Here are some questions that people have when they are considering alcohol detox in California. These are some general answers; every rehab center in California that provides an alcohol detox treatment will have some differences. Hence, these answers are only to guide you or to show you what you must expect. To find out what your specific treatment program can provide you, you must read their website and make yourself aware.



Q1. What is the general duration of an alcohol detox in California?

A normal alcohol detox in California will take up to three days. The patient is made to abstain from the substance at the start, and then the withdrawal effects will begin to appear. In most cases, withdrawal begins on the second day. The second and the third days are the peak for the withdrawal. Most alcohol detox centers in California will pump up their medication methods during these days, and once these two days have passed by, there is laxity in the medicinal routine. This is because most of the withdrawal effects will have occurred and gone by then.

Q2. What medications are provided during an alcohol detox in California?

First, let us discuss what the purposes of these medications are. There are actually two categories of medications used. The first one is to help the person come out of the temptation of the substance completely. These medications are provided on a regular controlled basis. As long as the patient takes these medications, they will not feel the craving for the substance. Such medications need to be continued after the detox is officially over, in the form of what is known as maintenance medication. The second form of medication is provided to help the body come out of the withdrawal effects.

In centers that provide alcohol detox in California, medications such as Antabuse, Naltrexone and Topamax are preferred for mitigating the craving for alcohol in the person's mind. Campral is a drug that is used for reducing the bodily and mental repercussions of the substance. Campral also has a placebo effect that makes people think that they can overcome the addiction. This really helps some of them in reducing the intake of alcohol.

Q3. What tests are conducted before an alcohol detox in California?

Before an alcohol detox in California is conducted, it is important that the treatment providers make sure that the person can withstand the treatment. Hence, several tests are conducted. The first phase of these diagnoses will be a simple interviewing session so that the treatment providers come to know the patient better. Some mental and physical ailments can be preliminarily diagnosed at this stage itself. Also, this helps the treatment providers know since how long and with what frequency the person has been using the substance which helps them in deciding with what intensity the detox should be conducted.

Then, various physical tests are conducted to find out whether the person has any chronic or acute ailment. The mode of treatment will vastly depend on the results of these tests.

Q4. When does an alcohol detox in California become compulsory?

Most people try to avoid the detox program because of the inconvenient withdrawal phase it includes. However, it must be known that without a detox, the alcohol dependency cannot be effectively removed from the body. Hence, most treatment centers will insist that the person goes through a detox.

In most centers, there will be a program to motivate and encourage the patient to go through the detox. This becomes useful if the patient is not willing to voluntarily go through detox treatment. Families that are finding it difficult to get their alcohol using members into detox treatment can use these programs that can help the patient come out of their denial.

There are programs that use no detox or a milder form of detox also. An example here is the outpatient treatment program. The outpatient treatment program is meant for people with milder instances of alcohol abuse and in most cases, there will be no detox involved here. But the program only works if the patient uses alcohol to a mild extent. A more severe version of the outpatient treatment program is the day treatment program, which meets the patients on a daily basis and provides various aspects of treatment, all in an outpatient mode. This program does not have an active detox, but it does have maintenance medication and an outpatient detox.

Hence, there are various options to choose from. But it is advisable to keep the patient's condition in mind when choosing from among them.