Crystal Meth is the name given to a crystalline form of the synthetic drug methamphetamine and is thought to resemble naturally occurring rock crystals, hence the “street” names it goes by such as ice or glass. It is injected, snorted as powder, smoked or ingested as pills.  Given its properties and effects, a crystal meth addiction treatment poses significant challenges both to the addicted individual and to the treatment provider. 

Long-Term Effects of Meth Use And Addiction

Crystal Meth can work directly on the Central Nervous System (CNS).  The risks to health and wellbeing, including brain damage, that come with chronic use of Crystal Meth are significant.

Death caused either directly or indirectly by addiction to crystal meth is also a real possibility, especially when used with other substances. Because the central nervous system is galvanised with an unusual intensity, heart rate, temperature, breathing and blood pressure all increase sharply.  This takes its toll on major organs. There is a chance of seizures, heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.  

There are disturbing mental, emotional and behavioural effects. Sleep deprivation and damage to skin and teeth as well as weight loss are commonly experienced.  Perhaps the greatest concern is the neurotoxic effects in the brain, including functional and structural damage to the cells that mediate dopamine and serotonin production.  Most of the degeneration will be reversible in time but not all.

Why is Meth so Addictive? A Rollercoaster Binge Pattern

If you are addicted to crystal meth, you may have experienced the rollercoaster rides it gives that leads you back to using the drug every time. The attraction, as with other stimulants, such as cocaine, is the pronounced increase in energy, heightened excitement and sharpened attention, as well as the disinhibition that Crystal Meth induces.  Unsafe sexual activity often increases as a consequence.

The use of the drug tends to follow a binge pattern, initiating a rollercoaster ride in mood swings with intense highs followed by plummeting lows. Lethargy follows hyperactivity.

Meth Addiction Treatment and Rehab

The fearsome hold that Crystal Meth has on the user, both physically and psychologically, makes treatment particularly challenging, especially as there are presently no specified medicinal interventions.  

Given the nature of the drug and the ravages to health brought about by the crystal meth addiction and abuse, medical management of the process of detoxification and health improvement is essential. 

It is also critical to ensure that this does not occur in isolation since some of the most resistant symptoms of withdrawal are psychological. Craving features heavily and sometimes long after last use of crystal meth.  

The integration of psychological support with medical care is vital, as is attention to re-regulating sleep patterns, dental hygiene and to nutrition, given the depleted state people presenting for treatment generally exhibit.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and mutual aid are advised, as are incentives to encourage treatment compliance. Stress management and complementary therapies to aid relaxation and to introduce healthier habits also have an important role to play in treatment.  

Perhaps the most valuable treatment aid is time. One needs to spend long enough in treatment or rehab for healthy behaviours to take root and for brain functions to begin to right themselves.

Getting Addiction Treatment at Clinic Les Alpes

If you or a loved one is suffering from a crystal meth addiction, it’s time to get help. Clinic Les Alpes is a medically licensed addiction and mental health treatment centre in Switzerland that offers meth addiction treatment. Our overall approach relies on the continuous interplay between Mind, Body and Spirit. Our luxury treatment facilities are made to help you detox, reflect and achieve long term sobriety in the best possible way. Contact us today to learn more about our crystal meth abuse treatment.

No longer considered an aid to recovery from other substances

Smoking tobacco is prevalent among people suffering from mental ill health and Substance Use Disorder.  Until fairly recently, the received wisdom was that to require people receiving treatment for addiction to withdraw from tobacco smoking while abstaining from their other drugs of choice would be asking too much of them.  It was thought that attempting to recover from dependencies such as to alcohol, heroin or cocaine, for instance, was difficult enough. For a long time addiction treatment programmes therefore traditionally allowed, if not condoned, tobacco smoking by patients.  However, as practice has developed, efforts are now made by treatment centres to restrict areas and times for the indulgence of the habit; in part to underscore the reality that smoking is an addiction and one with serious impacts on general health. Conveying such a message clearly and consistently in the context of an addiction treatment programme is essential.

A perfect opportunity to quit

Expert thinking has changed.  It is now widely recognised that a programme aimed at recovery from other addictions presents a perfect opportunity to give up smoking also.  Any truly integrated and holistic health approach deserving of that description should not avoid looking at a person’s tobacco smoking; not only from the point of view of addiction but also, given its significant longer-term effects, from the perspective of health restoration and promotion more generally.  Even if a treatment centre or rehab does not ban smoking outright, it ought routinely to invite and proactively support its patients to take the opportunity to give up.  

