The detox process is a critical first step in addiction treatment. Depending on the drugs in your system and the longevity of use, detox can be extremely dangerous. If you have underlying conditions, from heart disease to diabetes, physical detox will take monitoring and may require drug assistance.
Is a hospital detox program the same as a detox center program? For the physical detox phase, the care will be similar. However, the psychological support you will need as an addict in recovery may not be available in some hospital settings. It’s important to remember that the job of the hospital staff is to keep you alive and to do no harm.
While they are certainly trained in supporting your physical body through the serious challenges of physical detox, they may not be trained in helping you address the underlying conditions that may have contributed to your addiction, including
- trauma
- pain
- genetic history
- underlying mental illness
While it is critical to stop using the drug to begin the healing and recovery process, there is still a lot of work and healing to do to build recovery skills. A supervised hospital detox can keep your body alive. A quality treatment program can help you build a life worth living.
Benefits of Assessment
During the hospital detox, your body will be monitored as the drugs work their way out of your system. You will receive
- regular vitals checks
- fluids
- food
- regular hygiene assistance
The detox process can lead to psychological hazards, up to and including hallucinations. Should you need to be restrained, a hospital will have the staff to keep you safe as your body readjusts. Some drugs may leave you feeling feverish, suffering from muscle cramps, and unable to regulate your own body temperature effectively. Your hospital detox team can help with all of these physical challenges. You may also be tested for underlying physical conditions, such as
- liver damage
- limited lung capacity
- heart damage
Depending on the length of time you used and the drugs used, you may also need emergency dental care. Hospital staff can help to keep you comfortable until you are safe and well enough to tolerate this care. It’s important to note that a hospital detox is only recommended if your life is at risk due to the toxicity level of your blood and body during the initial assessment.
If your risk is not extreme, you may be referred to another facility that can help you through an assisted detox without the detailed monitoring offered by hospital staff. A hospital detox is generally only recommended if there is a risk you won’t survive the detox process without the support available from a hospital. You may be held for a hospital detox if you need
- your stomach pumped
- emergency dialysis, such as after binge drinking
- drugs to help you survive an opiate detox
Preliminary drug counseling, psychiatric evaluation and psychological assessment may be available, but long-term treatment may not be available in the hospital setting. You will likely receive a referral to a treatment center, either on an in-patient or an out-patient basis. Your hospital detox experience will likely be quite unpleasant.
You may have arrived at the hospital via ambulance or been brought in by police. Getting your stomach pumped is never pretty. Withdrawal symptoms, from nausea to hallucinations to cramps, may leave you extremely unhappy with the people around you. As you work through the treatment process, you will be able to look back at your hospital detox and better understand just what the staff had to do to keep you alive until you could get the counseling you needed to keep going.
Going through a detox in a hospital setting is often the trigger that addicts need to move forward into a quality treatment program. You may wake up in a hospital bed with no memory of having gotten there. No matter how you got into detox, your goal of getting through treatment will be more accessible after a hospital detox. None of this will be easy, but the work of recovery will be easier to start after a hospital detox. Our counselors are available 24 hours a day. Call 833-610-1174.