Drug and alcohol addiction doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Whoever you are, however hopeless you believe yourself to be…the right drug and alcohol rehab program can help you get sober. Maybe you’ve been to an addiction treatment facility before. And maybe it didn’t work. That’s okay. You’re not alone. Every year, thousands of victims try and fail to beat drug and alcohol addiction. It’s not their fault. The problem is simply that they haven’t found a rehab facility capable of meeting their individual needs. After all, if you’re going to bet better, it’s going to have to be on your own terms.

Drug and alcohol addiction is not a generic disease. By the same token, drug and alcohol treatment cannot be a generic process. Real recovery has to go forward on intimate terms, in a way that’s uniquely meaningful to each and every individual patient. The best drug and alcohol rehabs are the ones that take that principle to heart. In the end, you simply can’t afford to settle for anything less.

Alcoholism is a 24-hour disease, that’s right.. a “disease.” Says who? Says the AMA (American Medical Association.) When an alcoholic takes a drink, all they want is more. When they eat chocolate, watch TV, spend money, smoke a cigarette all they want is more. Ask an alcoholic. Ask me. I know. It can be a miserable existence. And, with the proper tools, it can be a wonderful existence. The solution, the key, to living with alcoholism for this addict is recovery. Recovery can be found in a number of places. The most popular one is an Alcohol Treatment Center. The one I went to was a high-end residential alcohol treatment center in Malibu, CA, near Los Angeles. But, there are rehabs all over the place, for all shapes and sizes. Now, after I left rehab I wasn’t cured, Ill never be cured of my alcoholism. I live with it every day of my life. BUT, with the tools, the experience, the strength and the hope I received in rehab, every day I have a shot. Every day I have a chance. Every day I can have fun. Because every day I have hope.

Alcohol abuse is about pain as much as anything else. That’s how it was for me, anyway: My alcohol addiction was about pain, or more precisely the escape from it. I hurt. I could give you the long-winded sob story, but it wouldn’t change the fact of the thing itself: I hurt. That’s why I drank, why I became a victim of alcohol abuse in the first place. I hurt. Alcohol made me feel better. Everything else more or less took care of itself.

Every alcoholic has demons, when you really get down to it. There’s always a Source of alcohol abuse, a kernel of intractable pain that makes alcoholics turn to the bottle. It doesn’t matter what it is; it’s simply enough that it exists. So long as it does…so long as it’s There…an alcoholic will continue to be an alcoholic. If alcohol treatment is going to work, on the other hand, it’s got to help you get over it: help you dig down into the guts of whatever it is that’s eating at you, and teach you to cope with it in a way that doesn’t involve booze. It’s not easy. But it’s worth it. Alcohol treatment saved my life. It made me stop hurting. And no price could be too high to pay for that.

It’s a question every alcoholic asks himself, eventually: When did it really fall apart? When did social drinking become chronic drinking? When did a night at the bar with friends become a night at home with a bottle?

When did alcoholism become, well, alcoholism?

For me, the through-the-looking-glass moment came when I couldn’t stop thinking about it: about that first sip of that first drink, and the long slow tumble into the haze. That’s what alcoholism is, really: that obsessiveness, that compulsive need that won’t and can’t and doesn’t ever go away. Alcoholism is alcoholism when, and because, it haunts you. If you’ve been there, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

There’s nothing easy about alcohol rehab. The fight against alcoholism will rake you over the coals and back again…and I’d be lying if I told that getting sober is anything other than one mother of a fight. But seriously: What’s the alternative? Alcoholism? Thinking about booze twenty-four hours a day, before you drink and after you drink and of course most of all while you’re drinking? No thanks.

You can beat it, if you want to. That’s what someone told me on my first day of alcohol rehab, and that’s what got me through the darkest moments. You can beat it if you want to. Remember that, as you go forward: You can beat it. It’s not easy, it’s not certainly not fun…but, yes, You can.

If you want to.

Detoxification, or detox for short, refers to the removal of toxic substances from the body. A function of the liver and kidneys, detox can also be performed artificially by medical techniques such as dialysis and, in a very limited number of cases, chelation therapy. In the context of drug addiction, detox is the first step of the drug or alcohol abuse treatment process, often with the help of a doctor and/or specialist drug workers. The goal of drug detox is therefore to rid the body of toxins that have accumulated as a result of drug use. A non-drug method for detoxification from drugs or alcohol is acupuncture detoxification. Detox is typically a gradual process and may take a number of days or weeks to complete.

