Characteristics, symptoms and consequences of drug and alcohol withdrawal. Drug withdrawal - symptoms and signs of drug withdrawal

Downside Drug euphoria is the withdrawal or withdrawal syndrome. This serious condition is much more intense than the effect of the drug, destroys the intellect, takes away health, kills a person, and not in a figurative, but in the literal meaning of the word.

Withdrawal from a drug addict

Withdrawal syndrome is a set of symptoms of somatic and psychopathological disorders caused by drug withdrawal or reduction in its dosage. Drug withdrawal - abstinence, withdrawal syndrome, occurs with physical dependence.

The severity of withdrawal symptoms depends on the ability of the drug to integrate into a person’s metabolism. Opiates exhibit a high affinity for human neurotransmitters.

These drugs quickly cause physical dependence, and their withdrawal is accompanied by abstinence. Severe withdrawal symptoms are caused by methadone use. It can last more than a month and it is not always possible to endure it.

Some drugs, such as hallucinogens, do not cause physical dependence and do not cause withdrawal after withdrawal. But mental dependence develops on psychedelics, causing mental suffering in a person, forcing him to get a dose by any means.

Causes

The causes of withdrawal are the changes that drug use produces in the body. The main intervention of a drug in metabolism lies in its effect on the nervous system, namely, on the transmission of nerve impulses.

What happens in the brain

The drug replaces the brain neurotransmitters responsible for transmitting the nerve signal, and the body simply stops producing them. The brain of a drug addict loses the ability to independently produce some important neurotransmitters.

The brain acts very consistently. Indeed, why should the body try, work, synthesize mediators if the owner of this intelligent brain goes and buys a magic powder that will replace the compounds necessary for the interaction of neurons and muscle cells.

Without neurotransmitters, communication between cells is impossible nervous system, musculoskeletal system, internal organs. Without these chemical compounds the body is no longer a complete organism, but simply a set of cells into which a person breaks down during withdrawal.

Changes in the body

The body begins to feel the lack of the drug within a few hours after the last use. The absence of the usual drug affects general well-being after 1-2 days, which causes withdrawal syndrome.

Withdrawal is felt by all organs that are involved in the metabolism of this psychoactive substance, and the serious condition lasts from several hours to several weeks. The average duration of abstinence is 10 days.

During this time, the body must independently cope with the lack of a surrogate neurotransmitter and restore the ability to synthesize the necessary substances in the required quantities.

This is not always possible. The body feels a lack of vitamins, minerals, nutrients. The lack of microelements necessary for the synthesis of vital compounds sometimes becomes an insurmountable obstacle to overcoming withdrawal symptoms.

With extreme exhaustion, severe long-term anesthesia, the body cannot cope with the task of recovery, is not able to come out of withdrawal, and the person dies. Clinical manifestations of withdrawal in drug addicts are very severe, the degree of threat to life depends on the severity of the drug, the duration and severity of anesthesia.

So, with marijuana withdrawal syndrome, depression occurs, the whole world seems disgusting, meaningless. Such withdrawal lasts for a very long time, sometimes for weeks. Abstinence when drug addiction from antidepressants, in addition to severe depression, brings physical torment, pain, weakness, palpitations, indifference to life.

People addicted to synthetic drugs have to go through painful withdrawal. Dependence on them develops very quickly, and recovery can be very difficult.

Symptoms and signs

Not all drugs cause physical dependence; they also differ in the strength of their effect on the body. But some symptoms are common to all types of drug withdrawal syndrome.

So, what does a drug addict feel during withdrawal, and what signs can be used to judge the severity of his condition?

The first signs of withdrawal may resemble the flu, accompanied by:

• runny nose;
• chills;
• vague discomfort in the body;
• mild illness resembling a viral infection;
• deterioration of health;
• weakness;
• the appearance of sweating;
• bad mood.

The patient tries to retire, is not inclined to communicate, and is easily irritated. Exhausted, he lies in bed for hours, trying to warm up. But he gets worse and after a while nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea appear.

The resulting severe diarrhea dehydrates the already exhausted body, squeezes out the remaining strength from a person, and takes away the ability to resist the onslaught of pain in the muscles and muscles.

Pain forces a person to look for a position in which it is felt less. The patient is tossing about on the bed, as if his body is being tested to breaking point. Muscle spasms cause monstrous pain, causing you to literally roll on the floor, not feeling impacts from surrounding objects.