It is notoriously difficult to do so, largely because of the uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine, which are both physical and psychological in nature.  The intensity of cravings that come in the early stages of detoxification are a major factor in a person’s resumption of smoking.  The psychological durability of the habit may be attributed also to the comforting or stimulating rituals associated with lighting up.  So, what better place to attempt abstinence than a facility offering both physiological and psychological therapies fully attuned to recovery from addiction? 

Smoking cessation improves the chances of sustainable recovery

There is another very good reason to quit smoking while in treatment for addiction to other substances.  Evidence is accumulating to indicate that cigarette smoking, in particular, is a 

contributory factor to relapse in those people attempting to recover from Substance Use Disorder. Or, looked at in another way, a person’s chances of a sustainable recovery seem likely to improve if they give up smoking.It seems that smoking may serve as a primer, trigger or cue for other addictive behaviours and some research has suggested that nicotine use may be implicated in cravings for stimulants and opiates.  

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The brain adapts to chronic use of marijuana

As with other drugs, compulsive marijuana use can come to interfere with other aspects of life. In some cases it appears to exacerbate pre-existing mental health conditions and may even instigate them in some vulnerable teenagers and adults. It appears that amounts used, the potency of the drug, the age when first used and genetic factors may all have an influential effect.

Dependence on marijuana develops as a result of the brain’s adaptation to the presence of significant quantities of the drug over time. The brain responds by producing less of its own cannabinoid neurotransmitters which occur naturally and by reducing the sensitivity of the remainder. Those people most at risk seem to be the ones who begin using the drug during adolescence, continuing into adulthood. 

Marijuana addiction’s withdrawal syndrome

Because of the neurochemical adaptations made in response to chronic use, people do experience a range of symptoms associated with withdrawal from marijuana once they stop using the drug. In the first days of the process, mood disturbance generally features, with irritability and anxiety common. Difficulty sleeping, reduced appetite, a general sense of restlessness and cravings are to be expected. Physical discomforts of various kinds may also be suffered as the body adjusts to the absence of the drug. Depending on the potency of the marijuana consumed and the sorts and quantities of other drugs that may also have been taken, these symptoms tend to be at their worst about a week after abstinence, generally reducing in intensity thereafter over the following week.

Withdrawal is only the beginning when it comes to recovery

It is advisable to engage with recovery-supporting activities as soon as possible during the withdrawal phase. Otherwise physical and mental discomfort may all too easily provide a compelling reason to give up on recovery before it has had a chance to take hold. Being alert to the possibility of underlying or emerging mental health conditions is vital.

Changes to lifestyle need to be made an important focus of any recovery programme for an addiction to marijuana.  Use of the drug may form part of the cultural “norm” of someone’s social network. This presents serious challenges, as the person may have to give up more than the drug in order to develop a life with recovery now as its focus.  A person will also need to find healthier ways of coping with feelings and moods. New approaches to relaxation may also need to be learned.

The opportunity to engage with a variety of therapies within a holistic treatment approach is advisable. Making improvements to diet, exercise and particularly sleep is vital, as is simultaneously addressing co-existing mental health conditions.

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Heroin, also known as diamorphine is derived from the drug morphine, which is extracted from the opium poppy. Heroin is an opioid used for its euphoric or painkilling effects in the brain. It is highly addictive. 

Regular use of heroin will lead to an increase in tolerance whereby more and more is needed to get the same effect. Drowsiness and the slowing of cardiac function and breathing may continue for several hours after use of heroin. These are the principal reactions that feature in those incidences of overdose that prove fatal.

Minimising the experience of heroin withdrawal symptoms

Detoxification is the term used for the process whereby the withdrawal symptoms of the opioid are eliminated from the addicted individual safely and effectively. While rarely life threatening, heroin withdrawal symptoms can be decidedly uncomfortable and may include anxiety, tremors, sweating, runny nose, insomnia, nightmares, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, aches and cramps and of course craving for the drug.

