Drug detoxification is recommended by the experts and a comprehensive and individualized addiction recovery treatment program. It helps the patients suffering from drug addiction detox toxic substances from their bodies.
No matter what type of addiction you are into or how severe the addiction is, drug detoxification is the first step towards addiction recovery programs.
While a person goes through detoxification, they experience withdrawal symptoms. These withdrawal symptoms vary depending on the substance of abuse and can be very dangerous to your health.
Due to these potential risks, it is important that you know what detox is and how it works.
This article will answer the following:
- What Is Medical Detox?
- How Does Detox Work?
- What Are The Challenges Of Medical Detox?
- After Medical Detox Treatment.
What Is Medical Detox?
When a body becomes dependent on a substance, removal of that substance from the body can be very painful as it affects the patients both physically and mentally. This is where medical detox offers its expertise.
A medical detox center offers a safe environment for the patients to quit their addiction and cope with the withdrawal symptoms.
When some are diagnosed with any type of addiction, they are put through the medical detoxification process as the first step of the treatment. This treatment is to evaluate the current condition of the patients accurately.
The evaluation is based on ASAM criteria. It is a six-dimensional assessment program outlined by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The purpose of this treatment is to ensure all the toxic substances are cleansed from inside the patient’s body.
If someone enters medical detoxification treatment, they experience withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms are the result of the patients staying away from the substances they are addicted to.
Hence, it is important that the treatment is conducted under the supervision of an expert in a Las Vegas detox center like Gallus.
Common symptoms that can be seen are as follows:
- Muscle cramps.
- Insomnia.
- Fatigue.
- Depression.
- Anxiety.
- Vomiting.
- Seizures.
- Nausea.
- Elevated heart rate.
- Hallucinations.
Where Does Detox Occur?
Detox can occur in various settings and at different intensity levels, depending on the person’s needs. However, before you can start with any detox process, it is important that you undergo a formal assessment to receive an appropriate level of care.
The addiction treatment program’s success rate depends on the patients’ willingness to complete the treatment program. Unfortunately, most people think that once the detox treatment is complete, the whole treatment is complete.
However, that is not the case. The Detoxification program is just the first step towards recovery. The only way you can completely become addiction-free is to follow up with the treatment after the detox process.
How Does Detox Work?
Detox is the highest level of treatment that can be given to a patient suffering from addiction. It involves 24 hours monitoring the patients and keeping track of their mental and physical health.
In the medical detox treatment process, the patients are kept away from any addiction practices and alleviate withdrawal symptoms.
If we zoom in on the medical detox process, it can be divided into three major facets.
- Medical Evaluation.
- Medically Supervised Detox.
- Clinical Care.
1. Medical Evaluation
Different drugs affect your body in different ways. Plus, there is a possibility that the patient is suffering from more than one addiction type. To get every detail about the patients, they are through multiple tests and examinations. This phase of the medical detox is known as medical evaluation.
Based on the reports and medical evaluation, physicians plan their next treatment. The treatment is tailored according to the patient’s needs, and relevant medicine is prescribed to suppress the withdrawal symptoms.
2. Medically Supervised Detox
A medical detox center is where you are kept isolated to clean your internal organs from the effect of substances. Throughout your stay, you will be supervise medically, and if there are any medical complications, staff members will be there to attend to you immediately.
3. Clinical Care
Medical detox might be the first step towards addiction treatment, but it is not the end of the treatment. In fact, if you are looking for a long-term solution, medical detox is only a single out of many.
Once the treatment is over, detox facilities often have clinicians who are in charge of remaining connected with the patients. They help the patients with tips, tricks, and practices to sustain their current addiction-free life.
What Are The Challenges Of Medical Detox?
While we were talking about the medical detox program, it sounded like it is super easy – people can easily quit their addiction. Well, the easier it sounds, the more difficult it is.
You assume those things just because you have never seen a patient suffering from severe addiction trying to quit.
Although the detox centers are one of the best ways to treat your addiction, there is a major challenge that you need to overcome – the Detox Center being close to your home.
There is nothing wrong with having your medical detox center closer to home. The real problem starts when your detox center is close to where your addiction began.
- If your detox center is close to the place where your addiction began, it becomes really tough to hang on to your motivation.
- Furthermore, your locality means you are well aware of where you can get alcohol from. Probably, your addictive behavior will take over you.
- Finally, if your detox center is close to your home, it can damage your mental health.
Hence, we would advise you to go to a detox center that is far away from your home. This will help you concentrate on your recovery and keep you away from places where your addiction started.
After Medical Detox Treatment
We recommend you follow with another inpatient treatment program after completing the medical detoxification process. This is to ensure that you can enter society with any insecurities.
These treatments may include:
- Rehab.
- Education.
- Therapies.
- Counseling.
- Clinical support.
If you want to know more about the detox program, feel free to contact us!