Detox with medical monitoring and support is always easier than going “cold turkey” on your own. For many substances, it’s also a lot safer. With the right interventions, many recovering addicts can expect milder withdrawal symptoms, less discomfort, and shorter detox times overall.
If you’re soon to enter a treatment center in Florida, or if your loved one is going to rehab, you may be wondering exactly how long detox lasts. Although there are general timelines for every detox type, each experience is unique to the individual. Factors like:
- The type of substance or substances being used
- The patient’s overall health
- The length of the individual’s addiction history
all play roles in determining the length of withdrawal. For instance, with moderate and relatively short-term alcohol use, a person might spend just one week in detox until all of their physical systems have abated. Comparatively, a long-term, heavy drinker may experience severe physical withdrawal symptoms for 10 to 14 days, or even longer. People who are detoxing from heavy opioid abuse or from long-term addictions to certain prescription medications may even need to have controlled weaning plans put in place.
When a person undergoes detox by gradually weaning off of their substance of choice, detox can sometimes last a month or more. However, it’s also safer and far more comfortable for the individual overall. If you want to find out the expected timeline for your detox, you can always ask an admissions counselor at the time of enrollment.
Why the Timeline for Detox Varies
When people become addicted to drugs or alcohol, their bodies are physically dependent upon these substances. The withdrawal signals that are present during detox are the body’s way of exhibiting its distress. Most substances are responsible for addiction act on the central nervous system’s reward center. They do so by triggering surges of “feel good” chemicals known as neurotransmitters.
These chemicals create feelings of elation, heightened confidence, or relaxation, but they also control a variety of functions throughout the body. For instance, opioids trigger dopamine surges that account for the “high” that users experience. However, dopamine also plays a hand in smooth muscle control which includes the automatic beating of the heart. When opioids are abused until the body becomes reliant upon opioid use for adequate dopamine production and release, people can experience rapid heartbeats and other heart-related symptoms whenever opioids are taken away.
Changes like these in normal physical functioning account for why the body struggles to regulate its own temperature, blood pressure, and more when detoxing. Each substance has a different impact on the brain, the body, and the brain’s chemistry. During detox, the body is basically relearning to control its own systems and regulate its chemistry. It is also fighting to clear itself of the toxins that substance abuse has left behind. When people are younger or when their filter organs and other organ systems are healthier and more robust, the brain and body often have an easier time rebounding.
Factors such as age, heart health, and even gender can sometimes impact how swift the rebound process is. For these and other reasons, the best treatment centers in Florida always take an individualized approach to detox. They perform regular medical evaluations and psychological assessments to streamline their services for meeting the needs of each person. By doing so, they can offer the best possible interventions for expediting detox, limiting the risks of detox, and making this process easier.
What Is Detox Like in a Treatment Center
Concerns about the length of detox are often tied to the fear of being uncomfortable in withdrawal. If you’ve tried detoxing on your own at home, you’re probably reticent to repeat this experience again. The good news is that detoxing in a professional treatment center is nothing like going “cold turkey”.
You’ll start receiving targeted interventions as soon as you walk through the door. Your vital signs will be monitored night and day, and all significant changes in your well-being will be mitigated immediately. Trained professionals will work to ensure that you:
- Never get dehydrated
- Are getting the right nutrition
- Have the right options in sleep support
- Aren’t experiencing significant pain as the result of withdrawal symptoms
Understanding that anxiety, depression, and other difficult emotions are also a part of this process, they’ll take steps to alleviate the psychological symptoms of withdrawal as well. In fact, many Florida treatment centers additionally offer dual diagnosis treatment for people in detox with undiagnosed and untreated mental health disorders. People with generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, or other like issues will be given special interventions for safely managing their mental health.
What Happens Next?
If you’ll be completing inpatient addiction treatment in the same facility, you can start taking part in private counseling, group therapy, and other onsite activities as soon as you feel up to the task. If you’ll be transferring from a Florida detox center into an offsite rehab, your medical team will make sure that this transition is as seamless as possible. This way, you won’t have any gaps in your care. If you want to learn more about addiction treatment in Florida or if you want to find the right Florida rehab for you or your loved one, we can help. Get in touch with us now by calling 772-266-5320.
