If you or a loved one is struggling to overcome cravings or avoid a relapse, it might be time for professional help. Too often, people try to “go cold turkey” but relapse because the withdrawal symptoms or cravings are too severe. 

What’s more, when this happens, people often end up feeling more depressed, like a failure. Those feelings of isolation and guilt or shame can lead to continued relapses.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. With Total RMH, you can get Beverly Hills medical detox today and have professional medical staff guide you through your recovery.

What is Medication-Assisted Detox?

Medication-assisted detox or medical detox is an addiction treatment program designed for withdrawal management.

Medical detox provides 24-hour monitoring and treatment. This takes place in hospital inpatient units or rehab centers where you get specialized medical services and intensive care.

The staff required for medication-assisted detox will vary based on your situation, but in general, you will have medical staff on hand to administer medications used for detox, medications that have been FDA-approved to manage the severe withdrawal symptoms, and ongoing cravings.

SettingCare TeamTreatment GoalsTherapies Used
Medical detox takes place in a licensed rehab treatment facility or a hospitalThe care team is comprised of doctors, nurses, psychologists, counselors, and assistants who can identify and treat complications with detox meds as they ariseThe goal of medications used for detox is to manage your withdrawal symptoms, alleviating acute cognitive, behavioral, physical, and medication problemsDetox medications can include FDA-approved prescriptions or over-the-counter medications for each symptom

What Medications are Used for Alcohol Detox?

Different medications achieve slightly different results. In some situations, the medications involved in your treatment plan will help alleviate the severe withdrawal symptoms, and in other cases, they help you manage your cravings. 

Opioid Treatment 

Detox medication can be used for opioid treatment programs. With opioid treatments, the detox meds are primarily methadone, naltrexone, or buprenorphine. Methadone is administered daily. You don’t need to get a second prescription because your medications used for detox are part of the program.

The use of such detox medication is designed to relieve your withdrawal symptoms and reduce your opioid cravings without giving you a high.

Alcohol Treatment

Medications for alcoholism used for detox include acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone. Similarly, these medications help to curb your withdrawal symptoms and significantly reduce your cravings as you continue through your treatment.

Which Medication Used for Detox can Help with Withdrawal?

Medications used for detox used for opioid treatment include:

Buprenorphine 

This reduces or eliminates the withdrawal symptoms from opioids. It does this by producing a similar, though much lower, euphoria or “high” so you can safely wean your body from opioids. 

Methadone

This has been used to reduce the cravings you have with opioids, cravings which would otherwise last for months. It simply blocks opioid cravings and blunts the effects of taking opioids. So, if you relapse, you won’t get the same effect from opioids as before, making it less likely that you will relapse repeatedly. 

Naltrexone

This detox medication decreases or blocks the enjoyable side effects you get from using. By making drug use unpleasant, it decreases how often you relapse. 

Medications used for detox used for alcohol treatment include:

Acamprosate

These medications used for detox repair the chemical imbalances in your brain brought about by severe alcoholism. Long term, this helps to decrease how often you relapse. 

Disulfiram

This medication causes severely unpleasant side effects when you drink. It won’t decrease your cravings for alcohol, but it will cause nausea, vomiting, sweating, headaches, and problems breathing. The more severe the side effects, the less your brain associates alcohol consumption with pleasurable activities. 

Naltrexone

This detox medication decreases or blocks the enjoyable side effects you get from drinking. By making alcohol consumption unpleasant, it decreases how often you relapse.

How to Find Medically-Assisted Detox in Beverly Hills, CA

If you are ready to find medically-assisted detoxification in Beverly Hills, let Total RMH help. With Total RMH, we believe that no two people struggle with addiction in the same way. What’s more, we know that treating the mind and body simultaneously is the only way to achieve lasting recovery. 

As part of our medically-assisted detox, we use FDA-approved medications used for detox as well as over-the-counter medications to ease your symptoms. With 24-hour supervision and monitoring, our staff can provide things like disulfiram to help you get through your recovery while also offering anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic medications to keep you as comfortable as possible. 

Let Total RMH help you through your treatment with our Los Angeles substance abuse treatment programs.