There are a number of ways to detox from alcohol or drug addiction, including both outpatient and inpatient detox. A form of outpatient detox gaining popularity in the UK is known as home detox. This type of detox is a great option for those who are best served by an outpatient programme but, for one reason or another, are unable to visit a clinic on a daily basis.
Addiction Helper can assist you in facilitating home detox if it is right for you. Our service provides a fully trained registered nurse who will assist you throughout the entire detox process. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you are suffering from a drug or alcohol problem.
Who It Helps
Home detox is not for everyone in every circumstance. However, it can be helpful for a number of different types of people. First is the alcoholic who is not suffering from any other additional dependencies or mental disorders. Such an individual would find home detox both helpful and fairly affordable.
Users of marijuana and some other illicit drugs can also benefit from home detox. The key is the severity of the addiction itself. Some long-term addicts, especially users of the hardest drugs, would be better served in a residential detox programme rather than at home.
Determining whether home detox is right for you is a decision best left to professionals. That’s why we urge you to get in touch with us at Addiction Helper. Our detox and recovery specialists have the knowledge and experience necessary to help you make the right decision.
How It Works
When we arrange for someone to receive home detox, the first step is to send a registered nurse to the client’s residence. The nurse will perform an initial assessment to determine whether home detox is most appropriate. If so, a detox schedule will be set up.
A registered nurse will go to the home of the client on the day the addiction detox is set to begin. He or she will remain in the home until the process is complete. The job of the nurse is to prescribe and administer medications, monitor general health, monitor detox process and, if necessary, provide emergency medical care.
All that said, the actual detox process is the same as you would find in an outpatient or residential programme. Medications are administered to help ease the discomfort of withdrawal and prevent certain types of injuries. Withdrawal symptoms will begin to appear within a few hours, peaking on the second or third day before gradually being reduced from there.
Withdrawal symptoms will vary depending on the substances used by the addict. Some of the more common among them include:
- feelings of anxiety or fear
- excessive sweating
- nausea and vomiting
- involuntary muscle movements
- increased heart rate and blood pressure.
You should know that home detox provides a safe and comfortable environment in which to go through withdrawal. However, there is nothing that can completely erase withdrawal symptoms. The registered nurse assigned to a client case can only provide as much comfort as possible during the process.
Home detox has proven most successful when the recovering addict also has the support of close family members or friends. Having others in the home during detox is helpful to both the client and the nurse, because additional support can be given. Home detox can be completed in about seven days for most people.
After Detox
Home detox is preferred over residential treatment because the recovering addict is able to remain at home. It is preferred over outpatient detox because it is quicker. Yet what the client does after home detox is just as important as it is when choosing one of the other two options. You see, detox is only the first step on the long road to recovery.
Alcohol and drug addiction only has one true cure: permanent abstinence. Unfortunately, far too many recovering addicts wind up back where they started within a couple of years. Why? Because they never learned to deal with the constant temptations and the mental and emotional aspects of addiction.
We tell you all of this to encourage you to include aftercare and support services as part of your treatment after detox. If it turns out detox was enough for you to come clean permanently, that’s great. Nevertheless, such is not the case for most people. Most recovering addicts need the extra support of aftercare.
What is aftercare? It is a collection of services designed to help the recovering addict get through the weeks and months following detox. The support they provide greatly reduces the likelihood of relapse within the first year or two. Aftercare includes 12-step work, group support and counselling, individual counselling and more.
The 12-step Programme
Addiction Helper is a big fan of the 12-step programme after home detox. This programme was originally developed in the 1930s by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. The success of the 12-step programme comes by way of forcing recovering addicts to take ownership of their addictions – and their behaviours in general.
A complete break from addiction is not possible until an individual is willing to admit he or she alone is responsible for what they do. Detox alone cannot bring the addict to that place in his or her life. That’s where the group and one-on-one counselling comes in. As for the 12-step programme, it helps the addict come to terms with who he or she is while also developing strategies to prevent relapse in the future.
If you would be well served by home detox, we would like the opportunity to help you arrange it. We can also help you arrange aftercare services including 12-step work with a local support group. However, you need to contact us before we can do anything for you.
Addiction Helper is a confidential referral and counselling organisation with the goal of helping addicts and their families. Now that you know the basics of home detox, the decision of what to do next rests entirely with you.