A Step-by-step Guide to Withdrawing From Fentanyl
Fentanyl is a highly potent schedule II alternative drug to morphine. It’s an ultra-effective painkiller capable of treating chronic body pains and severe after-surgery pains. The prescription form of fentanyl has names such as Sublimaze®, Actiq®, and Duragesic®. Medical experts recommend it to clients with physical tolerance to other opioids.
The high potency levels and relatively high addiction potential has forced medical practitioners and doctors to monitor clients using fentanyl. Medical experts have confirmed that some clients have unsuspectingly or willingly used fentanyl alongside heroin because it laces or complements the street supply of the medication.
Fentanyl is quite addictive and can cause euphoria. Using the drug for a long time can cause dependence and tolerance. By stopping fentanyl use suddenly, you may experience withdrawal symptoms. Although the symptoms aren’t fatal, they are stressful and can cause relapse.
Doctors will often discontinue fentanyl use through outpatient or inpatient detox. If you’ve used the medication illegally for months or years and want to quit, your doctor may prescribe specific medication to curb the cravings and stop withdrawal symptoms.
Typical Fentanyl Withdrawal Timeline Stages and Symptoms
The symptoms experienced by fentanyl users immediately after they stop taking the drug are often mild and less impactful. However, the severity of the symptoms and associated pains increase over time. As weeks turn into months, you might note that the symptoms are extreme, and managing them has become an issue. Apparently, you’ll start noticing withdrawal symptoms six to 12 hours after you stop using fentanyl.
6 to 12 Hours Timeline
If you’re feeling mild uneasiness coupled with muscle aches, you don’t necessarily need to visit your doctor for help. Such symptoms signify that your body is in its initial stages of struggling to cope without fentanyl. Clients that have decided to quit the use of the medication will have to bear these signs. Some clients may experience anxiety and agitation after six to 12 hours of elapse. Others may also sweat feverishly or fail to get sleep for hours.
24 to 48 Hours Timeline
After a day or two of not taking fentanyl, the second phase of the symptoms starts. The signs during this withdrawal phase are a bit more severe. You might experience abdominal cramping along with vomiting, diarrhea, or nausea. In addition, clients will experience muscle spasms that are as severe and uncomfortable, like those experienced by people having restless leg syndrome. These symptoms won’t last past the third day. However, they may persist in some people, so consider talking to your doctor if they do.
Five to Eight Days Timeline
Most symptoms will have gone away by the fifth or eighth day of not taking fentanyl. Most people will start feeling normal at this stage of the withdrawal period. However, some people will still be experiencing severe systems by the fifth day. In fact, the symptoms won’t fade in some people until two to eight weeks. Some people experience physical withdrawal signs including high pain sensitivity. Others will experience psychosomatic symptoms, including cravings, sleeping disorder, anxiety, irritability, and depression.
Symptoms Mostly Experienced by Fentanyl Users
Fentanyl withdrawal signs are both psychosomatic and physical. The severity of the symptoms in different people differs as not everyone’s immune system is equal. The following are the most common fentanyl-related withdrawal symptoms:
• Back and joint pains or muscle aches
• Anxiety and weakness
• Rapid heartbeat and breathing
• Eye tearing
• Nausea and irritability
• Stomach cramps and vomiting
• Chills and uneasiness
Factors Affecting How Fast Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms Last
The withdrawal timeline for fentanyl isn’t equal for every user. Some users will be free and normal within several weeks after they stop taking fentanyl while others will take months to feel normal. The most common factor determining how long your opioid withdrawal symptoms will last is the amount you have consumed already. If you have injected, orally consumed, or absorbed this opioid for years and almost depend on it to survive, your body will take longer to adapt to the new changes.
In addition, the speed at which you heal from withdrawal-related symptoms depends on how you abused the medication. The time clients that have used fentanyl through snorting and injecting won’t be the same as for those who absorbed or swallowed it. When fentanyl is snorted or injected, it enters your bloodstream, meaning that you’re more likely to notice withdrawal symptoms faster than when you absorb or orally consume the medication.
However, medical experts predict the subsiding of the withdrawal symptoms after the 72-hour peak. In other ways, you ought to experience a positive change in your body function several days after enrolling in opioid withdrawal treatment.
Medically Guided Detox for Fentanyl Withdrawal Treatment
Withdrawing from the use of fentanyl comes with its extensive share of challenges and discomforts. The opioid withdrawal process takes time, and the withdrawal symptoms may be severe, but the process isn’t dangerous. However, the extremity of the symptoms may increase the chances of people overdosing on the medication once they start using it again. To avoid the risks associated with withdrawing from fentanyl, consider medically guided detox when thinking of quitting fentanyl use.
