An opiate addiction starts when users experience pain relief and intense euphoria, making them crave more of the drug. Regular drug use causes physical dependence, making them feel like they can’t live without a dose. When their prescription isn’t enough, they turn to illicit opioids that put them in dangerous situations. Our opioid detox in Phoenix, AZ, is designed to provide a safe and supportive environment for individuals who are ready to overcome their addiction.
Fortunately, opioid use disorder is as treatable as any other mental health condition. An intensive outpatient treatment program (IOP) or partial hospitalization program (PHP) eases withdrawal symptoms and helps clients recover from their addiction.
What Are Opiates?
Prescription opioids are pain-relief drugs that a doctor might prescribe for chronic pain, injuries or post-surgical recovery. Some opioids, such as morphine and codeine, are made from the poppy plant. Others, such as fentanyl and Vicodin, are made in laboratories.
Short-acting opioids provide fast pain relief. Long-acting opioids take longer to kick in but provide lasting relief from symptoms. When used as directed, most opioids have mild side effects, such as drowsiness and constipation.
How Do Opioids Affect the Brain?
Opioids make the brain release dopamine, causing a euphoric rush. At the same time, they block pain signals to ease discomfort. The intense high can make patients physically dependent as they build tolerance and take more opioids to feel happy again.
Over time, patients start experiencing withdrawals whenever they stop taking opioids. They take more, assuming that will help them, but their withdrawal symptoms worsen as they need increasingly higher amounts of the drug.
Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms, Timeline & Detox Treatment
Our detox center in Phoenix provides a medically supervised environment to manage the detoxification phase, which is the first critical step toward recovery. Most recoveries start with detox programs that halt opioid use. You’ll wait for the drugs to exit your system and move to the next opioid rehabilitation stage. Medical care may ease your transition, but untreated opiate withdrawal symptoms can last a few weeks to several months.
What Are Common Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms?
Typical symptoms of withdrawal include:
- Hot and cold flashes
- Flu-like symptoms, such as a runny nose
- Muscle aches
- High blood pressure
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- Insomnia
- Intense cravings
- Rapid heart rate
- Depression
- Paranoia and anxiety
Severe withdrawals, such as delusions, hallucinations and difficulty breathing, require immediate medical attention.
How Long Does Opiate Withdrawal Last?
An opiate detox typically lasts for a week. Opiate withdrawal symptoms can start a few hours after the last dose, and the individual might experience restlessness, irritability, anxiety and drug cravings. Most symptoms steadily worsen and peak within three days. Withdrawal signs slowly recede in the following days, allowing clients to start addiction treatment.
Our Opiate Withdrawal and Detox Program in Phoenix
Camelback Recovery clients typically begin their journey to recovery at our detox facility with PHP (Partial Hospitalization Program) rehab. They visit the facility five days a week for up to six hours daily for therapy and medical care. The staff creates tailored programs, considering each resident’s diagnosis and medical history.
When PHP rehab ends, clients transition to an IOP, which offers similar services three times a week for a few hours per day. This outpatient treatment allows for a gradual reintegration into daily life, providing a structured yet flexible approach to recovery. Afterward, they start a short-term IOP or an aftercare program. Individuals can start taking on more life responsibilities while continuing their addiction treatment.
IOP and PHP services may include:
- Group, individual and family therapy
- Trauma counseling
- Sober mentoring and transportation
- Case management
- Educational classes
- Stress management
- Art therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Conflict resolution
Camelback Recovery also provides single-sex and co-ed sober living communities. Residents stay in homelike environments with bedrooms, living rooms, internet access, gym memberships and outdoor recreation areas. They go to work or attend school during the day and then return to a safe environment with trained staff.
Co-Occurring Mental Health Disorders and Opioid Withdrawal
Individuals with mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, often turn to opiates because other treatments fail. Therapy and prescription drugs didn’t eliminate their mood swings, nightmares, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) flashbacks or suicidal ideation. Opioids helped at the start of their addiction, making them believe they’d found the cure.
Human services that focus on addiction don’t always address the co-occurring disorders that lead to drug abuse. As a result, people with substance use disorders return to opiates after treatment ends. Inevitably, their opioid addiction destroys their mental health, leaving them increasingly desperate to salvage what’s left.
Camelback Recovery provides dual-diagnosis therapy for people with conditions described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), PTSD and eating disorders. This includes addictions to behaviors instead of substances, such as gambling and watching pornography.
Dual-diagnosis treatment options include:
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Family therapy
- 12-step programs
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Life skill coaching
- Support systems
- Medication management
- Nutritional programs
With mental health services administration, clients can heal from past traumas that triggered their drug addiction. Some individuals go on to mentor other recovery patients.
Tips for Coping With Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the best way to cope with withdrawals. Most withdrawal symptoms start a few hours after the last dose. If you attempt an opiate detox at home, you must push through the withdrawal process without medical supervision.
Drug cravings and other symptoms become extremely uncomfortable, leading some to resume opioid use. Detoxing at home also increases the risk of life-threatening conditions, such as seizures and reckless behavior. After a failed detox, many people assume their opioid dependence is a lost cause.
Medication-assisted treatment is a medical detox program that eases withdrawal symptoms while opioids and other drugs leave your body. Doctors prescribe medications, such as methadone and buprenorphine, that reduce cravings and withdrawals. Other medications prevent opiate-induced euphoric feelings from easing your dependency on the drugs.
During MAT, you’ll undergo counseling that promotes long-term sobriety and healthy coping skills. After your medical detox, you can transition to an IOP or a PHP for continued opiate addiction treatment.
Phoenix’s #1 Opioid Withdrawal Detox Center | Start Recovery Today
Contact Camelback Recovery, a leading mental health and addiction treatment center, to discuss our opioid detox in Phoenix, AZ. Submit a form online or call 602-466-9880 for information about admissions, opiate withdrawal and treatment options. You can enroll right away or enter our substance abuse program at a later date.