Common symptoms of drug withdrawal include:

• confusion;
• convulsions;
• pain in joints, muscles, bones;
• sudden transitions from fever to chills;
• vomiting.

A common symptom for a drug addict during withdrawal for all types of drugs is sleep disturbance. The patient cannot fall asleep, and if he still manages to do this, his sleep is shallow and short-lived.

Psychopathological

Common symptoms of withdrawal after drug withdrawal are:

• restlessness, inability to sit still, anxiety;
• uncontrollable, unpredictable behavior, outbursts of anger, rage.

Abstinence is characterized by a lack of interest in the environment, complete isolation of all sensations on oneself, and insomnia. In his sleep, he sees nightmare dreams, which often do not recede even after awakening, tormenting the patient with hallucinations.

He sees those around him as demons, sources of suffering for his body and soul. During withdrawal, the active subconscious pushes the patient to take aggressive actions and calls for salvation. And the lack of conscious control on the part of the brain leads to the inability to distinguish an imaginary demon from loved one– mother, child, spouse.

Like somatic changes, psychopathological symptoms of withdrawal appear gradually, disappearing in the reverse order - first those symptoms that appeared later disappear.

Each type of drug has its own specific symptoms of withdrawal. Thus, with ketamine addiction, an apathetic state develops, characterized by poor facial expressions and inconsistency in the contraction of the facial muscles of the upper and lower parts of the face.

There appears lightness in the sensations of your body, a sense of grace of movements, although in reality the coordination of movements is impaired, and they acquire awkwardness and angularity.

Somatovegetative

Signs of incipient withdrawal include sneezing, dilated pupils, and yawning. These symptoms are accompanied by pain in the joints.

A characteristic somatic symptom of withdrawal is pain in the joints, bones, and muscles.

The muscles cramp, forcing you to experience severe pain, breaking the person, the condition worsens, becomes more complicated:

• dizziness;
• drooling, chills;
• nausea, abdominal pain, stool disturbances;
• aches, joint pain;
• in leaps and bounds blood pressure;

Indigestion is accompanied by diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Signs of withdrawal include tachycardia, arrhythmia, salivation, and sweating.

How to help

Withdrawal symptoms disappear if the drug addict receives another dose. As a rule, the withdrawal condition is very serious, and the patient cannot cope with it without medical assistance.

Most effective method withdrawal symptoms - detoxification. At home, it is impossible to provide the patient with complete medical care; control is impossible. You need to get relief from withdrawal symptoms in a drug treatment clinic, and you can’t limit yourself to this, you definitely need to be treated for drug addiction.

To relieve withdrawal symptoms, detoxification is carried out and medications are administered:

• restoratives – vitamins, magnesium sulfate, unitol;
• supporting cardiac activity - caffeine, cordiamine;
• drug antidotes.

In case of severe withdrawal, the addict undergoes ultra-rapid detoxification. It is most often used for opioid and methadone withdrawal. The patient is put into a state of artificial sleep, when the person does not feel pain.

As a result of therapeutic measures, it is possible to cleanse the body of the effects of the drug and its metabolites, but not cure addiction. It must be remembered that detoxification does not replace treatment. And it is not a treatment.

Consequences

The withdrawal state is accompanied by suicidal thoughts, lack of self-control, and heart failure. During withdrawal, a person experiences pain of such intensity that he is ready to do anything to make it stop. Including suicide.

A person loses even his basic instincts. The drug replaces the need for food, sleep, sex, and rest. During withdrawal, a drug addict loses the instinct of self-preservation, fear of death, and may die from internal organ failure, self-inflicted injury, or suicide.

The nervous system suffers from the absence of the drug during withdrawal, and the rhythm of the heartbeat is disrupted. Disruption of nerve transmission in the heart leads to chaotic, disordered impulses that disorganize the work of this organ and can cause cardiac arrest.

Severe consequences of withdrawal are noted in the functioning of the brain. Manifestations of withdrawal include:

• steadily worsening dementia (dementia);
• epileptic seizures;
• the appearance of psychosis;
• deep depression.

The severe consequences of drug withdrawal include the destruction of the cerebral cortex, namely the areas responsible for higher nervous abilities - the ability to learn, adapt, and integrate into society. Without treatment, withdrawal significantly accelerates personality degradation and puts a person on the brink of death. This is the answer to the question of whether a drug addict can die from severe withdrawal.

