Have substances taken control of your life? Are you looking for a way to gain that control back?
If this is something weighing heavily on your mind these days, you’re not alone. In 2022, 234,000 people in Kentucky received substance use disorder treatment. Many drugs/substances come with unbearable periods of withdrawal, and if you or someone you love is experiencing that, detox is almost always necessary. This crisis rarely occurs when it is convenient, so SUN solves unmet needs by offering 24/7 crisis care. We’ll get you started with drug detox whenever you decide to take that next step.
A substance use disorder is when someone frequently consumes a substance to the point where it impacts their lives, such as health, relationships, and quality of life. Substance use disorders can also be life-threatening and have a high risk of overdose. Any substance can result in the development of a substance use disorder. Common ones may include heroin, cocaine, or benzodiazepines, but they are not limited to those substances.
Some signs of a substance use disorder may include:
Drug detox is a service that allows people to clear substances from their bodies while they experience withdrawal symptoms, intending to seek recovery from a substance use disorder. Withdrawal symptoms for many substances can be dangerous, so attending a drug detox minimizes these dangers. People who are undergoing a drug detox will typically experience the following components: evaluation, stabilization, and fostering your entry into treatment.
Evaluation will involve a comprehensive assessment of your medical and psychological conditions and a screening for substances in your body. We will also work with you, your doctors, and any other assessments or treatments you have had. This evaluation allows us to determine the best treatment plan for your needs.
Stabilization helps you achieve a place where you can become stable and fully supported. This process may include medications, familiarizing you with treatment and recovery, or a combination of both. What occurs during the stabilization component of detoxification will depend on your evaluation and what you and your medical team decide is the right plan.
The final component, fostering your entry into treatment, prepares you to continue your treatment and recovery journey. This component introduces you to the importance of further treatment for a substance use disorder.
Our substance use disorder treatment often begins with inpatient detox. We offer this service to adults 18 and older and will work with you, your doctors, your treatment history, and any assessments you have taken to determine the best care plan for your needs. Detox allows you to experience the symptoms of withdrawal in a safe and secure environment.
If you experience any complications during your detox, medical professionals will be available to help you. While attending inpatient detox at SUN Behavioral Health Kentucky, you can find stability in your life before returning home. The length of stay during detox will typically depend on the substance you are recovering from and your specific needs during detox.
Following detox, many people might need additional support or might feel unsafe returning home and to their daily responsibilities. Inpatient treatment can provide extra stability following detox while starting the process of treating you for a substance use disorder. During inpatient treatment, you will begin formal treatment for your substance use disorder and any co-occurring mental health conditions you might have. Generally, people will stay at our facility in inpatient treatment for 7-14 days before they move on to an outpatient program.
After you have completed inpatient, the next step for many people is to continue their treatment for a substance use disorder with outpatient programming. At SUN Behavioral Health Kentucky, we offer two outpatient programming levels: partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programming. We do not provide traditional outpatient programming at SUN Behavioral Health Kentucky. How long you spend in each outpatient program depends on your treatment plan and progress. Everyone progresses through treatment at a different pace, and no two people will experience treatment the same way.
Our partial hospitalization program (PHP) is our highest outpatient level of care. This level of care continues your treatment following inpatient care as you form connections and discover skills that will allow you to find recovery. PHP runs from 9 AM until 2:30 PM, Monday through Friday. You will also participate in art or recreational therapy 3 days a week.
The lowest outpatient level we offer at SUN Behavioral Health Kentucky is our intensive outpatient program (IOP). This program meets less during the week, allowing you to transition back to your responsibilities while you continue to receive treatment and build skills and techniques. Our IOP program runs from 9 AM until 12 PM, Monday through Friday. We also offer an evening IOP group from 5:30 PM until 8:30 PM, 3 days a week. This evening group works best for those who work during the day or are otherwise unable to attend treatment during the day but can attend treatment in the evening.
Detox is the process of naturally allowing your body to fully remove a substance or substances from its system. Different substances have their own timelines for detoxification because they often have separate half-lives. A half-life is how long it takes for the body to remove half of the dose of the substance.
The symptoms you feel during detox are your body’s response to adjusting to not having the substance in your system anymore. This is commonly known as withdrawal. Below is a chart of a few types of substances, including when the withdrawal symptoms will begin, how long they will occur, and where they are at their peak intensity.
It is essential to know that this timeline depends on the specific substance you took, how long you have been taking it, and how much of it you have taken. The above chart is the average length of time people have experienced withdrawals for that substance type. Some specific substances may take shorter or longer than the averages listed above. Being honest and discussing concerns with your medical team can give you a more accurate picture of how long detox and withdrawal will take for you.
Just like how different substances can have individual timelines for detox, substances can also have varying symptoms. Most people do not experience all of the symptoms possible for a given substance. They also don’t always experience the same combination. For example, if you and a friend both took the same opioids, you might not both have the same combination of withdrawal symptoms. You might have anxiety, insomnia, and muscle cramps, while your friend has insomnia, nausea, and diarrhea. Below are some of the most common substances and their symptoms.
Common opioid withdrawal symptoms:
Common benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms:
Common stimulant withdrawal symptoms:
Withdrawal symptoms are often very uncomfortable for the people who are experiencing them. However, by attending a detox program, medical professionals will monitor you frequently, prescribe you medications as needed, or provide you with things to do that will make the process of withdrawal more manageable and comfortable.
Several complications can arise during withdrawal, and having medical staff available to provide you with support and medical treatment can lower the chances of those complications worsening. In some instances, you have a risk of experiencing symptoms like seizures and hallucinations, which are best managed with the help of trained medical professionals.
When you decide to detox at home, you have a higher risk of returning to use than you do when you are detoxing in a detox facility. If you return to use after not consuming the substance for a while and take the same amount you would before you started the detox, you run the risk of overdosing. This is because your body is no longer used to consuming that amount of the substance anymore.
Taking the first step in your decision to leave substances behind can seem terrifying. If you have a long history with substances, you might be uncertain of who you are when you don’t have them in your life. However, taking that first step can often provide you with a sense of freedom and security. Recovery is a journey that may have many ups and downs, but it is worth it.
SUN Behavioral Health Kentucky solves unmet needs in Erlanger, KY. If you have a mental health concern in addition to a substance use disorder, we can also treat co-occurring disorders. Call us at 859-429-5188 today if you have any questions or wish to start your substance use disorder recovery. SUN Behavioral Health solves unmet needs.