Alcohol Detoxification

Alcohol detox sounds like a scary event for most people.  At Paradise Recovery, we make the alcohol detoxification process as comfortable as possible. We take the worry out of alcohol detox! One of the ways we do this is by providing a medically-based alcohol detox that is done more slowly over time than at most other treatment centers and hospitals.  Because the detox is medical, meaning you have medications to help you through the process, in addition to the support of our recovery staff, your body does not need to go through the painful withdrawal process that you may have experienced in the past.  By slowing down the alcohol detoxification process, your body has time to adjust to a new-found state without alcohol.  Alcohol detoxification is just the start of your recovery process, but an extremely important start indeed!

In-house Alcohol Detoxification

Unlike most treatment programs, Paradise Recovery is able to provide you with alcohol detox right in our treatment program.  You will most likely be in our poolside detox suite while you are undergoing alcohol detoxification.  The detox suite has its own private full bathroom and has a laundry area.  The room faces the pool and the ocean, so you are able to listen to the gentle ocean waves as you drift off to sleep at night.  What does all of this mean to you?  It means that your alcohol detox is done right in our very comfortable home with our support staff and terrific meals, instead of in a hospital room.  Hospitals tend to provide alcohol detox in a very rapid fashion, causing a lot of discomfort, alcohol withdrawal symptoms, and pain.  Our alcohol detox uses clinically proven medications that are monitored and prescribed in a proven manner by your personal psychiatrist.  The amount and type of medication that you will receive is personally tailored to you and your alcohol detoxification needs to ensure maximum comfort.  You will also be receiving acupuncture during your alcohol detoxification process, which has been clinically proven to reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms, adding to your comfort.

Alcohol Detox Physiology

As you may know, alcohol acts as a depressant on the brain.  Our bodies always want to be in a state of what’s called homeostasis.  What this means for our bodies is that when we introduce a depressant into our system on a consistent basis over time, our body will tend to “speed up” its functions in order to “make up” for the depressant effect of the alcohol.  It is what enables you to carry on daily functions even though you are drinking (albeit not very well at times!), instead of going straight to sleep.  The key here is that your body and your brain adjust over time to the introduction of alcohol on a consistent basis.  When you stop drinking, your body and brain don’t just automatically “slow down”.  The brain is still in its hyper-aroused electrical state and it takes time for it to return to a new state of homeostasis without alcohol. 

When alcohol is stopped “cold turkey”, certain withdrawal symptoms happen that are reflective of the hyper-aroused state of the brain.  The most serious of these symptoms is a condition called delirium tremens or DT’s.  Delirium tremens is a dangerous constellation of symptoms that includes seizures, sky-rocketing blood pressure and pulse, hallucinations, as well as body temperature elevation. Delirium tremens causes a high mortality rate when it is not treated.  That’s why it is important for you to receive a medically-based alcohol detox in which you are appropriately monitored and treated to prevent DT’s.  Thankfully, most people don’t experience DT’s, but it is not possible to know ahead of time who will have DT’s and who won’t.  The ordinary symptoms of alcohol withdrawal are bad enough, though: tremors, sweating, moderately increased blood pressure and pulse, nausea, fatigue, restlessness, agitation, and severe moodiness.  All of these symptoms are made tolerable with a good, medically based alcohol detox that is done slowly with time.  With a good medically-based detox, you may experience none or very few of these symptoms, and it allows you to get off of alcohol in a safe and effective manner. 

It is impossible to enter the recovery process without a clear mind to absorb the therapy and interventions designed to move you from the addictive way of proceeding to a clean and sober lifestyle. It is an important, but difficult undertaking, which requires help from professional and para-professional staff. Once the physical detox is complete, then you can more clearly engage with staff and peers to begin to meet your recovery goals.  It is the first step toward a lasting recovery!