Fentanyl Detox and Addiction Treatment
Because synthetic opioids are so deadly, it’s imperative that anyone regularly using drugs like fentanyl undergo medical detox and addiction treatment as the first step on the road to recovery.
When most people think of opioids, they think of substances like heroin and pain-relieving pills like oxycodone and codeine — drugs encompassing two of the three main opioid types. Natural opiates are chemical compounds derived from plants, while semi-synthetic/humanmade opioids are lab-created concoctions utilizing natural opiates.
The third of the opioid types, synthetic opioids, are completely devoid of natural opiates. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are entirely manufactured, often go unlabeled or mislabeled, and are more potent than most people can imagine. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
While pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors and used to address severe pain, experts link illicitly manufactured fentanyl to the majority of overdose deaths. Fentanyl overdose deaths continue to increase. The most recent CDC data finds overdose deaths from synthetic opioids – primarily fentanyl – rose from about 70,029 in 2020 to 80,816 in 2021.
Why is Fentanyl So Dangerous?
Because fentanyl is a pain reliever or analgesic, it’s intended to relax the body. However, those using it illicitly are seeking the euphoric sensations or sedation the drug can deliver. Fentanyl often causes temporary euphoria that is intense but short-lived. The drug may also have potentially dangerous effects like slowed or shallow breathing, reduced blood pressure, nausea, fainting, and seizures. Even in extremely small doses, fentanyl can be deadly — more than 150 people die each day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
In addition to the potency, another dangerous aspect of fentanyl is that it’s commonly mistaken for other drugs, including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Illegal drug manufacturers often lace drugs like heroin with fentanyl, to increase potency and make their products go further. Because synthetic opioids have no taste or smell, the user has no way of knowing whether the product they purchased contains unexpected, often lethal, amounts of fentanyl.
A tiny amount of fentanyl can kill. To provide some context around the dangers of fentanyl, Stat News posted a picture of two equally lethal doses of heroin and fentanyl. The vial with heroin has a very noticeable 30 milligrams, while the fentanyl vial contains 3 milligrams, or what appears to be just a few grains of sand.
How Fentanyl Works and Why One Becomes Addicted
Like other drugs of its class, fentanyl binds to the body’s opioid receptors, a grouping of receptors found in the brain, spinal cord, and throughout the body that controls how our body feels and reacts to pain. Regularly taking drugs of any kind, including fentanyl, contributes to the buildup of a tolerance. That means sensitivity is diminished, and more of the drug must be consumed in order to receive the same feeling, which leads to dependence.
What Are the Signs of Fentanyl Use and Abuse?
As mentioned, fentanyl use is associated with euphoria, drowsiness, and lethargy, but there are a number of other undesirable side effects a person can experience when using and abusing fentanyl. Using the drug often results in dizziness or lightheadedness, severe constipation, loss of appetite, weight loss, depression, hallucinations, sweating, swollen extremities, cold and clammy skin, unresponsiveness, and more.
Warning signs that an individual is addicted to fentanyl, or another addictive substance may include:
- The inability to control substance use
- Drowsiness, weight loss, flu-like symptoms, lack of hygiene
- Withdrawing from social activities and isolating from loved ones
- Prioritizing obtaining and using the drug over negative consequences
- Committing unethical or illegal activities like theft or fraud to obtain and use the drug
Quitting Fentanyl and the Detox Experience
If someone addicted to an opioid like fentanyl, abruptly stops using the drug they will experience withdrawal symptoms that can be severe. Symptoms may include cravings, sweating, restlessness, irritability, nausea or vomiting, digestion issues, muscle spasms, and other discomfort.
With opioid withdrawal, early or mild symptoms can start within 12 hours from the last use. Over the course of the next few days, those symptoms will intensify — especially the craving to use — which is why so many people struggle with quitting opioids. Because detoxing can be uncomfortable and dangerous most experts recommend medical supervision throughout the process.
Medical detox facilities employ licensed healthcare professionals who provide 24/7 care and supervision, supporting the person’s needs as they rid their body of the drug in a safe and comfortable environment. Medical personnel can also administer medications to ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings.
What to Expect During Fentanyl Addiction Treatment
Detox and treatment work in lockstep to not only help the patient safely stop using in the moment but to set them up for future success. Treatment typically includes a variety of strategies that aim to address the root cause of fentanyl addiction and often include medication and behavioral therapies.
Behavioral therapy can include both one-on-one talk therapy sessions between the patient and a therapist as well as group sessions where others walking a similar recovery path gather to support, encourage, and learn from one another. Quality treatment centers often offer family therapy, life skills training, and aftercare programs to help the patient achieve long-term recovery once formal treatment has been completed.
Fentanyl Addiction Treatment at Midwest Recovery Centers
At Midwest Recovery Centers our innovative multi-phasal transitional recovery program has helped countless individuals reclaim a healthy, sober life.
The first phase encompasses individual and group therapy sessions, 12-step meetings, medical supervision, and closely monitored activities. The second phase includes more freedom, allowing the patient to begin to transition to a more “normal” lifestyle while still continuing some of the therapy sessions and 12-step meetings.
