How do you know if you need detox? Just what is it and where can you find drug detox in Albuquerque? Many people worry about the length of time they’ve been using drugs or alcohol, plus the combination of substances that they’ve been abusing, and they feel embarrassed to ask the questions that will help them find treatment.
Drug detox, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is not the same thing as substance abuse treatment. Drug detox refers to “a set of interventions aimed at managing acute intoxication and withdrawal.” SAMHSA identifies three purposes of drug detox:
- Medically managed or medically supervised drug detox prevents the person from life-threatening complications such as seizures when they decide to stop using drugs such as alcohol or benzodiazepines.
- It provides the care necessary to see a person through withdrawal from the drugs they are using, so that they can manage intense cravings and withdrawal symptoms and remain abstinent.
- It also serves as an introduction to the world of recovery for someone who makes the decision to become sober.
It’s natural to be fearful that undergoing drug or alcohol detox means you have to put aside your basic human dignity and submit yourself to therapies that will make you feel ashamed and physically uncomfortable. After all, less than fifty years ago, people who were high or drunk were arrested and thrown into “drunk tanks” until they were sober enough to go on their way. If they went into withdrawal on the floor of a jail cell, so be it.
But don’t let those kinds of worries deter you from seeking drug detox in Albuquerque: SAMHSA has joined with the American Medical Association in identifying addiction as a medical diagnosis that requires compassionate treatment and supervision. It also advises treatment providers that they must show caring attention to their patients, helping them to understand that they deserve respect and fostering in them a hope for the future.
People who seek drug detox in Albuquerque must first undergo an assessment process in order to determine whether their pattern of repeatedly taking a drug or alcohol has resulted in a tolerance for that substance, meaning that they have to gradually increase the amount they take in order to experience the same effects. The assessment also explores the compulsive nature of drug addiction and any emotional or behavioral disorders that may be part and parcel of the addiction. Following the assessment, the patient is stabilized and gradually prepared for entry into recovery.
Is drug detox physically dangerous? The only two substances that could put you in physical danger if you try to detox on your own are alcohol and benzodiazepines. If you withdraw from them suddenly you can go into seizures and die. That’s why it’s so important to find just the right place for drug detox. In Albuquerque, there are places that are licensed by the state and operated by professionals especially trained in substance abuse treatment.
What’s Drug Detox in Albuquerque Like?
To answer your questions about what it’s really like to go into drug detox in Albuquerque, you may want to talk to treatment professionals at several programs or visit our website. Many of the best places provide medically managed or supervised detox at a location separate from their regular offices and treatment facilities. You will find the privacy and care you require in order to get through this most difficult stage of treatment.
In most cases, you will not be permitted to have contact with your family or friends over the course of detox lasting three to seven days. Your loved ones can call to check on you as long as you sign an authorization that permits staff to communicate with them, but you cannot talk to them or see them.
Drug withdrawal comes with debilitating physical symptoms, but once you get through them—and you will! —you should be willing to try IOP and 12-step meetings.
Most people are also treated with Naltrexone or Vivitrol, two highly effective medications approved by SAMHSA and the DEA for use in treating addiction. Ultimately, your drug detox in Albuquerque will lead to a full recovery regimen that keeps you busy and returns you to an eventful, rewarding lifestyle. All you need to do to take back control of your life is make the first phone call.
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