Is Opiate Detox Right for Me?

Someone who’s used opiates for a week or more will inevitably encounter withdrawal effects after stopping use. Compare this with someone who’s used for months or years at a time, and the intensity of withdrawal effects increases exponentially. Even in cases of doctor prescribed medications, overuse or misuse of these drugs makes addiction just as likely as with “street” drugs like heroin.

For people who’ve been unable to stop on their own, opiate detox treatment provides the tools and guidance needed to overcome an opiate addiction. While not everyone opts to enter an opiate detox program, those who do greatly increase their chances at a successful recovery.

Opiate Detox Objectives

Treatment centers can help you detox from opiates and stop using the harmful drugs!

National survey reports collected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration show dramatic increases in opiate addiction treatment admissions. Between the years 1999 and 2009, opiate-based prescription drug treatment admissions increased by as much as 25 percent. These figures speak to how prevalent opiate addictions have become.

Whenever addiction enters the picture, brain and body functions have undergone considerable damage from ongoing drug use. Opiate detox treatment enables a person to make it through the detox stage by treating both the medical and psychological damage cause by opiate addiction. Without opiate detox treatment, a person places him or herself at risk of relapse, which only increases addiction’s hold on the body.

Opiate detox treatment objectives work to prevent the likelihood of relapse through medication therapies and intensive psychotherapy work. Medication therapies help relieve much of the discomfort associated with withdrawal while psychotherapy work enables participants to confront the issues that drive their addiction behaviors.

Opiate detox programs also make it a point to educate recovering addicts on the effects of opiates. By doing so, participants are better able to take back control and play a more active role in the recovery process.

Physical Needs

Everyone’s body responds to opiate addiction in different ways. Likewise, different people will experience opiate detox in different ways. While certain types of withdrawal effects are to be expected, no one really knows how the body will react to detox until it happens.

Symptoms most commonly experienced during detox include:

• Nausea/vomiting
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Chills

Many people attempting detox on their own can’t bear the discomfort of withdrawal and so end up using again. Opiate detox treatment not only offers relief for common withdrawal symptoms, but also treats any other medical emergencies that may arise during the detox stage.

Emotional Needs

Opiate addiction, as well as addictions in general, provides a way for people to cope with life’s daily pressures and responsibilities. When a person enters opiate detox, drugs no longer provide the emotional buffer that holds an addict’s life together. As a result, people going through detox on their own experience these intense emotions with no tools available to manage them or even understand them. Under these conditions, a person can easily turn to drugs for relief.

Opiate detox treatment programs offer the type of guidance and supports needed to make it through the emotional ups and downs. Therapists, counselors and other recovering addicts are there to offer insight and support at a time when it’s needed most.