Medical detoxification is often the first step towards getting clean. Many substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana do not pose a health threat if you detox on your own. Sure, you may experience physical symptoms but nothing is life threatening. Then you have drugs such as opiates-opioids and synthetic opiates (i.e. suboxone, subutex and subsolv) that can provide extreme withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, hot and cold sweats, headaches, restlessness and anxiety. You will not die from going through withdrawal on your own, the the symptoms are much more manageable with medication. The two most dangerous drugs to detox from are alcohol and benzodiazapines. Those using those substances should absolutely be in an acute medical detox facility first.

The classes of substances most likely to cause discomfort during withdrawal are; opiates/opioids/heroin, alcohol and benzodiazepines (i.e., Valium, Xanax and Ativan) When someone is about to enter a drug treatment facility, it is critically important that the clinical staff is very well aware of what drugs the patient is using, and to what extend he or sure is using them. For instance, a heroin addict who shoots 3 grams per day is much more likely to require medical detox (with Suboxone or Subutex) than someone who just smokes a little bit here and there, which in fact is quite rare.

There are many detox programs out there – ranging from outpatient (often unsuccessful) to residential (often referred to as inpatient rehab) – where there are medical professionals on staff at all times, and also stand-alone detox facilities. Before someone enters a treatment center for substance abuse, there are a number of questions that are commonly asked in order to ascertain whether or not he or she requires medical detox first.

SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO THE ADMISSION STAFF:

• Does your treatment center offer “medical detox” services?
• What is the detox protocol there?
• What common medications does your facility utilize during the detoxification process (i.e., Suboxone, Subutex, Methadone, etc.)?
• What type of medical staff do you have on-site

While you are detoxing and not feeling your best physically, your decision making is poor. The risk of relapse can increase as client’s are reacting to how they feel. To best prevent this, make sure no one in your life will co-sign your wanting to leave and ask all the questions you need to in order to make sure you admit to the most appropriate facility for you.

Treatment for drug and alcohol addictions should always occur after a proper detox has taken place, assuming it was needed in the first place. Be sure to ask lots of questions and remember, this is yours or your loved one’s life we’re talking about, so don’t ever allow yourself to take shortcuts! For more information on drug or alcohol treatment, medical detox or anything else addiction related, contact Valley Detox Center 24/7 at (888) 544-6049.

The post Questions for a Drug Rehab to see if Medical Detox in Needed appeared first on Forward Recovery.

With the epidemic of drug addiction, particularly opiates like Vicodin, Percocet and heroin, rehab centers in Los Angeles, California are flourishing, but are they effective? There are just too many stories of people who have been in and out of drug or alcohol rehabs only to lose their battle.

A key reason behind this has to do with using ineffective approaches to both the treatment as well as the medical detoxification process. However, it’s also important to understand that entering a medical detox center is merely the first step in the journey to successful recovery. It is also important to understand that integrating holistic services within the detox and treatment processes can absolutely improve one’s hopes at attaining long-term success!

There are plenty of choices for medical detoxification in Los Angeles and like any other industry, the leaders set themselves apart by offering the most comprehensive, quality services that cater to their customer’s needs. Therefore, a medical detox center that just rids your body of opiates, Benzodiazepines, heroin, alcohol, etc. and that’s all, is not addressing drug addiction and alcoholism. Those treatment facilities that offer a holistic treatment approach to drug and alcohol addiction are helping to provide their patients with a better chance for lasting recovery.

Why choose a holistic drug and alcohol addiction rehab?

Drug addiction and alcoholism are complex diseases that make it difficult to decipher the root cause. Some addicts are trying to numb their physical pain. Others may be suffering from mental anguish or a spiritual void. Since our mind, body and spirit are interrelated and when one is out of balance it affects the other, taking a holistic approach, beginning with medical detox, allows treatment professionals to implement a full scope of modalities to facilitate and expedite effective healing. The focus is on a patient’s overall health and well- being, thus, they have an opportunity to creating a better quality of life while at a holistic rehab and to experience long lasting recovery.

What services are available at a holistic rehab?

In addition to traditional treatment options such as medical detox, individual/group therapy and support groups, holistic rehabs typically offer the following holistic services:

• Physical fitness: hiking, biking, mountain climbing, etc.
• Spiritual sessions: meditation, yoga, etc.
• Alternative Psychotherapy: art therapy, equine therapy, horticulture, music therapy, etc.
• Nutrition: health, organic meals, etc.

Who can benefit from a holistic rehab?

Although anyone can benefit from a holistic detox and rehab, those that have tried traditional treatment environments and are still struggling with sobriety may find greater success within a well-structured holistic program. Remember this, no two addictions are ultimately alike, and it is therefore extremely important to be in a program that recognizes this reality. Holistic detox and treatment programs often times are better equipped to address these individual needs.

To learn more about medical detox, holistic rehab and which is the best treatment option for your drug addiction or alcoholism, please contact Valley Detox Center at (888) 544-6049.

