Medical detox is typically a short-term program, but answering the question, “How long is medical detox?” depends on a few key factors. At Santé Center for Healing’s medical detox in Texas, detox programs run only as long as needed, helping you begin enjoying your new life in recovery. Call 866.238.3154 to get started with treatment today.
What Is Medical Detox?
The first question most people have when entering treatment is, “What is medical detox, and how can it help?” A medical detox program is housed in a specialized facility where you can receive effective and evidence-based care to overcome the symptoms of drug and alcohol withdrawal.
With targeted medication interventions, compassionate support, and a safe environment to rest and recover, medical detox makes achieving sobriety much easier and more comfortable. While detox is never easy, choosing a medical detox center can simplify the road to sobriety and put you in a better space to recover.
How Long Is Medical Detox?
The length of medical detox depends on a few key factors:
- What specific substance use disorder is being treated (e.g., alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines, or stimulants)
- How long you’ve been using addictive substances
- Your typical dose of substances
- Your co-occurring physical or mental health conditions
- Your age and overall health
Determining when medical detox ends is less about setting a specific time limit on your treatment and more about ensuring that your physical and mental withdrawal symptoms are resolved before you leave a detox facility.
While the exact length of medical detox differs from person to person, a few general trends can help you understand what to expect.
Alcohol Detox
In most cases, alcohol detox lasts between one and two weeks. Alcohol withdrawals can begin less than 24 hours after your last drink and typically start to peak in severity around day three. By the end of your first week in detox, most symptoms will have begun to resolve.
Older individuals or people who have drunk large amounts of alcohol for extended periods may need longer detox periods to allow their bodies to recover fully.
Opioid Detox
Detoxing from opioids follows a similar timeline. Withdrawal symptoms can appear in less than 24 hours and typically peak at around the three-day mark. By day seven, most withdrawal symptoms will have resolved, and people are generally ready to enter the next phase of addiction treatment.
Certain long-acting opioids, such as methadone, have a much longer detox timeline due to their longer half-lives.
Benzodiazepine Detox
The length of benzodiazepine detox depends on which specific benzodiazepine was being taken. People misusing short-acting benzodiazepines, such as Xanax, Ativan, and Restoril, may complete detox within a week. Longer-acting benzodiazepines, such as Valium and Klonopin, may take longer to recover from fully.
Stimulant Detox
Stimulants, such as cocaine, methamphetamine, Adderall, and Ritalin, typically produce few physical withdrawal effects but significant mental health withdrawal symptoms.
As such, the length of stimulant detox depends mainly on the individual and the dose that they’ve been taking. For the most part, people will complete stimulant detox within a week.
Start Treatment with Medical Detox at Santé Center for Healing
Overcoming addiction can be tough work. But it is possible, and evidence-based treatment at Santé Center for Healing’s medical detox center can help pave the way to a lasting and worthwhile recovery. To speak to our admissions representatives about starting treatment, call 866.238.3154 today to begin your journey.
Our team understands how difficult breaking free from addiction can be. But we’re here to help you along every step of the recovery process and support you as you finally overcome addiction once and for all.
