Using heroin or another opiate has been a part of your life for a while now. You want to quit, but you don’t know what to expect. Can you die from opiate withdrawal? Is there a way to handle withdrawal so that you don’t face death or other risks?
Understanding the Disease of Addiction
Your opiate habit isn’t a moral weakness. It has nothing to do with a lack of willpower. Instead, it’s a symptom of a chronic brain disease that requires medical and clinical intervention. Addiction isn’t something you can fix on your own.
Opiate Withdrawal is Unpleasant but Not Deadly in a Medical Setting
Withdrawal symptoms depend mainly on your overall health and use patterns. Can you die from opiate withdrawal? The answer should be no. You’re much more likely to deal with flu-like symptoms, severe gastrointestinal upset, and painful muscle cramps.
You’re sweating and shivering. You feel depressed. You’re tired but can’t get comfortable enough to sleep. In short, you feel miserable.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t have to be that way. At a rehab center that offers detox, you undergo medical care during the withdrawal process. Pharmacological support keeps you stable and makes withdrawal pain-free. After about five to seven days, you beat the physiological part of addiction and can move on to rehab.
Can You Die from Opiate Withdrawal Outside of a Facility?
The side effects of the withdrawal can be deadly. You may not realize that your body’s going into distress. Typically, these types of deaths can happen when people try to withdraw cold turkey at home. What puts you in danger of serious physical harm is dehydration.
Opiate withdrawal can lead to vomiting and diarrhea. Your body dehydrates while your blood sodium levels spike. Without an addiction treatment program, you’re at risk for heart failure. However, when you withdraw at a rehab facility, you receive intravenous hydration, which protects your health.
There’s another reason why opiate withdrawal outside of a rehab center can be deadly. If you withdraw only partially and then relapse, you reintroduce the drug to your body. However, the lapse in steady supply has lowered your physical tolerance. As a result, your old dose could now become a deadly overdose.
Better Your Chances of Lifelong Sobriety by Getting Professional Help
Why do things the hard way when you don’t have to? Enroll in a residential rehab program that offers a full spectrum of care. Modalities there include:
- Verify insurance so you understand how to pay for rehab
- Detoxification with consistent medical supervision that protects your wellness and keeps you comfortable
- Seamless transition to rehab where you break the psychological part of the addiction
- An extensive clinical care curriculum that includes behavioral and holistic therapies
- Nutritional counseling and life skills training
- Smooth transition to sober living for program participants who’re not ready to live independently after discharge
So, can you die from opiate withdrawal? It’s a risk you take when you try to quit using without help. Stay safe, and choose a premier opiate addiction treatment program in Southern California. Contact the addiction specialists at Clear Life Recovery today by dialing 866-261-7291 now.
