Medical Detox Programs & Checklist
Medical Detox Center nurse
Medical Detox uses medications as well as medical care to assist the withdrawal from alcohol, heroin or pain killers, methadone, heavy prescription drug, or alcohol abuse.
Medical Detox should be considered when:
- disturbing symptoms occur when attempting to withdraw and person started taking the drugs, alcohol or medications again
- when people want to withdraw more quickly than would be possible on an outpatient basis
- doctor recommends that they withdraw in an inpatient facility
- person feels more secure withdrawing on an inpatient basis.
An important distinction between detox and rehab should be made.
While medical detox usually takes one to two weeks at the most, rehab takes many weeks or months, and is designed to handle drug abuse and the underlying issues associated with such abuse.
The types of drugs people generally require medical withdrawal from are:
- Antipsychotics
- Opiates/Opiods, ie Methadone
- Alcohol
- Benzodiazepines
- Antidepressants
Prescription drugs like: high dose methadone, benzodiazepines, and long term use of psych meds require the most skilled medical detox. While medical detox can assist through the withdrawal of most medicines, ironically, medicines and not street drugs can present greater difficulty to fully detoxify from.
Cold turkey withdrawal refers to un-assisted or at-home withdrawal without any real understanding or assistance given. If nutritional therapy, medical supervision or holistic care is given the withdrawal is greatly eased. Those wishing guidance should get withdrawal manuals or download at-home advice.
The simplest drugs to detox from cold turkey are marijuana and cocaine. The depression and cravings which attend cocaine withdrawal often scares abusers off and they relapse back into using. Marijuana, cocaine and meth users often have difficultly sleeping during withdrawal.
Other Problems
Difficulties with sleep, anxiety, no appetite, aches and pains etc occur due to an absence of knowledge of what to do. Withdrawing from drugs at home is best done with the help of home manuals or expert advice on withdrawing at home. Both of these are available through our site.
Integrative Medical / Holistic Detox:
Holistic detox
The withdrawal from all drugs, alcohol and medication can be eased considerably through the use of proper hydration using electrolytes, nutrients, chelation therapy (IV drips of vitamins / nutrients), touch therapy and caring and concerned nursing care.
Many people will detox off of cocaine and heroin either themselves at home, simply stop use, or with the help of holistic withdrawal. Nutrients, hydration, care, rest and quiet provide the basis of an effective and safe withdrawal environment.
I’ve done extensive surveying of clients who’ve been through medical detox. I’ve found several repeating factors for people to consider before sending someone to a medical detox facility.
Checklist to do before checking into a medical detox facility:
1st Does the facility usually deliver medical detox for the drugs one is coming off of?
2nd Is the medical facility knowledgeable in taking people off of all medications while in detox? Ie, the person doesn’t leave the center on meds and with a prescription.
3rd Are you simply rushing into any facility simply because they were connected to a hospital and therefore assumed they must know what to do? If so, re-evaluate the facility before considering detox
4th Have you made arrangements for aftercare / live-in rehab once detox is complete?
5th Does the medical clinic / center use alternative or complimentary / integrative medicine approaches at their clinic? Medical detox can be a restorative and bolstering experience if done well. Rapid recovery occurs if the detox uses nutritional and complimentary support to traditional medicine.
6th Have you got a referral or consultant to advise you on detox center options before rushing into detox? While this step may not be considered vital, I have seen and heard from many clients who could have had a much more successful recovery if they would have followed this simple checklist prior to detox.
7th Contact me if you consider medical detox as a needed or important step in your medical detoxification or you or a loved one is needing long-term rehab as part of your recovery plan.
Contact us about getting the Right Medical Detox program for you or a loved one!
Drug Rehab Advisor 1-888-840-0927
Camia:
HAVING SYMPTOMS OF STROKE,BRAIN TUMOR,OR M.S. RECENTLY HAD CT SCAN,MRIT,
18 August 2009, 11:51 pmAND EXTENSIVE BLOOD WORK TAKEN. ALL TESTS CAME BACK NEGATIVE FOR ANY
CERTAIN NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE. NEUROLOGIST DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO.
MY SYMPTOMS GET WORSE EVERY DAY,CAN’T WALK RIGHT,BALANCE OFF,VISION
CHANGES EITHER BLURRED OR DOUBLE,TROUBLE SPEAKING CLEARLY,CAN’T DRIVE,
CAN’T WORK, CAN’T CARE FOR KIDS UNASSISTED. SO PYSCH DOC RECCEMENED I DO
A COMPLETE DETOX OF PYSCH MEDS I HAVE BEEN ON FOR YEARS TO SEE IF THESE
SYMPTOMS ARE FROM MY MEDS. SHE SAID I COULD DO THIS AT HOME. I FEEL THIS
IS DANGEROUS. DO I NEED TO CHECK INTO A MEDICAL DETOX FACILITY? RIGHT
NOW I FEEL AWFUL AND FEEL I MAY HAVE BRAIN DAMAGE FROM MEDS..
Drug Rehab Advisor:
When a medical situation is either baffling you or the local medical community, the right thing to do is begin testing. Most MDs don’t have a very wide range of tests they can administer and therefore the likelihood of finding the underlying problem is small. You can’t find chemical toxins with a metal detector. To begin using the best integrative medical detox facilities, phone DrugRehabAdvisor.com for a private telephone consultation.
19 August 2009, 4:45 pmStacy W:
I had post partum depression after my baby and was put on anti-depressants and anti-axiety meds. I’ve been trying to get off Klonopin for a few yrs and have gotten down to 0.125 and am currently on .25mg. But everytime I go further down I lose my mind and I start twitching uncontrolably and can’t sleep and have panic attacks which then leads to a deep depression and sucidial thoughts. I may need some sort of medical detox program eventually. What do you recommend. I live in Michigan.
7 September 2009, 11:47 amDrug Rehab Advisor:
Stacy,
7 September 2009, 1:54 pmKlonopin is benzodiazapine drug that many women are hooked onto by misinformed doctors. 3 months is about the longest a person should be on a benzo, but even then, staying on 3 months is risking dependence. Read the side effects of Klonopin on the label and from internet and you’ll discover your depression and suicidality is a side effect of withdrawal, often called PAWS, see drugrehabadvisor.com article on benzo extended withdrawal.
I strongly recommend you begin the At-hom-drug-withdrawal right away and follow the specific instructions on bottom of download #3 re: benzo withdrawal.
An ideal solution is to go to a specialized integrative medical detox. Call me at drugrehabadvisor.com for admission process. This would take 8 day minimum
Drug Rehab Advisor:
Camia,
7 September 2009, 2:11 pmit’s important to note that all of these side effects could be a product of a toxic overload caused by the psych meds. Read the side effects of your meds and you will find these are all listed on either label or on fine print. You’re doctor is correct, detox off of the psych meds. To begin, at home, start DrugRehabAdvisor at home program. Ideally you should be in a supervised integrative medical detox center that knows what they are doing. Most traditional med facilities would only put you on more meds, as these don’t know how to properly detox people off of the pills they put them onto.