The Risks of Trying to Detox at Home

If you are searching for the best and safest ways to go through detox, that means that you have admitted that you have a problem and are willing to work on the solution. And that calls for congratulations. However, just because you are aware of your problem doesn’t mean that you will be able to make all the right decisions. As a luxury rehab facility in Florida, we want to see you succeed and get better. Thus, we don’t advise that you take that first crucial step at home. There are many risks of trying to detox at home and almost no benefits. We don’t mean to scare you – we just want to help you become aware of what can go wrong if you try to detox without professional assistance.

What is a detox?

The process of allowing the drugs or alcohol to leave your system is known as detox. Detox begins the moment you stop taking your substance of choice and it lasts until all of the withdrawal symptoms have gone away, which can take up to a few weeks. How long a person will go through detox depends on the length of their addiction, the substance they have been taking, and their willpower – among other things.

Before entering any Inpatient or Outpatient program in Florida, you will first have to go through detox. Individuals who opt for a partial hospitalization program will have a chance to detox with professional assistance. However, if you want to go straight to an Outpatient program, then you will have to detox either at home or by finding a healthcare professional to assist you. Now, judging by the title of this article, you can already get a gist of where we stand on the whole detoxing at your home topic. There’s a good reason for that, and it can be found in the symptoms of withdrawal that come hand-in-hand with a detox.

The symptoms of withdrawal

Unfortunately, the symptoms of withdrawal can be quite debilitating. They usually commence a few hours after a person’s last dose or sip of alcohol. And it’s because of these symptoms that a Medically-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is oftentimes necessary. If you have never encountered the symptoms of withdrawal before, then you most likely don’t know what you can expect. While detox will be different for every person, some of the most common symptoms of withdrawal are:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Flu-like symptoms
• High temperature or chills
• Diarrhea
• Exhaustion
• Restlessness
• Muscle and bone pain
• Excessive sweating
• Shaking and shivering
• Heart palpitations

We know that looking at this list of symptoms is probably very discouraging. However, the good news is that these symptoms don’t last forever, and they will pass eventually. But until they do, it’s very important to have sufficient support by your side. Otherwise, you can run into one of the following risks of trying a home detox.

The risks of trying to detox at home

It’s true that the symptoms of withdrawal require a stay in an alcohol or drug rehab facility in Boynton Beach. However, we know that just saying this doesn’t mean a lot to you, as you are most likely not aware of all the risks that can come. Therefore, if you are 100% certain that you want to go through a home detox, we want you to be aware of the following things.

The risk of relapsing

You’ve already taken a look at all the serious symptoms of withdrawal that are to come. So you can tell us if you are completely sure that you won’t be tempted to give up on it all. What usually happens is that people enter the process of withdrawal motivated to finally kick their addiction to the curb. But once the unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal kick in, their motivation quickly diminishes.

Now, a relapse doesn’t have to mean that the end of your journey to sobriety has come. However, if your journey has just started and you face this incredibly big hurdle, there’s a good chance that you will become discouraged from going down the right path. That’s why you need to work on preventing a relapse early on in the process. And the best way to do that is by seeking some professional help.

The risk of overdose

We would like to bring your attention to the most dangerous risk of them all – overdosing. Once a person is faced with a relapse that was brought upon by the uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal, they are much more likely to overestimate their dosage. It wouldn’t be rare for a person to consume more drugs or alcohol than they can sustain when in such a state of mind.

If a person is abusing drugs or alcohol, then the risk of overdose is always there. This is particularly true if an individual is experimenting with so-called hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin. This is one of the very important things that we like to focus on in our heroin rehab facility in Florida. A relapse is bad, but its effects can be reversed through timely and appropriate action. However, an overdose will oftentimes result in the worst-case scenario that none of us would like to see.

Delirium tremens

There’s a chance that you might have never before heard of delirium tremens. This is a condition that affects heavy and long-term drinkers, and it occurs within two to four days of the last drink, although it can begin even after 10 days. The characteristics of this condition include severe confusion, restlessness, agitation, incredible bursts of energy, and hallucinations.