Addiction has two components. One of them is the state of euphoria that every drug addict strives for. The second side is withdrawal syndrome or withdrawal, which the addict pays for his addiction.

Why do drug addicts go through withdrawal? What is this?

Drug withdrawal occurs in the body that has been restructured and adapted to taking psychoactive substances in the event of withdrawal syndrome.

When taking drugs regularly, the body replaces substances that the body independently synthesizes to eliminate pain with substances coming from outside. When narcotic substances are supplied from the outside, the body does not need to expend energy on the synthesis and production of dopamine, adrenaline and some other substances. This is how tolerance develops. In this case, the addict has to take drugs just to feel normal. But the goal of any drug addict continues to be euphoria. To experience it, the addict increases the dose. The body reduces the production of this substance. It turns out to be a vicious circle, which at any moment can end in overdose and death.

If the necessary substance is not supplied in a timely manner, then the body cannot quickly produce the substances necessary for feeling normal and functioning. Severe dysfunction of certain organs or severe pain is called “drug withdrawal.”

Originally Answered: Why do drug addicts go through withdrawal? - lies not only in the reasons why certain drugs are taken or discontinued, but also in the classification of narcotic substances. If everything is more or less clear to us about the mechanism of occurrence, then the type and severity of withdrawal caused by taking one or another type of drug requires clarification.

The strongest dependence is considered to be on substances of the opioid group:

• heroin,
• morphine
• methadone.

Stopping these medications can cause not just severe pain, but also painful shock. Withdrawal can last up to a month.

Marijuana lovers are least susceptible to withdrawal symptoms.

The main signs of withdrawal can be divided into two groups:

• psychopathological nature,
• somatovegetative nature.

The first group of disorders affects the human nervous system, and the second group affects internal organs, disrupting their proper functioning.

Withdrawal of a drug addict - symptoms of a psychopathological group

The first of these is change emotional background and the mood of the addict. He becomes:

• gloomy
• overexcited,
• irritable.

From time to time they experience bouts of causeless aggression. He develops insomnia. The mood improves sharply only before taking the next dose.

Symptoms of the somatovegetative group

At the first stage, withdrawal symptoms resemble a mild cold. The addict has:

• runny nose,
• slight cough
• and a slight increase in temperature.

Then headaches and a slight rise in blood pressure begin. Gradually, the “cold” begins to resemble the flu. The above symptoms are accompanied by muscle pain, aching bones, and fever. Runny nose and cough get worse. The pain gradually intensifies and becomes very severe. The drug addict constantly sneezes and coughs, his gas is watery, his head hurts terribly, and there is profuse salivation. Most experience constant nausea and vomiting.

Most addicts cannot endure such torment. The myth that you can wait out withdrawal is in most cases ineffective. Most addicts are unable to cope with withdrawal. Attempts end in severe neuropsychic injuries.

Subsequently, even the very thought that withdrawal can be endured independently causes melancholy and tears in the addict. Many of them, upon admission to the hospital, ask for ultra-fast withdrawal relief, which takes place under anesthesia.

After overcoming the withdrawal syndrome, addicts experience residual effects in the form of a bad mood, accompanied by tension and an angry-melancholy affective state. The irritability of a person who has undergone withdrawal is accompanied by outbursts of anger and manifestations of aggression towards others. Asthenia is observed, accompanied by a state of physical and mental discomfort, sleep disturbances and severe depressive states.

The desire to resume use makes patients aggressive and angry, demanding immediate resumption of drug administration. Any minor reason triggers thoughts of suicide. This period can last from two weeks to one and a half months.

Measures taken to eliminate withdrawal symptoms depend on the type of substance and length of use.

Withdrawal in cannabinoid abusers

The varieties of Asian marijuana used in our country are more narcogenic than hemp preparations growing in other regions. A single dose of the drug does not cause withdrawal symptoms. With it, mild intoxication, increased mood, and a slight surge of energy may be observed.

Systematic abuse causes severe psychoses of the manic-depressive type, which are accompanied by hallucinations. They are accompanied by a state of hyperesthesia, a distortion of the understanding of time and space.

Withdrawal of such patients may be accompanied by the sudden development of psychosis:

• with delusions of persecution or relationship,
• sleep disorders,
• increased excitability,
• decreased appetite, sweating,
• unpleasant sensations in the heart area.

Specific elimination of withdrawal symptoms should be carried out in an inpatient setting, although acute manifestations of withdrawal can be managed in an outpatient setting. It is necessary to completely discontinue the drug with simultaneous administration of:

• tranquilizers,
• nootropics,
• iron preparations.

