Narcotic drugs and alcohol are very physically addictive substances accounting for the rise in drug and alcohol addiction rates yearly. Once the body is dependent on the substance for normality, the absence of the substance will cause great pain and discomfort to be inflicted on the individual, known as withdrawal.

Addiction

Drug and alcohol addiction counselling and detox are highly controversial topics and met with many mixed beliefs and schools of thought, especially when physical and non-physical drug addiction is concerned. Unlike previously when addiction was considered a moral failing, professionals have now been opting towards a more successful approach of addiction treatment. Many experts and professionals have come to view addiction as a disease which is progressive and fatal if not treated. The disease can however be arrested through ceasing all addictive behaviour accompanied by counselling and a daily programme of recovery.

Physical addiction and the need for detox

Opiates such as heroin and codeine, benzodiazepines such as Valium and Rohypnol, some amphetamines such as methamphetamines (eg Tik) and ethyl-alcohol (the type of alcohol found in regular alcoholic drinks such as whisky and beer), are substances which the human body becomes dependant on when exposed to their effects over a certain period of time. Quaaludes, anabolic steroids, beta blockers, caffeine and nicotine also cause dependence.

Physical dependency can only be overcome through the addicted individual abstaining from use of the addictive substances. This will cause the body to go into a state of withdrawal, as it is dependent on the substance for functioning.

Treatment centres, rehabilitation centres and hospitals usually offer detoxification programmes for drug and alcohol addiction. Detoxification can be extremely harmful, even fatal. The process is nick-named “detox” and is carefully monitored by professionals.

In many instances, the patient is given medication to ease their discomfort during the detox. This discomfort usually results in the use of drugs to rid themselves of the symptoms. It has been found that regulated and decreasing doses of a pharmaceutical replacement with similar actions as an addictive drug is useful in allowing addicts to be “weaned off” the substance without unbearable discomfort.

Detox

When an addict or alcoholic is willing to enter a treatment programme to treat their addiction, many rehab centres require that patients are “clean” of all drugs and substances. The patient will need generally to pass a drug or alcohol test indicating that their systems are free of substances. If a client enters a treatment programme whilst still under the influence of a narcotic or alcohol, it may affect the safety of the other clients and the individual themselves.

The process of a drug and alcohol detox differs for each treatment centre offering the service. Some rehabs do not offer detoxes and require the client to attend a detox in a hospital or separate clinic as the rehab may not have the correct facilities to offer detoxification. The process is an extremely difficult ordeal for the addict to experience and must be handled with a great deal of professionalism. Alcoholic detoxes can cause delirium tremors, inducing hallucinations and violent behaviour. Only qualified, experienced and able professionals should administer a detox to a withdrawing addict or alcoholic.

Counselling

A detox programme can take a week or more to complete, although secondary withdrawals will follow after this; they are less severe than initial withdrawals, not requiring medication or facilitation. Once a detox has been completed, the client is advised to enter an addiction treatment programme at a rehab.

Drug and alcohol addiction counselling is an effective method of treating any form of addiction, helping the client to become a normal and functioning member of society. Group therapy and individual therapy is widely considered the most effective method of drug and alcohol addiction treatment, coupled with a healthy lifestyle and the adoption of a Twelve Step Programme as a way of maintaining abstinence and sobriety.

Counselling and a Twelve Step Programme help to enable the patient to cope with behaviours, past grievances, emotions and dynamics in their lives and to piece together a practical and realistic approach to life. Whilst the patient needs to stop using drugs and alcohol, counselling will help improve their lives much further. Abstinence plus change is the main aim of a recovering addict.

The life of a drug addict and alcoholic needn’t be bad or hindered. Addicts have the potential to be very successful and productive people if they are able to stop their drug and alcohol use. Whilst this may require a detox, if followed with proper counselling and therapy plus the endorsement of a healthy lifestyle and application to a Twelve Step Programme, the person suffering from drug or alcohol addiction can arrest their disease and live a normal life again.



