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If you have ever tried to quit drinking, you know that it can be a lonely and trying experience. Alcohol is a highly addictive drug, and the best way to get off the sauce may not be the same for everyone. When getting sober, it is important to have the assistance of trained professionals and therapists who have years of experience in helping alcoholics start anew. Magnolia Ranch Recovery is staffed with a team of medical professionals who are dedicated to helping you recover from addiction and get on with your life. 

How to Know if you Need to Detox from Alcohol

If you think you may be drinking too much, you probably are. You may need detox if you have been drinking heavily for weeks or months. If you are pregnant and find yourself drinking or even craving alcohol, you may want to seek professional help. You should also consider detox if you have experienced DTs or if you have repeatedly tried to get sober without professional help, it might be time to try a detox facility. You may think that you can trust friends and family to help you, but even if you have a supportive group of friends, detoxing without the assistance of medical professionals can be dangerous. Detox should be done in a safe environment.

How Alcohol Detox Works  

When you detox it is important to flush every bit of alcohol out of your system. People who don't know what they are doing sometimes attempt to drink too much water when trying to detox. In some cases, medications can help people to detoxify. There are pills that can create an aversion to alcohol, and there are other drugs that can create the relaxing effect that booze has without the dangerous side effects.

It may take as much as a couple of weeks to get the alcohol completely out of your system. If you drink heavily for weeks, months or years, the body begins to depend on the popular depressant. The body will slowly stop producing certain chemicals. The symptoms of alcohol withdrawal tend to be mild at first. The initial few hours may bring headaches and nausea. After your first dry day, you may experience seizures and panic attacks and, it is not uncommon to experience heart palpitations and even hallucinations. The worst side effect a person can experience during detox is delirium tremens. Which can cause shaking, cardiovascular collapse and in rare cases, death.  A professional detox facility can use a combination of talk therapy and medications to get you through this difficult procedure..

Drugs Prescribed for Alcohol Withdrawal 

There are a couple of medications that doctors use to treat alcoholism. They include Benzodiazepines, which are used to subdue a patient's central nervous system. It may also be used for treating the anxiety that is associated with detox. Naltrexone is used to reduce alcohol cravings and it is generally not prescribed until a person has completed their initial week of detox. Acamprosate is also used to curb the desire for alcohol.  Acamprosate, more commonly known as Antabuse, makes the body reject alcohol and causes people to throw up when they drink. 

Detoxing may be the most challenging thing you ever have to do. A professional rehab center is the safest and easiest option for your recovery.