Detoxification is not withdrawal. Most clients who have had long-term dependency on any substance would from time to time have suffered withdrawal. This might have been brought about by the sudden absence of their drug of choice, or through legal interventions, or for various reasons outside of that person’s control. Normally this type of withdrawal is extremely uncomfortable and physically distressing. This is not detoxification. Detoxification is carried out by substituting various other known drugs to assist somebody to gradually come off their drug of choice and slowly and comfortably reach a point of abstinence.
With all detoxification, one can expect a small degree of discomfort. Nobody receiving detox at Focus12 will at any point be in distress or physical pain. Their detoxification will be set and monitored at all times and whilst it is impossible to provide a totally easy, pain-free detoxification, clients are always surprised how comfortable detoxification can in fact be. You will be assisted with medication to help you sleep at night. During the day because clients are actively involved in various activities they will find that the physical symptoms of detoxification are greatly minimised by being distracted and busy.
For most alcohol detoxs we use Librium (Chlordiazepoxide) and Zopiclone to help sleep in the evenings. Our clients’ experiences with this drug substitute are extremely good. For clients on opiate detox we would prefer that they reduced methadone usage to 30-40 mls per day, at which point we would switch them to Buprenorphine (Subutex) for a detox lasting between 12-30 days. For clients on Benzodiazepines, dependant on how long and how much they have been using, it is not uncommon for this detox to take slightly longer.
All clients will be experiencing a totally drug-free life for at least half of their treatment at Focus12. We are not prepared to engage in a detox that takes so long that clients would not be experiencing abstinence before they have completed the 12 week programme.