Opioid Detox: Opioid Withdrawal Medication

At The House of Life, we provide a safe and compassionate opioid detox in Los Angeles, guiding you through the challenges of withdrawal and toward a new beginning. We are aware that fear of the withdrawal process is one of the biggest obstacles to seeking help.

That’s why our expert opioid withdrawal treatment is centered on minimizing discomfort and ensuring your stability. We use effective treatment medication to address the most challenging symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

Opioids, or prescription painkillers and heroin, operate to alter the brain chemistry. They bring an extremely strong sense of pleasure and relief, which the brain soon becomes accustomed to. Upon continued usage, the body develops a physical addiction to the drug to continue to operate and feel normal.

It is this level of dependency that causes opioid withdrawal when an individual ceases using it. It is much more serious than dealing with the flu; it is a whole-body crisis that targets a person on a physical and mental level.

Opioid withdrawal has severe and painful physical symptoms. They are commonly accompanied by severe abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, and uncontrollable muscle spasms. An individual can have an extensive burning pain that spreads throughout the bones and muscles together with a feeling of uneasiness where one can hardly sit still due to what is famously known as a crawling-skin feeling.

The sudden stoppage by a person who is already dependent on opioids causes their nervous system and brain to enter a shock state. The brain is left working with no longer the substance that it has become accustomed to, and so it has a very harsh and painful overreaction. This sudden adaptation causes opioid withdrawal.

The signs of opioid withdrawal are very serious and present both physical and psychological problems to an individual. All of these opioid withdrawal symptoms combined can be devastating, and this is why self-detox is so difficult and commonly fails.

These symptoms are usually divided in two categories:

Physical Symptoms:

Gastrointestinal Distress: Severe abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

• Flu-Like: A runny nose, watery eyes, excessive sweating, alternately feeling hot and cold, feverish hot flashes, and freezing cold chills.
• Body Aches: Aching pain of muscles and bones.
• Restlessness: inability to remain still, which is usually characterized by a feeling of something crawling beneath the skin and the shaking and trembling of the muscles.
• Hyperesthesia: An excessive sensitivity to pain throughout the body.

Psychological and Emotional Symptoms:

• Strong Desires: Being compelled by the undying intent to take opioids in order to stop the symptoms.
• Mood Swings: Extreme nervousness, restlessness, irritability, and panic attacks.
• Depression: A feeling of despair, melancholy, and even suicidal feelings.
• Insomnia: The inability to sleep or sleep more than several minutes.

The process of withdrawal is a gradual one, and we are ready to guide you at every step of it. The timeline may differ, but it generally follows a predictable pattern.

• First 24 to 48 Hours

The initial symptoms develop. You’ll feel restless and anxious and begin to ache.

• The Peak (Around 72 hours)

This is the hardest stage. Physical conditions are at their lowest, and the level of emotional distress is high. Our healthcare team will take care of you around the clock, helping you manage the symptoms and stay secure.

• First Week and Beyond

The physical symptoms will begin to ease up the most. This is when the real work starts, when you will learn to control occasional cravings and mood swings. A successful opioid detox program will prepare you for this next chapter of recovery.

Factors That Influence The Withdrawal Timeline

Opioid withdrawal timeline highly depends on each individual. It is generally affected by several important factors:

• Type of Opioid: Short-acting opioids such as heroin and fentanyl initiate withdrawal symptoms within 6-12 hours and reach an extreme level in 1-3 days of use. Long-acting opiates such as methadone take much longer to kick in, and in some cases withdrawal does not begin until 2-4 days and can last several weeks.
• Length and Intensity of Use: An individual who has a lengthy record of intense opioid addiction and dependence will generally have a more extreme and lengthy withdrawal period than an individual with a less protracted history of opioid use.
• Individual Health: The physical and mental condition of a person is a big contributing factor. Physical factors (such as age, metabolism, prior nutrition and nutritional status, and co-existing medical or psychological illnesses) may also affect the timeline.

An opioid detox is a medically managed process that assists an individual to overcome safely and comfortably the physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal. It is the first, essential phase of opioid withdrawal treatment.

It is not advisable to do this independently; a professional drug detox program follows a series of organized steps:

• Intake and Evaluation: The program starts with an all-encompassing evaluation process. Medical personnel will examine your health backgrounds, educate you on the use of substances, and assess your present physical and mental status. This enables them to design an individual and safe detox plan.
• Stabilization: This is the essence of the detox. As you enter withdrawal symptoms, the medical staff is doing what it can to make you safe and as comfortable as possible. This is done with a well-planned opioid withdrawal plan. Your symptoms will be checked regularly by clinicians, who will occasionally use a clinical measurement tool to assess the severity objectively, such as the opioid withdrawal score. They will use this score to provide certain opioid withdrawal drugs to alleviate craving, minimize pain, regulate nausea, and manage anxiety.
• Further Treatment: The aim of detoxification is physical stability. After the acute withdrawal is complete, the team will assist you in developing the plan to continue care, including the transition to a residential or outpatient program, to cover the psychological side of addiction.

The major risks are these:

• Severe Dehydration: This is because there is persistent vomiting and diarrhea, and it can result in untimely loss of fluids and electrolytes, which could cause potential health risks, including kidney complications and heart complications.
• Aspiration: When an individual vomits when they are weakened or sleepy, they may accidentally breathe in the vomit into their lungs. This may lead to severe and fatal infection referred to as aspiration pneumonia.
• Excessive Psychological Stress: The emotional suffering caused by the withdrawal, such as extreme anxiety, paranoia, and profound depression, becomes unbearable. It may result in self-harm or even suicidal ideas and behaviors.
• Relapse and Overdose: This risk is the greatest. Once the person goes through a time of not using opioids, they lose tolerance to these substances drastically. When they relapse to avoid the pain of withdrawal and use their former dose, their body cannot take it anymore, and the result is a fatal overdose.

It is due to these dangers that a professional, medically assisted drug detox is the standard of care.

Completing an opioid detox is a great accomplishment in itself, but it is not a finish line; it is merely a new starting line. Drug detoxification seeks to safely walk you through the difficult symptoms of opioid withdrawal. It balances your body, and then the actual job of recovery is to heal the mind next.

The best alternative and the most prevalent one is to get into a continuing care program through the process of stepping down. This makes you maintain the momentum you have created. There are two main possibilities:

• Residential Treatment: You stay at the center, and this offers a very structured and helpful setting without external triggers. It enables you to shift your full attention to your recovery with therapy and group support.
• Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): You are allowed to live home, but you come to treatment several hours weekly. This really provides you with a good support network but also enables you to put your new skills of recovery into practice in the real world.