People sometimes misunderstand the need for medical care to treat substance abuse. Addiction is a chronic illness that affects the brain, nervous system, and vital organs. It requires medical intervention, just like any chronic disease. The first stage is treatment at a medical detox center.

The medical detox center at Atlanta Detox Center provides comprehensive treatment for addiction, beginning with the physical effects of medical detox. If you or someone you care about may benefit from a medical detox program, we can help.

What Is Medical Detox?

Substance use can lead to a physical and mental dependence on a drug. Removing the drug triggers uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous physical and psychological symptoms.

Common withdrawal symptoms include:

  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Insomnia
  • Depression
  • Anxiety

Some people experience potentially life-threatening side effects such as seizures, slow breathing, and high fever. A medical detox center provides a safe environment and treatment during withdrawal. It is the first step in a comprehensive drug and alcohol recovery program.

What Causes Withdrawal?

Many drugs, including alcohol, affect brain chemistry, specifically the reward center of the brain. The reward center motivates you to do good things, such as exercise or eat a healthy meal. When you do, the brain releases a neurotransmitter that makes you feel euphoric. It’s that feeling that motivates you to do these things again.

Certain drugs have the same impact on the body. They either trigger the release of the neurotransmitter or act like it to produce the same response. That is why people use drugs over and over again. After a while, that drug use is the only way they can feel good.

Withdrawal occurs when someone with a dependence on a drug stops using it. The brain chemistry becomes unbalanced. It takes time for the body to recalibrate. Until that happens, the body responds with withdrawal symptoms.

What Happens During Medical Detox?

Medical detox combines medication with therapy to help ease the symptoms of withdrawal. It also provides a secure environment to help break the cycle of addiction that includes cravings, drug-seeking behavior, drug use, and withdrawal.

When someone is in medical detox, they have support when the cravings start. That keeps them from looking for drugs and starting the cycle again.

The medication provided during detox helps to manage the symptoms of withdrawal. Clients also attend regular individual and group therapy sessions to help control the cravings. The combination of the two can keep them safe until the drug is out of their bodies. Once sober, they can transition to a primary addiction treatment program to continue their recovery.

What Medications Do Clients Take During Medical Detox?

That will depend on the substance they were using. For example, someone with an opioid use disorder might take methadone, buprenorphine, and antidepressants. They may also have access to medications that relieve symptoms like antinausea drugs.

Someone addicted to alcohol would likely take different medications, including acamprosate that helps rebalance the brain and disulfiram to manage cravings. The combination of detox, medication, and therapy impacts the body in different ways.

Medical Detox at the Atlanta Detox Center

Atlanta Detox Center is an inpatient medical detox program that offers medication, comfort care, and therapy to get our clients through the hardest part of recovery — withdrawal. We provide them with a safe and comfortable environment while their body adjusts.

Services at Atlanta Detox Center include:

Overcome the Physical Effects of Medical Detox at Atlanta Detox Center

The physical effects of medical detox can be harsh, but our high-trained staff is there to make our clients more comfortable. When they are ready, we have the resources to help them transfer to a primary treatment program sober and ready to work.

If you or someone you love needs medical detox, call us at 470-450-2355 or go online and fill out our contact form to find out more about Atlanta Detox Center.

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