If you find yourself googling “how to avoid withdrawal symptoms”, unfortunately the short answer is you cannot avoid withdrawal symptoms when getting off drugs or alcohol. The only way out of it is through it! The good news is with medical assistance at a treatment facility, withdrawal symptoms can certainly be managed, and your pain can be eased.
What Is Withdrawal? And What Should I Expect?
Frequent coffee drinkers experience withdrawal symptoms such as headache, fatigue, and difficulty to concentrate when they stop consuming caffeine. The same concept is applied to substance abuse withdrawal, such as alcohol or opiates. Withdrawal can be defined by the unpleasant physical and mental manifestations that you experience during the detox process because the body has developed a dependence to the substance you’re abusing. The undesirable symptoms are your body’s expression of its needs for more of the substance. Symptoms can begin as early as hours after the last dose of the substance. Withdrawals symptoms can be categorized into two groups: early symptoms and late symptoms.
Early symptoms: for short-acting opiates such as Morphine, Percocet, Dilaudid, and OxyContin, these symptoms start within 6-12 hours since the last dose. For the longer acting ones, such as MS Contin, Duragesic (fentanyl patch), withdrawal symptoms can manifest within 30 hours. Some withdrawal symptoms include muscle ache, agitation, racing heart, fever, anxiety, agitation, and even high blood pressure.
Late symptoms: the peak of these symptoms for opiate withdrawals are within 72 hours, and usually last at least a week or so. Expected symptoms are depression, intense craving, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and severe chills.
What To Do for Withdrawal? Benefits of a Detox Program
Withdrawals symptoms are one of the main reasons why addicts relapse or hesitate seeking addiction treatment. According to The National Institute on Drug Abuse, the relapse rate for substance abuse disorder is 40-60%. That is an alarmingly high rate, and it can be very discouraging to people who seek treatment for substance abuse. However, such a high rate of relapse does make sense, don’t you think? With all the withdrawal symptoms listed above, in addition to being apart from family, friends, and familiar environments, even the strongest individual would contemplate the “easy” way out, which is re-introducing the substance to their body. This is to reiterate the fact that there is no avoidance of withdrawals, the ONLY way out is to go through it.
Up until this point, you might experience many emotions, doubt and fear are rightfully among them. We get it. This journey is not one that should be observed from rose-colored glasses, that’s why at Rise in Malibu, we keep it as realistic as possible with you. We want you to be prepared for what’s coming next, while assuring you that you are not alone in this battle. At Rise in Malibu, you will be part of our team, therefore, we want you to be well-informed so we can make collaborative decisions that yield the most optimal result for your detox and recovery process. When detoxing with us, our medical staff will monitor your vitals 24/7 and make you feel as comfortable as possible. Your chances of relapsing during detox are lower when at an addiction treatment facility.
Our seasoned staff has in-depth knowledge and experience with traditional, clinical and holistic modalities with substance abuses, and at the heart of it is YOU. Your mental, physical, and spiritual health are essential for your recovery journey. That’s why we utilize holistic methods such as yoga, massage, acupuncture and therapy in addition to medication therapy.
At Rise in Malibu, our number one goal is your safety. Withdrawal symptoms are extremely unpleasant, there’s no doubt about that, but more than that, some of these manifestations can be life-threatening, that’s why we have highly trained clinicians and staff who cater to you 24/7. We do not believe in the “one size fits all” theory, we understand that each individual is unique physically, physiologically and psychologically; therefore, at Rise in Malibu, you will be receiving a highly individualized treatment program. At the end of the day, your long-term recovery is our priority, and since we are a team, your success is our success.
The Key to Success Is You
We have all the tools and resources that are needed for your recovery journey, but you are the key to your success, and it is normal to be overwhelmed, to feel doubt and fear, just know that you have what it takes to own this next chapter of your life. One of the most challenging parts of getting sober is recognizing that you need help and reaching out for it, and you did it! You might wonder at this point, why Rise at Malibu, while there are thousands of treatment centers across the country. A picture is worth more than a thousand words, we would love to invite you to check out our luxurious amenities on our website, or better yet, you can request an in-person tour of the amenity. Also, who can resist a mini vacation to the beautiful, sunny Southern California with lustrous palm trees and cloudless sky? Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any question or concern that you might have. We believe in your recovery!
