Understanding what alcohol or drug detoxification is like would be difficult for anyone who hasn’t had the experience or worked in a center treating addiction. Some parents have had the troubling experience of watching their son or daughter withdraw. It is also probably fair to say that most persons’ perception of kicking drugs or alcohol is based solely on what they have seen on television or film.
When people start using prescription opioids, obtained from a doctor, they rarely consider that they are at risk of addiction. Even after establishing a pattern of taking a pill before the recommended time, or worse doubling up their dose from time-to-time, many individuals are still convinced that dependence will not be their experience. What few realize is that tolerance and dependence can develop in a relatively short length of time. Such people don’t fully grasp that once the teeth of a use disorder sink in it is extremely difficult to put down the drugs.
Individuals with an opioid use disorder attempting to stop are in for an uncomfortable ride. Concerning opioids, symptoms of detox rarely result in complications that can be fatal. However, as any person in opioid use disorder recovery will tell you; opioid-withdrawal makes people wish they were dead. Fortunately, one can mitigate the uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal with the assistance of medical professionals and certain medications. With help, individuals can get through the first, most difficult days of detox, without relapse and then go on to working a program of recovery.
What Does Opioid Detox Look Like
80% OF HEROIN USERS STARTED WITH A PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLER
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| Source: Treatment Box Screen Shot |
Re: the words above, many people feel ineligible for prescription opioid addiction, and yet millions of Americans are in the grips of an opioid use disorder. Perhaps if more patients saw what it is like to experience opiate withdrawal, then maybe they would think twice before using their medications in unintended ways.
A young lady named Rebekkah made the courageous decision to detox from heroin on film for the Truth Initiative. Like 80 percent of today’s heroin users, Rebekah’s condition began with prescription opioids; in her case, procured from her doctor after suffering an ankle injury. She was just 14 years old. The cameras capture the early day of her detox and show the world what they may look forward to if they mess with opioids. She says:
“And I am the most camera shy person in the world. But if making my detox public is going to help somebody—even just one person—I’m all for it.”
The footage was turned into a PSA, please take a moment to watch “Treatment Box” below:
If you are having trouble watching, please click here.
“She had been an accomplished dancer and athlete, and that was lost when her addiction took over her life and self-image,” writes the Truth Initiative. “Now Rebekkah is regaining control of both—courageously making her detox public in order to help other people while she works towards a new start.”
Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
Medical detox can help you or a loved one get through one of the most challenging parts of the recovery process. In the first few days of withdrawal, the cravings and sheer discomfort get in the way of people seeing the process through to the end; medical assistance is often the difference between relapse and recovery. Please contact us to learn more about our program; Hope By The Sea can help make the miracle of recovery yours too.