Physiotherapeutic procedures are necessary.

Cocaine withdrawal

Getting used to it happens very quickly. Obvious manifestations of withdrawal syndrome include persistent sleep disturbances. This group of addicts experiences specific psychoses, accompanied by delusions of jealousy or persecution, and aggression. Hallucinations are frightening. For cocaine addicts, as well as for alcoholics, the presence of tactile hallucinosis is characteristic.

Severe abstinence can only be relieved in an inpatient setting, where the patient is given:

• restoratives,
• detoxification drugs,
• Amitriptyline and seduxen are given intravenously.

Relieving withdrawal symptoms should be accompanied by constant monitoring of the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Coming out of withdrawal is accompanied by thoughts of suicide and sad states. They are treated with medication.

Heroin withdrawal

These are the most severe cases, accounting for 90% of all cases of seeking medical help. Relieving withdrawal symptoms for a drug addict is, first of all, providing emergency assistance addicted to heroin.

This hard drug kills more often than other substances. But most drug addicts take it together:

• with ephedrine,
• crushed diphenhydramine
• or alcohol.

Such severe poisoning of the body requires many hours of administration of cleansing and restorative drugs. To eliminate a strong syndrome, the following is used:

• taking extended-spectrum antipsychotics,
• respiratory analeptics,
• intravenous glucose administration,
• hemodesis,
• sodium thiosulfate,
• relanium,
• vitamins and some other medicines.

The presence of severe pain is eliminated by narcotic analgesics such as tramadol or reopirin with brufen. If necessary, use dehydration and vasodilator agents, as well as vegetotropic agents.

Withdrawal symptoms of heroin addicts can only be effectively relieved in a hospital setting. But the appearance the latest programs, such as:

• tramal,
• clonidine,
• Thioperidal therapy allows you to stop the onset of withdrawal symptoms at home.

Only a specialist can perform the procedure when calling for emergency drug treatment. Elimination of severe withdrawal symptoms ends with the elimination of depressive syndrome. During the elimination of withdrawal symptoms, it is necessary to carry out rational supportive psychotherapeutic measures.

Removing withdrawal symptoms - what to do next?

The vast majority of loved ones and relatives of drug addicts are faced with the question: how to help with drug withdrawal and save lives loved one from complications accompanying withdrawal?

On initial stage maintenance therapy is necessary. It consists of introducing vitamins, minerals and water into the body, depleted by starvation, systematic profuse vomiting and diarrhea. This must be done intravenously.

Pain in which bones and muscles “twist and break” develops due to a lack of calcium, potassium and magnesium. Taking potassium and magnesium supplements will also stabilize the heart.

Along with maintenance therapy, the addict must be given painkillers such as Tramal.

The consequences of withdrawal lead to depression, which can also be alleviated at home. For this you should use antidepressants. Any addict will require an increase in the dose of antidepressants, which, in fact, are also drugs. There is no need to go on a whim and increase the dose. If you are not sure that the therapy is being carried out correctly, you should consult a doctor.

Drug addiction: services and prices

Calling a narcologist

• Service
• Price
• FOR FREE
• Consultation with a narcologist at home
• from 3000 rub.
• Departure of the intervention team (persuasion to undergo treatment)
• from 5000 rub.
• Relieving drug withdrawal
• from 4000 rub.
• Hospital at home (days)
• from 6000 rub.
• Single dropper
• from 3000 rub.
• Double dropper
• from 5000 rub.
• Standard detoxification
• from 4000 rub.

Drug addiction treatment

• Service
• Price
• Initial consultation by phone
• FOR FREE
• Consultation with a narcologist
• from 1500 rub.
• Calling a narcologist to your home
• from 2500 rub.
• Drug test
• from 1000 rub.
• Motivation by intervention method
• from 5000 rub.
• Accompaniment to the clinic/rehabilitation
• from 10,000 rub.
• Relieving drug withdrawal
• from 6000 rub.
• Detoxification of the body from drugs
• from 7000 rub.
• Diagnostics general condition health
• from 5000 rub.
• Consultation with a psychologist
• from 2000 rub.
• Psychotherapy
• from 2500 rub.
• Drug filing
• from 10,000 rub.
• Inpatient rehabilitation
• from 40,000 rub.
• Outpatient rehabilitation
• from 25,000 rub.
• Adaptation of a drug addict after treatment
• from 20,000 rub.

