Right now, you can’t envision yourself being able to function without the painkillers. But a life without this addiction is possible after detox and rehab. What does a typical opiate detox timeline look like? Once you’re sober, what comes next?
Detoxification Ends the Physical Dependence
Right now, your body responds with withdrawal symptoms when you don’t take the drugs quickly enough. Since the chemicals have rewritten the way your brain functions, getting off the drugs now involves more work. But with the help of a detox program that includes medical supervision of the process, you can quit. The goal is to make the process as comfortable and pain-free as possible.
You’ll notice initial symptoms after six to eight hours with some drugs. Quitting extended-release opiates may not result in withdrawal symptoms for about a day. You’ll most likely encounter gastrointestinal upset, an inability to sleep, cramps, and an onset of depression. These symptoms gradually worsen.
By day three on the opiate detox timeline, the worst is over. The physical symptoms gradually taper off. The cramps are only happening occasionally now. You can eat again, and your sleep is restful. However, there’s a chance that the psychological withdrawal symptoms are still intense.
By day five, most physical symptoms subside. That said, you’re now dealing primarily with emotional and psychological issues. Examples include depression, anxiety, and ongoing feelings of nervousness. You feel like you should be doing something, but you don’t know what that is.
Reach the End of the Opiate Detox Timeline and Check into Rehab
Detoxification can only take you so far. It succeeds in breaking the physical hold that the drug had on you. Your body no longer feels like it’ll quit functioning if you don’t supply the drug. But you’re still dealing with the psychological fallout.
Some people mistakenly think they’ve finished recovery when they reach the end of the opiate detox timeline. In fact, now is the time to continue the healing process at a good-quality rehab facility. There, you have treatment options that include:
- Partial hospitalization, which is the halfway point between inpatient and outpatient rehab and enables you to go home at night
- Intensive outpatient treatment that makes it possible to take a part-time approach to recovery
- Aftercare to help you do well with relapse prevention and application of life skills training
- 12 Step recovery, which allows you to follow the precepts of a program that helped countless people in similar situations
How to Get Help Today
When dealing with an opiate addiction makes life difficult for you or loved ones, there’s hope. You don’t have to keep using just to avoid opiate detox symptoms. Contact the friendly therapists at Crestview Recovery to get help with a referral to a partnering detox facility. After that, a quick call to 866.262.0531 sets up your rehab.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.
