Author: James Anderson

Alcohol Detox: Process, Effects, and Timeline

Your doctor can assess your individual needs based on your substance use and personal medical history to create an individualized detox plan that works best for you. They can also monitor you and your withdrawal symptoms around the clock and offer assistance. Focusing on your physical health can be a powerful first step in recovery from substance use disorders and moving toward sober living. After successfully detoxing, you may feel better and have greater mental clarity to address the psychological issues related to substance use disorder. Attempting to detox alone at home carries significant risks due to the lack of medical support. If dangerous withdrawal symptoms or complications occur, it can be harder to seek immediate medical attention.

Addiction: What to Know About Detox

Detox, especially if done cold turkey, can cause stress on the fetus such as preterm labor or severe fetal distress. A drug rehab program can offer medical treatment, as well as behavioral treatments such as individual counseling, support groups, family therapy, and medication-assisted treatment. This may pose risks to both fetal and maternal health if detox is attempted alone or without supportive care from medical professionals. Prescription sleeping pills, including ‘z drugs,’ can be misused for their sedative properties and may require a detoxification process in order to safely stop taking them.

Various prescription drugs, including those prescribed for seizures or muscle spasms, can lead to physical dependence and withdrawal with stopped use. Thousands of people in the United States seek help for opioid abuse and addiction each year—with detox often serving as the first step on the road to recovery. However, people who misuse it may still develop drug dependence, which can cause symptoms of withdrawal. Cocaine is a highly addictive, illicit stimulant that can cause a “crash” and withdrawal symptoms in people who use it regularly and become physically dependent.

1. In some cases, you may need to stay longer in an inpatient treatment program to get appropriate care.
2. Detoxing by yourself can sometimes be dangerous and is not generally recommended.
3. Ensuring adequate quality sleep each night is a must to support your body’s health and natural detoxification system.
4. An assisted detox program can provide a safe space for your body to rid itself of substances while also helping you build your ongoing treatment plan.

Your body has a sophisticated way of eliminating toxins that involves the liver, kidneys, digestive system, skin, and lungs. Still, only when these organs are healthy can they effectively eliminate unwanted substances. In addition to its many roles in your body, water allows your body’s detoxification system to remove waste products from your blood. Ensuring adequate quality sleep each night is a must to support your body’s health and natural detoxification system. Health authorities recommend limiting alcohol intake to one drink per day for women and two for men. If you currently do not drink, it is recommended not to start as the risk outweigh any health benefits that come with drinking.

Drugs & Supplements

Cocaine withdrawal is not generally dangerous or very uncomfortable physically. However, it can cause intense cravings for cocaine, as well as other psychological symptoms. After a program like this, you might transfer to a residential facility with less supervision or a fully outpatient program after you’ve gone through detox and your health is stable.

Common misconceptions about detoxing

Limiting or abstaining entirely from alcohol is one of the best ways to keep your body’s detoxification system running strong. However, popular detox diets rarely identify the specific toxins they aim to remove or the mechanism by which they supposedly eliminate them. It typically implies following a specific diet or using special products that claim to rid your body of toxins, thereby improving health and promoting weight loss. Your body can become used to having substances present in your system and may react strongly or cause you to feel pain when they are removed.

Inpatient, where you live at a hospital, detox clinic, or rehab center during the process. Detox alone isn’t treatment, but it’s the first step to getting better for people who are dependent on alcohol. Consequently, this unhealthy shift in bacteria can weaken your immune and detoxification systems and increase your risk of disease and inflammation (46). Gut health is important for keeping your detoxification system healthy.

The Process Of Detoxification

We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. All Addiction Resource content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible. Kratom is a natural, psychotropic substance with opioid-like effects that is currently legal for use in the United States. Hallucinogens are mind-altering drugs that can alter one’s sense of reality and one’s perception of themselves and surroundings. Meth detox may cause depression, anxiety, psychosis, and cravings strong enough to cause a person to return to meth, in the absence of clinical support. When in doubt, talk to your doctor or an addiction specialist about the best choice for you.

People Are Reading

Consuming too much salt can cause your body to retain excess fluid, especially if you have a condition that affects your kidneys or liver — or if you don’t drink enough water. For some people, detoxing is a means of eliminating excess water. Good gut health starts with prebiotics, a type of fiber that feeds the good bacteria in your gut called probiotics.

Not all of the medications doctors use for detox are available to take on your own at home. People who detox at home (and don’t follow it with an appropriate substance abuse treatment program) may be more likely to relapse. That’s because once the drugs are out of your system, your body won’t be able to tolerate the same amount as before. Alcohol detox programs last anywhere from three to seven days, on average, and can provide medical support for severe symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. For most, medical stabilization through a drug and alcohol detox program is the first step towards addiction recovery.

Heroin detox, or heroin withdrawal symptoms, are not typically life-threatening, but the experience can be very uncomfortable and should not be attempted alone. The experience of detoxing off illicit drugs will look and feel different depending on the type of substance, as well as the severity of a person’s dependence. If you seek out a detox program, this process will begin with a clinical assessment, during which time you may be asked questions about your drug use history and health. The Ohio Recovery Center is a state-of-the-art addiction treatment center on a 55-acre campus. The facility provides a serene and supportive environment for those seeking to overcome addiction.