Today, there are almost as many treatments as there are addicts and alcoholics. Educate yourself before making any type of life-changing decision regarding detox and treatment for alcoholism and addictions.

Typically, withdrawal involves steps to help you remove all of the abused substance from your system in a pain-free, comfortable manner. Treatment helps you look at underlying causes; the “why” you may have done drugs in the first place. Finally, counseling and attending self-help groups help you resist using the addictive drug again and build a support system in your home community.

Withdrawal Therapy
The goal of withdrawal therapy (detoxification) is for you to stop taking the addicting drug as quickly and safely as possible. Detoxification may involve gradually reducing the dose of the drug or temporarily substituting other substances that have less severe side effects. For some people it may be safe to undergo withdrawal therapy on an outpatient basis. Other people may require placement in a hospital or a residential treatment center.
Withdrawal from different categories of drugs produces different side effects and requires different approaches.

Central nervous system depressants
CNS depressants slow down normal brain function. In higher doses, some CNS depressants can become general anesthetics.

CNS depressants can be divided into two groups, based on their chemistry and pharmacology: Barbiturates, such as mephobarbital (Mebaral) and pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal), which are used to treat anxiety, tension, and sleep disorders.

Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide HCl (Librium), and alprazolam (Xanax), which can be prescribed to treat anxiety, acute stress reactions, and panic attacks. Benzodiazepines that have a more sedating effect, such as triazolam (Halcion) and estazolam (ProSom) can be prescriped for short-term treatment of sleep disorders.

Minor side effects of withdrawal may include restlessness, anxiety, sleep problems and sweating. More serious signs and symptoms also could include hallucinations, whole-body tremors, seizures, dehydration and weakness. The most serious stage of withdrawal may include delirium and is potentially life-threatening. Withdrawal therapy may involve your gradually scaling back the amount of the drug.

Opioids
Among the drugs that fall within this class – sometimes referred to as narcotics – are morphine, codeine, and related drugs. Morphine is often used before or after surgery to alleviate severe pain. Codeine is used for milder pain. Other examples of opioids that can be prescribed to alleviate pain include oxycodone (OxyContin-an oral, controlled release form of the drug); propoxyphene (Darvon); hydrocodone (Vicodin); hydromorphone (Dilaudid); and meperidine (Demerol), which is used less often because of its side effects. In addition to their effective pain relieving properties, some of these drugs can be used to relieve severe diarrhea (Lomotil, for example, which is diphenoxylate) or severe coughs (codeine).

Side effects of withdrawal of opioids such as heroin, morphine, oxycodone or codeine can range from relatively minor to severe. On the minor end, they may include runny nose, perspiration, yawning, feeling anxiety and craving the drug. Severe reactions can include sleeplessness, depression, dilated pupils, rapid pulse, rapid breathing, high blood pressure, abdominal cramps, tremors, bone and muscle pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Doctors may substitute a synthetic opiate, such as methadone, to reduce the craving for heroin and to gently ease people away from heroin. The most recently approved medication to ease withdrawal from opiates is buprenorphine (Suboxone, Subutex). This drug is the first narcotic medications used for the addiction treatment that may be prescribed in a doctor’s office rather than a treatment center.

Researchers are continually searching for new ways to help ease the symptoms of withdrawal and to treat addiction more effectively.