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Detox Opiate Tapering
Opiate addicts must suffer through withdrawal before recovery from the addiction can begin. Withdrawals can last for weeks. With symptoms ranging from muscle aches, flu-like symptoms, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, chills, sweats, and even convulsions, the addict suffers miserably. The extended length of time the addict suffers contributes to relapse. In an attempt to relieve the suffering, the addict often returns to their drug of choice. The concept of rapid detox is to put the patient under anesthesia and initiate detox with the administration of a narcotic antagonist, reducing the suffering from weeks to essentially none.
Problems With Rapid Detox
The idea behind rapid detox is to have the person sleep through withdrawal, bringing the addict from full blown addiction to a point to where he can begin the recovery process. However, some people are under the false belief that once the rapid detox is complete, the person is cured of the opiate addiction. If the underlying cause of the addiction isn't addressed, relapse is a distinct possibility. The withdrawal process is taxing on the body. This is intensified when the person goes under anesthesia. Withdrawal symptoms such as insomnia and appetite irregularities last far longer than the acute symptoms, which are avoided with rapid detox.