Making Detox More Comfortable
Opioid addicts are well-familiar with the feelings of withdrawal. They signal the end of a heroin or prescription painkiller high, and when it’s time for another hit. The gauge is set for how much “sickness” they can handle, and they continue using, in part, to avoid that feeling. Knowing that detox would push beyond those limits leads to a fear about starting treatment.
The fact is, though, that discomfort in detox is probably not as bad as the times you’ve had to wait for the dealer or doctor to get a fix for you. Our nurses are present 24 hours on the inpatient detox units, and they are charged with keeping withdrawals at a minimum. The MD also adjusts medication tapering schedules when stabilization takes more time for a patient.
This is a big reason why Tarzana Treatment Centers has medical and counseling staff on detox units. Together, with the many years of experience we’ve had with this, they can tell very quickly when a patient legitimately requires some form of adjustment to treatment. When a patient is struggling, we know about it. Often before they do.
There is no reason to continue the struggle with opioid addiction these days. Most of our patients complete detox and are happy they took that step. Some are overcome by cravings and want to leave detox, and we can help keep them on the road to recovery with Medication Assisted Treatment with Methadone or buprenorphine Maintenance.