Need to find out more about detox drug centers?

If you or a loved one is suffering from an active drug addiction and need to find a detox drug center that can help you achieve sobriety, then this site is a great place to start.

Make no mistake about it, this can seem to be a confusing decision because you want to make the right one, one that will save your life. It probably feels like your life is on the line. Well, it is.

The goal here is to have an open and honest dialogue or even just an information gathering site that can help you achieve what you want.

If you are here because a loved one is destroying his or her life you will even find information regarding interventions. So, commenting and sharing is highly encouraged!

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that drug addiction is both a complex and a chronic brain-based disease. Prolonged use and abuse of addictive substances such as opioids cause measurable changes to brain function and chemistry that are toxic to the well-being and safety of the addict. Self control, ability to maintain independence, rational thought, and physical health are all impacted by drug addiction.

Drug detox is the NIDA-recommended means by which an addict can begin the process of detoxifying the body of harmful toxins built up by the addictive substance’s presence in the body. Drug detox procedures may vary depending on the length, severity, and type of abuse that has been engaged in. The drug detox process is the essential first piece in the larger puzzle that the addict must put together on the way from addiction to recovery. With drug detox, skilled addiction specialists administer FDA approved partial opioid agonists, such as suboxone and subutex, to minimize the harmful side effects that arise as the toxic substances are flushed out of the addict’s system. In this way, through drug detox, the body is purified and the addict is given a secure pathway to begin the hard work of recovery.

There are a variety of methods that can be used to achieve drug detox. Each method has its proponents and its critics, and there are times the method covered by an individual’s insurance provider may dictate what the options are. There are three widely recognized drug detox methods, some of which have been utilized for decades and others that are relatively new. This simply points to the ongoing effort to find approaches that can meet the needs of different individuals in a universally effective way.

Traditional non-opioid treatments are one longstanding approach to drug detox. With this approach, non-addictive medication is administered to control or manage the effects of the withdrawal process, which is a painful deterrent to drug detox for most addicts. A new and exciting addition to the menu is partial opioid agonists such as buprenorphine, commonly administered under the name of subutex or suboxone. Here, opioid-based medication blocks receptors normally open to the drug, minimizing withdrawal while the addict begins the process of recovery. The newest entrant is the anesthesia-assisted or “rapid drug detox,” which attempts to rush the individual through the entire spectrum of detox withdrawal symptoms while they are under general anesthesia.

The need for drug detox services is on the rise in society today. The American Council for Drug Educators (ACDE) maintains a list of common symptoms and signs of drug abuse that can signal that someone you love may be struggling with a drug addiction and may be in need of drug detox services. Symptoms that signal a need for drug detox can be both physical and behavioral, highlights the ACDE, and while these symptoms and signs may be subtle at first, it is important to understand that in most cases symptoms left unaddressed will likely only grow worse over time. The ACDE takes special care to point out that ‘change’ is the operative word – with significant, noticeable physical or behavioral changes, there is always a possibility that drug abuse may be involved.

Three signs that can signal the need for drug detox include changes to behavior, physical changes, and psychological changes. Behavioral changes can include withdrawal from previously valued relationships and activities, dishonesty, evasiveness, and erratic behavior. Physical changes can include glassy eyes, scrapes, scars, or needle marks, changes to grooming, unusual physical odors, and slurred speech. Psychological changes can include hyperactivity or excessive sleepiness, paranoia, and mood swings.

There are different options when it comes to selecting the drug detox program that is right for you. The National Institute for Drug Abuse publishes a helpful resource called the “Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide” that reviews, in-depth, how different programs are administered, success rates, and the wide variety of approaches that are continually under development to effectively accomplish drug detox. Outpatient drug detox in particular has advantages and disadvantages when it comes to laying a firm foundation for lasting recovery progress. The good news about out-patient drug detox is that it tends to come with a lower price tag, can be done without having to make significant disruptions to family or career, and there are more options as it can often be managed from a local clinic or even a physician’s office.

Conversely, out-patient drug detox is not designed as a long term fix for what has often been a long term problem. Drug detox is not the same as recovery, and in-patient or longer term residential care is recommended for individuals who have a history of relapse after drug detox, and those who lack support resources beyond what drug detox facilities can provide.

The reports speak for themselves – the Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that drug “detox without long term treatment often leads to relapse”. The CDC goes on to report that there is an equally clear link between lack of access to drug detox and long term recovery care and incarceration rates. Shockingly, it costs just under $5,000 per year for methadone-based drug detox treatments, and almost $19,000 per inmate for incarceration – and yet less than half of correctional facilities have drug detox and long term recovery programs in place.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) reports that drug detox treatments consisting of methadone or other long acting agonist maintenance (LAAM) prescriptive opiates are effective in helping addicts hold a job, reduce high risk behaviors, and rejoin mainstream society. The best case scenario, the White House ONDCP reports, is when “patients stabilized on opiate agonists can engage more readily in counseling and other behavioral interventions essential to recovery and rehabilitation.” It is clear from the very top that the best approach to long term recovery success is a combination of medically supervised drug detox and long term rehabilitative care that includes a mixture of individual counseling and ongoing group support.

