Do I Need To Go Through Drug Detox in Kentucky?

What Is Detox?

If you have been struggling with addiction in Kentucky and you decide to enroll for drug rehab services, you will first be required to go through drug detox. Also known as detoxification, this process will allow your body to get rid of all the drugs and alcohol that you were abusing.

The primary goal of detox is to ensure that you receive the medically managed services that you need to deal with any painful and disconcerting withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms will arise when you stop drinking alcohol or taking drugs.

Your experience in Kentucky detox programs will be different from what other people will go through. The duration of your program as well as the type of program that you use will have a large bearing on this experience.

Sometimes, drug detox programs will use medications to ensure that you are comfortable and safe as the toxins start leaving your system. Alternatively, they could put you on a tapering system so that you do not suffer too much during withdrawal.

It might take several days or weeks for you to go through these programs. The duration will largely depend on the following factors:

• Any other medical condition that you might have
• The amounts of drugs you used to take at any given time
• The duration of your drug use and addiction
• The existence of other underlying mental health disorders over and above your addiction
• The route of administration you used while taking drugs, such as swallowing, injecting, smoking, or snorting
• The severity and intensity of your substance use disorder
• The types of substances that you were abusing and got addicted to
• Your family history
• Your genetic makeup

Although it might be possible to go through detox on your own, this mode of recovery is not recommended. This is because you might develop various complications during your recovery. Additionally, the significant discomfort and intense drug cravings that you experience could increase your risk of relapse - which could give rise to a painful or even fatal overdose.

Often, drug detox services are recommended because of the withdrawal symptoms that you will most likely develop. These symptoms will largely depend on you as an individual as well as on the drugs that you used to abuse. They might include but are not always limited to:

• Agitation
• Anxiety
• Changes in appetite
• Coma
• Depression
• Diarrhea
• Disorientation
• Hypersomnia
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Nausea
• Other gastrointestinal issues
• Pain
• Seizure
• Strong drug cravings
• Vomiting

Through a medically managed detox program, you might be able to ensure that all these withdrawal symptoms are properly diagnosed and taken care of as they develop. In the long run, this could make the drug detox process in Kentucky much safer and more comfortable.

As we mentioned earlier, the detox program could also use medications to improve your stability and comfort as well as ease the withdrawal process. This could make it easier for you to enjoy better outcomes in treatment and a longer period of recovery and sobriety.

Often, medications will be used if you develop a withdrawal syndrome as a result of abusing certain drugs. These syndromes might prove to be painful or even life-threatening unless they are medically managed. They are linked to drugs like alcohol, sedatives, and opioids. The medications, on the other hand, might include:

• Acamprosate
• Benzodiazepines (such as Klonopin, Valium, Ativan, and Xanax)
• Buprenorphine
• Clonidine
• Disulfiram
• Methadone
• Naltrexone

How Long Does Detox Last?

Ideally, the drug detox process in Kentucky will last about as long as your withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings persist. The goal of the process would be to ensure that you receive medically managed services so that you can achieve full mental and physical stability.

Apart from ensuring that you stop using drugs and drinking alcohol in the safest way possible, the detox process could also support you as you experience withdrawal symptoms. Further, it will be used to prepare you for the additional addiction treatment and rehabilitation services that you will receive once your Kentucky detox program has come to an end.

It is also essential to keep in mind that you might not always be able to complete this process on your first try. This would effectively increase the time you will spend on other additional treatments to overcome your substance abuse and addiction.

That said, detox is the recommended first step that you have to take before you receive any other drug rehab services. As long as you have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder, drug detox would be necessary for you to overcome this condition.

However, there are some substances of abuse that will require a longer time in detox than others. They include, but are not always limited to:

• Alcohol
• Hypnotic and sedative drugs such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines
• Opioids, including prescription pain medications, heroin, and morphine

When you stop using these substances, there is a high risk that you could develop adverse, severe, or even life-threatening withdrawal symptoms. To this end, you might have to spend more time in a drug detox program to overcome your dependence on these drugs.

What Does Detox Consist Of?

Your drug detox program in Kentucky will be different from everyone else's. This is because you will typically have different needs for treatment. Even so, you should always keep in mind that detoxification can help you receive the personalized treatment that you need to overcome your substance use disorder.

That said, the process often consists of the following distinct steps that are almost universal for everyone who seeks detox services:

a) Assessment

When you check into a drug detox program, you will meet with a medical team comprised of various addiction treatment professionals. These experts will screen you for any and all mental and physical health issues.

Typically, they will use blood tests, urine tests, and many other kinds of tests to measure the total amount of alcohol and drugs that are lodged in your system. Then, they will use the results from these tests to determine the type of medically managed detox program that would be most ideal for you.

Additionally, the treatment team will perform a comprehensive review of your psychiatric, medical, and drug use histories. From this information, they will be able to create the best treatment plan for you.

b) Stabilization

After your assessment has been complete and you have a drug detox plan in place, the treatment program will try to provide you with full physical and psychological stability. They will do this using a wide variety of psychological and medical therapies.

The primary goal of the stabilization process would be to ensure that you do not come to any harm, and that you do not harm yourself, or others. It is during this period that the program might prescribe various medications to ensure that you do not suffer any adverse complications, as well as to deal with all your withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings.

c) Aftercare

During and towards the end of the stabilization process, the treatment team will start preparing you for entry into a drug rehabilitation and treatment program. You will also be familiarized with the addiction treatment process as well as informed about what you should expect when you start on it.

Do I Still Need Rehab After Detox?

Even after you have been through a drug detox program in Kentucky, it would still be necessary for you to receive other services to ensure your long term sobriety and recovery.

This is because drug detox is not considered to be a complete form of treatment for any sort of addiction. Its primary goal is to help you overcome your physical dependence, withdrawal symptoms, and drug cravings.

It is for this reason that the last process in your detox program would involve you getting prepared for additional treatment services that you need to overcome your substance abuse and all the problems linked to it.

Addiction is a complex condition. It is often comprised of many other psychological, behavioral, and emotional problems. These include but are not limited to violent attacks, grief, sexual trauma, and life changing events such as loss of employment and divorce.

It is essential that you address all these issues even after receiving detox services. For this reason, you should check into a drug rehab and treatment program towards the end of your detoxification.

The program you choose will either be an inpatient or an outpatient drug rehab. Your choice will largely depend on your progress in recovery, the level of stability you have achieved, the severity of your substance use disorder, and the existence of any other co-occurring medical and mental health disorders over and above your addiction.

In the long term, addiction treatment is offered on a continuum of care in Kentucky. It includes both drug detox and drug rehabilitation treatments. You need both of these services to be able to achieve a state of full stability, sobriety, and recovery, as well as to reduce your risk of relapse.

CITATIONS

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000949.htm

https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arp2-1/44-46.pdf

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-are-long-term-effects-cocaine-use

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64041/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21412369