Detoxing is a challenging task. Many of those struggling with addiction or alcoholics have tried to cut back, use only on certain days of the week, switch what they’re using, or have tried to stop altogether. All of these attempts have most likely failed if you’re finding yourself here. The reason these attempts haven’t worked is because addiction is a chronic and progressive disorder, it’s not so easy to try and regulate something that has a mind of its own.
What Influences the Detox Process?
A list of factors will influence the detoxification process, and each person’s detox is different. The factors that influence the detox process include: frequency of use, volume of use, use history, health condition, which substance or substances you’ve were using, and how many days it’s been since your last use. Of course, the more drugs or alcohol you’ve been using will impact how difficult it will be to detox from those substances. Certain substances will produce a great list of withdrawal symptoms, while other substances may only cause a few withdrawal symptoms. Some symptoms of withdrawal are psychological and others are physical, usually substances will result in both psychological and physical symptoms to arise.
Detoxing off Drugs and Alcohol
Detoxing from substances is challenging, especially if you’re not under the care of a medical professional. Most alcoholics and addicts will experience a worse detox process unless they enroll in a properly structured detox program, like our medical detox program in Royal Life Centers at Spokane Heights. Withdrawal symptoms can be extremely dangerous, and even life-threatening, which is why alcoholics and addicts need to be under supervision through out their detoxing process. Some of the dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can present themselves in the detox process include: hallucinations, severe overheating, hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood sugar), seizures, and heart attacks. All major health administrations recognize the importance of attending a medical detox facility to effectively and safely detox from a substance.
Why an Inpatient Detox Is Crucial for Addiction Recovery
If you are physically dependent on a substance or substances, it means that your body cannot function properly without the substance. Abruptly stopping the use of this substance will cause your body to stop working, and withdrawal symptoms will be severe and even lethal. Without using a substance, your body no longer knows how to function, as it has adapted to functioning with the substance and has changed your brain chemistry.
Detoxing at home is not only dangerous, but people often don’t understand the medical implications and risks of detoxing alone. Trying to do an at-home detox can produce a variety of withdrawal symptoms— which can range in severity, and even be life-threatening. If you are trying to detox at home, you are putting yourself in danger, and do not know how to properly attend to your physical and mental needs.
What Is Withdrawal?
Withdrawal is the state that your body enters when a substance you are physically dependent on leaves the body. These symptoms are the effects of not having a substance in your body, that your body is used to having in it to function. In general, withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to severe, and there are a variety of withdrawal symptoms depending on what substance or substances you were using. Withdrawal symptoms left untreated can be life-threatening.
Withdrawing from alcohol suddenly can cause brain damage, seizures, heart palpitations, abnormal body temperatures, shifts in mood, hallucinations, and delirium tremens among other symptoms. Withdrawing from illicit drugs can cause mood changes, body sweats, restlessness, abnormal body temperatures, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, and psychosis, in addition to a variety of other symptoms.
Symptoms of withdrawal can be serious, as they effect both physical and emotional health.
What Is “Cold Turkey”?
Quitting an addiction cold turkey, or abruptly and without the help of medications or other resources, is very dangerous and can cause death. If you are trying to detox at home, you most likely are trying to quit cold turkey, which can literally kill you. It may seem like the fastest, easiest way to get yourself off of a substance, but the symptoms of withdrawal you will face can be absolutely lethal. Substances that can produce immediate life-threatening symptoms of withdrawal include: benzodiazepines, alcohol, opiates, and other tranquilizers (like sleeping pills), to name a few. If you try to detox from these substances cold turkey, the result can include symptoms of withdrawal like grand mal seizures, heart attacks, stroke, hallucinations, and delirium tremens.
Trying to quit cold turkey can also produce a more severe emotional reaction, because an addiction to any drug will cause mental/emotional withdrawal symptoms. The four most common emotional symptoms of withdrawal include: anxiety, depression, a disrupted sleep pattern, and cognitive symptoms like poor concentration and memory.
