Whether you are addicted to opiod pain relievers, tranquilizers, marijuana, or harder street drugs, you need to find the best way for you to recover and regain your life before addiction. It is not only better for your health to be clean, it is better for your career and social life, as well. It is also better for your personal relationships. You can lose all of these things to addiction, but can get them back when you go through rehab. Part of rehab is detoxing from the substance of your addiction. If you can’t afford an inpatient facility and/or your insurance doesn’t cover it, you need to find a good outpatient detox program.
Methods of Outpatient Detox
An important thing to remember is that there is no totally painless detox. Even the easiest ones will have some unpleasantness associated with them. That is why so many people choose to do their detox on an inpatient basis. If this is not an option for you, then you need to at least have medical supervision for your outpatient detox. This is because you will be weaning off of the substance of your addiction during the detox, and some of the withdrawal symptoms can be difficult to deal with without medical assistance. There are non-addictive drugs you can be given to manage the worst symptoms of detox.
You need to have someone with you when you do an outpatient detox. Don’t try to do it alone. Your “detox partner” will be with you to monitor your progress and your health during your detox, and will call your supervising doctor and/or take you there if you need medications to manage the withdrawal symptoms. They will also be there as your cheering section to tell you that you can do it, and keep you from going back to your addictive drug again until you’re clean.
How to Arrange Outpatient Detox
You can arrange outpatient detox with your doctor or with a psychiatrist who specializes in addiction issues. They will give you instructions on how to do the detox, a list of ways to stay healthy during it, and numbers to call at any hour if you need medical assistance during your outpatient detox. You will also visit your supervising medical professional regularly during your detox to monitor your progress. Once you’ve successfully completed detox, you can then begin outpatient rehab counseling to ensure an addiction-free future for yourself.