The post Bringing Holistic Services into Medical Detox for Drug Addiction appeared first on Forward Recovery.

Although you may have finally resolved to quit taking drugs, your good intentions, discipline and strength are no match for the effects of addiction. Your desire to quit cold turkey may be admirable, however, in the long run, you are not giving yourself a fair and realistic chance at lasting sobriety. What we can’t ignore is the basic facts of drug and alcohol addiction and the long term damage of the disease. Just as a disease of cancer wreaks havoc on your body, you would not consider overcoming it’s power without a proper course of treatment. So, the basic facts about withdrawal from drug and alcohol addiction are such: substance abuse causes physical and chemical changes to the brain; physical and psychological symptoms occur in withdrawal and there are several health risks involved upon withdrawal. For these reasons and so many more, it is imperative that in order to ensure safe withdrawal and lasting sobriety, it is essential to begin your path to recovery with medical detox.

Typical drug rehab will unlikely be able to offer the level of care and sophistication that a facility specializing in medical detox can provide. Choosing an actual sub-acute medical facility with a hospital type setting versus a standard drug rehab allows your first and most important step in recovery to be patient-centric, rather than the patient having to go along with the rehab’s business needs. Furthermore, having treatment professionals who specialize in medical detox and who can cater to your withdrawal symptoms and medication management is paramount to your recovery success.

The two fold reasoning for medical detox – ridding the body of toxins from substance abuse and to minimize the physiological and psychological symptoms of withdrawal – has flooded the nation with a host of options for both drug rehab and medical detoxification facilities. You are not alone for wondering and perhaps being confused as to the best path for you or your loved one. The first thing to understand is that medical detox, albeit a critical step towards recovery, is merely the first phase, and by no means is it considered treatment for chemical dependency. That being said, your treatment is actually an entire plan and process that must be effectively designed especially for you, based on your specific situation.

Before choosing a treatment facility, please consider the following factors:

• The Treatment Facility – condition and cleanliness; credentials and approval from the county and state specialization; results.
• The Treatment Staff – are they actual licensed treatment professionals who specialize in addiction recovery and medical detox, medical doctors, RN’s, EMT’s or just technicians.
• The Patient to Staff Ratio – the symptoms from withdrawal from drug and alcohol addiction have a serious emotional and physiological impact and thus a small ratio of patient to staff who are monitoring you every step of the way is critical.
• The Treatment Plan – it begins with a proper evaluation by medical professionals based on the effects of your particular chemical dependency and any underlying mental health issues; a determination for the appropriate medication management (i.e. Suboxone) and withdrawal support; and after the first step of medical detox is complete, what types of therapy will be necessary for treatment of your actual addiction.

Too often, too many of us hear the failings of individuals in their battle against addiction, whether it be through continuous relapse or drug overdose. Like anything else in life, there are good therapists and bad as well as reputable drug rehabs and medical detox facilities and some that have improper credentials or abused their practices. There are some wonderful treatment facilities who may get a bad wrap in the industry, simply because of the shortcomings of others. Check with your local and federal authorities and get references and statistics on the effectiveness of their recovery treatment.

It takes courage and strength to take the first step and admit you have an addiction to drugs or alcohol. But this disease is too complex to fight on your own and requires the love and support of family and friends and the appropriate medical professionals who are able to evaluate, stabilize and help you to recover and beat your addiction. For more information on medical detox and drug and alcohol addiction, please contact Valley Detox Center 24/7 at (888) 544-6049.

The post The Importance of Medical Detox Within Addiction Treatment appeared first on Forward Recovery.

California has one of the highest concentrations of addiction treatment centers in the nation, many of which are located in Los Angeles, or its surrounding neighborhoods, such as San Fernando Valley. Given the city’s long history of drug and alcohol addiction, it’s not surprising how many drug rehabs are located in LA. Los Angeles may be the poster child for luxury rehabs, but California is also home to holistic centers, affordable treatment, sober living homes and the finest medical detox programs.

What makes Los Angeles, California such a hotbed of drug addiction is perhaps the city’s short distance from Mexico. The primary drugs that feed into LA from south of the border are heroin (particularly “black tar”), cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Upscale adolescents, suburban housewives and middle-aged thrill seekers do them. Gangs wage turf wars over them. It is common for kids to have done pot, ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin by the time they graduate high school. Although drug addiction seems epidemic, alcoholism still remains prevalent, whereby both diseases can benefit from medical detox.

The first step towards recovery from drug and alcohol addiction is medical detox. California has the world’s leading medical doctors and professional staff qualified to address drug and alcohol addiction and administer medical detox. They will evaluate any pre-existing medical conditions that could affect detox; subscribe medication that allows for safe, effective transition during detoxification (i.e. Suboxone); provide nutritional care to ensure the patient stays healthy through withdrawal symptoms; then detoxification followed by continued assessment of the patient’s needs.

Medical detoxification safely manages the acute physical symptoms of withdrawal associated with stopping drug and alcohol use. However, medical detoxification is only the first stage of addiction treatment and by itself does little to change long-term drug use.

