5 Benefits of Medical Detox for Alcohol Withdrawal

Benefits of medical detox

What is a Medical Alcohol Detox?

Detox is the process by which your body rids itself of harmful chemicals. This process naturally occurs in our bodies all the time as we consume and come in contact with things that our body doesn’t need.

When somebody abuses drugs and alcohol regularly, however, toxicity builds up overwhelming the body. This in conjunction with physical and psychological dependence creates a need for medical detox treatment. Medical alcohol detox in a treatment setting is usually accompanied by medication, medical monitoring, and counseling.

All American Detox Center is a California-based drug detox center that offers a multitude of recovery options. To find more about alcohol detox centers or other addiction services, contact us at (844) 570-1301.

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If you are thinking about quitting alcohol for good, here are some of the Benefits of Medical Detox for Alcohol Withdrawal.

Benefits of Medical Detox for Alcohol Withdrawal

  1. Medical Detox is Safer

The stronger the alcohol dependency a person develops the stronger withdrawal symptoms will be. People with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) will engage in excessive drinking by drinking throughout the day or in large amounts within a short period of time; also called binge drinking.

Additionally, prolonged use of alcohol can lead to health conditions that could cause complications to the medical alcohol detox process. These include:

  • Liver Damage
  • Anemia
  • Depression
  • Seizures
  • Dementia
  • Hallucinations
  • Severe Depression and Anxiety
  • Infections
  • Heart Problems
  • Problems with eating and sleeping regularly

In an Inpatient drug rehab center, a thorough examination is run to guarantee that any methods used during the detox are going to be safe for the patient, and health problems or chronic health conditions can be considered and treated. During your stay, you will also receive 24/7 medical support and monitoring around the clock. This means that if at any point unexpected problems arise, trained staff can effectively respond. This is a huge contrast from home detoxes which can be risky and unsafe.

  1. Access to Critical Medications and Care

The second benefit of medical alcohol detox, Individuals that who suffer from more severe withdrawal symptoms in an alcohol detox program may be prescribed medication that both ease withdrawal symptoms and prevent them from escalating into more serious health problems.

It is also common for people with AUD to be deficient in several key minerals such as magnesium, phosphate, and sodium (pg. 32) Utilizing IVs, staff can administer appropriate dosages which contribute to the patient’s overall health.

One serious form of alcohol withdrawal that requires medications is delirium tremens. DTs are marked by agitation, aggressive behavior, confusion, seizures, fever, and hallucinations. Delirium tremens develops in 20% of AUD patients in detox and typically last 3-5 days or even up to 10.

The alcohol withdrawals of this disorder are potentially life-threatening and require constant monitoring by medical professionals. For individuals that don’t seek treatment, the risk of death from DTs increases by 15%. Unfortunately, it is fairly common amongst patients in detox; out of all individuals with an AUD that go to treatment, 20% will develop delirium tremens symptoms.

Here are some examples of trusted medications used in alcohol detox treatment:

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines such as Valium or Librium are sedatives prescribed during alcohol detox to treat both physical and psychological acute withdrawal symptoms like insomnia, nausea anxiety, and seizures.

Anticonvulsants

When seizures are the main symptom of focus, doctors can prescribe anti-convulsants. Medications like Tegretol or Neurontin have the advantage of having a lower potential for abuse than benzos and can either be used as a direct replacement for a benzodiazepine or in conjunction with one.

Barbiturates

Barbiturates like Phenobarbital have been found to be effective in treating seizures and other symptoms of alcohol withdrawal both alongside and as a replacement for benzos in alcohol addiction treatment.

Benefits of medical detox for alcohol withdrawl

  1. It’s Better for your Health

Putting your treatment in the hands of licensed professionals can maximize the recovery process that benefits your health in several ways including:

  • Treating nutritional deficiency with vitamins
  • Screening for health conditions common with alcohol misuse (i.e., health failure, disease of the liver and pancreas, nerve damage, and bleeding of the digestive tract) pg.
  • A peaceful, anxiety-free environment with kind and supportive medical staff pg.
  • Access to medications that can prevent severe withdrawal symptoms associated with AUD
  1. Access to a Sober Environment

One of the biggest issues with detoxing at home is the high potential for relapse. One of the biggest reasons for this is the lack of a controlled environment.