UBOD

• Service
• Price
• Initial consultation by phone
• FOR FREE
• Visit of a narcologist and consultation at home
• from 3000 rub.
• from 10,000 rub.
• from 20,000 rub.
• Diagnosis of health conditions
• from 8000 rub.
• from 6000 rub.
• Session with a psychologist
• from 1500 rub.
• Psychotherapy
• from 2500 rub.
• Compulsory treatment (intervention method)
• from 10,000 rub.
• from 40,000 rub.
• Rehabilitation of drug addicts abroad
• from 50,000 rub.

Removing withdrawal symptoms

• Service
• Price
• Initial consultation by phone
• FOR FREE
• Visit and consultation of a narcologist at home
• from 3000 rub.
• Relieving drug withdrawal at home
• from 8000 rub.
• Relieving drug withdrawal in a hospital
• from 6000 rub.
• Ultra-fast opioid detoxification
• from 20,000 rub.
• Combined body detoxification
• from 10,000 rub.
• Observation by a narcologist in a hospital (24 hours)
• from 6000 rub.
• Appointment with a psychologist
• from 1500 rub.
• Psychotherapy for addicts
• from 2000 rub.
• Accompaniment to the clinic hospital
• from 10,000 rub.
• Unique rehabilitation program
• from 40,000 rub.

Medical tests

• Service
• Price
• General urine analysis
• from 400 rub.
• Complete blood count, biochemical blood test
• from 1500 rub.
• Electrocardiography (ECG)
• from 500 rub.
• Blood for HIV
• from 500 rub.
• Blood for syphilis
• from 500 rub.
• Blood for hepatitis B (antibodies)
• from 500 rub.
• Blood for hepatitis C (antibodies)
• from 500 rub.
• Test for the presence of drugs in urine
• from 3000 rub.
• Genotyping analysis (hereditary risk of addiction)
• from 10,000 rub.
• Express genotyping analysis (hereditary risk of addiction)
• from 15,000 rub.

Treatment cost calculation

Any person who has any kind of chemical dependence is most afraid that when he gives up the drug or alcohol, he will experience withdrawal. Drugs and alcohol are a kind of sedative for the brain, suppressing the production of specific neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine. When a person stops using drugs or alcohol, the brain receives an overdose of adrenaline, which causes withdrawal symptoms. Getting addicted is easy, but dealing with withdrawal symptoms is usually a very difficult and unpleasant task.

Characteristic

The causes of this condition are well known. Any chemical dependence (whether it be drugs, alcohol or other drugs) ultimately results in withdrawal symptoms for the addicted person, or as doctors call it, withdrawal syndrome. The torment that a person experiences in this condition can be simply unbearable, especially if it is drug withdrawal.

Each substance has its own symptoms. Some substances have significant physical effects (for example, opiates or alcohol). Other drugs have little physical effect on the person but have a strong emotional effect (for example, drug withdrawal caused by marijuana, cocaine, or ecstasy). The picture of withdrawal symptoms can also vary greatly from person to person. The patient may experience mild physical symptoms, but may experience severe emotional withdrawal symptoms.

Mechanism of occurrence

If a person regularly takes a drug, alcohol or other chemical substance, then his body gradually gets used to it, and all its processes are rebuilt. The worst thing is that such a patient’s metabolism changes forever, as a result of which the drug that caused addiction becomes vital.

What will happen to a drug addict if one day he does not receive his usual dose? The body begins to feel an urgent need for this substance, and its lack becomes incredibly stressful. The body tries to replace the chemical with something, but does not find an adequate replacement. It is at this moment that drug withdrawal occurs.

Signs of withdrawal occur in a person when he was unable to take the required dose or completely abandoned the substance that caused addiction. Also, withdrawal symptoms can be caused by reducing the dose or taking a weaker substance.

Drug withdrawal occurs almost immediately, especially when using opioids such as methadone, opium, heroin and morphine. Thus, if you are addicted to methadone, withdrawal symptoms are accompanied by terrible pain for several months.

Withdrawal occurs a little more slowly when taking psychotropic or hypnotic substances. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome can take a long time to develop. This condition occurs most recently when consuming hashish. There are also drugs (for example, LSD) that do not cause withdrawal symptoms at all, but they lead to other serious problems.

The more pronounced the withdrawal syndrome, the more difficult it is to relieve withdrawal symptoms.

