In the US, gabapentin is the sixth most often prescribed medication. Common brand names for it include Neurontin, Gralise, and Horizant.
The substance has strong sedative, soothing, and relaxing properties. As a result, it aids in the treatment of anxiety, sleeplessness, seizures, and restless legs syndrome. In other instances, gabapentin is utilized to assist with both alcohol and cocaine withdrawal. Additionally, it is prescribed as a painkiller for those with postherpetic neuralgia, a disorder characterized by nerve pain that develops following shingles infection.
But the same relaxing effects that make gabapentin medically useful also make it potentially addictive. In fact, more and more recreational users in the United States are using this drug outside of its intended purpose. Cases of purchase without prescriptions are also rising.
Often, those who abuse gabapentin are already addicted to opioids. They use both drugs together in an attempt to enhance the euphoric high they get.
If you are addicted to this drug, gabapentin detox is the first step to recovery. Are you wondering if it can be done at home? Read on to find out.
What happens during gabapentin detox?
All traces of gabapentin should be eliminated from your body after detox. The process is also referred to as medically assisted detox because it is best carried out under the supervision of medical professionals. The process will be as safe and comfortable for you as possible thanks to the training of the medical staff. You can seek immediate assistance if you encounter any major withdrawal symptoms or emergencies that could endanger your life.
Doctors will advise a slow tapering of your gabapentin intake as a means of making the detox as as pain-free as possible. In this manner, the withdrawal symptoms you do experience will be milder and easier to handle. Withdrawal is less unpleasant thanks to tapering, which gives your body and mind more time to adapt to the absence of Valium.
Doctors advise against quitting abruptly because it will result in worse withdrawal symptoms. Your brain experiences “shock” when gabapentin is hastily removed from your system because it suddenly receives no further doses of the drug. When withdrawal symptoms are more severe, your brain is having a hard time adjusting. For this reason, the best detox strategy involves gradually tapering you off of gabapentin.
You can completely abstain from gabapentin after the procedure and still feel fine. The strong cravings should have been diminished by then.
Withdrawal symptoms
During gabapentin detox, you may still experience withdrawal symptoms despite the slow taper. These include:
Sweating- Nausea
- Increased heart rate
- Insomnia
- Pain
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Confusion
Withdrawal symptoms are typical any time you quit an addictive drug. It means your body is acclimatizing itself to the “new normal” of having no gabapentin. But these can be unpleasant and irritating, which can interfere with the detox process.
If the discomfort from withdrawal becomes too great, doctors will prescribe medications to make you feel better. That way, you can more easily manage withdrawal symptoms as you go on with detox. You will not have to stop or alter your progress.
Is it safe to have gabapentin detox at home?
The best way to detox is under medical supervision. You won’t have medical staff on hand to provide assistance at a moment’s notice if you attempt to detox at home. In the event of any medical issues that could occur while detoxifying, you might be endangering yourself.
Even while your family may be beside you, they might not be qualified to provide first aid or emergency medical assistance. It is feasible to call for medical assistance, but the time it would take for them to get to your house and transfer you to the hospital increases the danger.
Additionally, detoxing at home could be dangerous for your family as well. Sometimes, withdrawal might lead to violent tendencies, which you might unintentionally aim at your loved ones. You might traumatize them as a result, especially your kids.
Despite these dangers, detox can be carried out at home with the assistance of doctors. You can safely have gabapentin detox at home if you’d allow a physician or nurse to stay with you. In fact, home detox provides a lot of benefits over detox in a hospital or rehab facility, including:
- Being in a comfortable, familiar environment
- Having your loved ones close by
- Being in a more peaceful mood while at home
- Not needing to adjust to a new environment
So in short, detox can be done at home. Just make sure you have medical help close by. Do not attempt to detox by yourself, as this can be dangerous both to you and your loved ones at home.
What comes next after detox?
The road to a complete recovery from a gabapentin addiction doesn’t end with detox. You also will undergo a variety of behavioral therapies to resolve the psychological aftereffects. Because substance abuse is a mental health issue, it requires mental health treatments.
There are mainly two kinds of treatment: outpatient therapy and inpatient rehabilitation. If you’re enrolled in an outpatient program, you can continue living your life normally while receiving treatment. During scheduled therapies, you will visit the rehabilitation facility a predetermined number of times each week. You are free to return to work, school, or home following each session.
You will spend the entire treatment period in an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Depending on your particular treatment needs, this could last anywhere between one and three months.
You will have a structured day while residing in the rehab facility, with set times for sleeping, waking up, eating meals, and engaging in various activities. You can develop wholesome routines that support sobriety in this way.
Therapy sessions, support groups, and recreational activities are all part of the daily schedule for people in recovery. Every activity is intended to promote your mental wellbeing. You can fully concentrate on your recovery in this manner.
At the end of this stage of treatment, you can take back control of your life and live sober once again.