When I first tried going sober I did the whole cold turkey thing. I relied solely on over-the-counter medications to get me through the sweats, the shakes, the headaches, the vomiting and all the rest of it.
It was not fun at all.
Also it was really dangerous. I only learned afterward that withdrawing from alcohol cold turkey like that can have some serious long term impacts to your health. And can even result in death.
That is why now whenever I am asked what the best way to do detox is – either here or in my role as a counselor – I say that the best way is the way that your Doctor advises.
A medically supervised detox will be far easier on your body than just quitting cold turkey. With easier in this case translating to safer. It also means more likely to stick. In my experience people who detox under the care of a medical profession are many many more times likely to succeed than going it alone.
What is the Detox Process?
Detox is when your body gets rid of all the remaining alcohol that is going through your system. It is not so much the getting rid of the alcohol that is the problem – that is a good thing! – it is how the body comes to adjust to not having alcohol present any longer.
Just think about it. Your body will have adjusted to the presence of alcohol for so long that it has come to rely on the fact that it will be there. Chemical processes all across your body have to account for the fact that alcohol will be present. Then all of a sudden there’s no alcohol anymore and these processes are still working as though there is. It takes time for the body to update to the lack of alcohol and during that time you will experience some symptoms.
The symptoms from detox can last anywhere from a few days to a few months. These can range from a mild hangover all the way through to seizures and even death.
Due to these risks medically assisted detox is the go to recommendation for those people who have been drinking for a prolonged period of time.
Why is Medically Assisted Detox Necessary?
Alcohol is one of the most dangerous substances that one can detox from. I would say it is probably the most dangerous substance to experience withdrawals from that can be legally purchased in most parts of the world.
Withdrawing from alcohol is known to provoke the following symptoms
- Increased and erratic heart beat
- Fever
- Hallucinations
- Anxiety
- Sweating
- Increased blood pressure
- Confusion
- Headaches
- Feelings of nausea
- Tremors
- Seizures
Seizures are the most serious of the above symptoms and occur because your brain has become so accustomed to the presence of alcohol that when it is removed it can no longer function correctly.
It really is a kind of perverse catch-22. You have to stop drinking because the alcohol is poisoning your body and killing you slowly. But the act of quitting has the potential to kill you quickly.
You might think that tapering is the answer, whereby you reduce your intake over a course of days until you are not drinking at all. But that comes with it’s own issues – namely if we were able to control how much we drank we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.
That’s why medical detox is necessary.
What medications are prescribed during detox
YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE EMBARKING ON ANY DETOX PROGRAM
What is prescribed during detox will vary from person to person but the most commonly prescribed medications are:
- Benzodiazepines to treat the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal (most importantly to reduce the frequency and severity of any seizures).
- Anti-nausea medications
- Vitamins (to prevent Wernicke Syndrome)
- Anti-convulsants
- General pain medication
- Anti-cravings medication (such as naltrexone) normally prescribed once the withdrawal process is complete
- Anti-psychotics
Care needs to be taken when taking any medications as there is always the risk of developing a cross dependence, particularly in the case of benzodiazepines. You should always be completely forthright with your Doctors during treatment so that they can prescribe the correct medications based on your medical history.
What happens after detox
After detox is when you learn to live in a post-alcohol world. For some people this would be a short stay in a treatment facility. For others an out-patient program can provide them with what they need to remain sober in the long term.
Some people might be able to keep up their sobriety with meetings alone.
What ever you decide is right for you just make sure that you do something. Going back to the same life as before without making any changes is one of the surest ways of triggering a relapse.
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