The Risks of Detoxing Alone
Improperly detoxing, whether at home or in a rapid-detox program can be lethal. There are many popularized methods of a quick detox that produce negative side effects. At-home detoxing can be seriously dangerous, uncomfortable, and lethal.
Quick detoxes often cause the body to react in severe, dangerous ways due to the chemical process in the brain being disrupted. People who are physically dependent on alcohol or drugs have used substance so frequently, it has changed their brain chemistry to adapt to the substance.
Once a physical dependency is formed, people who can’t access more of a substance or willingly attempt to get off with substance without medical care can experience life-threatening side effects. Not only will this process cause extreme discomfort, taking the substance out of your system quickly will cause the brain and body to react with severe symptoms of mental and physical withdrawal that could seriously injure or kill you.
How Should You Detox?
The detoxification process is best done under the supervision of various medical professionals. The detox process proceeds once our guests are assessed and evaluated for any co-occurring disorders to identify the factors that influence the detox process. Our medical detox provides 24/7 direct supervision from medical professionals, to ensure the safety and comfort of our guests. Our goal is to detox every guest in the safest, most comfortable manner. Upon entering our detox facility, each guest will undergo an assessment and evaluation to determine the best course of treatment for them. We offer medication-assisted detox, which is the use of detox medication in addition to behavioral therapies. Our detox process includes therapy, to begin the work of recovery.
You should always detox under the care of a medical professional. Because of the extreme danger that removing a substance from your system can cause, it is crucial that you are being monitored through out the detox process. In our medical detox facility in Royal Life Centers at Spokane Heights, our staff of medical professionals closely monitor each guest and check their vitals consistently through out their stay. To make the process as comfortable as possible, we administer medications that help ease the symptoms of withdrawal that arise in detox. We use medication-assisted detox on a case-by-case basis, to ensure that each guest’s individual needs and goals are being met.
Detox Program in Spokane, Washington
Our detox program is structured, with the goal to effectively detox guests in a safe and comfortable way. Royal Life Centers at Spokane Heights has an inpatient detox program that can last for either 4 or a full 8 days, where guests are able to detox from a substance or substances in a safe environment. Medical professionals monitor guests 24/7 to ensure their safety and comfort during the detoxification process.
This means guests also have access to medical professionals and staff, to attend to any needs or concerns through out the process. Guests are given comfort medications and a medical taper, depending on their case, to make the detox process as comfortable as possible. During our detox program, we also provide therapy to begin the work of recovery and address the mental/emotional impact from substance(s).
Our guests will be matched with both a case manager and primary therapist upon arrival to our facility. Guests will collaborate with both their primary therapist and case manager, to develop a treatment plan specifically tailored to meet his or her individual needs and goals. Throughout detox, guest meet with their primary therapist for individual therapy sessions through out their stay. Guests also will meet with their case manager to handle any circumstantial problems; case managers assist with anything like applying for government aid to handling any ongoing legal issues. Guests attend group therapy sessions five times per day, to help them in their recovery process.
Our detox process sets each guest up for a successful, happy and healthy life in sobriety. Our detox facility in Royal Life Centers at Spokane Heights holds both national and state-wide accreditations. We are recognized for offering the highest standard in addiction treatment and recovery, and for upholding only the best practices in the industry.
What Happens After Detoxing?
After completing our medical detox program, it is highly recommended to continue your addiction treatment. Royal Life Centers at Spokane Heights also offers a residential inpatient program, to continue the work started in detox. Our residential inpatient program is a 2-week program that continues to address addiction through intensive therapies, including: individual therapy sessions, group therapy, behavioral therapies, adventure therapy, activity therapy, and equine therapy. Royal Life Centers also offers a variety of addiction treatment programs, including: a partial hospitalization program (PHP), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), an outpatient program (OP), sober living and graduate housing. Our programs are designed to follow guests through the stages of recovery, offering guidance and support each step of the way.
If you or someone you love is struggling with an addiction, please reach out to our addiction specialists at (888) 907-0898. Our team of addiction specialists make themselves available to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Because We Care.
