Being addicted to fentanyl is one of the most dangerous habits that you could possibly have. If you realize this and have your thoughts upon detoxing from fentanyl, your mind is in the right place. We at Asheville Detox welcome you with open arms and want you to understand fully how medically-assisted detox can help your fentanyl withdrawals be more manageable for you.
What Is Fentanyl?
Developed in 1960, fentanyl was approved by the FDA for medical use in 1968. It was designed to relieve severe pain, such as pain experienced during chemotherapy. Because it is 100 times stronger than morphine and heroin, it is very dangerous when it is used recreationally.
Fentanyl is manufactured in various forms, such as pills, patches, and even lollipops. When you ingest fentanyl, a rush of dopamine floods your brain. At the same time, it slows down your central nervous system, which controls your breathing and heart rate.
Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl are now the most common drugs that are causing drug overdose deaths in the United States. Not only are people taking fentanyl by itself, but some drug dealers are also mixing fentanyl with other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and meth. This makes taking other drugs a particularly risky activity as most people don’t even know what they are taking.
What Causes Fentanyl Dependence?
When fentanyl is prescribed by a doctor, it can safely reduce any type of intense physical pain. However, if you take an opioid over a long period of time, you develop a tolerance to it and you become dependent on it. When you build up a tolerance to fentanyl, you need a bigger dose to feel the same way that you used to. This makes you want to take more than you did before. This causes you to become physically dependent on it. Then, if you try and stop or cut back, you will experience symptoms of withdrawal. This causes you to take the drug again in order to feel better.
Why Should You Consider Fentanyl Detox?
When you take prescription opiates such as fentanyl, you are taking something that is extremely powerful and highly addictive. Since fentanyl is physically addictive, if you suddenly stop using it, you can experience painful and dangerous withdrawal symptoms.
With that being said, going through withdrawals is necessary in order to conquer a fentanyl addiction. When you have an addiction to this drug, your physical health becomes damaged, your finances become depleted, and your personal relationships suffer as a result.
Another obvious reason why you need to steer clear of fentanyl is the high potential it carries for an overdose.
About Medically-Assisted Detox
Medication-assisted treatment is essentially a combination of two different elements. First of all, it involves giving you medications that ease the discomfort of withdrawals. Secondly, you become involved in behavioral therapies that are designed to help you break the cycle of addiction permanently.
For detoxing from a strong opioid such as fentanyl, there are two medications that may be useful, methadone and suboxone. These medications will work wonders in helping you deal with the physical symptoms that are experienced during fentanyl withdrawals.
It is important to note that you are not replacing one addiction for another. The medications you are given are prescription drugs in a supervised setting. They will help you deal with withdrawals, not get you high.
What to Expect With Fentanyl Withdrawals
Between 12 and 30 hours after you stop taking fentanyl, you should expect opioid withdrawals to kick in. In the first few days, your symptoms will peak and then they will usually level off within a week or so. There are many uncomfortable symptoms that you may expect to experience.
You may feel restless, have a backache, pain in your muscles, stomach cramps, nausea, a runny nose, diarrhea, and insomnia. Your heart rate may be elevated, as may your respiratory rate. Your pupils may be dilated. You may find yourself yawning and sweating excessively and may feel rather anxious.
Treatment for Fentanyl Addiction
As you might expect, the first step in treating your addiction to fentanyl is detoxification. It is critical that you allow your body to let go of the unnatural chemicals that you have been feeding it. Though the withdrawals that you experience aren’t going to be easy to deal with, through the help of medication-assisted treatment, they will become more manageable.
You will become involved in behavioral therapies that will help your overall well-being. Contingency management will be used to encourage you to make better choices in the future.
Even after your detox has been completed, you will likely stay on medication-assisted treatment to ensure that you do not relapse and take fentanyl again.
You may be wondering if detoxing from fentanyl is something that you can do at home, without any help. For all of these reasons that we have outlined here, the answer is no, not really. Not only is the temptation too great to use fentanyl during withdrawals, but you would not be able to receive the medication that you need to help you get through this difficult time.
Getting Help at Asheville Detox
When you are taking a powerful opioid such as fentanyl, sometimes it is hard to imagine what your life would be like without it. However, you must do exactly that. Try and recall the time when you lived your life completely sober. You likely had the time and energy to do the things that you enjoyed. You surely had more money then as well. Wouldn’t it be great to get your life back again?
We at Asheville Detox understand how strongly fentanyl and other opioids can grab hold of you. We are here to help break the chains that it has around you. While we care for you, we vow to make sure that you are as comfortable as possible during your withdrawals. Don’t wait any longer. Call us today and let go of your addiction today.