At home, a person is more likely to be surrounded by triggers. This could include things like unpaid bills, pictures, the presence of drugs and alcohol around the house, or friends and family who may be using themselves.

According to data by the PEW research center, almost half of Americans have a friend or family member who is presently or was at some point addicted to drugs. Considering this, and the fact that alcohol runs in families, we can infer that many people with an AUD live in compromised environments unfit to detox in.

Receiving treatment in a safe medical facility or alcohol detox center in California is the only way to guarantee a safe and sober detox.

  1. It Prepares You for the Next Stage of Treatment

The biggest barrier to recovery is getting yourself to treatment. Each step you take down the path to recovery helps you to build the resolve and master the skills needed to beat addiction and retake your life. Whether you decide to attend a residential inpatient treatment or an outpatient treatment program, detox is a crucial step in making recovery possible.

So, these are the benefits of medical alcohol detox. Enrolling in an alcohol detox program can be overwhelming at first. During treatment, withdrawal symptoms range from uncomfortable to painful.

Once the detox phase of treatment ends, however, you can take comfort in knowing that the worst is over. The withdrawals of the detox period are replaced with post-acute withdrawals or PAWS which are in most cases more manageable.

You can also read about: How Can a Healthy Diet Help Addiction Recovery?

 

Best Detox Center in Los Angeles: Here’s What To Expect

detox center in Los Angeles- What to expect

Getting rid of drug and alcohol dependence is a herculean task. Experts advise against cold turkey detox as it can be dangerous. Detox centers are the safest places to detox. Here’s what you can expect in the best detox center in Los Angeles:

Detox:

Detoxification is the first step towards recovery. Detoxing aims to thoroughly cleanse all the unwanted toxins from the body. After this process, the detox center undertakes holistic counseling sessions, therapies, relapse-prevention courses, continued education, and after-care.

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Best Detox Center in Los Angeles: Here’s What to Expect

Counseling: The detox process is accompanied by withdrawal symptoms which are painful. Counseling sessions are helpful to fight the pain and maintain sobriety. Drug addiction detox centers have expert counselors who meet you regularly to enhance your mental strength, tackle the physical pain and listen to your dilemma. There are individualized as well as group counseling sessions to help you recover from addiction.

Relapse Prevention Course: Detoxification alone does not ensure sobriety. In some cases, individuals have resorted to drinking or drugs even after a successful detox. These relapses often occur due to a familiar environment, painful triggers, peer pressure, and the like. Best detox centers understand these weaknesses and offer relapse prevention courses.  These courses are a significant part of the aftercare program. They ensure long-term sobriety after recovery.

Family Counseling: The problems associated with drug and alcohol addiction are not restricted only to the addict. It extends to the kith and kin. Detox and treatment should be a collective process. Good detox centers will include family counseling alongside individual counseling sessions. These sessions will help the family to support and respond to their loved ones through their journey in healing from addiction.

Other Therapies: The best detox centers provide holistic treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. The holistic treatment includes a wide variety of therapies. These therapies include yoga, pilates, music and dance therapy, art therapy, meditation, mindfulness, gardening, fitness activities, swimming, and other cognitive-behavioral-dialectical therapy. The drug detox center molds you into a healthy way of living that you can follow even after the treatment program.

Aftercare: Treatment for addiction is a gradual step-down process. The addicts take a long time to heal. Detox and Treatment is never a guarantee for sobriety. In fact, the real challenge begins when the individual revisits the familiar environment and encounters the past triggers. The best detox centers are aware of these issues. These detox centers not only hand-hold you through the process of detoxification and recovery, but they also walk with you through Aftercare. These centers organize regular follow-up sessions, through telephone, video calls, or offline meetings.  They also encourage the patients to meet them intermittently. They provide a minimum of 6 months of follow-up sessions, care, and assistance.

