4 Benefits of Working With a Detox Doctor For Addiction Treatment

Addiction treatment starts with visiting a detox doctor who will begin and walk with you throughout your recovery journey. Fighting addiction is a challenging process to go through on your own. The first step towards successful recovery is a drug detox that you should complete before drug rehabilitation can begin. Luckily, a detox doctor will have your back and will help you work towards complete recovery. Here are the benefits of working with a detox doctor in your recovery journey.

1. A Detox Program Is the First Stage of Addiction Treatment

Addiction treatment is a journey of many steps, and it begins with detoxing. Regardless of the type of addiction — hard drug addiction or addiction to alcohol — you must first visit a detox doctor. The doctor will carry out various blood and urine tests to assess the body’s toxin levels of the substance that you’re abusing. What good would it do to jump on a drug rehabilitation program, while the substance you’re seeking to recover from is still in your body system? That would be counter-intuitive, and it’s why you should first complete your detoxing process before graduating to the next steps of addiction treatment. A good detox doctor will offer you full support during the detoxing process.

2. Detoxing Helps Manage Withdrawal Symptoms

One of the most painful processes of addiction treatment is managing withdrawal symptoms. Since your body is used and dependent on the substance that you abuse, it will react rather harshly to the immediate termination of substance use. Depending on several factors, such as the type and amount of drugs you used, your overall health, body weight, and the length of substance abuse, the withdrawal effects can be life-threatening. The more reasons why you need a detox doctor. Your doctor will administer the detox program in several stages and mitigate the painful effects of withdrawal by using prescription medicine. This way, your withdrawal symptoms will be less painful, and this will boost your chances of completing the detox process.

3. Detoxing Reduces the Chances of Relapsing

Addicts who don’t complete a detox program are more likely to relapse later. When this happens, the likelihood of a drug overdose and permanent body damage is high. Most people quit the detoxing process when they can no longer bear the painful withdrawal effects. The larger percentage of them are usually not under the observation of a detox doctor. When you complete a detoxing program, the other stages of addiction treatment will be less stressful because your body will have little to zero toxin levels. Therefore, you will have no painful withdrawal effects that may compel you to start using again. From there, it will then be more of a psychological battle to resist the urge to use again, and you will get plenty of help and support during drug rehab.

4. Detox Doctors May Detect Co-Occurring Disorders

A good number of addicts may have underlying disorders and diseases that they are not aware of. This is especially the case for addicts who started substance abuse at a younger age. The effects of the drugs may suppress the pain and symptoms of the underlying disorders such as ADHD and insomnia. As a result, addicts may not know that they have an existing disorder until they start detoxing. It is during the detoxing process that a detox doctor can easily detect the pre-existing disorder or disease. Addicts can then receive treatment for the disorder alongside addiction treatment.

Additionally, prolonged substance abuse may cause serious brain damage. Hard drugs like meth, heroin, and cocaine may cause grave harm to your body, including brain hemorrhage. Luckily, a detox doctor can detect these severe effects and initiate treatment to stop further damage.

Quitting an addiction is not an easy process and requires utmost dedication. The hardest part of recovery is making the first decision to get help. But once you decide, recovery becomes much easier. Visiting a detox doctor should be the first step towards addiction treatment when you decide to get help.