What Does Fentanyl Detox Involve?
Detox is the most recommended and safe procedure for safely cleaning the extreme contents of fentanyl from your system. It’s the medically approved method of removing all the toxic elements of this opiate drug from your bloodstream. Detoxing from fentanyl is a medical process, so it’s performed in health facilities made for drug abuse treatment. It’s incorporated in residential or outpatient drug abuse management programs.
The treatment process and medications used depend on the condition of the clients and the amount of fentanyl that they have in their system. A residential detox is recommended primarily for people with extreme symptoms battling years of addition. Medical detox blends psychiatric treatment coupled with 24-hour support from highly equipped and talented medical practitioners.
Clients are kept under round-the-clock monitoring in such a treatment program, ensuring that each individual’s body change and withdrawal symptoms are scrutinized. Appropriate medicinal solutions are implemented to safely manage the changing emotional and physical withdrawal symptoms.
How Does Detoxing Work? Is It Necessary?
Detoxing is a medical procedure performed chiefly in selected drug abuse treatment centers. Clients can also book the treatment in drug rehab centers that offer counseling and addiction therapy for alcohol and hard drugs. Doctors performing such treatments often use FDA-approved medicines, such as methadone, buprenorphine, or suboxone instead of fentanyl. These prescription medicines take the place of fentanyl but reverse the cravings and addiction. They lower the dangers associated with trying to withdraw from fentanyl use. These medications are strong enough to help you curb your dependence on fentanyl. That’s why doctors and practitioners will always recommend detoxing as a safer route.
What’s the Average Detoxing Period for Fentanyl?
Detoxing to remove fentanyl from your system can take shorter or longer than expected, depending on the fentanyl amount in your system and your body’s response to the detoxing medication. If you have been consuming fentanyl for years and your system has accumulated significant drug traces, you’ll need different doses of detoxing medication to remove the fentanyl content from your system. Since the detoxing medicines are consumed moderately, it will take you more weeks in the detoxing center.
In other instances, especially in cases where the users have abused the drug for a long time, you might have to detox with the recommended medications for the rest of your life. Detoxing from fentanyl is not something you can customize and do in the comfort of your home. There are deadly consequences associated with detoxing fentanyl, so you need 24-hour support from an experienced and knowledgeable medical specialist.
Benefits of Medically Guided Detox for Fentanyl
Detox clients looking to abstain completely from fentanyl intakes must never try DIY detoxing as the effects are significant. In fact, the extreme levels of fentanyl potency have left many doctors unsure of how and when to treat addiction without hurting the user’s health and well-being. Fortunately, medically guided detox has proven effective. Here are some of the benefits:
• Fully supervised detox setting coupled with 24-hour nursing care and support
• Specially selected detoxing medications, which can reduce even the most intense withdrawal symptoms
• Professional and fully equipped medical team to provide expert psychological support
• A solid team to educate you on everything related to addiction and how to deal with it
• Quality and professional aftercare support and planning
• Lifesaving relapse prevention skills
Fentanyl Addiction Rehab Treatment
Fentanyl rehab centers are globally recognized for the customized support services and diverse treatment solutions they provide to drug addicts. At a certified and government-licensed fentanyl addiction rehab, clients get support and help throughout the detox process. Clients also get regular and professional-level ongoing assessments. You’re placed under a highly responsive and caring rehabilitation team that commits to offering the support and health you need during the detox process. Professionals will be there to attend to your needs when you experience pre-existing mental health problems or extreme withdrawal symptoms.
How to Choose the Best Fentanyl Addiction Rehab
There are many rehab centers out there, and it’s important to understand how outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation programs work and to choose one that suits your needs.
With outpatient programs, clients live in their homes and travel to the selected rehab center for treatment. The sessions mostly take anywhere between two hours to eight hours. Outpatient programs are highly recommended for busy individuals who aren’t suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms. Because clients only attend treatment sessions when they have free time, they can handle their daily obligations before seeking rehabilitation services.
In inpatient rehabs, clients live in the rehabilitation centers until they heal. Here, the quality of services delivered to the client is outstanding. Clients are guaranteed around-the-clock support and care and a distraction-free environment to heal faster and with ease.
In most rehab programs, clients have access to a variety of luxury and special amenities, including fitness centers, spa treatments, and catered meals. When choosing a rehab, consider the location and distance from your workplace or home, especially if you’re considering an outpatient rehab program.
Recovering from drug addiction, especially opioids, has never been a walk in the park. Choosing to go the DIY way when withdrawing from the intake of fentanyl is risky and not recommended. The risks are way more than the benefits. Detox centers are the most recommended options for anyone battling withdrawal symptoms when they decide to quit fentanyl.
