend’s addiction is. They must also ask you if you have any illnesses or mental health conditions.
What Should You Ask a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center?
The treatment center must have a license to treat people with substance use disorders. It also needs to be accredited to treat substance use disorders. Accreditation means that an accrediting organization ensures that the staff at the treatment center meets the standards for the care of people with substance use disorders.
Does the Treatment Center Provide Individualized Treatment?
You will need an individualized treatment program to increase your success in a substance use treatment program. At Liberty Bay Recovery Center, we can provide you with personalized treatment for alcohol or drug use disorders.
Our staff will determine if you are experiencing a mental health disorder as well as a substance use disorder. If so, we will place you in a dual diagnosis program so that we can treat both disorders at the same time. Treating these disorders concurrently increases your chances of recovery from both.
We will also determine whether or not you are likely to experience particularly negative withdrawal symptoms from your drug of choice. If so, we will place you in our medical drug and alcohol detox program so that you can endure the withdrawal process easily and comfortably.
Some people experienced trauma in their past, and they need help overcoming this trauma as they also work to overcome a substance use disorder. We also evaluate you for trauma at Liberty Bay Recovery Center so that we can treat your past trauma along with your present substance use disorder.
What to Expect During Medical Detox
During the drug and alcohol detoxification process, you may begin to experience withdrawal symptoms. You may experience the following within eight hours of taking your last drink:
- Nightmares
- Mood swings
- Jumpiness
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Anxiety or nervousness
- The inability to think clearly
- Insomnia
Delirium tremens is the most severe form of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. They include the following:
- Seizures
- Rapid heart rate
- Rapid breathing
- Fever
- Dehydration
- Abnormal heart rhythms
- Abnormal eye movements
Aftercare and Continued Support
After you leave drug and alcohol detox and rehabilitation, you will need to return home and continue your life. This can be challenging right after you leave a rehabilitation program, but aftercare and continued support will keep you on the right track. Remaining in drug or alcohol treatment after rehab is the best way to ensure that you do not relapse and use substances again. You must remember that substance use disorder is a chronic condition and that you will need treatment for many years.
You will be able to attend sessions with your therapist at Liberty Bay Recovery Center in the aftercare program. You are also welcome to continue attending our support groups. You may search for additional resources by visiting DEA.gov. You will be able to take advantage of these resources for as long as you need them.
Achieve Long-Term Sobriety With Professional Help
If you or a loved one are having difficulties with alcohol or drugs, medical drug and alcohol detox is a must. It does not take long for a body to become accustomed to these substances, so the body does not allow the person to stop providing them without a fight. This is a fight that many people lose when they try to face it on their own, but medical drug and alcohol detox stack the deck in your favor. All you need to do is contact us at Liberty Bay Recovery Center to ask for help now.
Give us a call so that we can help take your first step toward sobriety.