Thanks to Rosemary Grace Brooks for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

Alcohol Abuse Recovery

For people with mild cases, it may be possible to conquer their alcohol addiction through counseling or joining support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. However, if you think that you have a serious case of addiction, you may want to consider going through an alcohol detoxification program and improve your chances of recovery.

You have a serious alcohol addiction when you find that you cannot control your drinking habits anymore. In fact, if you try to stop and not give in your cravings, your body begins to experience withdrawal symptoms. You may find it hard to cope with the withdrawal symptoms on your own and for too long. Soon, you are back to your old habit of drinking vodka every night.

An alcohol detoxification program is one that is specifically designed to help you deal with your withdrawal symptoms. If you are able to cope with them, it will be much easier for you to give up your addiction. Withdrawal symptoms develop when you try to stay away from drinks for a period of time. They include shakiness, headaches, feelings of nausea, insomnia, sweating and loss of appetite.

During treatment, you may need to take certain drug medications for your symptoms. You may also need to go through liver detoxification to help cleanse out the toxins from alcohol that are still in your body. Most certainly, you will be put through a regimen of healthy foods and exercise.

Statistics show that one out of four alcoholics can have a withdrawal seizure if they try to quit drinking on their own. An alcohol detoxification treatment program often lasts for a period of between three and fourteen days; but sometimes can be longer depending on the severity of the problem.

The program would also focus on rebuilding the damage that has been done to your body by alcohol through the years. Heavy alcoholics often have serious nutritional deficiencies that need to be considered. Vitamin supplements for liver repair may also be proposed by your doctor. The program should be able to help you conquer your alcoholism physically. However, the most important thing is how determined and mentally prepared you are to kick this habit.

With an alcohol detoxification program, you may need to go through some psychological counseling. Counsceling should help you discover the real causes that drove you to drink in the first place. You can then take measures and find ways to target the real causes. Family counseling may also be recommended in order to address the concerns that your family may have with your alcoholism. You would also be requiring their support so that you do not return to this addiction in the future.

Going through an alcohol detoxification program, especially if you have a serious addiction, can greatly improve your chances of recovery. You should not hesitate to seek professional help. Do not let drinks take control of your life!



Thanks to Sandra Kim Leong for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

Methadone Drug Abuse

The alcohol detoxification program is always the first step in any type of alcohol treatment in Washington. Any kind of treatment program whether intensive, resident, inpatient or outpatient, will always start with the detoxification process. If you are planning an alcohol detoxification program in Washington for someone in your family, and are planning the whole thing by yourself, without the help of an interventionist; it is very important to study the different detoxification procedures well beforehand and then depending on the patient’s file, one should select the program. It is always advisable to talk to the customer service department at one of the treatment centers or speak to a substance abuse officer. Another important thing to do is to check with your insurance provider if they cover the treatment program you are subscribing to.

Let us take a brief look at the alcohol detoxification program in Washington.

Alcohol detoxification is simply a cleansing of the body from toxins accumulated in it due to the consumption of alcohol. These are toxins that are assimilated in the body with the consumption of alcohol over a long period of time. The patient is made to completely stop alcohol. Alcohol is present in different parts of body of an addict; it could be in the liver or kidney or also in the blood. Not only is the alcohol removed during this process but also the un-metabolized alcohol is removed through this process known as the alcohol detoxification program.

Alcohol detox is a part of almost all the alcohol treatment programs in Washington. The main role of this program is to flush all the toxins from the patient’s body. It is necessary so as to avoid any health complications in future that can be cause by the presence of alcohol in the body organs. Also, if the patient has a supplementary health disease, the first step towards curing the disease might be to removing all the alcohol and un-metabolized alcohol portions from the different part of the body organs.

Another purpose of cleansing the body through the detox in the treatment programs is to accelerate the recovery process. The toxins present in the body released after alcohol consumption have the properties of increasing the cravings in the body for alcohol. Therefore flushing out these toxins will help decrease the temptation for the substance and the patient may eventually stop drinking alcohol. This also acts like a motivation for the patients. As the cravings are less and the person finds himself consuming less of alcohol, he or she feels happy about it. However, the alcohol detoxification process is not that easy. Due to the alcohol cessation, many times a patient may get violent withdrawal symptoms. But as with medications and therapies, the urges for alcohol created in the body reduces. The patient starts to feel healthy. This might motivate him or her to work a bit harder towards an alcohol free life.

