It takes a strong person to explore the expected opiate withdrawal timeline. Savannah, Georgia, offers some wonderful opiate treatment programs to get you through the fight it takes in order to kick opiates. It would be easier to just go on using, wouldn’t it? But think about the harm you’ve done to your life and the hurts you’ve put on the people you care about. And it will only get worse if you don’t stop now.
Most people can’t even stand the idea of going through opiate withdrawal. They’ve seen their friends go through it—not because they were trying to go into rehab but because they didn’t have the money to score, or they couldn’t catch up with their connection. Just what is the expected opiate withdrawal timeline, in Savannah, GA, or wherever you live?
How Did You Get to This Point in Life?
First of all, you’re probably wondering how this ever happened to you. No matter what your background, you had some dreams or hopes that have been wiped out by your addiction. You can remember the little boy or girl you once were, a once-hopeful person that’s buried inside you now. Maybe you had a normal childhood, or maybe you came from a background overflowing with abuse and need. Maybe the people in your life just didn’t care if you used—a study commissioned by the National Institute on Drug Abuse tells us that 21 percent of teens used prescription drugs for the first time because their parents wouldn’t care much if they were caught.
But there are people who do care. The doctors, nurses, and counselors at methadone and buprenorphine treatment centers in Savannah, GA, know a lot about the hard life of the drug addict. They know you live with lies and with sadness and that you never feel well. Whether you’ve known the streets since you were a kid, or you came from an upper middle class background where it was just too easy to grab Grandma’s pain pills, using has been a hard life and withdrawal isn’t easy.
Heroin and Painkiller Use in Savannah, GA
People use opiates all over the country, and there are no hard and firm figures on that. But we can measure the level of addiction from painkillers using the statistics that treatment professionals publish. In the Carolinas just north of us, there are more painkiller prescriptions written than in Georgia. There are 82.2 to 95 painkiller prescriptions written per 100 people in North and South Carolina, and also in other states like Oklahoma and Michigan. In places like California, believe it or not, there are fewer painkiller prescriptions written—just a measly 52 to 71 per 100 people.
In Georgia, there are between 72 and 82 painkiller prescriptions written per 100 people. And, according to the same study that told us why one-fifth of teens were using prescription painkillers, illegal painkiller use is low compared with the rest of the country. But that is little comfort if you’re the one worrying about the opiate withdrawal timeline in Savannah, GA. Just what are you going to do?
Facing the Opiate Withdrawal Timeline in Savannah, GA
It’s time to give some thought to the opiate withdrawal timeline. Savannah treatment centers offer various types of rehab help, but opiate addiction is stronger than any other kind. The opiates remain in your system and your brain keeps telling your body to go out and get some more. Heroin—and the painkillers that lead to it—are the most addictive substances on the face of the earth.
When your body realizes that it’s past time for a fix, you’ll begin experiencing unpleasant symptoms as if you had the flu. You can expect stomach and intestinal cramps and also diarrhea. You’ll have cold, clammy skin—and you might also experience a fever. Expect to be nauseated and then to vomit repeatedly. Your eyes and nose will run. Forget about sleeping. Those symptoms will begin about six hours after your last your last usage. You know that proverbial sick dog? You’ll wish you felt that well. All you’ll be able to think about is giving up your detox and going out to score more drugs.
How long will you have to go through this opiate withdrawal timeline? Savannah, GA, treatment professionals estimate that your initial withdrawal period can take up to a full week. But that’s not the end of it. Expect to have muscle aches and chills for months to come. Even when your body is free of the poison that has made you so sick, your brain will want more. Because opiates, including heroin and painkillers, satisfy the reward center of the brain—the part of the brain that makes you feel good—you can never tell when an overwhelming urge to use will sweep over you again.
Why Medication-Assisted Treatment Can Help
Many people turn to medication-assisted treatment using methadone or buprenorphine—more commonly known as Suboxone—in order to beat the opiate withdrawal timeline. Savannah, GA, offers several opiate addiction treatment programs that can make your life much easier. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers grant money to help programs because it believes in the use of methadone and buprenorphine to help people get better.
SAMHSA requires that medication-assisted treatment programs provide not only the medication but also individual counseling so that the people who want to stop using can explore the reasons why they used and the behaviors that might put them at risk to use again. You can avoid the opiate withdrawal timeline; Savannah, GA, programs can assess whether you qualify for treatment. But you also have to agree to participate in individual and possibly some family group counseling.
Going to 12-step meetings is another important part of opiate addiction treatment. Agreeing to get a physical examination at the methadone program is required. After all, you want to bring your entire self to wellness, don’t you? Besides taking care of your mind and body, the treatment professionals will help you find out what kinds of services could benefit you—some vocational job training, going back to school, getting better housing, or maybe you need legal advice.
Don’t all those options sound better than that horrible opiate withdrawal timeline? Savannah, GA, methadone and buprenorphine programs offer the help you need to put your life right. Think again about the little boy or girl who once dreamed big things. That person is still deep inside of you. Help bring them out to see the light of day.