If detox is needed prior to beginning our multi-phasal transitional recovery program, Midwest Recovery Centers has an expert-led detox program that features constant medical supervision.
When you’re ready to learn more, we’re always here to help. You can reach us at 855-962-4205 at any time.
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Staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Medical
Midwest Recovery Centers believes strongly in a client-centered approach. Substance Use Disorder is not what it was 5 or even 2 years ago. The substances on the street are constantly changing and so are the number of contraindications and fatal threats that substance use imposes on the person suffering. Our Medical team continues to stay up to speed with new advances of evidence-based approaches in treating those with both substance use disorder as well as their co-occurring mental health diagnosis. There are many varying pieces to each client’s situation when it comes to tackling the puzzle of a medical detox, and each step in the treatment planning is carefully selected, reviewed, and communicated for the best possible outcome of each client. We understand that consideration of the medical history, family history, past trauma, past and current substance use are all key indicators to most effectively give each client the best chance at developing a recovery process. Each client may present with a different scope of medical needs whether it’s their blood work or the most effective medications for them. Midwest Recovery Centers is proud to have the finest medical team to meet these individual and specific needs of each client that walks through our doors.
Clinical
When it comes to the therapeutic treatment of patients with substance use disorder, Midwest Recovery Centers believes in a client-centered approach guided by evidence-based practices. Substance use disorder has been identified by the American Medical Association as a disease, but because addiction is a disease that impacts behavior, treatment of this disease is often heavily focused on modifying behaviors and thoughts as well as establishing a new way of life. We place a strong emphasis on educating patients about this chronic illness and empowering them to practice treating it as such. Our clinical team is composed of leading experts in the field. We believe in having a staff as diverse as the clients we serve; from Licensed Professional Counselors to Licensed Clinical Social Workers, our staff is highly trained and educated in not only addiction but the mental health issues and life circumstances that often accompany it. Many of our clinicians have their own personal experience in long term recovery which lends them to an even better understanding of what our patients are experiencing. Our staff is highly skilled in choosing the most effective therapeutic modality for each client’s needs, to give them the best chance of securing the recovery process that will change their lives. Our clinical team understands that this is a family disease. This is why clinicians will offer weekly updates to families as well as concrete tools for families to utilize as they journey through this illness with their loved one. Those tools will be offered by the patient’s individual clinician as well as at our free Family Night on the first Wednesday of each month, offered to anyone in the community.
Our Origin Story
I began Midwest Recovery in honor of my mother, Betty Lou Wallace, who taught me responsibility in life and sobriety.
Mom was born, raised, and lived most of her life in Missouri, a state I'm still proud to call home. She had five children. The youngest were my older brother Don and me.
We knew that the disease of addiction ran in the family, but it wasn't until Don and I grew older that we realized we were falling into addictive patterns. Through it all, Mom was supportive of her children but firm about one principle: whether the disease was inherited or developed through your environment, you were responsible for your recovery from addiction.
"I will be supportive of your recovery but I will not enable your addiction," she was fond of saying.
Ultimately, I stayed sober from 1990 to 1997, when I relapsed. With Mom's support, I was able to get sober again in 2002. Tragically, Don was not so lucky. He passed away in 2005 from complications of an injury and continued addiction.
Mom wanted no parent to suffer from the sorrow and anguish of losing a child, so in 2002, she helped me establish my first treatment center business.
As Mom grew older, she shared with me some lessons she had learned through her affiliation with Al-Anon, a support group for family members of loved ones struggling with addiction. She asked me to stay clean and sober one day at a time and to use the lessons I learned in my own recovery to help others who were suffering.
In 2008, Mom passed away from throat cancer, one day after my six year sober anniversary. I still remember that one of the last times we spoke, she told me she was proud of my recovery.
Mom would be so happy to know that myself, our partners, and our team are carrying on her legacy in her home state. I don't know if my own recovery process would be intact without her and the lessons she shared. So much of what we share with our clients at Midwest began with Betty Lou.
Above all, Mom imparted several teachings that I carry with me every day: that people are inherently good, and if they fall into addiction, this makes them sick, not bad. She taught me to be patient, tolerant, loving, and kind to myself and to others.
Most of all, she taught me that recovery works if we are able to be honest with ourselves about our own behavior. That’s what she helped me accomplish and that’s what we strive to accomplish with every Midwest client.
On behalf of Betty Lou, I thank you for your interest in Midwest Recovery.
Jeff Howard
Start Your Recovery Now!
Have A Midwest Recovery Centers' Team Member Call You Today.
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The Role of Self-Care in Sustaining Recovery
Self-care is a cornerstone of successful long-term recovery from substance abuse. It involves adopting practices that promote physical, emotional, and mental well-being, helping individuals manage stress and maintain sobriety.
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The stigma surrounding substance abuse is a significant barrier to seeking treatment. Many individuals delay getting help because of fear, shame, or judgment.
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