Do I Really Need Treatment at a Fentanyl Rehab Center?

If you have a fentanyl addiction, you might try to justify it to yourself. Fentanyl is, after all, a prescribed medication. It is produced in clean, legal labs. It is given to people legally all the time. However, you are no longer using it medically and its origins don’t make it safer than any other opioid.

To get an idea of how powerful fentanyl can be, let’s compare it to another opioid: morphine. According to Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine. 100 times. It is not something that you should be using without the careful oversight of a physician. It is also not something that you can simply stop taking on your own.

You need to be in a rehab center. For one thing, the detoxification process is going to be a nightmare and that’s before you even get started with formal, structured treatment. As an opioid (and a powerful one) fentanyl will be difficult to give up. Your brain and your body will  beg you to start using again and without professional treatment you are likely to relapse early into your recovery.

The following discussion should answer some of your questions and make the reasons that you need a rehab center obvious. If you still have questions or you want to learn more about programs in your area, call 800-256-3490. Experts are waiting to take your call.

How Bad Will Detox Be? Can I Do It on My Own?

Detoxification is the process by which you go from intensely intoxicated to a drug and alcohol free state. If you were to do this on your own, it would involve days and days of hiding in your home and weathering the terrible pains of withdrawal. You wouldn’t be able to manage feeding yourself or going out to get supplies. You might not even be able to manage climbing out of bed.

What Are the Withdrawals Like?

The US National Library of Medicine, reports opioid withdrawal symptoms set in between 12 and 30 hours after your final dose. But, the fentanyl patch has a half-life of 17 hours, and that means withdrawal starts closer to one day after removing it.

Cutting off opioid use cold turkey leads to severe withdrawal symptoms and for this reason you may be tapered off of them in a professional rehab in order to limit your discomfort.

The Food and Drug Administration cautions you to expect:

Nausea and anxiety are common fentanyl withdrawal symptoms.

• Restlessness
• Increased blood pressure, respiratory rate, or heart rate
• Teary eyes
• Diarrhea
• Runny nose
• Vomiting
• Yawning
• Loss of appetite
• Sweating
• Chills
• Nausea
• Goose bumps
• Muscle pain
• Trouble sleeping
• Pupil dilation
• Touchiness
• Stomach cramps
• Anxiety
• Weakness
• Back and joint pain

How Will These Symptoms Be Treated?

Typically, detox in a rehab center revolves around limiting your pain and discomfort. It is considered the humane thing to do. Treatment center staff often utilize medications to help alleviate symptoms. You may receive a medication specifically approved for treating withdrawals, like:

• Methadone
• Buprenorphine
• Clonidine

In addition, you may receive supplementary medications to treat symptoms that are not eased by the withdrawal specific medication. For example, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration writes:

• Insomnia may be treated with Benadryl
• Aches and pains may be treated with ibuprofen
• Stomach cramping may be treated with Dicyclomine

What Is Another Benefit of Professional Rehab for Fentanyl Use?

Did you know that people who suffer from an addiction are twice as likely as the average person to suffer from a mental condition as well? The reverse is also true. Having more than one condition (addiction and another) makes the conditions comorbid and a rehab center will make sure that they treat both of them at the same time so that neither stands in the way of managing the other.

If you are abusing fentanyl, you may have originally been using it for pain. If you have a pain condition that needs to be treated, a professional rehab center will be able to ease your discomfort while you learn for to cope without relying on fentanyl. This will allow you to fully take part in all of the therapy and classes offered in rehab.

To learn more about the way fentanyl rehab works, call 800-256-3490. Ask about its benefits and what goes on daily.

Fentanyl Addiction, Treatment & Recovery