Step 3 – Preparing for your detox
Congratulations on making the decision to get clean! It’s a hard thing to go through but remember that a week or more of discomfort is worth it, for a life without being a prisoner to heroin!
Now
that you have made the decision, I hope that you have put into place your
detox plan. Wherever you plan on getting clean, you should take some steps
to get ready for it.
Preparation
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If possible, visit a dentist before your detox. Many addicts have bad teeth and cavities that they don’t even notice, as heroin is such a strong painkiller. When you come off the drugs, you may end up having awful toothache and this can cause you to relapse. So if you can, visit a dentist now to get any problems sorted out before you come off the drugs.
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Try to eat more healthily in the coming days/weeks. This will build up your body a little and help when you are feeling ill and unable to eat. If you can’t face eating, try to get some “ meals in a drink “. These usually come in a milkshake form and have all the essential daily requirements you need.
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Start taking multi-vitamins. This will boost your immune system and help you over the withdrawal symptoms. I have included a list of different vitamins at the bottom of this document, so you can see what they do.
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Stop contact with your drug using friends. The best way is usually to say that you are leaving town for a while rather than admitting that you will be detoxing. This is because some of these “friends” will purposely sabotage a detox attempt, as they don’t want to lose you from their circle.
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Clean your house. Cleaning your house will make it nicer when you return, especially as you wont feel up to doing it after the detox. Make sure that you throw away all drug using equipment and paraphernalia. If you inject, please ensure that you are responsible in getting rid of used works.
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Change your bedding the day before the detox. It is much nicer and easier to fall asleep in a clean bed.
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Make sure your warm and comfortable clothes are clean and ready for use.
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Change your phone number. This will help prevent relapse. If nobody is phoning you about drugs, it is easier to stay off them.
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Make sure you have enough gas/electric on the meter (if you have one).
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Get in enough cigarettes for the week as well as anything else you feel you might need.
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If you are detoxing at home, get out any extra bedding and pillows you may need.
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Before you go to bed or leave for the rehab, tidy up. Sitting in a mess is depressing and you wont feel like doing it once you start your detox.
Things
to help the detox
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Drink lots of water. This will help flush the toxins out of your system. Also the aching muscles you get in your legs is mainly caused by dehydration, so by drinking lots of water your legs should feel loads better.
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If you cant face eating, try drinking the meals in a drink, or having something like ice lollies.
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Talc. Use talc to dry up the sweats that you will get. Especially useful after a bath.
The
actual detox
Once
you stop taking drugs, you will feel the onset of withdrawal symptoms
quite quickly.
-
Heroin – mild withdrawal starts after approximately 4 hours and will peak on the 3rd day, subsiding over a week to a fortnight.
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Methadone – mild withdrawal starts approximately 1-2 days after the last dose and will peak 2-7 days later (depending on the dose you were taking). This will subside over 2-3 weeks.
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Buprenorphine (Subutex) - mild withdrawal starts approximately 1-3 days after the last dose and will peak 3-5 days later, subsiding over 1-2 weeks for people that have used it short term (less than 6 months). If you have used Subutex for more than 6 months, the peak may be 5-14 days after the last dose and it could take weeks or months to subside.
After
the detox you should expect to feel unwell for a few weeks afterwards.
Some people are okay whilst others will suffer from: moodiness, poor
sleep, cravings, feeling vulnerable, depression.
The
withdrawal symptoms
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Afterwards
The
short-term effects
For
the first 3 – 6 months, you may have some of these effects. This is
because the natural opiates in your brain (endorphins) take this long to
get back to normal. Anything that encourages the production of these
natural opiates (i.e. exercise), will help reduce the length of time the
effects are felt.
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Residual withdrawal symptoms – sneezing, aches, watery eyes, yawning. Remember that this is normal and an automated response of your body. When your stress levels reduce as you feel calmer about these, they will subside.
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Low energy or motivation – Eat healthy and try to exercise three times a week for a minimum of 20 minutes. This will help release the endorphins and will improve your overall energy. Boredom can be a problem, so try to plan ahead things you can do during the week. Write a timetable or list of activities. Look at your list when you feel bored and do that task, this will help keep your mind off scoring.
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Variable mood and unpleasant thoughts – You may find that you are grumpy during the first few months. Avoid stressful situations and think about going for counselling if you have any specific issues that should be dealt with. Explain to people, if you can, why you are feeling grumpy.
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Restless dreaming sleep – Look at your sleeping habits and try to improve them. Don’t watch the clock, as keeping an eye on the time makes it worse. Beware of dreams about drugs and the effect that they will have on you.
Longer-term
effects
There
are two major effects that you will have to learn to deal with, as they
can last a lot longer. You need to learn to develop alternative ways of
coping, without ignoring them, as they remain a long term effect for you.
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Drug thoughts, cravings and urges – Be aware of high risk situations and triggers and think of how you can cope with it. Develop skills to deal with these situations.
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Negative moods and thoughts – Learn to fill your time and deal with using thoughts by doing things that you enjoy. Boredom is a major part of relapse so you need to put a lot of energy into avoiding it. You could partake in alternative therapies such as acupuncture, massage and herbal remedies.
Support
If
you feel that you need additional support, such as NA or counselling, get
in contact with local agencies.
Not
all people feel that they need this but if you have never tried it, it is
worth giving it a go. After all, you have nothing to lose.