Alcohol detoxification is generally a resident program. The purpose of this to take the patient away from his or her comfort zone; from the day to day activities or any things which may trigger the temptations for alcohol in the body of a patient. In fact during this period of treatment, the family members are also kept away from the patient. Here in this resident program, the patient is made to completely stop alcohol. He or she is put on a healthy regime under the eyes of the doctor.

As the patient is kept away from alcohol, in a few days, the body of the patient starts reacting to it violently. This is known as withdrawal symptom. Medications are given to control these heavy reactions of the body at the same time the temptations for alcohol also need to be lessened. This is a very natural process after the alcohol consumption to the body is stopped. Antabuse, Campral, Naltrexone and Nalmefene are some of the medications that are used. These medications help patient to reduce their cravings for alcohol. The alcohol Detox process takes from about three days to several weeks.

The last of the withdrawal symptoms marks the end of the alcohol detox process. But usually the medications are not completely stopped then. They are continued after the detox process and are made to stop gradually. If the medications are stopped immediately, there is a possibility of the patient getting withdrawal symptoms from the medications too. This is quite often seen with the patients who have been very heavy alcohol addicts. Therefore depending upon the patient’s stability, the length and the extent of his or her withdrawal symptoms, the medications are reduced with a patient.



Thanks to Todd Lange for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

Alcohol Abuse Treatment

Alcohol addiction is another serious addiction. Most people try leaving this life threatening habit, but find it difficult. Everybody knows what consequences alcohol addiction renders on the minds of families, especially young children. Therefore, if you are sunken neck deep in alcoholism, then it is the right time to seek help. You may join any alcohol rehabilitation center to get rid of this habit.

To locate the alcohol rehabs in your vicinity or city, browse the Internet. Never be afraid of asking about alcohol rehabs to your friends or relatives, as you are going to do good to yourself. Try to find the alcohol rehab center that is credible, has panels of qualified doctors, efficient staff members and so on.

Different Stages Of Alcohol Rehabilitation Treatment:

Intervention stage: First phase in alcohol rehabs is the intervention stage. This stage prepares you for the alcohol rehabilitation treatment. The counselors at the alcohol rehab center see to it that you have come to join the alcohol rehabilitation program not due to peer pressure but because you want to.

After the counselors get confirmed that you have come at your own will, the authorities at the alcohol rehab center will conduct certain tests on you. These tests determine the level of alcohol present in your body, so that officials at the alcohol rehabs can determine the level of your treatment. The tests are also conducted at alcohol rehabs to check the presence of any other substance in your body or to ascertain whether you have any health related problems.

Alcohol Rehabilitation -Detoxification stage: Alcohol rehabs have different yet specialized detoxification methods. This is the stage wherein the actual alcohol rehabilitation treatment starts. In detoxification stage, the staff at the alcohol rehab center gives you different medication, diets or exercises that help to wash out or eliminate the alcohol residues from your body. During this stage, you will have to stay in the alcohol rehab center for few days.

You will be required to participate in different activities at alcohol rehab center. Such activities help your mind to divert from alcohol craving. The motive why most alcohol rehabs ask the patient to stay in their premises is that when you are away from your usual surroundings, the urge to consume alcohol is reduced highly.

When you stop consuming alcohol completely you will experience some withdrawal symptoms. However, you do not have to worry about it as authorities at the alcohol rehabilitation center give proper medication and counseling under the watchful eye of medical supervisor.

Once you overcome the withdrawal symptoms, the alcohol rehab center will stop your detoxification treatment. This stage of alcohol rehabilitation treatment may last for three days to seven weeks.

Alcohol Rehabilitation-Follow-up: Follow-up or aftercare is the last yet important phase offered by alcohol rehabs. In this stage, the alcohol rehabs will teach you different methods as well as techniques that will help you to control your urge. You may opt for residential aftercare treatment or outpatient alcohol rehabilitation.