The San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, a region collectively home to some 1.8 million people, where abuse of heroin has skyrocketed since shortly after the turn of the millennium. One of the reasons is it’s availability in a smokeable form as a blend with marijuana that need not be injected to have the desired narcotic effect. In Los Angeles, CA, overdose remains one of the leading causes of both premature and general death in the metropolitan area, in part due to the dramatic increase in fatalities from prescription drugs (which nationally eclipse those of cocaine and heroin combined).

On a much lighter note, once you are on the road to recovery from your drug or alcohol addiction, San Fernando Valley, California (sometimes called The Valley), and it’s surrounding neighborhoods such as Glendale, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana and Calabasas, are spectacular with so much diversity, charm and fun things to do. When in San Fernando Valley, you must see Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Citywalk, Mission San Fernando, NoHo Arts District, Van Nuys Japanese Garden, O’Melveny Park. There are also many places to hike in the mountains that surround the Valley. For you fashionistas and gourmets, Ventura Boulevard, a strip of high-end restaurants and shops that stretches from Universal City to Thousand Oaks. Here you’ll find everything from diners and fast-food joints, boutique shopping to traditional clothing stores, grocery stores, coffee shops and lots of retail shopping.

The San Fernando Valley has a centralized location for attractions such as the Getty Center Museum, Six Flags Magic Mountain, the beaches of Santa Monica and Malibu, and The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The region is conveniently accessible from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) via the FlyAway Van Nuys bus service, or you can fly directly into the Valley via Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. If you’re coming from Downtown, the Metro Red Line stops in both North Hollywood and Universal City.

For more information on medical detoxification services for heroin, opiates, opioids or any other classification of drugs or alcohol, contact Valley Detox Center in Los Angeles, California 24/7 at: (888) 544-6049.

The post Medical Detox in Los Angeles, CA and The San Fernando Valley appeared first on Forward Recovery.

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The post Do All Drug Addictions Require a Medical Detox Process? appeared first on Forward Recovery.

. In this year of presidential politics, we are hearing more and more about the heroin epidemic that is infiltrating communities large and small, urban and suburban, rich and poor, young and old. As the politicians attempt to grapple with the complexity of heroin, prescription pain killers (Vicodin, Percocet, Oxycontin, etc.) and opiate addiction, as well as how to provide better treatment services on a national level, the overdoses continue on a daily basis! The general public is increasingly aware of the need to treat heroin and opiate painkiller addiction on a level never before seen.

For decades, the general consensus has been that heroin use occurred primarily in urban centers, and mostly by the underprivileged population.  As a result, the problem got swept under the rug by a large swath of the country.  Over the last decade or so, heroin has become much more available and often the drug of choice for middle and upper class people, affecting students in affluent communities as well as youngsters in blue collar areas.  At the same time, the use of prescription pain killers (which are highly addictive opiates) has increased dramatically throughout the entire populations.  Statistics show that pain pill addiction truly has no socioeconomic barriers at all.  Drugs like Vicodin, Percocet and Oxycontin have become mainstream, across all segments of society. They also show that the addiction to pills is becoming increasingly prevalent among all age groups.  It is not unusual to find middle-aged and older aged adults abusing opiates.

Medical detox programs are the most effective and humane way to help an individual begin the arduous process of recovery from this insidious disease.  With proper supervision, Suboxone therapy can wean the client off the physical effects or heroin, opiates and opioids.  For those of us who have witnessed a loved one going through the painful physical withdrawal from these substances, we are both grateful and relieved to know that Suboxone therapy is now available through medical detox programs.

More and more insurance companies are now becoming willing to recognize these addictions as diseases that require inpatient treatment; Suboxone therapy is not a SUBSTITUTE for heroin or opiate use, but the beginning of a long-term commitment on the part of the client to strive for sobriety.

We need to be cognizant of the fact that medical detox using Suboxone therapy is only a short-term commitment; the average stay for a client is 7-10 days.  By that point, all physical symptoms of withdrawal should be under control and the medical detox team will work with the client to take the next steps toward recovery.  Those steps will most likely include the transfer to an inpatient or outpatient rehab facility until the client and staff feel that he/she is stable enough to enter a “step-down” program.  Without a continuation of rehab in one of several forms, the likelihood of relapse is almost inevitable.  On the other hand, if the client and his support system (family, friends, co-workers) are willing and able to offer the encouragement to the client to work diligently on his/her recovery, the hope for sobriety will increase as each day passes.

These days, heroin and prescription pain killer addiction are no longer a guaranteed predecessor to a week or two of utter mysery, and we have Suboxone to thank for that!

For more information on medical detox services for heroin, opiates, opioids or any other classification of drugs or alcohol, contact Valley Detox Center in Los Angeles, California 24/7 at: (888) 544-6049.

The post Medical Detox and Suboxone for Heroin or Opiate Pill Addiction appeared first on Forward Recovery.