Question by ShrimpStew: Has Anyone Ever Undergone “Rapid Detox”?
Please advise if this treatment was beneficial to you or not and why…Thank you.
Thanks Jared. My spouse has not been successful yet at tapering down from Suboxone. He has been on the so called “Suboxone” treatment and is desperate to be free of the trap.

Best answer:

Answer by Jared
I have never undergone this treatment, but have assisted in the administration and know quite a bit about it.

Personally I think it is unwise to go through and moreover is misleading.

Especially regarding Opiates.

A Rapid Detox is the administration of a “Narcon” type agent to cause opiates to unbind from receptors and thus be flushed from your system.. while your are made somewhat oblivious to the process.

Now, this sounds great in theory,.. but in reality detoxing is just the beginning, and you WILL still feel the effects of the drug being out of your system after this is done.

It isn’t a magic way to get ‘clean’.

Why?

Your body has opiate receptors all across the brain and even in your intestinal tract, etc. These receptors have adapted themselves to the presence of the drug of your choice over time (hence the addiction you have, and tolerance).

The body ‘heals’ itself.. but it is in a constant battle to maintain homeostasis, that is the remain balanced. This , however, takes time.

72 hours, or even 1 week is not nearly long enough to down regulate the adaptations and upregulate your endogenous production of opioids.

So, after your ‘rapid detox’ — the active metabolites of the drug will be out of your blood stream, but your body won’t be ‘normal’.

You will still have to do the ‘time’ to allow the brain to readjust, and body. This can take anywhere from 6months to over a year in some cases. This is unique, but there is a strong correlation to how long it will take to fully recover and how long one has used the drug.

IE: If a person used/abused opiates for 10 years, they will likely require about a year to fully feel ‘normal’. I’ve seen many people 6 months clean that are still miserable and fighting every day not to use because of this feeling. But everyone DOES, eventually, re-regulate and feels emotionally, mentally, and physically well IF given enough time without using.

Now, some people who have used for say a year or less.. can feel quite normal in as little as 1-3 months, due to the body not having adapted to the extent of the former example.

The only way I would ever really advise rapid detox is with the following conditions:

1) You have never been successful in weaning yourself off the medication or going cold turkey. (And you have tried MANY times.. with help.)

2) You MUST have a plan for post detox. IE: Attending AA meetings (or NA) regularly. Getting clean is really the easiest part of the whole ordeal despite how agonizing it can seem to be. Staying clean, and working out how to fill the void and cope with life on lifes terms is something you have to work at, but it is well worth it.

3) The medically assisted Rapid Detox is done by a reputable clinic, preferably in an inpatient hospital setting. (There are some fairly shady and dangerous clinics that perform this procedure and there have been ‘deaths’ from it).

So ultimately I do NOT advise it. For the main fact that it is highly misleading to the patient and even family/friends. Most people think they go in, and in a few days they are miraculously done and clean. When the addiction and problem is still right there not dealt with. It can be a great first step, but there are many steps that follow and need to be planned before that step is taken.

Make sense?

Good luck,

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