Detoxification

The immediate and most important goals of detoxification form alcohol, drugs, or other harmful substances is safe detoxification and minimally painful withdrawal symptoms from the substances that you were dependant on, allowing the individual a better chance at becoming free from the grasps of addiction. There is a great deal of risk that is associated with detoxification. For some people who may be severely addicted to alcohol and have been abusing alcohol for long periods of time, a sudden, unsupervised stop of drinking alcohol can lead to serious side effects during detoxification, and in some cases even death. There are also additional sedative-hypnotics which in some cases during detoxification can produce withdrawal symptoms that can be life-threatening.

Detoxification of opioids can produce withdrawal symptoms that can be extremely uncomfortable, but in most cases, this detoxification is not life-threatening.

However, there are risks to the patient as well as society and those around the individual who is undergoing detoxification because some individuals experience severe physical disturbances during detoxification. This type of threat is usually more prevalent in an outpatient detoxification setting rather than an inpatient center. Other possible occurrences that can arise for someone going through outpatient detoxification is that they are not consistently monitored, and therefore may decide to use other illegal drugs to self medicate. One of the least severe side effects of detoxification is lower blood pressure, and extreme lethargy.

Detoxification generally can take anywhere from three to five days to be completed, depending on the frequency and quantity of the substance that was being abused, and the process of which the detoxification is being undergone. When detoxification is being completed under medical care, medications are usually given to the patient to alleviate the pain of the withdrawal symptoms, and aid in the avoidance of any permanent side effects resulting from the detoxification process. Some of the possible lasting effects that can occur as a result of detoxification include delirium tremors, also referred to as DTs, convulsions, nausea, headaches, constant shakes and insomnia.

Very Few addicted individuals will enter into enter detoxification or try to get any further drug or alcohol treatment. Many believe that they are still in control of their addiction, and haven’t quite fully considered the idea of lifetime abstinence as a possibility for them. Some addicts will go through with the detoxification only to rove to themselves and others that they do not need the drug, and that could quit if they wanted to; but this is usually short-lived. It’s important for detoxification centers to consider the motivation behind each individual’s reasoning for coming to detoxification.

Addiction affects not only the person who is abusing drugs, but the family and friends around them. The choice to go through with detoxification and other alcohol or drug treatment ultimately has to be that of the individual himself, but often times it is strongly recommended by the ones around the person who care very much about their well-being, safety and health. Families are often times incorporated into the treatment process, but more so after the detoxification process is completed and the person is no longer under the influence of any type of drug what-so-ever. Before, during and after the detoxification however, the individual will need as much support as they can get from their family and friends, to motivate them through the withdrawals and depression associated with the detoxification and periods that follow. Counseling is often done with family involvement, as they need to heal together as a whole. They all were affected by the individual’s drug abuse, and healing together can bring them close as a family, and make it easier for them to know how to encourage and support the individual after detoxification is complete, as well as the drug program itself. It is important for the people in charge of the detoxification treatment to include the family in treatment as early as possible, and provide them with information and coping strategies of their own, even before and during the individual begins the process of detoxification.