People say that opiate detox is like having a bad flu. Well, if you’ve been there, you know it’s the understatement of the century! Opioid detox is a painful and miserable experience. Even in medically assisted inpatient facilities there will still be some discomfort.
If you want or have to detox at home, there are ways to make it more tolerable.
Days or even months before starting the detox, it is helpful to start a mental detox. This is the real key to maintaining sobriety, or even getting back to “normal person” status. By “normal person” I mean going back to the person you were before your opioid addiction.
The experts will tell you that it is impossible, once addicted, always addicted, that you have a disease. Well, it’s just not true. All those things that ‘experts’ tell us are theories. The methods that the medical community uses, based on those theories, have not worked for 60 years.
It is possible to train yourself not to crave the drug of your choice anymore. It all starts in the mind, with your thoughts.
I had a few “Addict heal yourself” moments when I was still a heroin addict, right before I finally got sober. I want to share with you the deepest:
1. No person, program, or meeting could do anything for me to help me reach my goal of getting back to who I was before heroin. In fact, they did everything they could to discourage me from believing that I could be cured.
2. If I believe it is possible, I can make it happen.
3. I have control over all aspects of my life. I am not now, nor have I ever been powerless.
It was a very important day for me when I gave up seeking help through outside sources. That was the day I got my power back. I decided that if they were all not wrong, I would make them wrong. When I stopped looking outside of myself for help, I finally decided to help myself.
Although it seemed sudden when I realized this, in hindsight it wasn’t. She had been reading personal development books for quite some time. I read a lot about the power of the mind. It struck me, reading about people who bend metal with the power of their mind and undergo surgery without anesthesia using only metal abilities, how can these amazing things be possible, but we are taught to believe that once it is an addict, is always an addict? It just can’t be possible that I can change everything in my life except this hugely important area.
And so, I’ve been happily chemically independent for some time now. I think the secret to my success is that I got off to a good start. Before putting down the needle, I got to work on myself. I wrote goals, I did visualization, I observed and changed my thoughts, and I meditated. After a short time I no longer wanted drugs. Even when I went into withdrawal I just didn’t want the drugs. I don’t struggle one day at a time, I attend meetings, I avoid people, places and things, I don’t have to.
The detox itself will be more tolerable if you are working on something that excites you.
Once you’ve set worthwhile goals and learned a little about the powers of the mind, the desire to get sober and have a great life will grow. Once you feel that passion, you know you’re ready to let go and move on. This is true for any drug.
If you are dependent on opiates, benzodiazepines, or alcohol, you are likely to have physical withdrawal. If you choose to detox at home, there are a number of things you’ll want to do to ensure as much comfort as possible. Remember that detoxing from certain substances can, in rare cases, be fatal (this is the case with alcohol and benzodiazepines), so you’ll want to discuss your options with a doctor.
To ensure the greatest possible comfort, start planning your detox early. Focus on treating the symptoms you are going to feel.
1. Be sure to reschedule any commitments by at least one week.
2. If you have children, you may want to arrange for them to stay somewhere else or for you to stay somewhere else. At the very least, make sure there is someone else to take care of them. Don’t underestimate the depression, irritability, and lack of energy that come with detoxing..
3. Keep any over-the-counter medications you may need on hand
has. anti-nausea
b. against diarrhea
vs sleep aids
d. Benadryl (to stop the endless tearing, sneezing, and runny nose)
me. Epsom salts for hot baths (these can be lifesavers, especially if you are prone to intolerable burning sensations on your skin like I am)
F. Motrin for bread
4. If you can, ask someone to give you frequent massages. This will take your mind off the discomfort and help with muscle and bone pain. Even a hand massage can work wonders.
5. You may feel hot and cold sweats or freeze even though you are sweating through the sheets. Having someone change your sheets is always helpful. I used to have so little energy that I could barely walk to the bathroom, let alone change the sheets!
6. This is a bit controversial, but some legal herbs can be very helpful. Kava Kava, a powdered ceremonial herb, can be used to remove the edge.
7. Once the worst is over (days 2-4) try to get up and walk as much as you can. At first you will probably feel dizzy, but it is important to keep your body moving.
8. Throughout the process stay hydrated. Backaches accompany most detoxes and water should help ease them.
There are some symptoms that people rarely mention, such as a burning sensation on the skin. She often felt like she had a bad sunburn when she was going through withdrawal. She may experience strange sensations on her skin and scalp, eyes that are so dilated that any amount of light can be overwhelming, and any stimulus can be too much for some people. There was one time I had to walk into a Walmart during a detox and it was stimulation overload. The fluorescent light blinded me and made me dizzy, there was so much going on! I never got past the front door.
Also, people can get extremely horny during withdrawal. Opioids can kill sexual desire and sexual sensation, but when the body is deprived of them, the sexual organs become over-excited. Unfortunately, you’re usually too uncomfortable to want to have sex with someone other than yourself.
For me, it was usually once I started to feel better, around day 5-7, when I would relapse. That’s why I think it’s important to work on yourself before quitting the drug. The current “leave and then heal” paradigm simply doesn’t work for most people.
If you haven’t had success with the traditional route, try my counter-intuitive method.