Withdrawal is the daunting dragon that stands at the gateway to all recovery from drug detox. It is the mythical flaming beast that keeps addicts cowering in corners, far away from their own courage and self-respect. It is the reason families are afraid to attempt interventions and are ill-equipped to try to accomplish the same in the home environment. Yet withdrawal is a temporary process that, when properly approached, can be an empowering experience for all involved. The American Academy of Family Physicians reports that as many as 25 percent of American families face this issue annually and cautions that while the condition is often chronic, help and hope is available.

Withdrawal, the first stage of the recovery process, is best accomplished in a drug detox setting, supervised by licensed professionals trained in the specific substance the addict is coming off of. Whether the drug detox process is accomplished cold turkey, through weaning, or with the help of drugs specifically created to ease withdrawal symptoms is a decision best made by the treating professional. Withdrawal generally lasts from 48 hours to two weeks depending on the substance, amount of ingestion, and length of use.

Do drug detox kits really work? This is a question on every substance abuser’s mind at one point or another. But the question also weighs equally heavily on the minds of employers, educators, health care professionals, and parents and loved ones who are concerned about drug use in their sphere of influence. A quick Google search of “drug detox kits” brings up literally a dozen or more pages of website links offering quick fix cures for everything from cannabis to heroin ingestion. There are products for urine cleansing, hair shampoos that supposedly clear follicles of evidence, saliva cleanses, and a variety of powders, drinks, and pills that read like a veritable Pandora’s Box of “get out of jail free” cards.

However, the truth is closer to that familiar phrase, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that most if not all of these supposed dream detox drug solutions are easily revealed by even the simplest drug detection tests. This effectively defeats the purpose of masking or removing evidence of prior drug use, as detection of the drug detox product is evidence that will stand up equally strongly in court or under a potential employer’s scrutiny.

The drug detox process is one that changes your life, however, it’s not exactly the easiest thing that you’ll ever do. With determination for a better life, it is possible and can be achieved with commitment, resilience, and a strong support group.

The first step in the drug detox process is to be evaluated, preferably at a detox drug center, which will have a team available to assist you. Your doctor or counselor will ask a variety of questions pertaining to your lifestyle, drug of choice and usage, your behaviors, and your mental state.

The next step in the process will be withdrawal. There are several side effects associated with detoxifying the body depending on what the addictive drug may have been. Also, according to Drug-Rehabilitation.org, “The stages of detox can vary, but it generally takes between three to seven days to eradicate physical withdrawal symptoms.” One can expect sweating, shaking, headaches, cravings, vomiting, and much more. This is why it’s important to visit a detox drug center for help.

The final step in the drug detox process is stabilization. Detoxing is not designed to deal with psychological and/or behavioral problems and it works best when it includes an evaluation and referral to detox drug centers.

Addiction is a powerful monster; and when its claws take hold, it’s a difficult process to unclench them. But the first step is entering into a detox drug center. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), between 1999 and 2003, admission into treatment centers for opiate addiction (excluding heroin) increased from 1,382 to 9,171, respectively.

The March, 26, 2004 Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) Report, stated, “In 2001, 436,000 admissions for detoxification accounted for 25 percent of all substance abuse admissions. … Opiates accounted for 33 percent of all detoxification admissions, followed by cocaine (10 percent), marijuana (2 percent), stimulants (2 percent), and other drugs (3 percent).”

Admission into a detox drug center may seem scary, but the drug detox process is essential for the body to physiologically readjust—safely—to the absence of the substance. Detox drug centers offer emotional and physical support, as well as medical support. There are customized detoxification programs that help you safely and painlessly withdraw with the proper medical attention needed. And even though the drug detox process is step number one, a longer therapeutic stay is often recommended.

Admitting you need help is scary enough. But what about what comes next? It takes tremendous courage to sign up for a drug detox process – fear of the unknown, fear of what life will be like without drugs to cope, and more can kick in, making the right choice feel impossible or at best, uncertain.

The good news is, a detox drug center knows all the answers to these questions and can help make your drug detox process safe, effective, and lasting. Finding a qualified detox drug center to supervise the process is critical.

The drug detox process itself refers to cleansing your body of the harmful toxins that have built up through repeated drug use. There are two methods of drug detox – natural and medical through the use of medically-prescribed drugs to lessen detox effects. You may experience hot or cold sweats, nausea, shaking, emotional instability, anxiety or depression, insomnia or excessive sleepiness, flu like symptoms, seizures, and more severe symptoms as well.

The good news is that the drug detox process from start to finish takes, at most, three weeks in the majority of cases. Depending on usage levels, it may take less time as well.