Symptoms

There are two types of symptoms of this condition.
The first type includes emotional symptoms. A person experiences them regardless of whether they have physical withdrawal symptoms. The second type includes physical withdrawal symptoms. They usually occur with dependence on alcohol, tranquilizers, and opiates.

Emotional symptoms include:

• anxiety;
• irritability;
• attacks of aggression;
• headache;
• anxiety;
• poor sleep;
• poor concentration;
• depressive states;
• social isolation.

Physical symptoms include:

• heavy sweating;
• muscle tension;
• tremor;
• cardiopalmus;
• labored breathing;
• diarrhea, nausea or vomiting.

The very first symptom of incipient withdrawal is considered to be the occurrence of fixation of all thoughts on the administration of the substance that caused the addiction.

Stages

Narcologists distinguish 2 stages of withdrawal syndrome. The first stage is the so-called acute stage, usually lasting a couple of weeks. During this stage, the patient most often experiences physical symptoms. But each drug has its own characteristics, just like each individual patient. After acute withdrawal symptoms, the patient feels like he is on a roller coaster. At first, the condition changes literally every hour. Later, symptoms may not appear for several weeks or even months and then return again. Gradually there are more and more good segments. But bad periods can also be very intense or last a little longer.

The second stage occurs after the acute stage. The patient at this stage has fewer physical symptoms, but much stronger psychological and emotional withdrawal symptoms.

This uneven relief from withdrawal occurs because during treatment, the chemical balance in the addict's brain gradually returns to normal. As brain health improves, the balance of chemicals constantly changes, causing secondary withdrawal symptoms.

People experience the same symptoms of secondary withdrawal. In the acute stage, each patient is individual, but secondary withdrawal is characterized by the same symptoms in most people.

Secondary symptoms

The most common symptoms of secondary withdrawal are:

• mood swings;
• increased anxiety;
• fatigue;
• irritability;
• energy changes;
• low enthusiasm;
• concentration changes;
• insomnia.

Symptoms of secondary withdrawal usually appear within 2 years. And a drug addict should always remember this so as not to be caught off guard by addiction and relapse.

Consequences

Withdrawal from opiates can be very painful, but is not too dangerous as long as the person does not take other substances. Heroin withdrawal does not cause heart attacks, seizures, strokes, or delirium tremens.

Relieving withdrawal symptoms caused by tranquilizers or alcohol often causes dangerous physical conditions. Abrupt withdrawal of alcohol or tranquilizers from the body can lead to heart attacks, stroke, and convulsions in patients with high risk these diseases. Besides, self withdrawal Such withdrawal symptoms can cause epilepsy, hallucinations and even delirium tremens. Relieving withdrawal symptoms under medical supervision minimizes all symptoms, alleviates suffering and reduces the risk of dangerous complications.

Methods of therapy

The main difficulty in treating any chemical addiction is that the person has to endure withdrawal symptoms. The patient must, as it were, “sit out” the withdrawal, as a result of which the body is cleansed of the drug or other substance.

This “servitude” is the most difficult stage in addiction therapy. If withdrawal relief is successful, then further treatment will be effective. But if the patient breaks down, then everything will start all over again. If “serving time” is impossible for some reason, then inpatient detoxification or ultra-fast detoxification under anesthesia is used (in extreme cases).

Drug addiction is like a coin that has two sides. One of them is a feeling of euphoria, oblivion after taking a dose. The other side is the drug addict’s withdrawal, which seems endless to the unfortunate person. What is withdrawal syndrome? How to help a patient whose recent “high” has turned into unbearable suffering? About all this in the review.

You need to know the enemy by sight

Drug withdrawal is one of the pathological processes that develop during drug use. A particularly striking clinical picture is observed as a result of the use of potent substances. Heroin can easily be considered one of these.

The state of a drug addict can be called the response of his body to the restriction in the drug.

The time of onset of withdrawal varies individually. Only one thing is logical: the more experience the addict has, the greater the likelihood of frequent and most intense attacks.

If the syndrome does not begin after several doses of a narcotic substance, this cannot guarantee further absence of withdrawal symptoms.

Why does withdrawal syndrome occur?

A person who is “on a drug” gets used to the drug; the unfortunate person's body undergoes dramatic changes. Gradually, the harmful substance, having reconstructed the drug addict’s metabolism, becomes vital an important component for the patient. A person places the drug on the same level as food, water, and air.

