Opiate detoxification is the process of withdrawal from medication which is not good for the body. It also helps in reducing your inclination towards drugs. There are certain medications which have a very negative effect on the body. These medications are known as opiates. Many get addicted to using this medication. This is because, these medications have heroin, cocaine, morphine, Vicodin, hydrocodone and codeine. When patients start using these drugs in high quantities, their brain cells stop working and they become very dependent on these drugs. Withdrawal from these drugs is very difficult and chronic health problems are a side effect of this.
Opiate Detox: To avoid unpleasant experiences, which the patient has to go through, opiate detoxification is followed. In this procedure, the patient is made to go through an intensive detox plan which will help him or her abstain from these opiates. There are two ways people go about with the detox plan.
Ultra Rapid Opiate Detoxification: This detox plan is done only in selected medical centers. When the treatment was introduced, it was considered to be the best way of detoxifying the body from opiates. Especially, the usage of anesthesia was said to be a very promising treatment for such patients. Later studies have not acknowledged this treatment. It is also stated that this treatment would often increase the chances of the patient dying.
The major effects of this anesthetic dosage are withdrawal symptoms such as stomach upset, pain and anxiety as soon as the anesthesia dosage is over. Hence it was considered to be a not so effective form of detoxification from opiates.
Opiate Agonist Drug Detox: The detox method of this is to give them small amounts of the drugs they are addicted to and then gradually reduce the dose to zero. The agonist drugs are also opiates, but they do not have the same intensity of ‘high’ as the original drugs. As slowly when the dosage is reduced, the addiction still remains after a certain point. To remove the remaining addiction to opiates, they use supplement drugs to withdraw completely. For instance, methadone is used as a replacement to heroin.
The withdrawal symptoms still prevail in the person. It is said to be a difficult phase to go through in the whole process. If this emotional phase is taken care of, then the process is said to be successful, and the opiate detoxification will help the person remain away from drugs.
