Tucson Substance Abuse Treatment: When Is It Necessary for Drug Detox
You’re realizing that you (or your loved one) are in too deep with drugs and they’re starting to run your life. Maybe you feel like you’re just existing, not really living, and you think it might be time to get clean. But you’re not sure how or what your first step should be. Go to rehab for Tucson substance abuse treatment? Go to drug detox in Tucson? Start NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings?
It’s common for people in your situation to worry that you won’t be able to get clean or that detox will be so painful that you end up using again. Depending on your drug of choice, it might be hard for you to stop using by yourself. It can also be dangerous to stop using certain drugs cold turkey (all at once) instead of gradually tapering off.
For many people with substance use disorders, getting help for your drug use is the best way to get and stay clean. You’ll get the support that will help you through detox as well as the whole process of healing. There’s usually an underlying cause for the drug use that needs to be addressed to ensure your sobriety journey is successful.
Although each journey is unique, there are a few things that every addict must go through to achieve sobriety. Each path has the same first step: to stop using. Your path could include a drug detox that helps keep you comfortable and safe as you withdraw.
How Tucson Drug Detox Works
Drugs change the way that your brain works. Some changes are short-term and occur right after you take the drug, and others are long-term. Most drugs affect the way that the brain makes certain neurochemicals.
Once you become dependent on the drug, your brain might stop making some of these chemicals because the drug is almost always present. When you stop using the drug, it takes a little while for your brain to adapt to the lack of the drug, and this adjustment is what leads to withdrawal symptoms.
While you’re withdrawing, if you don’t have help, it can be so uncomfortable and painful that you go back to using it to stop the symptoms. A supervised detox in Tucson is designed to help you withstand these symptoms so you don’t have to use it again to feel better.
When you arrive at drug detox Tucson, a staff member will take your vital signs, including blood or urine samples. They’ll ask about your history with the drug and which drug(s) you use regularly. Once they have all the information, they’ll recommend your course of treatment. If you have physical health issues like being undernourished or dehydrated, you’ll also get treatment for them.
A supervised detox means that a medical professional is nearby, 24/7, to address any problems or issues that arise while you’re detoxifying the drug. With most drugs, you’ll start feeling the onset of withdrawal symptoms within hours of your last use. Depending on the drug, it may be a few days before “peak withdrawal,” when symptoms are most miserable and drug users are most likely to relapse if they’re not in a supervised detox.
Most withdrawal symptoms start fading within a week to ten days, depending on the drug and how much you’ve been using.
For more information on how our addiction treatment programs can help heal drug or alcohol dependence, please give The River Source a call at 866-294-9331.
Why Medically Assisted Drug Detox Is Safer Than Doing it Alone
If you’ve ever tried (and failed) to stop using drugs by yourself, you know how hard it is. A medically assisted drug detox in Tucson gives you support in a shame-free environment so that you don’t feel so alone. In addition to providing extra comfort and support, there are reasons why this type of detox could mean the difference between life and death.
- Stopping suddenly could be lethal
While not all drugs require a gradual taper because you could die from stopping cold turkey, some do. Doing a gradual taper alone is extremely hard because you’ll likely return to using the drug. Many 12-step rehab programs and similar recovery meetings require abstinence, so they don’t support a gradual taper either. Medical detox is the safest way to handle withdrawal from these drugs.
- Some drugs have life-threatening withdrawal symptoms
Although some drugs have painful and uncomfortable withdrawal consequences, the symptoms aren’t necessarily life-threatening. However, there are some drugs where you could literally lose your life during withdrawal. Medical drug detox Tucson ensures that medical staff is nearby so the life-threatening symptoms don’t appear or they’re addressed before they become lethal.
- Medical assistance reduces your chance of relapse
Medical detox keeps you comfortable (and safe) in a trigger-free environment, making you less likely to feel the urge to relapse. And if you do, it will be much harder to find and use the drug.
7 Signs That Drug Detox Is Necessary
At this point, you may not be sure you need help getting clean. Do you need to detox, or can you do it yourself? If any of the following are true for you, you probably need medically assisted detoxification.
- You experience physical issues when you try to stop using.
- Your moods change when you try to stop.
- Your cravings for the drug are intense and happen a lot.
- You need to take more of the drug to get the same effects.
- You have other health issues, whether physical or mental.
- You lie about your drug use or try to hide it.
- You’ve tried to quit before and you couldn’t.
What’s the Next Step After Drug Detox?
Detoxification is the first step in the recovery process. Afterward, you’ll need to get treatment for your substance use disorder. This typically requires group and one on one counseling and behavioral therapy, which effectively treat drug abuse. Treatment can also help if you have a co-occurring mental health disorder like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or ADHD. While you’re in treatment, you’ll learn how to manage stress and other techniques so you never have to use them again.
If you need drug detox in Tucson to start your journey, you’ll also likely need to go to inpatient rehab afterward.
After residential treatment, where you live at the facility while attending the program, you may go to outpatient rehab. You won’t live at rehab but go home at night to your home or sober living facility while you’re in outpatient treatment.
After (or during) outpatient rehab, you may stay in sober living, which provides extra support and accountability so you can be successful.
Tucson Residents Can Get Help With Drug Detox by Calling The River Source Today
If you need help stopping the use of drugs at a Tucson substance abuse treatment center, we’re here to support you and help you recover. Our programs are based on solutions, not shaming and blaming, and they are evidence-based so you know that they work. We’ll keep you comfortable in detox and rehab with TVs, fitness facilities, and games.
At The River Source, we don’t just turn you loose after you finish the program. You can access our lifetime alumni support to help you stay clean no matter what life throws at you. Not only that, but we provide a guarantee. You can return for free if you complete our 150-day program (including detox) and relapse within a year.
Why wait any longer to get help and start on the path to the joyful life that you want and deserve? Call us at 866-294-9331 and take that first step toward a fulfilling future.
