Methamphetamine Detox in Anaheim, CA

A highly addictive and potentially lethal drug, methamphetamine (or “crystal meth”) has been one of the top five most abused substances in the U.S. since the late 1990s. Easy and cheap to make in homemade laboratories, meth users smoke it in a pipe, snort lines of crushed meth, or inject it into their arm, leg, or neck vein.

Short-term effects of a meth high include:

• Intense euphoria
• Irregular and/or rapid heartbeat
• Rapid breathing
• Blood pressure spike
• Increased core body temperature
• Decreased appetite
• Logorrhoea (accelerated speech, jumping from one topic to another, refusal to be interrupted)

Some long-term effects of methamphetamine addiction are often irreversible. They include:

• Malnutrition/extreme weight loss
• Tooth decay and gum disease (“meth mouth”)
• Hair loss
• Intensely itching skin sores that never heal due to the abuser constantly scratching them
• Loss of both short and long-term memory
• Insomnia/sleep disturbances (meth addicts have been known to stay awake for several days, only to end up in an emergency room with acute psychosis)
• Shrinkage of certain areas of the brain that may lead to permanent tremors, seizures, and early onset dementia
• Cardiovascular disease
• Liver and/or kidney failure
• Psychosis (paranoid thinking, delusions, and/or dementia)
• Suicidal thoughts

Injecting meth allows the drug to reach the brain in seconds. The heightened sense of euphoria (“rush”) users experience via injection can’t be achieved by snorting or smoking methamphetamine. Moreover, meth users who inject via syringe do not need as much meth to get extremely high as they do when they smoke or snort it. This strong, immediate state of euphoria is why injecting meth causes addiction much faster than using it in other ways.

Meth addicts who do not seek a methamphetamine detox under medical supervision also have a high risk of developing Parkinson’s disease or other incurable neurological disorders due to meth permanently damaging the brain and nervous system. 

Addicts who primarily snort meth typically suffer the same kind of nasal passage damage seen in cocaine addicts—frequent nose bleeds, infected nasal tissues, and a collapsed nasal bridge.

What is Methamphetamine Detox?

Undergoing meth detoxification is only part of a patient’s treatment plan for meth addiction. Medical detox for alcohol and drug abuse involves a doctor-supervised process of eliminating all traces of meth from the body and helping patients deal with intense cravings and other withdrawal symptoms. Side effects of meth withdrawal are addressed during detox through medication management, nutritional meals, and crisis counseling. 

Patients in a meth detox program also receive readjustment therapy to prepare them for rehab services such as cognitive behavioral therapy, life skills counseling, and learning techniques that help them cope with sober living. Notably, both inpatient and outpatient rehab programs offer these general services.

Previously undetected physical and mental health problems frequently emerge during and after detoxification. Signs of mental illness associated with meth use can remain after the detox process is complete. 

Before entering meth rehab, patients are examined by a psychiatrist to determine whether they require treatment with specific therapies or medications. In addition, addicts commonly turn to prescription or street drugs to self-medicate for severe anxiety, depression, or PTSD. When their mental illness is no longer hidden by their addiction, it can be properly diagnosed and resolved by psychologists and addiction counselors.

Southern California residents who desperately want to overcome an addiction to meth need compassionate, intensive medical and psychological help from the experienced addiction specialists at Restorations Health Care.

If you or a loved one is destroying their life by abusing methamphetamine, call today, fill out our online form, or use our live chat to speak to someone who genuinely cares about helping people defeat a meth addiction.

Methamphetamine Detox Timeline

Detoxification is the safest method of ridding your body of meth. Deciding to abruptly “stop” using meth and detox without professional help may lead to fatal heart stoppage, organ failure, and seizures.

A medically supervised meth detoxification prepares individuals for the long process of recovery by improving their mental and physical health. Trying to stop using meth alone will leave you even sicker than you were as an addict. Don’t try to “go cold turkey” because it’s dangerous and unlikely to work.

Medications intended to alleviate meth withdrawal symptoms are essential for helping patients complete the detox phase of their recovery. Research shows that nearly all addicts attempting non-medical detoxification fail to achieve long-term sobriety because withdrawal symptoms are too painful and powerful to resist the urge to use again.

However, detoxification alone is an insufficient treatment option for methamphetamine addiction. Psychologically complex reasons for becoming an addict that has never been addressed remain long after any addictive substances have been eliminated from your body. Entering a meth detox program at Restorations Health Care is the first step toward leading a life without drugs.

Day One: Admission to Our Anaheim Detox Facility

Upon entering a supervised meth detox treatment program, you will be introduced to your medical team of addiction specialists, including a physician, nurses, a licensed therapy counselor, and certified health technicians. 

At this point in their treatment, most patients have one or more illnesses that need proper diagnoses and prescribed medications to treat the illnesses. Before beginning the detox process, you will be examined to determine your physical needs. You will also talk to a counselor about your concerns and fears regarding detoxing from meth. 

