How to Cope with the Opiate Withdrawal Timeline

There’s no denying that people with opiate-based drug addiction are bound to face a bevy of problems. Even after an addicted individual decides to stop abusing drugs, he or she faces what figures to be some very harsh opiate withdrawal symptoms. To help you better understand what to expect, we will lay out a typical opiate withdrawal timeline.

While the timeline may vary based on the length of one’s addiction and the amount used, this timeline still has value as a general guideline. The best and easiest opiate definition would be any drug containing opium as a base ingredient for what it’s worth. To find the appropriate addiction treatment, it’s vital to understand how opiates affect the body. At Beaches Recovery, we believe that the more individuals know about the nature of the substances they are addicted to and the programs open to them, the better choice they can make to meet their needs.

The Typical Opiate Withdrawal Timeline

In the early stages of the typical opiate withdrawal timeline, users will start to show signs that they need the drug. This usually starts within the first 30 hours of abstinence. The most prevalent withdrawal symptoms in this stage are agitation, muscle aches, restlessness, sweating, and hypertension.

As the withdrawal symptoms progress over the next day or two, the user is likely to start showing signs of cravings, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and heart rate issues. In the latter stages of opiate withdrawal, the stakes increase. The user might be subject to hallucinations, paranoia, severe anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. Remember, while experts would consider these symptoms typical, there is a way for the user to mitigate the effects.

However, opiate withdrawal can last as long as a week. For most short-acting opioids, by the third day, individuals are over the hump. However, they can still experience symptoms similar to when they first began withdrawal, like sudden nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. For those who have been using opioids or opiate for an extended time, by day four, symptoms can include:

• Enlarged pupils
• Cramping
• Gastrointestinal discomfort
• Shivering
• Fatigue

These symptoms can persist for the remaining seven days but will eventually begin to subside.

Mitigating the Opiate Withdrawal Timeline

The best way to avoid opiate withdrawal symptoms is at a licensed detox facility like Beaches Recovery in Jacksonville, Florida. By design, professional clinicians and doctors will set up a detox program to include a monitoring process. By monitoring the patient’s progress during withdrawal, the medical staff has the ability to intervene with medications to ease pain and sleep issues. The primary focus will always be to let the patient get through withdrawal with as little discomfort as possible.

Our detox center affiliate Tides Edge Detox offers comprehensive detox support for opiate or opioid addiction and other substance use disorders like alcohol addiction, heroin addiction, benzo addiction, Xanax addiction, meth addiction, and cocaine addiction.

More About Beaches Recovery

Our 30-bed residential treatment center stands as one of the top treatment facilities in Florida. We place much of our focus on treating each patient as a unique individual. As such, we can customize one of the following treatment options to meet the patient’s specific needs:

• Intensive outpatient program
• Primary inpatient care
• Extended care (over 90 days)
• Partial hospitalization program
• Residential drug rehab
• Family therapy
• Dual diagnosis treatment

Addiction is an insidious disease. Before you chain yourself to a lifetime of addiction, it might be time for you to admit you are sick and need addiction help. Consider getting help from Beaches Recovery. To start the recovery process, all you have to do is pick up the phone and call 866.605.0532, or contact us online. We will get right to work to begin your journey on the road to recovery from addiction.