What Can You Expect from Your Visits with a Detox Doctor?
Of the 20.5 million Americans 12 or older that had a substance use disorder in the year 2015, 2 million had a substance use disorder involving prescription pain relievers. Additionally, 591,000 had a substance use disorder involving heroin. Looking at these numbers, it’s clear why so many people seek the professional medical assistance of detox doctors and other medical professionals who can help them with the detox process. There is no shame in looking for help for your addiction or substance abuse problem. But so many people are scared and they don’t know what they can expect from their visits with detox doctors. If you’re one of them, then read below to find out what you can expect from your visits to detox doctors.
Most Detox Doctors Will Begin with a Complete Medical Assessment
Before you get too far ahead of yourself thinking about what kind of addiction treatment you can expect, you should prepare to first go through a comprehensive medical assessment. Because the nature of addiction is so different for each and every patient, it can be quite difficult for even the most accomplished detox doctors to know how to treat your particular situation without first completing a thorough medical assessment. While this isn’t a big deal, some patients may like to know that they can expect to undergo these kinds of tests before getting into any specific approach on treating their addiction.
Your Treatment Will Be Individual
Depending on the current status of your addiction or substance abuse problem, the doctor may take a wide variety of different approaches to your treatment. For example, some addictions to substances that have particularly harsh withdrawal symptoms, such as heroin, may require a diligent, orchestrated approach to treatment so as to make the detox process go as smooth as possible. Other addictions, such as alcohol addiction, will carry an entirely different set of medical conditions.
Regardless of your addiction, it helps to know that your detox doctors will be coming up with an individual plan for your treatment. Making it through the detox process is a different road for every different person, so having the patience to recognize this in advance will prove to be incredibly productive both for you and for each and every medical professional that you encounter.
Getting Free From Addiction is More Than Just a Detox Process
Any good detox doctor will be sure to reinforce the idea that getting free from your addiction requires complete care beyond the detox process. Sure, it is important to take care of any immediate withdrawal symptoms that can cause physical distress and pain, but much of the problem of addiction is psychological and circumstantial. Without properly understanding and addressing the underlying causes of addiction, many patients are likely to return to their old ways. You should be ready for your detox doctor to help you come up with a lifelong plan for dealing with your addiction or substance abuse problems.
So How Can You Find Detox Doctors You Can Trust?
It doesn’t matter how bad your addiction is: if you can’t find the right detox doctors that you know you can trust, then little will change. But far too many people who are dealing with addiction or substance abuse problems have no idea how to go about finding a clinic or a doctor that they will get them the quality of care they deserve.
Begin by asking around for a recommendation from a trusted friend, family member, or coworker. A lot of times this can get you started down the right path toward finding a medical professional you can trust. You should also look for detox doctors who have a lot of strong, positive reviews from previous patients. This type of reputation usually means that a doctor has produced significant results in the past, thus making them more credible as you go about your search.
Benefits of Working With a Detox Doctor
A detox doctor is the primary physician in charge of a patient’s medical detoxification process. They ensure that a person aiming for recovery gets the treatment they need to be successful. These types of doctors go through extensive training that prepares them to deal with a variety of different physical and mental health symptoms patients might experience. A detox doctor takes several variables into account when finding the right treatment such as pre-existing health conditions, mental health disorders, specific drug withdrawal effects, allergies or sensitivities, and more. A home detox program guided by an experienced detox doctor can make the experience much easier, safer, and more comfortable.
Initial Prescription of Medication
In order to help patients cope with withdrawal as part of the detox process, they will be given appropriately controlled medication. This will most likely happen during the first visit of your detox program. Although there is no medication that prevents all withdrawal symptoms, some types of medication can help ease anxiety and depression, allow sufficient sleep, and counteract other problems associated with symptoms. Around the third visit, the Detox Doctor will refill the prescription for medication based on the patient’s results and progress.
What to Know When a Doctor Prescribes Detox from Methadone
For some who struggle with addiction, what’s meant to be the answer only leads to a larger problem, this is the case with Methadone. Known as a prescription drug used to treat severe pain, when consumed as an opiate this substance is highly addictive. That is why it’s not a good idea for a person to detox from Methadone alone. Some detox in fort lauderdale programs use Methadone to help patients mitigate the severe withdrawal symptoms they face on the road to recovery from harmful substances like heroin and other opioids. However, there are cases where patients misuse their methadone prescription and therefore become dependent on this drug, leading them to begin the process of addiction all over again.
Though it might seem counter-intuitive to prescribe this substance to patients who need to detox from it, guided Methadone treatment can help reduce the use of patients whose cases are severe. Doctors can provide treatments to shorten the withdrawal process and improve patients’ chances of recovery until they no longer require Methadone at all. Because addictions to specific drugs have such a strong effect on the body, Methadone treatment at Peace Medical is only prescribed to patients who are in government-approved programs. Through our home detox program, we do everything in our power to make sure each patient’s process is tailored to their specific needs.
What Happens When You Detox With Suboxone?
Meeting with a Suboxone Detox Doctor is an effective first step in dealing with opioid addiction as he/she will assist you in finding the right course of treatment for your unique needs. Your doctor will also assess your usage and determine if you are committed to recovery. Before beginning detox with Suboxone you might want to learn a little about this FDA-approved prescription drug used as part of an opioid treatment program.
First off, it can be an effective medication for opiate dependence but sometimes it can also be addictive and might produce similar withdrawal effects to other opioids. Symptoms of withdrawal from Suboxone can include fever or chills, body aches, nausea and vomiting, anxiety, depression, headaches, and sweating. Normally, most physical withdrawal symptoms will diminish after one month, though psychological dependence can still remain.
What Happens Once You Finish a Drug Detox Program?
After going through a drug detox in fort lauderdale program, you may wonder what to do next. Although you or a loved one have cleansed your body of harmful substances, there is still some work left to do. You’ll have to address the underlying issues and move forward with recovery to avoid relapse. Your detox doctor will most likely recommend you get stabilized mentally and physically to develop coping and relapse prevention skills necessary for maintaining long-term sobriety.
Like other chronic diseases such as asthma, treatment for drug addiction isn’t usually a cure. However, after a thorough detox program and willingness to get your life back, addiction can be managed successfully. Our team of professionals trained in the treatment of mental health can be of support after detox. Talking to a professional can help identify the underlying issues that may have contributed to or caused your addictive behaviors. Patients will also need to work on their physical health since during the detox process attention was poorly focused on nutritional needs. Getting exercise, eating well, and taking other steps to improve your physical health are also very fundamental steps of what happens after detox. Keep in mind that addiction may affect many aspects of your life, so your treatment before and after should address the needs of you as a whole.
Support After Going Through Detox
The support you receive from people around you like friends and family as well as from those who are also going through addiction treatment, can make a huge difference as you work towards the next steps in your life. These support systems will continue to benefit you long after your detox and after you’ve recovered from substance abuse.
You are not alone in your addiction recovery. If you or a loved one is in need of a detox doctor or any other type of addiction treatment service, then do not hesitate to reach out and get in touch with a member of our team today. At Peace Medical, we are here to help you every step of the way.
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