Most heroin withdrawal symptoms reach the peak of severity within 2 to 4 days then tail off by day 7. The withdrawal process may continue for weeks and occasionally even months. The clinical team will do all they can to make heroin detox as easy as possible by reducing symptoms and general discomfort.

Anticipation of heroin withdrawal symptoms contributes to addiction’s hold and is partly what demotivates someone addicted to heroin from taking action to come off the drug. Recognition of the psychological dimension of detoxification from heroin is vital to the successful management of the heroin withdrawal process.

Consenting to heroin detox means letting go of control

As the patient is handing over control of his/her heroin use – perhaps for the first time – it is important for clinicians to explain and discuss the heroin detox process with the patient to build trust and confidence.

Each person’s individually tailored detoxification and substance abuse treatment plan will take into account:

• personal recovery goals
• previous experience of heroin detox
• historic and current levels of use
• degree of dependence
• other drugs currently consumed
• general health status
• psychological state

Substitute opioid medications with less intense effects than heroin will be prescribed and may be supplemented temporarily by other drugs for symptom management.  The treatment of heroin addiction also includes recovery therapy that helps ease any stress, refocus the mind away from agitated preoccupation with symptoms and improve sleep.

The benefits of residential heroin addiction treatment

There is considerable benefit to be had from undergoing medical detox from heroin within a luxury rehab centre whose primary purpose and purpose is recovery from addiction. In a positive, recovery-oriented environment, the patient has 24-hour access to medical attention and the immediate availability of psychological support and encouragement, including from fellow heroin users and other patients. Seek support from people with whom you can be open and honest.

Heroin detoxification is not a standalone treatment

Detoxification from heroin is never a standalone treatment. Taking care of the withdrawal symptoms is just the start because the potential resumption of heroin use brings with it the very real danger of overdose, given the drop in tolerance once abstinence has been achieved.  It is essential that an aftercare program is devised well in advance of discharge that includes heightened awareness of the risks inherent in relapse and how to prevent it.

If you or a loved one is suffering from heroin addiction, remember that quitting instantly is not an option. Let the treatment team at our luxury rehab center in Switzerland help you. Contact us today to begin addiction recovery.

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For this reason, acute withdrawal represents a sudden interruption for which the brain simply isn’t ready as the reactions show.  These can prove catastrophic if not carefully managed. At the less severe, though nonetheless unpleasant end of the spectrum are symptoms like headaches, sweating, nausea, anxiety and shaking.  Much more serious symptoms don’t necessarily appear immediately. Between 24 and 72 hours (sometimes longer) after the last intake of alcohol a patient may experience hallucinations, delirium tremens and/or seizures. There is the very real risk of death due to such seizures and the people conducting medical management of detoxification will be alert to reducing this risk from the moment of admission.

Assisted detoxification from alcohol

By far the safest option for a person dependent on alcohol is to be admitted to an in-patient alcohol recovery programme where they can undergo what is known as assisted withdrawal under medical management.  Given expert care a person can withdraw safely and according to a prescribing regime that takes into account dependence to other substances and co-existing mental and physical conditions. Depending on the person’s recent levels of consumption and general health, the process of detoxification from alcohol can take up to a week or ten days. 

An appropriate benzodiazepine is generally prescribed to assist the alcohol withdrawal process but this is a short-term aid to detoxification rather than long-term treatment. These drugs are used because in the brain they act similarly to alcohol so while useful to achieve detoxification, their properties carry similar risks. A supplement of the vitamin thiamine is usually prescribed as alcohol dependence is strongly associated with malnourishment.

The advantages of an in-patient treatment for alcohol withdrawal

Given the inherent dangers, an in-patient treatment facility provides reassuring safety. The medical team is on site and immediately available 24 hours a day. This enables close monitoring of the patient and their symptoms. Adjustments to treatment can be made without delay as needed.

Withdrawal from alcohol and other drugs of dependence may be more quickly and easily achieved if the medical facility is fully integrated into an addiction treatment and recovery programme rather than, as is so often the case, detached from it.

It is important to remember that detoxification or withdrawal is a psychological as well physical process. It is essential for the patient to be supported psychologically and encouraged to focus as much as possible positively on holistic recovery rather than the physical process of withdrawal.  A luxury rehabilitation centre has an advantage here due to its comprehensive and detailed attention to the comfort and wellbeing of patients.

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