When a drug addict does not take a drug for some reason, his nervous system experiences stress, which negatively affects all human organs. The poor fellow’s body is trying to compensate for the emerging imbalance, using the entire arsenal of compensatory mechanisms. The supply of internal resources turns out to be negligible to restore the patient’s previous condition. As a result, drug withdrawal occurs and its first symptoms appear.

Gradually, drug addiction becomes life-threatening

Description of the clinical picture

Withdrawal symptoms may vary slightly. Their list and nature depend on the type of drug, the time of taking the drug and physiological parameters drug addict. The approximate symptoms of withdrawal are as follows:

1. After about 10 hours of abstinence from the dose, the drug addict becomes irritated, nervous, and absent-minded. Gradually, the person’s condition worsens, he loses control over himself.
2. Cold symptoms appear: the drug addict is cold, his nose is stuffy, tears flow uncontrollably, the patient sweats profusely.
3. The unfortunate person's pupils dilate and do not react to light exposure from the outside.
4. The addict loses his appetite, constantly feels nauseous, and may experience vomiting and diarrhea. All these symptoms are the body’s attempts to remove unnecessary substances.
5. Arrhythmia is observed blood pressure rises.
6. A person suffers pain that occurs in muscle tissue and bones. The unfortunate person feels as if his joints are being torn apart. The picture is complemented by convulsions, bones literally “break”.

A drug addict cannot eat, drink, sleep, or have a bowel movement on his own. He tries to hide from prying eyes, to remain alone with himself. Often, drug addicts curl up in a ball under the blanket, where they are also haunted by withdrawal. The described symptoms can be observed for several days until the unfortunate person is at the disposal of medical staff.

Consequences of the pathological condition and assistance to the patient

During the withdrawal process, all systems and organs suffer human body. The skin becomes thinner, roughens and cracks, the structure of hair and nails is destroyed. The thirst for a narcotic substance prevails over other needs of the patient. A dependent person forgets to eat, drink, he loses interest in own life. For the unfortunate person, any moral and ethical principles cease to exist, even the instinct of self-preservation of the individual seems to dissolve. Relatives for a drug addict cease to be valuable and loved. A drug addict lies and turns into an unprincipled and ruthless person. In other words, there is a complete transformation of the personality and physiology of the drug addict.

How to help a drug addict?

How to remove withdrawal? Does it exist reliable way combating the pathological process? In modern drug treatment practice, there are many drugs used in case of withdrawal syndrome. Among them:

• Drugs for symptomatic treatment.
• Means for normalizing sleep.
• Medicines that cleanse the body of toxins.
• Drugs that correct the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

In order to really alleviate the patient’s condition and not worsen the symptoms, it is necessary to accurately determine the composition and dose of the drugs used. Sometimes surgery takes place alternative methods detoxification. In any case, only a medical professional can do this.

Only a doctor can determine the dose and types of medications for detoxification

Often, drug addicts try to “help” themselves. For this purpose, the unfortunate people take alcoholic beverages, further aggravating the situation. Sleeping pills, any painkiller and various psychostimulants cause enormous damage to human health and threaten his life. Therefore, it is the direct responsibility of the relatives of the drug addict to timely involve qualified medical personnel in the process of relieving the syndrome.

What is provider-supervised treatment? The patient faces a difficult journey of five to seven days. During this time, his body will be cleansed of decay products and residues of harmful substances. They begin to relieve withdrawal symptoms through injections of a polyionic saline solution. This remedy helps the addict’s body restore its internal electrolyte balance. As additional drugs, sedatives, diuretics, vasodilators and other drugs are used. Gradually, the symptoms of withdrawal symptoms will disappear. When the detoxification process is completed, the patient is given minerals and vitamins to restore the immune system and mobilize strength for a speedy recovery.

During detoxification, the body is cleared of drug residues and their breakdown products.

What will be the patient's future path?

Victory over withdrawal symptoms is only the first step in a long journey of recovery from drug addiction. The patient has to understand that he has a chance to regain his former happiness and live a full life without the drug. Otherwise, the process will start again, and signs of the syndrome will not be long in coming. Detoxification and restoration of the immune system are followed by drug therapy, the main focus of which is the rehabilitation of the nervous system and internal organs of the patient.

And this is not the end! Faced with withdrawal, a drug addict needs serious mental rehabilitation, as well as social adaptation. This is also done by qualified specialists.