The first phase of drug detox is withdrawal. Withdrawal is the term used to describe the body’s reaction to the removal of a substance it has become dependent upon, both physiologically and mentally. Until no alcohol and/or drugs remain in a person’s body, withdrawal can cause cravings for more. Thus, physical and behavioral withdrawal symptoms may result following a person’s cessation of drug use.

Withdrawal symptoms vary greatly in nature and severity, depending on the particular drug or drugs an individual used as well as the frequency of use. Few people use just one drug exclusively nowadays. As such, many individuals in drug detox use both alcohol and cocaine, for instance, or alcohol and prescription medications. Drug detox applies to any individual who is addicted to drugs; it helps minimize the uncomfortable symptoms that accompany the process of withdrawal.

There are many different methods of performing detox depending on where one goes for treatment. Most drug detox facilities simply provide treatment to avoid physical withdrawal to drugs and alcohol. The more comprehensive centers incorporate counseling and therapy during detox to help ease the psychological impacts individuals may also experience. Detox treatment may involve the use of other drugs such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone to help individuals deal with various symptoms of withdrawal.

All aspects of one’s withdrawal and cleansing from drugs should be addressed by a good detox program. The elimination of drug residuals is a critical objective of drug detox. Absent such removal, drug residues can remain in an individual’s body and cause cravings for years after he or she has stopped using drugs. It is therefore essential for a successful drug detox and drug rehabilitation to flush out the toxic residues that have accumulated so that the individual no longer experiences undesired harmful effects from the drugs they have previously consumed.

For quicker results, some addicts turn to rapid opiate detox, which is generally conducted in a hospital setting and under general anesthesia. Also referred to as “ultra rapid opiate detox,” the process is usually overseen by certified and qualified anesthesiologists and nurses that specialize in such procedures. While under anesthesia, the patient is given medications that accelerate the physical responses to the rapid withdrawal process that can last from 4 to 6 hours total. The process is available to treat those addicted to an opiate-based substance such as heroin, vicodin, methadone, or any prescribed narcotic pain killers. It can also treat other narcotic opiate-based substances including codeine, oxycontin, dilaudid, morphine, percocet, lortab, and percodan.

Drug Detox

The cessation or dramatic reduction of drug use after heavy and consistent drug use results in withdrawal. This frequently entails shaking, sweating, headaches, cravings for drugs, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, insomnia, agitation, depression, confusion, anxiety, and other behavioral effects. Certain drugs, such as opiates including Heroin and Methadone, require a period of medically supervised detox. Prescription medications of all classifications, including Hydrocodone, Oxycontin, Xanax, Vicodin, and Lortab, require medical detox as well. Other illegal drugs, such as Marijuana, Cocaine, and Crystal Meth do not require medical detox. Withdrawal treatment involves closely monitoring one’s vital signs, medications, and supportive care. Buprenophex and anticonvulsant medications are commonly used in detoxification from drugs. Klonepin, the most commonly utilized drug, is used primarily to minimize physical symptoms. Drug detox is generally accomplished in 3 to 7 days.

Alcohol Detox

Alcohol detox is the process of medically monitored treatment that helps an individual overcome physical dependence on alcohol and become alcohol free. Detox aims to relieve the physical symptoms associated with withdrawal and enable the patient prepare to begin treatment and rehab. The ultimate goal of rehab is therefore to prepare the patient for long-term recovery from alcohol addiction and abuse. Most commonly conducted in an inpatient, medical setting, alcohol detox can result in a variety of major and/or minor physical, and sometimes psychological, impacts. Alcohol detox can trigger any number of reactions that range from mild to severe. Mild side effects can include tremors (the shakes), vomiting, headaches, perspiration, restlessness, insomnia, and loss of appetite. More serious reactions may include Delirium Tremors, (DT’s), autonomic hyperactivity, and seizures (convulsions). One in four patients is believed to be at high risk of a withdrawal seizure if not medically treated during alcohol detox. A wide range of medications and procedures are used during alcohol detox including Buprenophex, certain benzodiazepines, and anticonvulsant medication. Alcohol detox may take anywhere from 3 to 14 days.

Detox is just the beginning of the process of helping an individual remain drug and/or alcohol free. This is because individuals in a drug or alcohol inducted state are not effectively prepared to participate in the educational, counseling, and therapeutic components of rehabilitation and treatments. It is only after the detox process is complete that a person truly benefit from other assistance that is necessary to achieve a full recovery.