Methadone Detox and Hair Loss

The addiction and recovery process puts bodies through great strain. Building a dependence on foreign chemicals alters your body's natural processes, diverting energy from function of organs and even the health and vitality of your appearance, causing a body to react (often negatively, or even violently) to the detox process. Methadone detox can greatly alter a person's appearance.

Physical Symptoms

• Depending on the severity of the addiction, the detox process is arduous and quite taxing on the body. Any time the body is put through such stress, there will be a significant physical response. In addition to pain, nervousness, agitation and effects on the digestive tract, symptoms of methadone withdrawal can show up in your appearance. The skin loses luster and dark circles can appear under the eyes. Hair loss is also evident, as your body reacts to the loss of a chemical it is dependent on.

Severity

• Those with extensive histories of using or abusing methadone will experience heightened withdrawal symptoms during detox. The severity of withdrawal symptoms will vary according to the amount of substance in the body. Not only is this because of the levels of chemicals in the body, but because addicts' bodies often change the way they function to accommodate for these foreign chemicals. Forcing your body to return to normal is painful and very disruptive.

Goals of Detox

• Toxins accumulate when any foreign substance or chemical is introduced to the body. The goal of drug detox is to remove harmful chemicals from the body that have accumulated over prolonged periods of drug use. Even if the chemicals previously served a positive purpose (like methadone in the effort to kick a heroin addiction), harmful buildup can occur with detrimental side effects. The first signs of detoxification are referred to as "withdrawal."

Ways to Detox

• Because detox is a painful and often debilitating procedure, it is best to perform a detox under the attendance of a trained professional. This is especially true if the patient has built up a large dependence on methadone. Because methadone is highly addictive, it is often the case that addicts will relapse into abusing the drug rather than proceed with the painful withdrawal process. Performing detox under supervision or at a designated detox center will facilitate the process. Due to methadone's chemical structure, it has a tendency to stay in the body and can take four times as long to remove methadone from the body as heroin.

Dealing with Symptoms that Occur from Detox

• Though it is difficult to maintain, a methadone detox patient must show a commitment to a healthy lifestyle. By eschewing chemicals and other dependencies, a methadone detox patient increases his chance of success. To avoid many physical symptoms of withdrawal, including signs of withdrawal like darkened circles under the eyes, a patient should eat a healthy and balanced diet and start a moderate exercise regimen. This will help in alleviating many symptoms of withdrawal.