Aftercare rehabilitation treatment offered by most alcohol rehabs includes different therapies as well as counseling sessions. Thus, if you are an alcohol addict, join the alcohol rehab center to make your life alcohol free.



Thanks to Roberta Groche for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

How To Detox From Alcohol

You will find the alcohol detoxification program in California is a vial part of the treatment program within the state. In every kind of counseling there is a very precise mention of this program that you will probably take about planning the treatment. In case if you are visiting a substance abuse counselor to plan a treatment for an alcoholic person within your family, you will be strongly suggested to put the patient through a detoxification program. The same kind of advice will be given while researching on the Internet forums or even websites to look for guiding tips and pointers. Hence before taking necessary action steps, it is important to have an action plan along with the proper information about the program.

Therefore when you are planning a treatment program, it is essential to learn what the detoxification process is all about. Here, we take a look at the alcohol detoxification program.

What does Alcohol Detoxification actually mean?

Alcohol detoxification means cleansing of the body from the substance. Once the alcohol is consumed continuously the substance resides in various parts of the body such as the bloodstream and in organs such as the liver and the kidney. The residual is very harmful for the body it may cause health problems in future. Hence the patient’s body is cleansed of the residues of alcohol in it completely. Not only is alcohol removed from the body, but also traces of unmetabolized alcohol are removed.

The program that tries to remove this presence of alcohol entirely from the user’s body is known as alcohol detoxification.

What is the Purpose of Alcohol Detoxification in California?

The alcohol detox becomes very important due to several benefits but the main purpose is to purify the person’s body from the alcohol and thus avoid further health complications. This is absolutely essential because alcohol that stays in a person’s body can bring health problems. In fact, even if the person currently has some health complications, they can be treated by detoxifying the person’s body completely removing the presence of alcohol.

But apart from the health benefits, the detoxification also helps to speed up the recovery. The individual must stop the consumption of alcohol. The alcohol present within the person’s body will create a craving for more addictive substance. Hence there’s a strong likelihood that he or she will have a relapse into the addiction even though the person is stopped from using the substance. This can make the complete recovery very difficult. Therefore the patient’s body needs to be cleansed of the alcohol completely through detoxification process and that helps in keeping them away from developing any further cravings for the substance.

The key reason why the alcohol detoxification in California is not neglected is because it works emphatically in improving the mindset of the patient. The moment when patient has goes through the entire detoxification process; he or she has faced the terrible withdrawal pangs. The addictive still has to successfully come out of the addiction. During this period they get the feeling that the body freed from addiction by the detox and they have once vanquished this enemy and can always keep doing it again.

How is an Alcohol Detoxification Program in California implemented?

In most cases, the patient has to stay in the treatment centers, away from the family and people. This helps them to keep away all familiar situations and people from them. In fact, even their friends and families are not allowed to meet them in case they trigger any familiar incidence that might cause in them a desire for alcohol once again.

Basically the alcohol detoxification program will be implemented on an inpatient basis. Once the patient has been housed in such a center, then they implement a completely healthy lifestyle. This includes to the food that they eat and even to the way that they should comfort themselves.

Depending on the extent of the addiction the person may have, within a few days the patient will experience a withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal is simply a collection of physical symptoms that manifest themselves when a person stays away from a substance of addiction. Then, the treatment providers are responsible to bring the patient out of this withdrawal symptom.

Treatment providers follow a medicinal therapy. Medications such as Antabuse are provided to the patients who are known to create a dislike in the mind of the patient for the substance of addiction. The medications make it possible for the patient to stays away from the substance and lead a healthier life. In the short term, the intention is to make the person continue to abstain from alcohol by making the withdrawal symptoms lighter. This program usually depends on the patient’s physical and mental condition and the nature of addiction itself. Hence the alcohol detoxification program in California is quite flexible when it comes to the duration of the program.



Thanks to Todd Lange for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

Drug Addiction Intervention