When drug addiction takes hold of an individual’s life, they become hopeless and miserable. When a person starts doing drugs, they never plan on becoming an addict, but once addiction occurs, breaking free is not always an easy task. A drug addict must find drug rehabilitation or they are doomed to a life of failure and pain. Drug rehabilitation is readily available to anyone who really wants to get help. The first and maybe most difficult step to drug rehabilitation is detox. There are various ways to detox, and a drug addict must find which is most applicable to them.
The purpose of drug detox is to rid the body of drugs and toxins accumulated over long term usage of drugs and alcohol. A person going through detox is discontinuing the use of an addictive substance and will usually exhibit a range of withdraw symptoms, varying in from person to person. The withdraw symptoms depend on what drug the individual was using, how long the individual used the drugs, and how much of the drug the individual used.
Medical detox is a type of drug detoxification where various medications are used to lessen or prevent certain withdraw symptoms. A medication that is related to the addict’s drug of choice is gradually administered to patients in decreasing doses, being substituted to prevent withdrawal symptoms. In some more severe cases, medical detox is necessary to prevent some serious withdraw symptoms, such as seizures or sever pain. In many cases, medical detox is not necessary, and in these cases, individuals should attempt to withdraw without medications. Substituting medication for an individual’s drug of choice can leave the individual dependent on a new drug. When an addict is finished withdrawing from their drug of choice, then they will experience withdrawal symptoms from the medication being substituted for the drug. Substitute medications, like suboxone and methadone, can have withdrawal symptoms very similar to hard drugs, such as heroin or oxycontin.
A drug-free detox is a very effective method which does not employ the use of any substitute medications during withdrawal. Other methods are used to decrease the pains and discomforts associated with detox. The individual will be run by a withdrawal specialist, forcing the person to become extroverted which will prevent him from thinking about the withdrawal symptoms. The withdrawal specialist will use assist which relieves pain by getting the body back into communication with itself and realigning the nerve channels throughout the body. Vitamins and nutrients are given to the person to replenish the body of the nutrient deficiencies which occur through long term use of drugs and alcohol and to prevent sore muscles and body aches which can occur during detox. If performed correctly, this method of detox will allow the person to withdrawal with minimal pain or discomfort and be free from dependency to any medication.
While detox may be an extremely difficult time for an addict, it is only the first step to drug and alcohol rehabilitation. A rehabilitation center that handles the full extent of an individual’s addiction should be located and used. |