Cocaine is America’s most widely used stimulant street drug. It’s also highly addictive, with more than 20% of all cocaine users having diagnosable symptoms of addiction or serious abuse. In greater Los Angeles and elsewhere, the best way to recover from these problems is to seek professional help. For many affected people, that help begins with a period of supervised cocaine detoxification, or detox.
Detox has several important goals, including supporting you while you go through cocaine withdrawal. At DetoxLA, we specialize in customized, modern inpatient drug rehab in Los Angeles. At our LA drug and alcohol detox center, you’ll find everything you need to safely get this powerful stimulant out of your system.
Cocaine Addiction Basics
When you take cocaine, it speeds up the baseline rate of activity in your central nervous system, i.e., brain and spinal cord. This higher rate of activity leads to such things as:
- Increased energy levels
- Heightened sensitivity to sound and light
- A greater sense of mental alertness
In addition, the drug produces feelings of euphoria. This is the term for an intense form of pleasure that evokes temporary feelings of happiness and well-being.
It is this feeling of euphoria that helps account for cocaine’s status as a highly addictive drug. Another major factor is the amount of time cocaine can produce euphoria. When you use the powdered form of the drug, its euphoric effects last for roughly 15 minutes to half an hour. When you use crack, you feel them for a much shorter amount of time.
After experiencing their first cocaine high, many people want to recreate that sensation as quickly as they can. Since the drug doesn’t stay in your system for long, this means using cocaine again sooner rather than later. If you start using the drug over and over, your brain may start losing its sensitivity to cocaine’s euphoric effects. Simultaneously, your brain may become more sensitive to the absence of the drug.
The end result for many users is cocaine addiction. Others don’t get addicted, but still experience major, cocaine-related difficulties that interfere with their everyday routines. Both of these problems fall under the larger heading of stimulant use disorder.
Want more information on cocaine addiction and stimulant use disorder? Talk to the professionals at DetoxLA.
The Impact of Cocaine Withdrawal
Withdrawal is one of the common consequences of an addiction to cocaine. It can occur if you stop taking the drug. It can also occur if you make rapid, steep cuts in the amount of cocaine you use. Cocaine and other stimulants like methamphetamine produce the same general withdrawal symptoms. Common examples of these symptoms include:
- Problems falling asleep or staying asleep, i.e., insomnia
- Excessive or prolonged sleepiness
- Loss of energy
- A paranoid state of mind
- Feelings of irritability or anxiety
- A reduced ability to concentrate
- Increased hunger
- Powerful urges to use more cocaine
- A depressed state of mind
In people involved in longstanding, heavy cocaine use, withdrawal-related depression can linger for months. The same holds true for the urge to use more of the drug.
As a rule, stimulant withdrawal is viewed as less physically dangerous than withdrawal from many other addictive substances. However, the process can still make you profoundly uncomfortable and decrease your willingness to quit the drug. What’s more, in some cases, lingering depression leads to increased risks for suicidal thoughts and behavior. For these reasons, public health experts recommend going through withdrawal in the controlled environment of supervised detox.
To learn more about cocaine withdrawal and its potential risks, contact the experts at our cocaine detox center in Los Angeles today by calling 818-714-7060.
What Happens in Cocaine Detox in Los Angeles?
Detoxification is the general term for a series of steps that you take when you first enter cocaine recovery. These steps include:
- Halting your current use of cocaine
- Giving your body time to eliminate the cocaine you’ve already taken
- Going through the process of cocaine withdrawal
Supervised cocaine detox in L.A. and elsewhere supports you throughout this process.
All properly designed detoxification programs begin with a full evaluation of everything that could impact your detox experience. This comprehensive procedure requires doing such things as:
- Confirming the fact that cocaine is in your system
- Checking for the presence of any additional substances
- Measuring the amounts of all substances in your system
- Determining your habitual levels of drug use
- Finding out how long you’ve used cocaine
- Reviewing your current and past physical well-being
- Performing an equivalent review of your mental well-being
- Examining other considerations, such as your current living situation
Together, these various factors help determine the specific methods used to support you during cocaine detox and withdrawal.
Actual detoxification begins after the results of your evaluation are reviewed, and a detox plan is finalized. This is where you get help for any symptoms of cocaine withdrawal. Medication does not play a big role in any form of stimulant detox. Instead, the focus is on:
- Keeping you comfortable and calm
- Making sure you get plenty of sleep
- Providing enough food to satisfy your increased appetite
- Monitoring you for any significant health changes
- Responding to any such changes as they occur
This phase ends when your system is cocaine-free and your withdrawal symptoms have faded away.
Effective cocaine detox in L.A. does not just help you through withdrawal. It also helps you transition into the next steps in your recovery. These steps take place in an active cocaine addiction treatment program. During detox, you will be encouraged to enter this kind of program. You will also learn a bit about the goals and methods of cocaine treatment.
Why do you prepare for follow-up treatment while still in your detox program? Detox helps you reach a cocaine-free state. However, it doesn’t teach you what you need to know to protect that state and avoid future use of the drug. Instead, you gradually develop these crucial skills while enrolled in active treatment.
Need more details on what happens in an L.A. cocaine detox program? The knowledgeable staff at Detox LA can answer any questions you may have.
Turn to Us for Comprehensive Cocaine Detox in Los Angeles
You can do several things to maximize your chances for success in supervised cocaine detox in Los Angeles. One important consideration is finding a local provider. The more convenient it is to get help, the higher the odds that you will do so and avoid delaying your recovery.
The provider you choose must also specialize in detoxification from cocaine and other kinds of stimulants. This level of expertise is needed to help ensure that your condition is properly evaluated. It’s also needed to ensure that you receive effective support and oversight as you withdraw from cocaine. In addition, your chosen provider must understand the importance of helping you transition into cocaine treatment when your time in detox is done.
DetoxLA is a premier provider of cocaine detox in Los Angeles and its surrounding communities. We feature a comprehensive slate of services for anyone wanting to halt their use of either powdered or crack cocaine. Our extensive experience makes it possible for us to offer you the full advantages of supervised detox. That includes doing everything we can to support your entry into active cocaine treatment. Contact us today to learn more about our customized, caring approach to the detoxification process.