The scale of the damage that drug addiction entails is incredibly large. The described withdrawal is only small part all the horror that a person who finds himself “on the needle” has to face. Only our prudence common sense and prompt action will help to properly fight back against drugs.

You don’t need to be an expert in the field of drug addiction to understand that stopping taking drugs after prolonged use necessarily leads to withdrawal syndrome, better known in everyday life as “withdrawal” of a drug addict. The negative effect of withdrawal completely eliminates the pleasant sensations from taking drugs, destroys the human body from the inside and causes irreparable damage to the nervous system and intellectual abilities.

Withdrawal syndrome and its manifestations

In medicine, the totality of withdrawal symptoms - somatic and mental effects caused by refusing to take a drug or reducing its dose - is called withdrawal syndrome. Withdrawal syndrome is a necessary consequence of physical dependence on certain substances.

How drug withdrawal manifests itself, how severe it is, and how long it lasts depends, first of all, on the ability of the drug to integrate into the drug addict’s metabolic system. The most aggressive substances in this regard are the opiate family.

Taking opiates inevitably leads to severe dependence, and refusing to take them or reducing the required dose leads to an extremely acute form of withdrawal syndrome. In particular, withdrawal symptoms after taking methadone can last about a month. Attempts to relieve withdrawal symptoms at home almost always lead to failure. Sometimes they end in the death of the patient.

It is also worth noting that a number of hallucinogenic substances do not cause physical dependence in the user, and therefore do not lead to withdrawal symptoms. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, because hallucinogens often provoke the development of another addiction – psychological. Without taking such substances, the life of a drug addict loses color, and he tries to find the next dose at any cost.

Causes of withdrawal symptoms in drug addicts

We can say with confidence that withdrawal symptoms are a natural consequence of drug use. The first thing they act on is the nervous system. Special cells are responsible for the transmission of nerve signals in the human brain. chemical substances– neurotransmitters. It is the functioning of neurotransmitters that allows a person to move and think adequately. In addition, neurotransmitters control the functioning of all organs.

Once in the body, the drug replaces certain groups of neurotransmitters, disrupting the standard course nervous processes. The brain receives a kind of signal that in the production of neurotransmitters certain group there is no longer a need because they come from outside, which reduces their production.

Stopping drug use provokes a crisis in the nervous system and an imbalance in the functioning of organs and systems - symptoms arise that we call drug withdrawal. This effect can last from a couple of hours to several weeks.

At this time, the drug addict’s body tries to recover from the unexpected blow and restore the independent synthesis of missing neurotransmitters. For this purpose they are used internal resources body, and in fairly large quantities.

How many days, weeks or hours this struggle lasts depends on many factors:

• general human condition,
• duration of drug addiction experience,
• type of drug used.

Success is not always possible: if the body does not have the elements necessary for the synthesis of the neurotransmitter, then all the energy will be wasted. To relieve withdrawal symptoms in this case, you need to either take a new dose (take another step towards death) or detoxify the body in a specialized clinic.

Symptoms of drug withdrawal

Depending on the drug in question and the characteristics of the addict’s body, withdrawal symptoms can manifest themselves in different ways.

One way or another, the clinical picture of withdrawal often manifests itself in the following symptoms:

• discharge of mucus from the nose;
• changes in body temperature;
• internal discomfort;
• pain;
• general weakness of the body, lack of strength;
• Bad mood, depression, aggression

Due to the severe internal struggle in the body, body temperature during withdrawal fluctuates from low to high, which causes a natural chill in the drug addict. Therefore, most often during withdrawal, drug addicts try to wrap themselves up as warmly as possible and isolate themselves from the company of other people. The circulation of toxins in the body leads to muscle pain, which is accompanied by severe dehydration due to sweating, vomiting and diarrhea. In addition, during withdrawal there is also a disturbance in the sleep-wake cycle: the patient simply cannot find a position in which he would feel comfortable in order to fall asleep.

How to help a drug addict with withdrawal

Seeing the state of a drug addict during the period of withdrawal syndrome, loved ones, relatives, friends, and simply caring people ask themselves the same question: “how to alleviate the suffering of the sufferer?”

First and most important, never offer such a person a new dose, no matter how much he asks you for it. A new dose in such a situation is like a push into an abyss with the promise of a pleasant flight.

Remember also that only a few can endure withdrawal and cope with drug addiction on their own, and only if the period of drug use was very short.

The best way to relieve unpleasant withdrawal symptoms is to go to a clinic to begin drug addiction treatment.