What You Need to Know About Drug and Alcohol Medical Detox
Drug or alcohol substances that may require Medical detox
Alcohol, Sedative Hypnotic, Benzodiazepines, Opiates, & Stimulants
Withdrawal symptoms from drugs and alcohol that patients should be aware of
Sweating, Anxiety, Agitation, Muscle aches, Insomnia, Hallucinations, Tremors, Seizures, Bone and joint pain, Increased sensitivity to pain, Gastrointestinal distress, Nausea, Vomiting and more
Detox can range from a few days two a couple weeks depending on the drug of choice and how often it is used
Alcohol Detox
Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can start 6 hours after your last drink and become more dangerous in the next 12–24 hours. The most common symptoms are sweating, headache, shaky hands, anxiety, nausea, insomnia, and vomiting. A person who drinks all the time and builds a tolerance to alcohol has a higher chance of mild to life-threatening withdrawal. The more severe symptoms are hallucination, seizures, confusion, fever, heavy sweating, and high blood pressure. If any of these symptoms take place an inpatient detox should be seriously considered.
At the inpatient detox, the doctors will be able to monitor you 24/7 and provide relief from alcohol withdrawal. Typical medications include benzodiazepines to help manage symptoms like seizures, anxiety, and insomnia. Some other medicines that could be considered are anti-seizure meds and anti-psychotics, depending on your symptoms.
Sedative Hypnotic Detox
Sedative hypnotic drugs that may require medical detox are Ambien, Edluar, Intermezzo, Zolpimist, Estazolam, Eszopiclone, and Temazepam.
Sedative hypnotic withdrawal occurs within 48 hours of your last use. The symptoms that you might have are fatigue, nausea, flushing, light-headedness, uncontrolled crying, stomach cramps, panic attacks, nervousness, suicidal thoughts, abdominal discomfort, and, finally, seizures, which are rare.
Sedative hypnotic medical detox should be looked into. A medical professional may help manage withdrawal symptoms with anti-seizure medication and mood-stabilizing for those suffering from anxiety or suicidal thoughts.
It is hard to know precisely how long sedative hypnotic withdrawal takes for each person. A period of 1–2 weeks is average, but several factors can affect how long a person endures sedative withdrawal symptoms.
Benzodiazepines Detox
Benzodiazepines drugs that may require medical detox are Valium, Xanax, Halcion, Ativan, Klonopin, Librium, Tranxene, Paxipam, Serax, Centrax, and Doral.
Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome can begin within a few hours of last drug use but may take several weeks to resolve. Early withdrawal symptoms are increased pulse and blood pressure, anxiety, panic attacks, restlessness, and gastrointestinal upset. Mid withdrawal symptoms are tremor, fever, diaphoresis(sweating), insomnia, anorexia, and diarrhoea. If untreated delirium may develop with hallucinations, changes in consciousness, profound agitation, autonomic instability, seizures, and death.
Because of the high risk of delirium, seizures, and death, benzodiazepine withdrawal should always be treated in an inpatient detox facility.
Opiates Detox
Opiate drugs that may require medical detox are opium, heroin, OxyContin, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and methadone.
Symptoms of withdrawal from opiates can start in a few hours and peak within 36–72 hours, and subside over 5–10 days. Longer-acting opiates produce a more protracted withdrawal syndrome, occurring in 24–48 hours, peaking in 72 hours, and dwindling over 1–3 weeks.
The symptoms of opiate withdrawal can include a runny nose, tearing of the eyes, yawning, dilated pupils, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, sweating, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, nervousness, restlessness, and muscle and bone pain. You may be given other medications to help with bone and muscle pain, nausea, diarrhea, and insomnia.
Opiate withdrawal can be safely managed with medical help. To determine what medications you need, and how much, your medical team will be examining you regularly for signs of withdrawal. Medications such as methadone or clonidine may be used to help with some of the symptoms. Clonidine is usually used to reduce your blood pressure and heart rate, as well as help with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, and sweating. Other medications may be given to help with bone and muscle pain.
Stimulant Detox
Stimulants drugs are amphetamines; cocaine; methylphenidate; phenmetrazine; phenylpropanolamine; most anti-obesity drugs
Withdrawal symptoms develop hours to days after heavy usage stops. Symptoms are Muscular aches, anxiety, abdominal pain, chills, tremors, dehydration, voracious hunger, prolonged sleep, lack of energy, profound psychological depression, sometimes suicidal, and exhaustion. Most, hallucinations stop within 24 to 48 hours, and paranoia and delusions decrease over the next week. The detox processes can last up to 3weeks.
