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When going through detoxification from an alcohol addiction, it can not only be painful on a mental level but a physical level as well. During the detox process, medications are used to help with patient go through the withdrawal symptoms with a little more ease.

There are times when someone’s addiction has taken over their body and caused the liver and other parts of the body to deteriorate. Because of this, detoxification can sometimes result in death or further illness if the proper precautions are not taken.

There are a few different medications that detox and rehab facilities use when going through the process. The most popular of these are benzodiazepines. They help to give relief for the insomnia and anxiety that people feel during the cleansing process. They will also help you to relax. Two medications in this family that are used are clonazepam and diazepam.

Another drug that is used is barbiturates. These help with the symptoms of withdrawal by working on the central nervous system and act as a sedative. They have an anticonvulsant also so that it helps the body to relax and adjust to the new changes.

These drugs can be addictive to the patient as well. For this reason, the medication gets slowly taken away as well as the alcohol leaves the body. As for the amount of medication that gets used, there are different things that determine this. One of them is how severe the addiction is as well as the person’s health, age, and weight. These things will help determine the proper dosage.
The medications are administered to the patient by a physician so that they can assure they are not abusing what they have been given. It is very likely that the patient could turn to the medication as a form of replacing one addiction with another. Therefore, these are given in a controlled environment in order to avoid something like that happening.

If the addiction is not severe, there is a possibility that the patient can go through detox without the aid of the medication. For the most part and because of the medical issues, they are given. This is to help prevent the body from going into a state of shock from no longer having the alcohol. Though some may not believe it but, alcohol addiction is just as painful and hard to recover from as a drug addiction.

You can be addicted to just about anything. This includes nicotine, sex, drugs and alcohol. Although drugs are the most common addiction that you hear about, alcohol addictions should not be pushed to the side and discarded. This is a real disease for those that have it and deserve the same type of treatment and consideration.

By: Dennis Draking

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