Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Battle of the Detox Centers

If you or a loved one is experiencing the signs of a drug addiction problem, then it may be time to look at detox centers. Detox centers vary from drug rehab centers in several very important ways. Detox centers are designed for a short term stay. They provide a safe place for you to detoxify your body and fight your drug addiction problem. Drug rehab centers, on the other hand, are generally designed for a longer term stay and will provide counseling and other tools designed to address the underlying issues behind your drug addiction problem.

Most drug rehab centers either have detox centers attached to them or provide some form of medical detox services. This is very important due to the nature of physically withdrawing from many drugs or alcohol. Abruptly stopping the use of some drugs can lead to withdrawal symptoms, delirium, tremors and many other painful and potentially dangerous effects.

Detox centers will offer you a variety of medical intervention techniques to assist you with the effects of drug withdrawal. Depending on your drug or drugs of choice, you may be prescribed sedatives, methadone or other prescription medications. These medications help you to safely withdraw from your more dangerous drug of choice. You will then be slowly tapered off from the replacement prescription drug.

At times the lines are blurred between detox centers and residential drug rehab facilities. Technically, it is the job of detox centers to simply help people withdraw from the drugs before referring them on to outpatient care to finish fighting the drug addiction problem. However, many modern detox centers utilize counseling, group therapy and other techniques that are common to residential drug rehab programs.

The decision between residential drug rehab programs or detox centers may be made by your insurance companies. The recent trend for insurance companies, is to pay for as few days of inpatient treatment as possible. Detox centers, even those that offer counseling and other techniques, generally provide fewer days of inpatient treatment than do residential drug rehab facilities. Detox centers are also considered to provide emergency treatment, which insurance companies are more likely to accept with less documentation.

If you choose to utilize any of the myriad detox centers, you will need follow up care. Detox centers will help you to combat the physical withdrawal symptoms and clean the drugs out of your system. However, lifestyle changes and working through the issues that originally caused your drug addiction problem are necessary to maintain a drug free life. Follow up care can come from residential drug rehab, outpatient drug rehab, sober living facilities or twelve step programs. Many former drug abusers say that they were most successful in step-down programs which provide progressively less structure as you gain more days of sobriety.

In starting the process, a detox center can be an invaluable resource. While they do not offer the full benefits of drug rehab facilities and full treatment resources, a detox center will cleanse the system and help the body repair itself. Detox centers are an often overlooked piece of the drug treatment puzzle, but they are an important part in any program designed to help addicts get clean.

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