Alcohol Withdrawal in Chicopee, MA

Nearly one in two men of legal drinking age have binged on alcohol at some point. While such abuse of alcohol doesn't automatically lead to addiction, those susceptible to this phenomenon for reasons psychiatric, psychological or genetic vulnerability, do stand a serious risk. Not only does addiction to alcohol lead to personal, professional and legal trouble, it ruins the health, as well. In many cases, there's just one thing that keeps people from attempting to quit -- fear of the pain of ending addiction. If this is you, you shouldn't worry. The best thing that you can do is to look for treatment for alcohol withdrawal in Chicopee.

With modern detox medicine working for you, the pain of conventional withdrawal simply no longer exists.

What Is Alcohol Withdrawal?

The process of heavy drinking can cause certain changes in the brain, some permanent, and others semi-permanent. When these changes occur, one is said to be addicted to alcohol.

When you're addicted, ending drinking and easy. It can come with certain serious effects. It takes time both for your body and brain to cleanse themselves and for the brain to adapt to a chemical environment that isn't filled with alcohol. The period can be difficult because the sudden change of chemical environment upsets the brain. It takes the brain days, or sometimes even weeks, to settle down to a state of reasonable chemical equilibrium. Lack of appropriate chemical equilibrium, in the meantime, tends to cause serious symptoms.

Withdrawal symptoms for alcohol can start with an uneven heart rhythm and increased blood pressure, and go on to mood swings, tremors, and body aches. Among patients who have been addicted long, the disruption to the brain can be even greater, and lead to seizures or heart attacks, two of the most dangerous and life-threatening symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol.

The cravings can be severe, as well. While cravings do not pose a health risk, they do pose a serious risk to an attempt to quit. Cravings come from a deep emotional attachment that occurs in the brain from exposure to alcohol. These cravings are not amenable to reason or personal choice -- they simply are a force of nature. It's important to do everything in one's power to deal with these cravings if they are not to endanger a withdrawal attempt.

Treating Alcohol Withdrawal in Detox

Treatment for alcohol withdrawal is never a routine matter. When you arrive at drug rehab, a professional team of addiction specialists assesses the nature of your addiction and determines the likely depth of your withdrawal symptoms. If it is determined that you are likely to suffer from a seizure, heart attack or delirium tremens, you're likely to be recommended inpatient rehab where professional addiction specialists and medical doctors can watch you and ensure that you remain safe.

Medical detox in Chicopee treats withdrawal symptoms in multiple ways. Seizures occur in withdrawal as the result of the removal of the sedative effects of alcohol. With the removal of sedation, the brain enters an overly active phase where misfirings are likely to result in epilepsy. Drugs such as gabapentin help calm down the brain.

The depression and anxiety of withdrawal can be serious impediments to continued treatment. These symptoms are treated with drugs such as Prozac. Cravings of alcohol withdrawal are helped with drugs such as naltrexone, and sleeplessness is treated with benzodiazepines.

The withdrawal process usually lasts a few weeks, but experts recommend extended detox. A 90-day program is considered excellent insurance against failure of treatment. Such treatment tends to serve as a gentle enough way to complete the process of withdrawal.

What Alcohol Withdrawal in Chicopee Treatment Does Not Do

Drug withdrawal treatment is only meant to help with the difficult symptoms of physical withdrawal from alcohol addiction. It's important to remember that alcohol addiction is much more -- it is a psychological disorder, as well. Even once the withdrawal symptoms do die down, there is always the continuing risk of relapse. People who accept detox, but end treatment with it, usually relapse or return to alcohol abuse within weeks. It happens in 9 out of 10 cases.

When you look for the best treatment for alcohol withdrawal in Chicopee, it's important that you also make sure that the rehab center offers continuing treatment in the form of relapse prevention therapy and recovery. A full program what helps you achieve sobriety over the long term is what you should look for. Call Chicopee Alcohol Treatment Centers. (877) 804-1531.