In the United States, the number one cause of injury related to are now drug overdoses.
Every year, they kill an average of 44,000 people.
Dealing with a substance abuse disorder is no easy task. In order to overcome addiction, it is often necessary to seek outside help from medical professionals.
Are you wondering how long does detox last? Let’s take a look at everything you need to know.
How Long Does Detox Last: The Factors That Impact the Length of Detox
There are two different meanings that someone might intend when I talk about detox. They might be talking about a detox treatment program or the act of detoxing from a drug.
Detoxing from alcohol or substances involves getting rid of any drugs in the body and managing the withdrawal symptoms that occur as a result. This process can vary in length from a couple of days to a few months. There are a number of factors that impact how long it takes to detox from a drug, including:
- Which substance has been abused
- How often the individual was abusing the substance
- Whether there were multiple substances being abused
- Whether there are underlying co-occurring mental health issues
- How much of the drug was taken by the user
- The age of the individual
- The medical history of the user
- The gender of the user
All of these things and more can have an impact on how long it takes to detox from alcohol and drugs.
How Long Does It Take to Detox From Various Drugs?
The detox time is affected by a number of different factors, one of which is the amount of time that different substances than the body. In general, a user is able to detox within one week. However, their cravings for the substance can continue on for months after this time.
Drug withdrawals can be life-threatening. For this reason, most substance abuse treatment program encourage and include detoxing under medical supervision.
Alcohol
If an individual is overcoming addiction to alcohol, and the first 24 hours to two days they will start to experience withdrawal symptoms. These might include insomnia, anxiety, and shaking.
3 to 5 days after their last drink, the symptoms generally peak. During this time, they might experience fever, hallucinations, and seizures. After the first week it is common for physical withdrawal systems to fade away.
Barbiturates and Sleeping Pills
During the first 24 to 48 hours of withdrawing from barbiturates, individual might experience symptoms like shaking, circulation problems, anxiety, and insomnia. Some of the symptoms might occur within hours of the drug being out of the system.
After the first few days, depending on the severity of abuse and the strength of dose, the symptoms might peak. Some people experience a delay in withdrawal systems from barbiturates, with their symptoms not starting until a week or even more after their last dose of the drug.
Benzodiazepines
Early symptoms in the first 1 to 2 days of benzodiazepine withdrawal include nausea, irritability, muscle pain, and headache. The peak symptoms typically occur 3 to 5 days after the last dose, which might include restlessness, irritability, anxiety, shaking, palpitations, and dry retching.
In some cases, after a week of withdrawal people might experience rebound insomnia.
Hallucinogens
In the first one to two days after taking a hallucinogen, it is possible that an individual might experience sweating, drug cravings, and headache. If the user is experiencing any withdrawal symptoms, they should likely peak and taper off within seven days of the last dose.
Marijuana
If an individual stopped using marijuana, the initial withdrawal symptoms can be eased by eating healthy foods, exercising, and staying hydrated. 3 to 5 days after stopping use, an individual might experience reduce appetite, mood changes, insomnia, headaches, and stomach problems.
After a week, a person is stopped using cannabis might experience some symptoms such as loss of focus, irritability, increased feelings of depression, and drug cravings.
Opioids
There are many different types of opioids and the withdrawal will depend on how fast acting the drug is. A person withdrawing from heroin might experience her first withdrawal symptoms after just a few hours. These can include anxiety, muscle pain, runny nose, teary eyes, insomnia, sweating, and frequent yawning.
The peak withdrawal symptoms usually occur 3 to 5 days after the last dose. This can include vomiting, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, blurry vision, goosebumps, and the rapid heart rate. After a week the withdrawal symptoms should taper off but an individual might still experience dehydration, loss of appetite, digestive issues, or seizures.
Stimulants
The “crash” from taking stimulants can include bodyaches, irritability, fatigue, and an altered mood. 3 to 5 days after the last dose, depressive or psychotic symptoms can occur due to brain damage. After weeks, an individual so my experience intense drug cravings, poor concentration, erratic sleep, lethargy, and depression.
Length of Detox Programs: How Long Is a Detox Treatment Program?
Detox is usually considered the first phase in addiction recovery. It is not a substitute for therapy or rehab that will likely need to follow.
Depending on the person and the substances that they have been abusing, the length of detox programs will vary. Usually, though, they are either three, five, or seven days long.
Overcoming Addiction: There Is Help!
Are you wondering “how long does detox last?” If you are struggling with a substance abuse disorder, it can be hard to know where to turn. Luckily, there is help.
If it’s time for you or a loved one to finally overcome addiction once and for all, contact us at the Detox Center so we can help you get the help you need.