Dangers of At-Home Detox
The most dangerous substances to detox that could be potentially harmful and deadly are benzodiazapine and alcohol.
What are benzos? They are prescription drugs like xanax, valum, and klonopin. It is usually appealing to do at-home detox for users because they believe it will be the most low cost and because they don’t want to burden their family. Or it could be that they are in denial of the severity of their dependency and they want to prove that they can stop on their own. Even when you take the prescription as prescribed by your health care professional you can become addicted to the substance. The longer you take them the higher the dose you need to get that condition you are trying to help because you become tolerant to the drug. The reality is that most people are not prepared for the potential dangerous withdrawal symptoms alcohol and benzos can be. Your family and friends can give you emotional support and love but they are not equipped to help you medically and with expertise that is required to carefully detox from these harmful substances. If the user can get through withdrawals safely it doesn’t mean that it will be a lasting recovery. They will more likely relapse and cause more danger to themselves when detoxing at home.
How Benzodiazapine and alcohol affect the body
These substances have a sedative affect on the brain and blocks certain chemicals, and gives you a calming effect. Long term use it will cause chemical changes that make it so you are dependent on the brain which leads to the addiction. Because of the severe brain changes when they is absence the body will have a true physical need for the substance producing the withdrawal symptoms.
Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome can result in the following physical and psychological symptoms:
- Insomnia
- Tremors
- Anxiety
- Digestive discomfort
- Loss of appetite
- Headache
- Excessive perspiration
- Heart palpitations
- Hallucinations
- Seizures
- Delirium tremens (DTs)
Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome
Similar to alcohol withdrawal, benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome can result in the following symptoms.
- Insomnia
- Irritability
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Hand tremors
- Sweating
- Difficulty concentrating
- Dry retching and nausea
- Weight loss
- Palpitations
- Headache
- Muscle pain and stiffness
- Seizures
- Psychotic events
After detoxing from benzos the anxiety and mental disorders that they were prescribed to treat become much worse after stopping taking the drug. Even if you are on a long term low dose, you can still have severe symptoms of withdrawal according to this Research.
From a study about Addiction relapse rate for at home detox
After three years:
- 4 percent of those who received help for recovery were still in recovery
- 4 percent of those who tried to recover on their own were still in recovery
After 16 years:
- 9 percent of those who received help for recovery relapsed
- 5 percent of those who tried to recover on their own relapsed
The very best way to safely and effectively detox from any substance is with professional supervision, and intense therapies. For these types of substances, the recommended treatment is inpatient care so they can be monitored for the duration of the detox and maintain a safe withdrawal. It is also important for long term recovery that you seek professional help. It will lower your relapse rate and also give you a setting in which you will be treated with what you need for success. If you are interested in finding out about our treatment programs. go to
www.pomarri.com
and book a consult with us. We want to help.