One of the key elements of the addiction treatment program in Missouri is the drug detox program. Different parts of the world have different meanings of drug detox. In some parts of the world, detox may simply mean to reduce the person's dependency on a substance from a higher level of addiction to a lower level. However, the meaning of drug detox in Missouri is to completely cleanse the person's body of the substance of addiction present in it. Now, this is definitely not an easy task to achieve. Especially in people have been with an addiction since several years and people who have been using the substance of addiction to a very high extent, the detox can be very difficult.
The basic nature of a drug detox in Missouri is to make the patient abstain from the addictive substance completely, in an isolated setting. Keeping the patient in the isolated setting makes actually makes it easier for the patient to overcome the temptation for the substance because of the simple reason that the patient is removed from familiar surroundings. At the same time, the patient is provided with complete medical supervision so that it becomes safer for them to go through the entire detox process.
Abstinence from a substance that someone is addicted to is never simple. Within just a day or two, the patient will begin to feel the first pangs of withdrawal. Withdrawal is the body's way of letting the person know that it needs the substance within it. During the withdrawal, the person will begin feeling a very intense urge to consume the substance. This will increase by the third and fourth days, which are known as the peak of the detox.
However, during this period, the treatment providers will do all they can to provide the patient with some medication that can help reduce the urges for the substance. For example, if the person is with an alcohol addiction, a substance like Naltrexone or Antabuse can help reduce the urges for alcohol. The medication depends on the kind of addiction the person is in. The routine for this medication is set up by the treatment providers in advance, but as later complications arise, the treatment program may be altered, sometimes even on an extempore basis.
A drug detox in Missouri is said to be complete when the patient has been completely pulled out of the withdrawal and has been brought out of the intense craving for the substance. This may take anywhere up to a week, but in some cases, the treatment may go on to much higher than that.
Now, let us see the factors on which the length and the intensity of the drug detox in Missouri depend.
The Nature of the Addiction
The nature of the addiction will influence the drug detox program because the stronger the addictive substance is, the more time will be required to pull the person out of the withdrawal. Substances like alcohol and marijuana can be easily detoxified from a person's system, but heroin and methamphetamine can take even up to a month for getting properly detoxified from the person's body.
The Length of Time and Frequency of the Addiction
If the person has been using the addictive substance for a very long time, then it indicates that a lot of the substance must have got accumulated in the person's body. Even if the person has been taking only a little of the substance, it will metabolize and house itself in the person's body. On the other hand, if the patient has been consuming very high doses of the substance, then there will be too much of the substance present in the body even if the person has not been addicted to it for a very long time. In both these cases, the detox program will become very difficult because the body is expected to react violently to suddenly stopping the substance.
The Physical and Mental Health of the Patient
It is important that the person be in sound condition of body and mind for an easy detox process. People who have health complications will find it very difficult to come out of the pangs for the substance. At the same time, people with mental illnesses will not be able to generate the determination that is needed to stay away from the substance of addiction or to bear the withdrawal.
Apart from these, several other factors can influence the drug detox in Missouri. Some of these include the age of the person, pregnancy, family situation, etc.