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Do It Yourself Heroin Medical Detox Or The One Step Program

Heroin, or diamorphine, is the most deadly and destructive of the 20 most popular recreational drugs. It is also the most highly addictive. Conventional methods of heroin detoxification revolve around the Twelve-Step Program or the use of chemical analogues that block the binding sites of the drug without inducing the customary sense of euphoria. The addict misses out on the buzz but they escape the horrendous withdrawal symptoms that contribute to many failed attempts to get clear of the drug.

Methods

Two disparate approaches to diamorphine detoxification are discussed. One, instant detox, relies on the injection of a cocktail of drugs while the patient is anesthetized. This method clears the drug in the space of less than an hour. The patient is then prescribed oral naltrexone, which they are required to take for a year. The other extreme approach is do-it-yourself cold turkey, or DIY, a carefully planned abrupt discontinuation of diamorphine. There are no family drug counseling to attend or drug clinics to check into.

Instant Detox

The seeds of instant detoxification were sown in 1988. A doctor in Austria was injecting addicts with naltrexone, an intravenous opiate blocker. On its own, this drug caused the patients to suffer immensely as the drug was stripped from their nervous systems. A sedative was provided to spare the patients from this suffering. This process brought the time interval of the withdrawal process from a matter of weeks down to a few days.

Cold Turkey

DIY cold turkey is the other extreme. Cold turkey is the term given to the process of suddenly stopping to take an addictive substance instead of using replacement medication or reducing the dose gradually. The DIY approach requires a bit of forward planning to make the process less distressing.

The Plan

The DIY approach begins by planning ahead and selecting a two-week period during which to discontinue drug use. Set aside a small nest egg, a sum of money with which to reward yourself with small treats during the detoxification process. Pack the wife and children off to the grandparents, tell your friends to leave you alone and explain what you have planned.

Where To Stay

These two weeks should be spent somewhere the individual feels comfortable. Some place they can be surrounded by their own possessions would be ideal, a place where they can chill out and do what they please. The first few days will be hell and it is important that they have pleasant ways to pass the time between bouts of depression, insomnia, chills, shivers and severe muscle cramps. If their own home won’t work, the home of a parent, friend or sibling will do.

Rewards

Take this process one day at a time. Set little milestones and indulge in a reward when each one is met. This can be watching a DVD, soaking in the bath with music and candles, or ordering take-out. After the two weeks have passed, maybe even sooner, the drug will have been stripped from the system and a new, drug-free and productive life will begin.