Can I Manage Alcohol Detox Alone?

Alcoholism it a terrible burden to bear. It leaves you craving alcohol when you aren’t drinking, drinking in excess when you give in to the cravings, and then suffering from a hangover as a result of all the drinking. Over time, you end up feeling terrible pretty much all of the time. Additionally, those close to you feel pushed away and out of control as they watch someone they love spiral downward into a larger and larger drinking problem. But, there is help available to you. When you are ready to quit drinking, there are steps you can take and experts that can assist you. Initially, you will need to go through a period of detox. You may have read about various forms of detox for various drugs, and yes, some of them can be managed at home with relatively little discomfort. However, you shouldn’t go through alcohol detox alone.

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be quite severe and can build up over time with multiple periods of detox. You can actually make it through a detox during a mild period of alcoholism and have that affect the success of a later detox. It’s true.

When you consider alcohol detox, it is incredibly important that you receive some level of care from an addiction specialist. This can take many forms. Ultimately, your individual needs and the specifics of your addiction will decide what will work best for you.

For help navigating the decision making that comes with detox and treatment, you should go to the experts at Detox.com. By calling 800-996-6135(Who Answers?) , you can have your questions answered, get connected to resources, and be directed to detox programs that can meet your needs.

What Is Detox?

Alcohol detox can be dangerous, depending on the severity of your addiction.

On its most basic level, detox is a collection of interventions designed to transition you from a state of acute intoxication to a completely drug and alcohol free state. The interventions have two main goals: to manage serious intoxication and to control the withdrawal symptoms caused by ceasing your use of the substance.

Don’t think that detox is a form of treatment; it is simply the first stage. You will need to go through many more to fully recover. Sure, it helps you to get the drugs and alcohol out of your system, but it doesn’t teach you how to keep it out. That is a job best left to a professional rehab program.

The medical model of detox is the one that most people are familiar with and it includes medication as part of the treatment along with doctors, and nurses providing oversight. However, there is also what is known as a social model. The social model uses a supportive environment, instead of a medical facility and medication, to assist you in your detox.

Depending upon the degree of help you need, the severity of alcohol withdrawal really demands medical intervention.

Withdrawal

Because alcoholism can cause such severe withdrawal, alcohol abusers are truly advised to seek help. The withdrawal generally sets in between 6 and 24 hours after your last drink and can actually begin before all the alcohol has left your system. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, it may include:

• Irritability and anxiety
• Loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting
• Shakiness (often called tremors), increased heart rate, and elevated blood pressure
• Insomnia, powerful dreaming, and nightmares
• Reduced concentration and diminished memory and judgment
• Enlarged sensitivity to sound and light
• Auditory (sound) or visual hallucinations
• Delusions (mistaken beliefs) about being victimized
• Grand mal seizures: an intense, generalized, irregular electrical discharge of the major portions of the brain, causing loss of consciousness, brief stopping of breathing, and rigid muscles followed by jerking muscles, a short-lived period of sleep, and waking up with some level of confusion a short time later
• High fever
• Delirium and disorientation

Serious Complications

Some of the symptoms listed above are part of a condition called delirium tremens (severe delirium with shaking); it affects 5-20 percent of alcoholics undergoing detox and it kills 5 percent of them.

You may also face:

• Infections
• Low blood sugar
• Gastrointestinal (stomach and intestine) bleeding
• Liver failure
• Enlargement of the heart with ineffective pumping
• Inflammation of the pancreas
• Generalized impaired brain functioning

To avoid suffering severe consequences you need help with your alcohol detox. Call 800-996-6135(Who Answers?) and speak to a caring specialist. Get the help you deserve.