Chemicals and detoxification
Like those in the past, contemporary treatment programs typically begin with detoxification a term left over from an obsolete theory that addicts suffer from an accumulation of toxins with or without the assistance of drugs. Antagonists are sometimes used as an aid in heroin detoxification. Because of its potency, withdrawal from licit maintenance doses of methadone is generally accomplished by decreasing dosages.
The antihypertension drug clonidine has been used to relieve many of the symptoms of opioid withdrawal, particularly those involving autonomic nervous system hyperactivity. Some physicians have recommended clonidine for the detoxification of methadone patients who are being maintained on relatively low dosages. Whereas methadone can be found in the patient’s system more than a week after the last dose, clonidine has a shorter life. Thus, a clonidine patient can be placed on naltrexone immediately on detoxification, whereas a methadone patient would experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms under similar treatment.
Cocaine detoxification presents a serious problem because of the patient’s craving for the drug. This may be associated with the depletion of dopamine. The extreme depression that occurs during the early days of abstinence, particularly in crack users, can lead to suicide. Withdrawal from opiates and cocaine can be accomplished without using other chemicals, although the patient might feel quite uncomfortable. Detoxification from sedatives can lead to seizures and cardiac arrest and therefore must be accomplished by decreasing dosages of the sedative. Detoxification are also known being use by women to clean out chemical which will cause having prettier skin and of course they also joining certain weight loss program and alternative medication such as coconut oil weight loss as one of their treatment.
The use of chemicals to facilitate drug withdrawal can serve to attract drug abusers into treatment and increases the probability that they will complete detoxification. However, at least with respect to heroin abusers, the use of chemicals has some troubling aspects: Addicts typically enter treatment when their habit is too expensive to support; at this point the addict has to work quite hard simply to prevent the onset of withdrawal symptoms, while a high level of tolerance prevents achieving the high. Under such conditions addiction is no longer fun.