800-671-4304Stimulant Detox With and Without Medication
Between 2018 and 2024, nearly 60% of all drug overdose deaths in the U.S. involved stimulants.
If you have a stimulant dependency or addiction and you are having a tough time breaking the habit, you are a good candidate for detox. This is the process by which you transition from having drugs in your system to maintaining abstinence from them. Although it’s not considered a full treatment, stimulant detox can be an extremely positive first step that will allow you to make it successfully through treatment.
Stimulants, like cocaine and amphetamines, are intensely pleasurable. In lab studies, animals will actually continue using them to the point of death. This makes it difficult for people who take them to control the amount that they intake, which can lead to a cycle of binging and withdrawing. The cravings alone can be debilitating.
Are you ready to break your pattern of stimulant use? If so, detox is a great place to start. Let’s take a look at how this process works, what you can expect, and how to find a reputable center near you.
Contact us now and get your detox questions answered.
SponsoredStimulant Withdrawal
Medication can make stimulant detox more comfortable so you can focus on recovery.
Stimulant withdrawal is markedly different from the symptoms associated with opioid, sedative, and alcohol dependence, so it’s also treated differently. Opioid and alcohol dependence create such medically dangerous situations during withdrawal that the medical detoxification associated with them is very aggressive.
Stimulant detox is not emphasized in the same way. There isn’t a medical risk or crippling discomfort. However, in cases where the withdrawal indicates there will be risks as a result, there can be medical intervention.
One major concern to note during stimulant withdrawal is the risk of dysphoria, which is commonly characterized by feelings of depression or negative thought patterns. In some cases, this condition can even lead to suicidal ideas or attempts.
Other stimulant withdrawal symptoms include:
- Depression
- Insomnia or hypersomnia (sleeping all the time)
- Fatigue
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Poor concentration
- Psychomotor retardation (problems with movement and thought)
- Increased appetite
- Paranoia
- Drug cravings
These symptoms should disappear after a few days, but they can stick around for three to four weeks. This is why supervised detoxification is always recommended if you’re withdrawing from stimulants.
Detoxing Without Medication
The best way to manage stimulant withdrawal symptoms is to have a period where you abstain from them. This should be managed via detox.
Many individuals do not require inpatient care or a hospitalization stay while they detox. Instead, intensive outpatient treatment helps most people through the transition. The goal is to continue abstaining from the drug long enough that withdrawal symptoms disappear entirely. One important component is avoiding those things that act as cues to induce cravings. Particular people and places that the brain has latched onto as triggers for cravings need to be avoided entirely.
In addition, people who are addicted to stimulants must also abstain from other addictive substances. Once the detox process is complete, they should enter into an addiction treatment center that can combine counseling and other evidence-based practices to help them overcome their substance use disorder (SUD) for good.
Detoxing With Medication
There are no medications specifically used to treat stimulant withdrawal, but some are used regularly for cocaine addiction. For example, amantadine is often used to treat severe withdrawal symptoms. Modafinil is another medication that is being investigated for use as a cocaine detox agent. Mirtazapine, an antidepressant and sleep aid, has also proven effective for treating amphetamine withdrawal.
However, none of these medications is specifically approved for treating stimulant withdrawal. Without medication specifically developed for treating stimulant withdrawal, doctors have to incorporate medications to relieve particular symptoms, such as nausea and insomnia. There isn’t one medication designed to treat all symptoms.
If you have been having a hard time stopping your use of stimulants, you are likely at your wit’s end. How can you treat your addiction if you can’t stop using? Detox will be an important first step in your journey, and it will progress more smoothly with help. Contact Detox.com today at 800-996-6135 . We are waiting.