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Ways to Help Opiate Withdrawal

Coping with an opiate withdrawal can be a terrifying experience for any chronic opiate user. Severe physical dependence and intense withdrawal symptoms results from the long-term use of the drug. When the body builds up a high enough tolerance, the drug must be used more frequently or in larger doses to produce the "high" or desired effect. If this high is not achieved, the body starts the withdrawal process. Modern medicine has created easier ways for coping with opiate withdrawal and help is available for those who wish to stop opiate use.

  1. Seek Treatment

    • Decide if treatment for opiate withdrawal is right for you. Treatment is almost always necessary in patients who have used opiates heavily for an extended period of time, but if opiate use hasn't been a chronic problem then simply allowing the body to naturally detoxify itself is just fine.

    Support Groups

    • Find a support group if you feel you need help with an opiate addiction. Narcotics Anonymous is an excellent source for group support if no friends or family are available. Choose a drug rehabilitation center if you feel you are in serious need of help with opiate addiction. Rehab clinics can be expensive in certain areas, but many throughout the country are free and rehab clinics usually offer the best support for acute withdrawal of opiate addiction. Most clinics today operate under the Waismann Method of Accelerated Neuro-Regulation, established in 1997, where mild medicines are used in detox centers to gently cleanse opiate receptors in the brain, and normally the patient is given a mild analgesic and sleeps through the withdrawal process.

    Medications

    • Ask your doctor about prescribed medicines for opiate withdrawal. Clonidine, which primarily will reduce the physical symptoms of withdrawal by lowering the blood pressure and allowing blood vessels to relax, is a common medicine used to treat opiate withdrawal. Buprenorphine or Suptex is sometimes also used for treatment and can shorten the length of time spent in detox, but buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic opiate and can be habit-forming and often new users must then be weaned off of it as well.

    Emergency

    • Call 911 or get to a hospital as quickly as possible if you feel that opiate withdrawal is too severe. Withdrawal can feel like an intense flu or be accompanied by life-threatening symptoms, depending on the severity and length of addiction.

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