Simple, accurate health tests for the home and the workplace.
Credits The Detox Handbook Online version based on: The Detox Handbook, Fifth Edition. Written by Andrew Preston and Andy Malinowski Published by: Exchange Supplies Illustrations: Maxine Latham © Andrew Preston and Andy Malinowski 1994-2003 ISBN 1 903346 12 6 The Detox Handbook, Fifth Edition.
Cravings and triggers The desire to take opiates can feel overwhelming especially if it takes you by surprise. If you want to overcome cravings it helps to be prepared: plan to do something active when you get a craving. They do pass, and can be controlled. There will be all sorts of things that are […]
Coping with withdrawals Each time you reduce during a slow detox, or throughout a quick one, there are things that you might be able to do to help you cope with the withdrawal symptoms. If you can, plan to: take it easy for a few days; expect to sleep badly (at the end of a […]
Coping and the future When you’re using opiates the main response to hassles or trouble of any kind tends to be to score. When you have detoxed one of the main keys to success is going to be your desire to cope without opiates. If you were using for a long time you may find […]
Coming off This section explains what is happening to your body when you are detoxing and gives some tips on coping with coming off. Research has shown that understanding what to expect during withdrawals actually makes them less severe, and that anxiety makes them worse. So it may help to read this section carefully, and […]
Choosing a drug to reduce on Sorting out the mechanics of which drug you are going to detox on, and how fast, are important parts of the planning of a detox. However, choosing a drug to reduce on is not the only, or even the most important, part of the detox process. Many people get […]
Buprenorphine Buprenorphine (which has the trade name Subutex) is now taking the place of DF118 as an alternative prescribed opiate for detoxification. Subutex gives some opiate effects (but less ‘euphoria’ than heroin or methadone) and can significantly reduce the physical withdrawal symptoms of detox. However, it does not offer a completely pain-free detox and, as […]
Before you detox Detoxing involves the physical, psychological and social processes of: clearing the opiates you have been taking out of your system; your body adjusting to being opiate free; your mind and feelings adjusting to being opiate free; and you, and the people around you, getting used to you being off opiates. It is […]
Alcohol Alcohol is, in some ways, similar to opiates: it numbs feelings too. It is common for people to switch dependence from opiates to alcohol following a detox. Switching dependence from opiates to alcohol (or benzodiazepines) is not the only risk. A lot of people have lost their resolve to stay drug-free, and slipped back […]
Methadone Methadone has got a reputation as a drug that is difficult to detox on. But research has shown that it can be as effective as other prescribed drugs and that, overall, the same number of people drop out of heroin detoxes as methadone detoxes. The fact that cravings for heroin are usually much stronger […]
Lofexidine A chemical that the body produces, called noradrenaline, is largely responsible for physical withdrawal symptoms. Lofexidine (which has the trade name Britlofex) is a drug that reduces the effect of the excess noradrenaline that is in your system during a detox. It isn’t an opiate and its only function is to prevent the action […]
Illicit heroin Most opiate detoxes involve people coming off heroin on their own. Detoxing on illicit heroin may mean that: you don’t have to see a doctor; you don’t have to go to a drug service; you don’t have to go into hospital; controlling a reducing dose can be very difficult if not impossible (especially […]
