In this option, you have outside access to drugs and can skip treatment sessions, increasing your chances of relapse. At-home detox may be OK if you’re otherwise healthy and haven’t been using drugs for very long. If you believe it’s your best option, get a doctor to review your situation and approve the plan before you start. At the very least, you should arrange to have family or friends supervise you through the process. Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a mental health problem.
- At-home detox may be OK if you’re otherwise healthy and haven’t been using drugs for very long.
- While many detox diets promise a sense of well-being and feeling good, the method and products can produce various adverse side effects.
- Your liver is your body’s primary filtration system by chemical conversions.
- This back-and-forth can be draining, for both you and those around you.
Roughly 5.5 million Americans use cocaine each year, making it the second most used recreational drug in the U.S. following marijuana. Cocaine is highly toxic, even in small doses, and can cause acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular emergencies and seizures. Over half of Americans aged 12 and older are considered current alcohol users, classified as drinking within the past month, and 15 million people experience alcohol use disorder (AUD). Learn more about substance use and withdrawal, symptoms, treatment, how to cope, and how to help someone going through withdrawal. One minute, you might feel exhausted, as if life is no longer worth living; the next, you might feel the urge to run away because it feels like something awful is about to happen.
Rapid And Ultra-Rapid Detox And Risks
So grab your pillow and a water bottle, and make your first purchase of the year something more fun—and effective—than a detox. Most of the time, when people say they are looking to detox, what Zeratsky actually hears is “that they want to hit the reset button,” she says. “You can do that with good nutrition.” Cleanses and charcoal aren’t really worth the investment. The body works on sleep-wake cycles, and different organs will perform functions on a regular routine.
It also sometimes encourages residents to depend on staff rather than developing the tools to stay sober on their own. Seeking professional help and participating in programs designed for co-occurring addictions can significantly improve the sober houses boston chances of long-term sobriety. The taper period varies depending on how long you’ve been using the drug and how much you’ve been taking. You should expect to gradually lower your dose over a period of several weeks or even a few months.
There is Hope for Someone Struggling With Substance Use
It can reduce shaking, shivering and other flu-like symptoms and also helps to stop cravings. Methadone is only available on prescription from your GP or drug treatment service. Drug withdrawal refers to the process your body goes through when you stop using a particular drug.
Which Detox Method is the Safest?
However, what is needed is not a detox or cleanse, but rather medical treatment under the guidance of a medical professional. Most people who complete rapid or ultra-rapid detox report continuation of withdrawal symptoms, albeit at a lower severity. Patients who choose rapid or ultra-rapid detox are much less likely to continue on in treatment, such as attending inpatient or outpatient rehab. Because of this, they are less likely to work on relapse prevention, possible co-occurring mental health conditions, and life planning and therefore more likely to experience relapse. A medically assisted detox can reduce withdrawal symptoms and ensure safety.
Begin eating a nutrient-dense diet
Without immediate access to a doctor, you may be putting yourself at risk. 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. Intensive inpatient medical rehabs offer the highest level of care and monitoring. These programs can keep you safe and medically stable while you taper off dangerous drugs.
Symptom frequency and severity will depend on the nature of the addiction, how long someone has been addicted to a substance, and how much of that substance someone has been using. Although addiction treatment has a high success rate, it’s still possible for people to relapse. If someone relapses, there’s no need to be ashamed or embarrassed—it is common. Once you have completed detoxification, your care team can connect you to support services for your continuing recovery from addiction.
Your GP will carry out an assessment of your needs and can refer you for treatment. There are also various charities and drug treatment programmes that can offer you support. These can be very expensive; however, occasionally referrals can be made through the NHS. A successful drug detox begins with eliminating toxins from your system, and addressing the issue of physical dependence on addictive substances. If you’re considering getting clean from drugs and are looking to detox from drugs, it’s important that you understand what to expect during your path to recovery.
These conditions can cause harm to organs important to detoxifying, such as your liver and kidneys. Research links high consumption of sugary and highly processed foods to obesity and other chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes (27, 28, 29). Water https://sober-house.org/ transports these waste products, efficiently removing them through urination, breathing, or sweating. So staying properly hydrated is important for detoxification (24). Health authorities recommend limiting alcohol intake to one drink per day for women and two for men.
Medical professionals may not be able to relieve all symptoms, but they can help you feel as comfortable as possible. After someone has gone through the withdrawal process and has had substances cleared from their system, it’s important they build skills to help them stay sober for the long term. Establishing a detoxification program requires specific steps, and going through detox by oneself can be difficult and life-threatening. Different substances will require different detox lengths as different substances remain in the body for differing lengths of time. Medical detox takes place at a detox facility, so you can be closely supervised and monitored by your doctor. No matter the substance, medical detox is the most recommended and widely used treatment for substance use disorder with dependency.
Various organs and organ systems help the body eliminate toxins from chemicals you may be exposed to at work, at home, through personal care products, or your food. A good night’s rest is the body’s opportunity to recharge and catch up on all its important functions, including natural detoxification. When we’re chronically sleep-deprived, our bodies bear that burden and our organ systems may perform at a lower capacity. This can lead to negative health impacts like reduced self-detoxification. We’ve all probably heard it before, but try to strive for somewhere between seven to nine hours of good-quality sleep per night. At best, detox diets may help eliminate inflammatory, processed foods and alcohol from your diet, but at worst, they could actually remove important nutrient groups.
