Are drugs and alcohol taking control of your life? Have you tried to stop taking these substances many times without success?
You’re not alone. Every year, around half a million people die from opioid use due to their inability to escape from the ravages of addiction.
The truth is, once you stop taking drugs and alcohol, you’re bound to experience some discomfort as your body withdraws from these substances. Often, these effects are so severe that you simply must get your fix.
Did you know that there are ways to ease the detoxification process? Find out what medications are used in detox here.
Common Withdrawal Symptoms
When you take drugs or drink alcohol for a long time, your body becomes accustomed to these substances and starts to rely on them for its daily functioning. So, when you stop, you’ll experience signs that something’s amiss.
Often, these symptoms are uncomfortable at most. In some cases, they’re fatal.
This is what to expect when you stop taking addictive substances:
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms are sometimes severe and include the following:
- Headaches
- Insomnia
- Nausea and vomiting
- Elevated heart rate
- Fever
- Convulsions (the DTs)
- Hallucinations
You can die if you stop drinking alcohol without medical supervision.
Opioid withdrawals aren’t as dangerous as those you’ll experience when you stop drinking, but there are a lot more of them. These include:
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Hot flashes
- Nausea
- Excessive respiration
- Restlessness
- Raised blood pressure
- Perspiration
- Muscle cramps
Of all the opioids, Cocaine produces the most severe withdrawal symptoms.
For safety’s sake, it’s always best to undergo a medically-supervised detox to ease these symptoms and help prevent relapse.
What Medications Are Used in Detox From Opioids
It might seem counterproductive to help someone give up drugs by giving them drugs, but these medicines help soothe the transition to sobriety without making matters worse.
Opioid drugs come from the poppy plant. They stimulate the brain’s reward system and dull the sensation of pain, which is what makes them so addictive.
Most opioids are prescription painkillers like codeine, morphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone.
The two main types of treatment used to detox from opioids are opioid agonists and opioid antagonists.
Opioid Agonists
Methadone is one of the most common opioid agonists used in medically-assisted detox. These drugs bind to opioid receptors just like opioids do and mimic the effects of your drug of choice.
The difference is that the opioid agonists have a much longer-lasting effect than other opioids, helping to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Although methadone doesn’t produce the same high as other opioids, it can become addictive too.
For this reason, a medical professional must oversee methadone treatment.
Clonidine is another non-opiate agonist that works well against opioid withdrawal symptoms.
It stimulates the alpha receptors in the brain and reduces the nerve signals sent to your blood vessels. As such, it’s a useful treatment for withdrawals from a range of addictive substances like narcotics, alcohol, and methadone.
Propranolol also helps with severe alcohol and cocaine withdrawals by reducing the flow of adrenaline.
Propranolol is a high blood pressure drug that acts as a beta-blocker to reduce withdrawal symptoms.
Opioid Antagonists
These medications block the brain’s opioid receptors to prevent the stimulation of the neurotransmitters. When you take opioid antagonists, your body will block any other opioids from acting on the brain.
In this way, opioid antagonists block your ability to get high and eliminate the need to take other drugs. These drugs are most effective in preventing relapse but don’t help with withdrawal symptoms.
Naltrexone’s often introduced to help prevent relapse once you’ve been through the worst of the detox procedure.
Naloxone is the drug used to reverse the effects of opioids in the event of an overdose. When a patient’s experiencing only mild withdrawal symptoms, doctors may prescribe Naltrexone and Naloxone to help them avoid relapse.
What Medications are Used in Alcohol Detox?
Delirium Tremens, or the DT’s, is the most severe side effect of alcohol withdrawal. Regular alcohol use alters your brain chemistry by stimulating certain neurotransmitters more than others.
As a result, you’ll experience a severe imbalance in these chemical messengers when you stop drinking. This creates havoc within your central nervous system.
Detox Medications for Alcohol
Usually, detoxification specialists treat this CNS imbalance with Benzodiazepines and other psychoactive drugs which slow down the central nervous system.
These drugs, like Valium and Librium, have a tranquilizing effect that prevents convulsions. Diazepam helps control the anxiety associated with stopping alcohol use.
Benzodiazepines are addictive too, so you must take these drugs in a controlled fashion and only for a short while. Fortunately, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are only dangerous for a few days, so you won’t need to take these treatments for a long time.
Valium, Librium, and Diazepam work wonders to help you ease the transition from alcoholism to sobriety.
Detox Medications for Dealing With Depression
Depression is a common withdrawal symptom for all addictive substances. Left untreated, depression results in feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts.
Medical experts recommend treating depression as part of the detoxification process. Some of the best anti-depressants used for this include:
- Desipramine
- Fenfluramine
- Phentermine
Like benzodiazepines, these drugs can also become addictive, so short-term use is best.
Take Steps Toward a Better Future
Now that you’re familiar with what medications are used in detox, we hope you feel a little more confident about embarking on your recovery journey.
If you’re ready to embark on a promising new future, get in touch and we’ll ensure you undergo a safe and relatively painless transition.
Our detox centers have the experience and medical expertise to guide you on your new path.