San Bernardino Alcohol Detox Center: Find Help for Alcoholism Today
Worried that you or your loved one is drinking too much? You might not know how to stop or what the next step is. You might be one of the millions of Americans with alcohol use disorder who tried to stop before but couldn’t do it independently. Or you’re scared to try on your own. Fortunately, it is possible to get help from a San Bernardino alcohol detox center to stop drinking for good.
Who Needs Alcohol Detox?
As a general rule, the longer you’ve been drinking and the more you drink at each session, the more help you’ll need to detoxify from alcohol and learn to live sober. Detox is the first step in your journey to sobriety but not the only step,
Alcohol detox in San Bernardino helps you stay comfortable under medical supervision as you stop drinking in an inpatient rehab facility. While some drinkers can stop cold turkey, it’s too dangerous for others, who will need to taper off the alcohol gradually.
Like other drugs, alcohol causes changes in your brain chemistry. There are short-term changes when you’re drinking, but as you keep drinking and build up a dependence, there are longer-term changes as well. When you stop drinking, it takes time for your brain to adjust to the lack of alcohol.
The adjustment causes withdrawal symptoms, some of which are mild. They can be uncomfortable enough for you to relapse and drink again to ease your discomfort if you’re trying to detox by yourself. However, you might experience more severe, life-threatening symptoms if not caught in time. A medically supervised detox, where medical staff watches over you 24/7 for the duration, can literally be the difference between life and death in cases like these.
If any of the following apply to you, you’re probably better off going to detox first than going straight to rehab:
- You have a long, intense drinking history You’ve tried to get sober before and not been able to
- When you stop drinking, the withdrawal is so miserable that you need to drink again right away
- In addition to the drinking problem, you’re in poor mental or physical health
- Your daily life revolves around obtaining alcohol and then drinking it
- You’ve lost your home, contact with family members, your job, or school due to drinking
San Bernardino Alcohol Detox Center: Prepare for Treatment
Once you get to detox, a staff member or clinician will take your vitals and ask about your drinking history, any other drugs you might be taking, and any mental health issues you’re aware of. It’s pretty common for alcohol use disorder to coexist with a dual diagnosis of a mental health issue.
Before detoxing from alcohol, it’s good to think about these potential issues. It’s also very common for alcohol and drug use to run in families, so mention any family members with similar struggles.
Consider researching a San Bernardino alcohol detox center online to find centers that use evidence-based treatment to help you get sober for good. After detox, you’ll likely need to attend inpatient rehab to learn the tools you need for stress management and daily living without the crutch of drugs and alcohol.
Look at the detox and rehab facility to see what it offers. Will it be a safe, serene space for you to heal? Are the programs customized to fit your individual needs since no two paths to sobriety are alike? Do they offer medication-assisted treatment and medically supervised detox? What types of treatment and therapies are offered?
Checking to ensure your insurance is accepted is also critical to choosing a detox facility. You’re looking for caring, compassionate staff who are dedicated to helping you get and stay sober.
Once you’ve found a facility, all you have to do is call for admission. The alcohol detox center will walk you through their individual process, and then you will arrive at the facility. It’s a big first step but you will have help from the staff to manage it.
San Bernardino Alcohol Detox Center: 5 Steps of Alcoholism Treatment
Once you’ve found your facility and been accepted for admission, your sobriety journey starts in earnest when you arrive. The whole detox process usually takes about a week, though factors like your drinking history can influence this. Here are the main steps:
- Intake: Some detox centers will also perform a psychiatric evaluation and physical exams. Because co-occurring disorders are very common and not always known beforehand, the psychiatric assessment will determine if there’s a dual diagnosis. If you do have a mental health disorder that’s been previously diagnosed or not, the first step in treating it is to detoxify from drugs and alcohol first.
- First stage: Most people withdrawing from alcohol start experiencing relatively mild symptoms within 6 hours or so after their last drink. They may be uncomfortable enough that if you weren’t in detox, you’d want to ease the discomfort by having another drink, but they’re not life-threatening. These symptoms include the shakes (tremors), anxiety, nausea and sleep problems (insomnia). If you don’t start having more severe symptoms within two days of your last drink, your withdrawal symptoms probably won’t worsen. You’ll be through detox in about a week in that case.
- Second stage: However, other drinkers (particularly those who have used heavily and for a long time) start experiencing more severe symptoms about 24 hours after their last drink. This peak withdrawal stage can last up to three days after you last pick up. Some of these symptoms include seizures, high fever, serious tremors, high blood pressure and vomiting.
- Third stage: Some with alcohol use disorder will go on to experience delirium tremens (DTs), which are life-threatening. You may become delusional or have extreme confusion, hallucinations, convulsions and seizures. This can lead to respiratory arrest where you stop breathing or your heartbeat becomes rapid or becomes erratic – or stops. DTs are fortunately comparatively rare. Yet it’s so important to go through detox with help to ensure someone’s there if things turn serious. This stage typically happens two to three days after your last drink but can last up to a week.
- Fourth stage: Some people go on to develop post-acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome (PAWS), which can last six months to two years. Not everyone will experience this, and the symptoms are sleep problems and mood swings. Not comfortable, but not life-threatening.
What Happens If I Relapse After Alcohol Detox?
By going to a San Bernardino alcohol detox center and being medically supervised during your withdrawal process, you’re less likely to relapse afterward. However, for some people, it takes a few tries and a relapse or two (or more) before they can enter long-term recovery.
If you do relapse, go back to treatment. You might need detox again (or you might not), but you probably need more time to learn the life skills that will help prevent relapse. Sober living after rehab can also provide support and community for your continued recovery.
San Bernardino Alcohol Detox Center Muse Treatment Is Ready to Help
You don’t have to live a life that revolves around alcohol and all the issues associated with problem drinking. At Muse, we help you heal emotionally, physically, and mentally. We provide a safe space for you to detox in comfort, as well as recover from alcohol use and manage co-occurring disorders that you might have.
Why wait to get started on a life that’s filled with joy and happiness without being dragged down by alcohol? Call us at (800) 426-1818 to start your healing journey today.
