Registered Pharmacist

Has anyone here had any experience with this
relatively new program?
The patient is detoxed over a period of 4-8
hours and then brought out of anesthesia.
They are opiate free at this point.
Then treatment with naltrexone is begun and
sustained for about 1 year after detox.
I would like to hear any opinions or
experiences with this method!
Thank you!

benZOheAD333

Rapid opiate detoxification is a VERY terrible detox method and I suggest that nobody go through with it. There have been many horrid stories about this method and many fatalities as well. Basically you pay the doctor $1000-$1500, they go through with the procedure, give you the naltrexone pills, and they are done...done, they don't care what happenes afterwards, they got their money and that's that. Basically the patient feels deathfully sick when they awaken and some will vomit constantly right after they wake up. Just imagine the transaction going from being an opiate addict then to having absolutlry no opiate in their system at all. This is where it gets EVEN worse. The naltrexone method is god awful. They take the pill and what it does is block the opiate receptor sites so if the patient tries to use an opiate again either nothing will happen but most likely it gives the opposite effect by making them incredibly sick leading to, even possibly, death, and it has several times. I am highly against this method of detox. Methadone or buprenex method are both much better detox systems

BEENTHERE

yes i no my husband has had it done 2 times he was so sick that a man had to carry in to the car he had to were a diaper then after a week or so he said that he felt like he was dieing they also put pelits in him so if he got high he would not feel it he stayed clean 7 months then he had it done again i seen him this time it made me cry he looked like death also people have died having this done so fine out all you can about it.we never again beenthere

Pernell Johnson

pharmacist, welcome to the recovery forum. you have been give some feedback from people who know about this rapid detox and you want to go further and do more research, you can go to this page:
http://www.detox24.com


just for Today-------I am Sober

nurseJ.

For one thing...this detox procedure is far more expensive than $1500. so benzohead obviously does not know what he is talking about. I know hundreds of people who have had the rapid detox under anesthesia and they are very thankful they were able to have this procedure instead of cold turkey which is barbaric in this day and age. This was the only way for all of them to get off of these drugs without the horrible suffering.

Blake

I have had a few friends go through it and without fail all of them hated it and said it felt like they were hit by a truck, one girl that I know that went through it had her vision messed up for 6 months afterwards, a dude I know had his sense of taste messed up.....and without fail, all of them went back to using.....it's just not worth the pain/money/time in my opinion...

nurseJ.

I have never heard that response...and I know first hand...I am a nurse and I talk with these people all the time...where in the world did they have the rapid detox procedure?

Done_With_It

Perhaps it has more to do with the fact that post was made five years ago and less to do with him not knowing what he's talking about.
Stick around and read some posts, you'll find everyone has a different response to different detox methods.

Welcome to SR

nurseJ.

That cannot be it...4 years ago it was between $5900 to $17,000 depending on where you go. There are about 6 rapid detox centers in the US and it is still the same price.

nurseJ.

I guess people think suboxone or methadone is the answer....both highly addicting and miserable to get off of and expensive.

Done_With_It

What brings you to SR Nurse J?

best

Co-pay maybe?

Lbad

I know two close personal friends who did it. Neither one of them had any negative effects afterwords. It cost close to $ 10,000 for the detox and follow up treatment at a counseling center. Neither one of them stayed clean for longer than a few months though. It is not a miracle cure that's for sure.

Buzz Kilowatt

As D.W.I. wisely observed, detox involves different strokes for different folks.

I weaned off a long-term 15 mg. HC habit and then went C/T. I believe that the discomfort I experienced after C/T is going to be a huge motivator in staying sober. During prior attempts, the W/Ds were fairly easy. Then I read about the "kindling effect", where each attempt becomes harder, and experienced it for myself in spades.

I'm coming up on 6 months clean in a couple of days, so perhaps I'm not out of the woods yet, but I have no cravings.

I don't discount your clinical experience. And I know few other addicts personally. But people who post on this forum have been fairly consistent in their skepticism about WD under anesthesia and the propensity for eventual relapse.

Nurse J, since you work in the medical field, do you have access to any longitudinal studies that would compare long-term "success rates" among various withdrawal strategies? (I'm sure there is at least one journal of addictionolgy).

If you do and could post the summaries on this forum, it would be immensely helpful for obvious reasons (i.e. anecdotal experience vs. clinical research).

I've been accused of "living too much in my head" but oddly one of the things I "miss" about my WD experience was the experience of knowing that the next day would be better and to be able to "feel" the difference over period of time. It really helped me to appreciate sobriety. People who experience fast detox don't get that.

I can't imagine that the cost of administering a substitute withdrawal program (e.g. methadone, sub, etc.) would be anywhere close to the cost of fast WD. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Getting off opiates using tapering or W/D methods are uncomfortable, to be sure, but the method doesn't have to be "barbaric" if the treating physician takes an active role in supporting a patient with closely-monitored meds to reduce the discomfort (e.g. anxiolytics, BP meds, anti-depressants, etc.)

Far more barbaric are physicians who lump addicts into a class of unworthy patients and fail to deliver the quality of care required.

Buzz

windysan

i think those rapid detox places are opening up in strip malls. a buddy of mine did it and he is okay.

emmer

The thing I don't get is that your out like a light for 8 or 12 hours and the opiats are gone from your system, but then what? The worse withdraws are over? Personaly I don't believe it at all. The person is bound to be really sick still. IMHO I think it's mostly a scam to put big $ in ther pockets.

Got It

Yeah I don't get the opiates leaving the body thing either - what do they do a blood transfusion?

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is! Albeit $10 grand later!

golf99

Exactly! Everyone is different

windysan

from what i can gather they knock you out with a benzo. it would seem that they would have to knock you out for 2 or 3 days in order for the patient to avoid dopesickness. i'm not sure how it works. i guess being knocked out at least 8 hours would be a relief. not for $10K though. i think there is something to be said for kicking it and going through all the hell. the fear factor works well for me. i don't ever wanna go through that **** again.

golf99

Ditto