Prescription opiates are powerful medications used to help people in moderate-to-severe pain. The term opioid is often used to describe the same medications. Whichever term applies, misuse of your medication can leave you affected by diagnosable addiction. Recovery from opiate addiction is difficult or impossible on your own. A far better solution is to seek help from an opiate detox center in Los Angeles. At DetoxLA, we provide the timely, targeted support you need to get opiates out of your system. This prepares you for the follow-up treatment you need to keep them out.
DetoxLA is a comprehensive drug and alcohol detox center in Los Angeles. Contact us today to learn how we can put you on the path toward recovery.
What Drugs Are Opiates?
What substances are classified as opiates? Strictly speaking, the term only apply to natural products derived from opium poppies. Two medications meet this strict definition: morphine and codeine. Two well-known street drugs, heroin and opium, are also classic examples of opiates.
But opiates are often grouped together with another category of related substances known as opioids. Opioids are not entirely natural in origin. Instead, they’re either entirely artificial or a combination of natural and artificial chemicals. Medications that fit this definition of opioids include:
- Vicodin
- OxyContin
- Methadone
- Duragesic
- Demerol
- Percocet
- Darvon
In terms of how they affect you, opiates and opioids bear an extremely strong resemblance to each other. That resemblance includes their ability to trigger dependence and addiction.
Want to know more about the differences and similarities between opiates and opioids? Talk to the addiction specialists at DetoxLA.
What Are the Symptoms of Opiate Withdrawal?
The number one goal of detox is helping you safely eliminate a given substance from your system. If you’re addicted, this process is liable to trigger symptoms of withdrawal. That’s true because opiates change the structure of your brain. When addiction takes hold, your brain believes you need these substances to survive. During detox, your system sends emergency messages throughout your body saying you are in danger. You experience these warnings as opiate withdrawal.
The symptoms of opiate and opioid withdrawal are functionally identical. When a medication first starts leaving your system, you may experience effects such as:
- Excessive amounts of mucus
- Intense yawning or sweating
- Spontaneous tear production
- Aches in your muscles
- Sleeplessness
- An agitated or anxious frame of mind
Further symptoms tend to arrive as withdrawal progresses. Issues that commonly occur include:
- Nausea, which may be accompanied by vomiting
- Cramping in your abdominal or stomach region
- Loose bowels
- Goose-bumped flesh
For more information on the potential symptoms of opiate/opioid withdrawal, contact the staff at DetoxLA’s opiate detox program in Los Angeles.
What Happens in an Opiate Detox Center in Los Angeles?
Formal detox, or detoxification, is a medically supervised process. You can also try to detox from opiates alone. However, your chances of handling the effects of withdrawal on your own are low. Why? Withdrawal is basically your brain and body’s attempt to convince you to start using opiates again.
By yourself, you have very little chance of withstanding these highly unpleasant signals. But in a medical detox program, your withdrawal symptoms are eased. As a result, you should find it easier to successfully cleanse your body and begin your healing journey.
Supervised detox also helps you in other ways. Throughout the process your mental and physical health are stabilized. You’re also made as comfortable as possible. In addition, you can get help for secondary issues like addiction-related dehydration.
Need more information on what happens in an L.A. opiate detox center? The professionals at DetoxLA are standing by to answer your questions. Call them today.
Benefits of an Outpatient Opiate Detox Program in LA
There are some people who can make a recovery work with an outpatient detox program. When you attend an outpatient detox program, you can manage your addiction while simultaneously maintaining your job and home responsibilities. You can also attend therapeutic programs, such as:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- Family therapy
- Group therapy
- Individual therapy
Time in an opiate detox program in LA will give you the chance to fully concentrate on healing and learning new ways to deal with the outside world. You will have the chance to find the underlying contributors to your addiction, such as an undiagnosed mental health disorder. This will enable you to learn to deal with the underlying causes, making sobriety more long-lasting. You also get the chance to become stronger and better equipped before you must face the world you will find outside, which is often the same environment you came from. You will be in a much better position to successfully navigate that world.
What Medications Are Used During an Opiate Detox Program?
Medication is a standard form of care in a properly designed opiate detox center in Los Angeles. One of the main goals of medication use is providing a temporary substitute for the opiate currently in your system. This substitute helps keep the worst effects of withdrawal at bay. At the same time, it’s not provided in high enough amounts to make you feel an opiate/opioid high.
Two medications are used for this purpose: buprenorphine and methadone. Buprenorphine is the weaker and safer of the two. For this reason, it can be used in a wider variety of detox settings.
You may also receive a medication called clonidine. Clonidine is not an opiate substitute. But it can still ease some of the effects of opiate withdrawal.
Consult the staff at DetoxLA to learn more about the medications used in an opiate detox program.
Why Should You Attend an Opiate Detox Center in LA?
Clients who enter our opiate detox program in LA undergo a medically-supervised detox period. During that period, we aim to make you as comfortable as possible. The physical detox from opiates can be very intense. When people try to undergo the process alone, they often return to the drug because they can’t handle the process.
Opiates change the structure of your brain, and when addiction takes hold, your brain believes you need the opiates to survive. During detox, your brain sends emergency messages throughout your body saying you are in danger. Both your body and mind try to convince you to use it again. By offering a medical detox program, we can ease those symptoms so you can successfully cleanse your body of the substance and begin your healing journey.
What to Do After Attending Our Opiate Detox Programs in LA
You will have a lot more spare time on your hands once you leave our opiate detox program in LA. So much of the time during your addiction revolved around drug use. You will need to learn productive ways to fill in that time. During your stay, you will have had a chance to learn healthy activities. You can then take the opportunity to enroll in an inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment program. These treatment centers will help you come to understand your addiction and create new hobbies to help fill your hours productively.
Attending weekly meetings for moral support will help you stay on the path to recovery. You may decide to take a class or take up a new sport. Whatever you choose, it will lead to a healthier mind and body.
Seek Help at Our Opiate Detox Center in Los Angeles
Opiates do not have to rule your life. Just call DetoxLA at 818.671.4765 to start the process of supervised detox. We feature customized plans that fit your unique situation. We’re dedicated to helping you realize a happier, sober life. Take that first crucial step today.