By Dr. Dalal Akoury Dr. Dalal Akoury June 18, 2015

The benefits of Detoxification to various drugs: The process it takes to detox

With the advent of drug addiction in our societies, efforts are being made every day to deliver lasting solutions to this problem of drug addiction. One of the treatment processes of drug addiction is detoxification which is seen to be the first step. Of course this comes after the patient has come to the acknowledgement of the problem thereby giving the authority to commence any meaningful recovery treatment process. Somebody ones ask me that “what are the benefits of detoxification to various drugs if the victim is in denial?” surely this is worthy and we want to build on it to establish the real benefits that will come as a result of detoxification process. We are privileged to have Dr. Akoury, a veteran expert in addiction, MD and also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center which is one of the leading pioneers in natural and holistic addiction treatment in US to take us through the discussion of unlocking the truths about the benefits of detoxification to various drugs. This expert has been of help to many in her over two decades of practice and she will be the same to you. All you need to do on your part is to schedule for an appointment with her now for the commencement of your journey to drug addiction recovery.

And now to the discussion doctor Akoury says that medical detoxification is a process that applicable in the systematic and safe withdrawals of people from addictive drugs. The process of detoxification is not a home-made thing but it is a medical process which is usually done under the care of a physician. It is important to note that drinking alcohol or using drugs can cause physical dependence over time and stopping them can result in withdrawal symptoms in people with this dependence. The detoxification process is therefore designed to eliminate the immediate bodily effects of stopping drug use and to remove toxins left in the body as a result of the chemicals found in drugs being abused or alcohol.

The benefits of Detoxification to various drugs: The plat form of doing detoxification

It is important to note that this treatment process of detoxification is done in close supervision by the physicians and it can be done on both an outpatient basis at mental health centers, addiction clinics or private clinics or inpatient at a hospital or residential treatment center.

Inpatient detoxification allows the patient to be closely monitored, prevents use of the substance of abuse, and can speed up the process of detoxification.
Outpatient detoxification has the advantage of being less disruptive to the patient’s life and less expensive.

The choice of setting depends on many factors such as the drug of abuse, amount and length of history of abuse, psychosocial issues, patient’s age, and co-existing medical and/or psychiatric conditions among others. While treatment centers often have their own detoxification facilities, others make arrangements for their patients to use detoxification programs at nearby sites, including hospitals and clinics. There are several substance of abuse but for the purpose of our understanding of the importance of detoxification doctor Dalal Akoury is going to shade some light on the following:

Alcohol detoxification
Cocaine detoxification and
Opiate detoxification

The benefits of Detoxification to various drugs: Alcohol Detoxification

We have already mentioned that medical detoxification is a process that is used to systematically and safely withdraw people from addicting drugs, usually under the care of a physician. And that drinking alcohol or using drugs can cause physical dependence over time and stopping them can result in withdrawal symptoms in people with this dependence. We also mentioned that the detoxification process is designed to treat the immediate bodily effects of stopping drug use and to remove toxins left in the body as a result of the chemicals found in drugs or in alcohol.

The intensity of the problem is that many patients struggling with drug addiction are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms during withdrawal from alcohol and can undergo detoxification without medications if they receive supportive care and monitoring. However experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center conquers that inpatient medical detoxification services are the most appropriate for alcoholics who are at risk for serious complications of withdrawal or those with co-existing medical conditions. In consultation with your doctor, it is advisable that these patients and those with previous alcohol withdrawal seizures, delirium tremens, or moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms should receive benzodiazepines to reduce the risk of adverse events. Remember that other than benzodiazepines, other medications have also been used in the detoxification process including clonidine, which can help reduce symptoms such as tremor, mild depression, elevated blood pressure, anxiety and tension, and carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant medication used to prevent seizures or delirium.

Even though time spent with the doctor is the only difference between inpatient and outpatient detoxification, studies has established recently that, outpatient detoxification has also shown to be as effective as inpatient treatment and less costly for people with less severe alcoholism. This requires daily follow-up and monitoring. It is therefore worth noting that outpatient detoxification is commonly performed by using a tranquilizer such as chlordiazepoxide 50 mg, oxazepam 15 to 30 mg, diazepam 10 mg, or lorazepam 2 mg every 6 hours for the first 24 hours. However additional medication can be provided as is medically necessary and doses can be decreased as symptoms resolve. Supportive care for patients undergoing detoxification includes providing treatment for nutritional and electrolyte deficiencies, monitoring withdrawal severity and abstinence, and providing referrals to alcoholism recovery programs and self-help meetings. All these are services that on scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury will all be at your disposal.

Finally we have only discussed alcohol detoxification in this article, nevertheless we are going to continue with the discussion with the remaining two in our next article and I know you don’t want to miss that too. In the meantime it is also important to note that doctor Akoury is also running projects including trainings through organized conferences for professionals in the addiction discipline. Currently AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, one of the leading pioneers in natural and holistic addiction treatment, will be conducting the first Educational, Functional and Integrative Addiction conference for doctors, counselors, nurses and addiction therapists. The conference will be August 23-25 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This new frontier in Addiction Medicine will be conducted by the most influential group of leading visionaries specializing in the latest advances in natural and integrative addiction medicine, under the theme “The Future of Integrative Addiction”. This is an opportunity you don’t want to miss, for more information you can log in to www.integrativeaddiction2015.com or email sharon@integrativeaddiction2015.com. We will be glad to have you in the conference and it will be great to learn from the best of the best who are specializing in the latest advances in natural and integrative addiction medicine.