Medical Detox

What Is Medical Detox?

Medical detox for drugs is the process of ridding an individual’s body from the toxins and chemicals that have attached themselves to the internal organs, brain, and systems due to substance use from the person. A medically assisted detox center in Pasadena is the most ideal setting to be placed in because it is overseen by medical personnel. Trained medical professionals can monitor:

• Blood pressure
• Heart rate patterns
• Stress closely on a client

Medical detox for drugs refers to medically assisted detox or medically supervised detox. It’s important to note that a medical detox for drugs is typically the first step before the initial recovery process can begin. To know if a medical detox for drugs has been successful or not is revealed if the individual has no longer had any medical risks caused by drug and alcohol use termination.

The client will be guided through a physical assessment performed by a medical professional. After the physical assessment has been completed, the individual might be referred to a medical detox program before they can fully attend a treatment facility. The primary goal of ensuring this process takes place is so that clients will not undergo uncomfortable or dangerous physical withdrawal symptoms while in treatment.

When Is Medical Detox Necessary?

Not every individual will require medical detox for drugs to enter into an addiction treatment facility. Particular substances specifically cause psychological addiction, and for those types of addictions, medical detox for drugs might not be necessary. However, there are substances such as opioids and alcohol that can cause severe physical dependence.

Once an individual becomes physically dependent on the above-mentioned substances, he or she is unable to function normally without the specific drug. During this stage, the individual might undergo uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, some of the symptoms can be life-threatening. The biggest advantage of attending a medically assisted detox or medically supervised detox is it allows an individual to detoxify and experience any detox symptoms in a safe environment with a highly reduced risk of health complications.

It is greatly suggested to enter into a medically supervised detox or medically assisted detox program to have any symptoms of detox monitored closely.

What To Expect With Medical Detox?

The first step to recovery from addiction is a medical detox for drugs or alcohol. There are many individuals with substance use disorders who will need to undergo a medically supervised detox or medically assisted detox program. A medically assisted detox program supplies continuous medical and clinical support to individuals experiencing detox from drugs and alcohol.

Here at Path to Recovery, we pride ourselves in being a reputable and dependable source and rehab treatment center honed in on supporting the following areas of an individual’s well being:

• Emotional
• Physical
• Spiritual

Our medical detox for drugs program is staffed by medical personnel and clinicians who are dedicated to seeing individuals successfully undergo and complete medical detox for drugs and smoothly transition into recovery. During the entire detox process, individuals will have access:

• To nutritional support
• Medication if needed
• Medical support

When individuals discuss a medical detox for drugs, they are typically referring to a detox treatment program or the act of detoxing a substance from an individual’s body. The entire process of medical detox for drugs can take a few days to several months to complete. For example, an individual struggling with alcohol use can experience the alcohol leaving their system after a couple of days but the act of detoxing from cravings can take much longer.

The Factors It Depends On

• The presence of any underlying co-occurring mental health conditions
• How often has the individual abused the substance
• If multiple substances were used
• How much of the substance did the individual acquire
• The individual’s gender, age, and medical history
• Which substance was abused

It is important to note that each substance presents its unique timeline of the length of detox because each substance resides in an individual’s body for varying lengths of time.

What Types Of Substances Require Detoxification?

As mentioned before, not every individual seeking addiction treatment will need to attend a medically supervised detox or medically assisted detox program. Any drug can require a medical detox for drugs. However, particular drugs can lead to dangerous or uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms depending on the person’s level of addiction.

Some drugs can greatly increase the risk of a person’s health issues during the detox symptoms process. This is why we offer quality, caring and 24-hour monitoring for:

• Benzodiazepines detox
• Meth detox
• Alcohol detox
• Opioid detox

What Medications Are Used In Detox?

Acamprosate

Used to treat alcohol use disorder

Anticonvulsants

Tegretol and Depakote are used to manage side effects of drug and alcohol withdrawals

Antiadrenergic agents

Propranolol and Clonidine are drugs that inhibit Norepinephrine and Epinephrine by being utilized during detox to assist in treating withdrawal symptoms from Opiates, Benzodiazepines, and alcohol.

Anti-nausea medications

Promethazine, Zofran, and Metoclopramide

Antidepressants

Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil can help relieve symptoms of social anxiety, depression, or other anxiety disorders by aiming to correct any chemical imbalances in an individual’s brain.

Antipsychotics

Risperdal, Abilify, Seroquel, Olanzapine, and Clozaril are antipsychotic medications used to assist in treating bipolar disorders, dementia, schizophrenia, and more. They don’t cure psychosis but they can help in controlling and reducing psychotic symptoms such as paranoia, hallucinations, hearing voices, and delusions. Sometimes they help in treating withdrawal symptoms such as major agitation in patients or even anxiety.

Benzodiazepines

Chlordiazepoxide, Librium, Diazepam, Ativan (Lorazepam), Xanax, and Valium are known as tranquilizers commonly utilized to treat panic disorders, panic attacks, insomnia, trouble sleeping, seizures, and anxiety. For individuals who do not have an addiction to this medication can benefit from its sedating effect. Individuals who do have a misuse of this drug must be closely monitored.

Buprenorphine

This medication is utilized in detox primarily to detox from opiates or opioids and act as an opioid partial agonist approved by the FDA to treat addiction and opioid use disorder. It can be used as a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) protocol or in a detox setting. Buprenorphine is an effective and safe medication aimed to help decrease:

• The effects of physical dependency on opioids
• Increasing safety in cases of potential overdose
• Reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings
• Lowering the potential of overuse

Buprenorphine can be prescribed in three various ways.

Disulfiram

This medication is sold under the trade name Antabuse and is used during medical detox for drugs to treat alcoholism or alcohol use disorder by interfering with how the individual’s body breaks down alcohol.

Methadone

This drug is utilized in medical detox for drugs to treat opioid addiction or opioid use disorder in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs but can also be utilized to assist someone in detoxing as a short-term protocol for opioid abuse and misuse or an individual coming off of Methadone. Methadone acts as a long-acting opioid agonist that reduces withdrawal symptoms and opioid cravings.

Modafinil

This drug is commonly utilized to treat sleep disorders and excessive sleepiness caused by narcolepsy.

Naltrexone

This medication is also FDA approved and often used for treatment and medical detox for drugs and treatment for individuals struggling with opioid addiction, opioid use disorder, alcoholism, and alcohol use disorder. It works by blocking the sedative and euphoric effects of the following painkillers:

• Fentanyl
• Codeine
• Morphine
• Heroin

This medication acts by binding and blocking the opioid receptors in the brain and assisting in the reduction of cravings.

Suboxone

This medication is a combination of two drugs, Naloxone and Buprenorphine. It assists in lessening the intensity of the withdrawal symptoms from drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet, Heroin, and many others.

Subutex

Subutex is a sublingual tablet that contains the drug Buprenorphine and acts as a partial opioid agonist that operates at the mu-opioid receptor. It is indicated for the treatment of opioid use disorder, opioid addiction, and opioid dependence.

Vivitrol

Vivitrol is a type of drug that utilizes Naltrexone as an extended-release injectable suspension. This medication is aimed to assist the reduction of thoughts and cravings regarding opioid and alcohol use.

As mentioned, detox is the most fundamental first step of recovery. For individuals undergoing a substance use disorder, attending our detox program can present life-changing factors to your life. We believe in utilizing a unified system of research-based addiction medicine combined with holistic therapeutic services.