Best Detox Center in Los Angeles Here’s What To Expect

Choose to Detox at a Best Detox Center

All American Detox Center is one of the best holistic drug detox centers in Los Angeles. We provide 24/7 assistance to help you detox in a safe environment. We follow the gradual step-down method to ensure your safety and stability. Contact All American Detox on the helpline number- (844) 570-1301.

Medication Assisted Therapy in Rehab

Medication Assisted Therapy in Rehab

The simplified trajectory for going from addict to sober is, in broad strokes, as follows:

Detoxification > inpatient care > outpatient care > aftercare 

Pretty neat and clean process, no?

As we all know, life is messier than that. So, make sure to call our addiction recovery hotline number.

The general idea is to get into the counseling portion of therapy once your body is fully detoxed from the substances you were taking. In reality, that can sometimes prove dangerous. In addition to each person being their own separate case that requires a unique approach, detox from certain drugs sometimes necessitates that some medications be involved.

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What Is Medication-Assisted Therapy (MAT)?

Medication-assisted therapy combines the commonly accepted forms of inpatient care and rehab with medications that are meant to relieve withdrawal and subsequent cravings.

Most often medication is used in the treatment for opioid and heroin addiction with the FDA approving 3 drugs specifically for that purpose: buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. These powerfully addictive drugs are just extremely difficult for a person to kick on their own because of the stronghold they have on a person’s body and mind.

The way it works for opioids is that the approved medication essentially blocks the euphoric feelings associated with opioids and what makes them so addictive. Additionally, they relieve mental cravings and help normalize body functions. In other words, this type of therapy keeps the brain and body stable so the work of therapy can move forward.

In a 2009 study it was noted that “after buprenorphine became available in Baltimore, heroin overdose deaths decreased by 37 percent during the study period, which ended in 2009.” On top of that, medication-assisted therapy increases social functioning.

Medication, in the form of acamprosate, disulfiram and again, naltrexone, is also used in treating alcohol addiction.

An extremely important thing to note though is that this type of treatment does not just substitute addiction to one substance with addiction to another.

What Are the Benefits of Medication Assisted Therapy in Addiction Treatment? 

The benefits go beyond the few mentioned above. The relief from cravings and the normalization of your body functions are somewhat immediate effects, MAT treatment reaches further forward in time with its benefits. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), describes the effectiveness as such:

  • Improve patient survival
  • Increase retention in treatment
  • Decrease illicit opiate use and other criminal activity among people with substance use disorders
  • Increase patients’ ability to gain and maintain employment
  • Improve birth outcomes among women who have substance use disorders and are pregnant

Arguably the biggest positive is that the medication allows a person to actually focus on the work of recovery. By removing the euphoric effects of a drug, in the case of opioids and heroin, you’re really removing the mental compulsion that drives you to take more. The “reward” is taken out of the equation so you’re able to control cravings that would otherwise seem like huge mountains to climb.

We said it once, and it bears repeating and hammering home, the point isn’t to swap out drugs and create a new addiction. What an opioid or heroin does and what a drug for treatment does are different in vitally important ways. One can kill you, the other can help cure you.

All American Detox Is Here for You

The main goal of medication-assisted treatment is ultimate to help people break the cycle of addiction once and for all and find not just sobriety, but sobriety that lasts. The process of getting clean isn’t always clean or straightforward and if medication-assisted treatment is right for you or your loved one, a carefully crafted plan for intake and monitoring will be created. Reach out to us at All American Detox to find out more information.

Medical Detox: What to Expect During Detox

rehab center in woodland hills

The first stage of most addiction treatment plans is detox. This is where you actually break your body’s physical reliance on drugs and/or alcohol and allow yourself to go through withdrawal. Because physical dependency plays such a big role in drug abuse, detox is crucial to moving forward and entering recovery. The medical detox process is not necessarily an easy one, but it can be done when the right steps are taken.

It all starts with having professional help at your side. While it may be tempting for some people to just quit cold turkey or to try detoxing in the comfort of their home, both of these can actually be quite dangerous (much less ineffective). It is important to be monitored by professionals who will help ease you off the substance as smoothly as possible. This is where medical detox comes in. 