Before you are introduced to our detox facility’s safe, medically-controlled environment, your healthcare team will answer all your questions about what to expect from the first day to the final day of detox.

Days Two, Three, and Four of Meth Detox

Medical detoxification allows patients to withdraw more slowly from methamphetamine without suffering the severe symptoms associated with going “cold turkey”. During the second, third, and fourth days of your meth detox, you will simply rest, take medications to relieve withdrawal symptoms, talk to counselors, and monitor your vitals 24/7.

Depending on a patient’s health upon entering our Anaheim detox program and the length of their meth addiction, medical detoxification can take anywhere from five to seven days. Once the body has fully metabolized and gotten rid of all traces of methamphetamine, withdrawal symptoms will continue to diminish in severity.

An IV may be needed to restore depleted electrolytes and body fluids for patients who are severely dehydrated and suffering muscle spasms. Vitamin deficiencies may be addressed with IV solutions as well.

Crisis counseling is also available, day or night. If a patient is particularly anxious or depressed and wants to talk to a counselor, they are always available on demand.

Everything, from meals to medications to counseling, is provided to you during your time in our Anaheim, CA detox treatment.

Days Five, Six, and Seven (Discharge)

The meth withdrawal process typically lasts up to seven days for most meth addicts. Blood and urine tests are taken towards the end of a meth detox to determine whether a patient’s body still contains chemical remnants of methamphetamine addiction. In addition, patients are given a thorough physical examination before being discharged from detox and into their residential rehab program in Anaheim.

When they are close to being discharged, patients may receive relapse prevention therapy (RPT) from their counselors. RPT takes a biopsychosocial approach to meth addiction by supporting the idea that addictive behaviors are overlearned, acquired habits cemented over time by intense feelings of euphoria, pleasure, and detachment from reality.

During RPT, our treatment facility patients learn to identify high-risk situations, maladaptive thinking patterns, and coping deficits. With the help of a professional therapist, patients view these problematic triggers as things to be tackled and mastered rather than things to be avoided or minimized.

Addiction treatment at Restorations Health Care in Southern California offers evidence-based, empathetic pharmaceutical and psychological services that include intensive counseling, holistic activities, supportive housing options, and many other programs to help you overcome meth addiction. Please call our Anaheim treatment center today to find out how you or someone you know can achieve long-term recovery from alcohol or drug addiction.

Medications for Methamphetamine Detox

Restorations Health Care offers medication management treatment specifically for an addiction to methamphetamine. While detoxification, psychotherapeutic counseling, and relapse support programs promote recovery, medication management is intended to relieve withdrawal symptoms severe enough to cause a relapse.

Medication management is not meant to be a “quick fix” for addictions. Unless accompanied by intensive counseling, behavioral therapies, and relapse intervention techniques, medication management won’t work. The psychological reason for someone turning to a dangerous drug like methamphetamine to cope with raw, painful emotions must be discovered, examined, and resolved before true sobriety can be realized.

Common medications used to ease symptoms of methamphetamine withdrawal include:

Clonazepam (Klonopin): belonging to the family of benzodiazepines, clonazepam is given to meth detox patients to relieve anxiety, stress, and panic attacks. It is one of the most commonly prescribed sedatives and antidepressants in the U.S. and can help patients feel calmer and more centered during detoxification.

Modafinil–referred to as a “wakefulness-promoting” medication, modafinil is a nervous system stimulant prescribed to treat daytime drowsiness caused by obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy. Modafinil is also provided off-label to help patients avoid relapse while recovering from meth addiction. Clinical research has found that modafinil is an “effective therapeutic agent” for many patients, providing antidepressant qualities to reduce depression and anxiety.

Buproprion and Naltrexone: new research into the medication management of methamphetamine and cocaine found that a combination of oral bupropion and injectable naltrexone was “safe and effective” in treating individuals with moderate to severe meth addiction. Buproprion is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor that slowly increases dopamine levels in the brain.

Detox from Methamphetamine at Our Anaheim Detox

Addiction is a complex disease that demands the guidance of multiple addictions and medical professionals to help you or someone you know to experience a successful recovery. Restorations Health Care is Anaheim, California’s premiere meth addiction treatment center providing everything a person needs to complete meth detox so they can continue on their road to long-term recovery.

While many addiction treatment centers treat only the addiction, Restorations Health Care focuses on the mind and body as a whole. You’ll be able to address the underlying issues of your addiction while gaining the coping tools you need to overcome it.

If you are searching for addiction help for yourself or someone you care about, remember that few treatment centers set the standards as high as Restorations Health Care. When it comes to the level of individualized care, focus, and effective care, we are a leader in all fields of meth addiction treatment. If you or someone you care about is abusing meth, please call us today for immediate help.