Opiate addiction is one of the most dangerous drug addictions plaguing America today. An estimated 115 people dying every day from opioid overdose and misuse.
While many people begin using opiates for pain relief, this can soon spiral into drug tolerance and addiction. People easily move from one opiate to another in order to keep the drug in their system.
Because of the highly addictive quality of opioids, getting clean can be extremely difficult. But, ultimately, opiate detox can save your life. Keep reading to learn about detoxing from opiates and what you can expect during the process.
What Are Opioids?
“Opioids” describe a wide range of different drugs, some that are legal and some that are illegal. Opiates include:
- Heroin
- Opium
- Oxycodone
- Vicodin
- Codeine
- Morphine
There are others that can be added to this list as well. Notice that both legal prescriptions drugs, like Oxycodone and Vicodin, are listed alongside illegal drugs like heroin.
Many people who start taking opiates legally for pain relief become addicted to the drug. Once their prescription runs out, many people seek to feed their addiction by switching to an illegal opiate like heroin or opium.
In fact, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, 4 out of every 5 new heroin users say they started their opioid addiction through the misuse of prescription painkillers.
Effects of Opiates
As we mentioned earlier, prescription opiates are often used as painkillers. They directly interact with your brainstem and your spinal cord, which will decrease pain throughout your body.
The misuse of these drugs can also give you a “high” feeling by increasing the amount of the “feel good” chemical dopamine in your brain. This will produce feelings of euphoria along with anti-depressant effects.
However, our bodies very quickly build a tolerance to these types of drugs, which means in order to feel the effects, you need to use more and more of the drug. This leads to dangerous addiction and a high possibility of overdose and/or death.
What Does It Mean to Detox?
Detoxing refers to getting rid of the toxins in your body. In the case of opiate detox, this would mean stopping the use of opiates and letting the drug leave your system.
The use of opiates makes your body dependent on the drug. Detoxing will also allow your body to return to its natural equilibrium working without the effects of the drug. An opiate detox will force your body to revert back to normalcy, which, unfortunately, means you’ll experience pretty severe withdrawal symptoms.
Opiate Detox and Withdrawal Symptoms
Once you take your final dose of whatever opiate you’re using, you will begin to feel opiate withdrawal symptoms usually within 6 to 12 hours. These early symptoms of withdrawal will include:
- Aches
- Irritability
- Excessive sweating
- Increased heart rate
- Fever
- Anxiety
- Trouble sleeping
- Restlessness
- General discomfort
These are all uncomfortable and obviously not ideal, but in order to complete the opiate detox, you’ll need to stay strong and power through the symptoms.
Some of the more intense symptoms of withdrawal will occur and peak after about 72 hours after you’ve taken your last dose of the drug. These symptoms include:
- Nausea
- Intense drug cravings
- Paranoia
- Stomach cramping
- Pain
- Aggressive behavior
- High blood pressure
- Vomiting/diarrhea
These later symptoms can be long-lasting and intense. It’s important to understand which symptoms are affecting your overall health to know whether you need to see a doctor while you’re detoxing.
How to Detox Safely
Detoxing involves purging your body of the opiates as well as staying off the opiates throughout your journey to getting clean. There are several ways to detox from opiates that are available but it’s important to understand the risks involved. Many addicts think that detoxing from opiates under anesthesia is the magic cure, but research has uncovered some extremely dangerous risks with the process. On top of that, the cost of a UROD (Ultra Rapid Opiate Detox) runs from $15,000 and up.
Evidence has proven that the safest and most effective way to detox safely is through a reputable drug rehab that provides detox services.
Medical Detox
Many of the symptoms of withdrawal can be dangerous for your health, especially if they’re particularly intense. You can find medical opiate detox programs at rehabilitation centers that will help monitor your physiological and mental condition as you detox from opiates.
If you choose this route, medical professionals will take all of your information: how much you’ve been using, what drugs you’ve been taking, how long you’ve been using, etc. This will help them create a specialized treatment and detox plan for you.
Benefits of Medical Detox
This will benefit both your physical and your mental health as you detox. Detoxing from opiates can be dangerous if done too suddenly or without support from medical and mental health professionals. Withdrawal symptoms can be intense, and incorrect detoxing can lead to complications and death.
At a rehab center or with medical detox programs, you’ll have doctors monitoring your physical health to make sure you stay hydrated, healthy, and safe during the detox process.
You’ll also have access to therapy and support groups to keep you on track in your recovery from addiction.
You can choose from either inpatient or outpatient detox programs depending on what you think you’ll need. Both have pros and cons: check out more info on that topic here.
Opiate Detox: Wrapping Up
Opioid addiction is an unfortunately common problem in the United States. It’s been dubbed as the “opioid crisis” because of the severity of the problem within our country.
The good news is that there are support systems and rehabilitation centers in place that can and will help you on the road to recovery. Opiate detox is possible, especially with the support of medical professionals along with your family and friends.
Don’t let addiction define you. You can get clean with an opiate detox. If you need help finding a rehabilitation center near you for prescription drug addiction or other opiate addiction, check out our website and contact us. We can help you find a center near you to help you begin your detox process.