All American Detox Center Can Help!

At All American Detox, we believe everyone can recover from addiction when given the right treatment and coping tools. Our state-of-the-art facility in Woodland Hills, California offers a variety of programs to suit different needs, including drug detox, residential inpatient treatment, and outpatient treatment.

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We also offer ongoing aftercare services to help you maintain sobriety long into the future. When you’re ready to take back control from drug abuse and gain the healthy life you deserve.

What Is Medical Detox? 

Medical detox is the clearance of toxic addictive substances from the body under the guidance of a team of licensed medical professionals. Unlike traditional medical detox, which involves cutting the addicted person off from all substances (including standard medication), medical detox acknowledges the dangers of forcing the body to just up and cut off the substance. Trained medical staff members supervise the patient and even administer medication as needed.

Furthermore, any form of detox results in withdrawal symptoms, but more severe symptoms can occur when patients do not have medical intervention. Withdrawal symptoms here can be more than unpleasant — in some cases, the body can even go into shock or cardiac arrest. Medical detox can stop this from happening by easing symptoms more gradually through medication. Naturally, it’s also worth noting that having trained medical staff members on hand can instantly intervene if there are any dangerous physical reactions. 

Who Is Medical Detox Recommended For?

Almost anyone who engages in heavy drug abuse and has a strong physical addiction is a candidate for medical detox. With that said, certain kinds of addictions may benefit more than others:

People using any of the following drugs may need medically managed/supervised detox:

  • Alcohol – Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be extreme, and they have been known to be life-threatening in certain cases of long-term heavy use (singer Amy Winehouse is a famous case of a person passing away from alcohol withdrawal).  There are several Benefits of Medical Detox for Alcohol Withdrawal
  • Benzodiazepines – Benzodiazepines (often seen in the form of Xanax or valium) can result in life-threatening withdrawal symptoms if use is suddenly cut off. It is strongly recommended that people with these kinds of addictions never attempt to detox on their own without medical supervision.
  • Heroin and opiate prescription pills – Opiate withdrawal is usually not life-threatening, but symptoms can be painful and extremely uncomfortable.
  • Cocaine – Detoxification from cocaine can result in extreme mood swings and may even lead to violent tendencies.
  • Methamphetamine – Similar to cocaine withdrawal, detoxification from other stimulants like methamphetamine can lead to mood imbalances that are challenging to manage without medical intervention. 

What to Expect During Medical Detox?

The process of detoxification can begin soon after you check-in for your addiction treatment program. You will receive a standard examination from a medical professional who will take your vitals and go over your health history. Depending on the kind of drug abuse and the severity of the addiction, your body will naturally start to exhibit withdrawal symptoms within several hours (though again, the exact amount of time will vary from patient to patient and depends on the addiction). 

medical detox

Withdrawal symptoms can include the following:

  • Sweating
  • Fever / flu-like symptoms
  • Headaches
  • Muscle pains
  • Gastrointestinal issues
  • Insomnia/difficulty sleeping
  • Eye irritation
  • Confusion / disorientation
  • Anxiety/depression

The drug detox center California team will supervise you throughout the process and work to keep you safe and as comfortable as possible. They will also administer medication to help manage your symptoms and keep your detox more gradual rather than abrupt. How long detox lasts will vary greatly between patients, but once it is over, you will be free to move forward into counseling and other important components of addiction recovery. 

How Medical Detoxification Leads to Long-Term Sobriety

The likelihood of relapse can be significantly lowered when medical detox is chosen. The body is allowed to move away from physical drug dependency more gradually, letting you gently ease into sobriety. Many patients leave medical detox feeling healthier and better with themselves physically than they have in months or even years, decreasing the urge to start using again. 

Another important component of medical detox is the hands-on help that surrounds it. Many people go into addiction treatment reluctant to rely on others for help. But the success of medical detox shows that the best results often come when accepting help from other people. This in turn allows patients to enter into counseling with greater positivity and receptiveness. 

You can also read:  5 Benefits of Medical Detox for Alcohol Withdrawal