If there aren’t any medical professionals involved in the treatment of people who develop delirium tremens, this condition can be fatal. In fact, it is estimated that between five and fifteen percent of people who develop this condition will die from it. However, just because there is a chance that you will have this condition doesn’t mean that you should give up on detoxing. It just means that you should seek professional help instead of trying to detox at home. When taken care of by a professional, delirium tremens almost never ends in death.

Benzodiazepine withdrawal

There are some substances that make it easier to go through withdrawal. And then there are those that come with real dangers for the individual and their surroundings. Benzodiazepines belong to the second group. In fact, the risks of trying to detox at home when addicted to any of the drugs that belong to benzodiazepines are so great that they could result in a deadly situation. Just for clarification purposes, sedatives such as Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin belong to this group of drugs.

Why is the withdrawal from these drugs so difficult? Well, withdrawal from these sedatives can cause panic attacks, seizures, and severe psychotic symptoms. The most severe symptoms, such as hallucinations and delirium, can cause a person to hurt themselves. Or others. That’s why it’s the best course of action to play it safe and seek out prescription drug rehab in Florida. Just because a doctor has given you a prescription for a drug doesn’t mean that you can use it as you like. The only way to avoid an addiction to prescription drugs is by using them as instructed. Most importantly, never share your medications with anyone else. That’s the first rule of being safe and responsible when using prescription drugs.

Is it ever safe to try to detox at home?

Detoxing at home can be done safely in two scenarios. For starters, you shouldn’t have an addiction to any of the hard drugs, such as heroin and meth. Because if that’s the case, then you should commit yourself to a stay in a meth rehab center in FL. Usually, people who have a marijuana addiction can find it safe to detox at home. Bear in mind that we said that they can find it safe – nowhere did we say that their success is guaranteed.

Likewise, people who are suffering from a mild addiction can detox at home. What counts as a mild addiction, you ask? Well, those would be the initial stages of addiction. If you can function without your substance of choice but you find the temptation to constantly be there (and you give in to it every once in a while), then you most likely have a mild addiction.

The second scenario where it might be possible to detox at home is if you have plenty of help and support. A strong support system is a prerequisite for those people who are pondering a home detox. Don’t get us wrong – nobody can do the hard work instead of you. No matter how good your support system is, it won’t mean much unless you have the will and motivation to become sober. But if you do have the willpower, then having a close circle of friends and family members will make it that much more likely that you’ll succeed.

Detoxing with professional support

Detoxing, as uncomfortable as it is, is a mandatory part of your journey to sobriety. However, did you know that detoxing looks completely different once done with professional assistance? For starters, healthcare professionals can help you with one thing – the symptoms of withdrawal. They can do that by using FDA-approved drugs that have been proven to lessen the symptoms of withdrawal. Don’t get us wrong – a stay in an Inpatient rehab facility in FL does not equal zero withdrawal symptoms. But it does equal a much more comfortable journey to sobriety – and certainly a lot fewer cravings.

Moreover, one of the main reasons why we are such huge supporters of the MAT program is because it has been shown to bring long-term success. Those individuals who have used a special combination of these drugs have managed to keep their sobriety for a longer period of time. Please bear in mind that these drugs should only be used when under professional supervision. Healthcare professionals can find the right combination and dosage of these medications.

Yet another benefit of detoxing with professional support is in having 24/7 access to therapists. These professionals can monitor you and your progress, and they can provide support and pieces of advice whenever necessary. Feel free to ask any of the people who have stayed in a crack cocaine rehab facility in Palm Beach. We are sure they will tell you that the constant support of their therapists helped them tremendously when it comes to overcoming the process of detox.

Professional help is widely available

Many people would love to get professional help but don’t know where to look for it. Well, we here at Bright Futures Treatment Center offer all the help you will need. Our professional therapists can help you with any type of addiction – severe, moderate, or mild. You name it, we can treat it. The length, duration, and type of your addiction aren’t important. What’s important is for you to have enough desire to get sober – we’ll take care of the rest.

Thus, assess whether trying to detox at home is something you can safely do. If you have been abusing substances for way too long and have no at-home support, then you will want to think things through. We want only what’s best for you, which is why we want you to avoid taking any unnecessary risks. Feel free to contact us if you decide to get additional support. Our therapists, counselors, and healthcare specialists are always only one phone call away.

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