Due to the fact that alcohol seems to be ever-present in society, alcoholism is a condition that has proven to be extremely common and difficult to recover from. An estimated 15.1 million American adults suffer from alcoholism in a given year.

Outside of the standard side effects of withdrawal from alcohol, such as severe headaches, fever, sweating, depression and more, alcohol withdrawal can also cause life-threatening symptoms, including hallucinations, heart palpitations, seizures and a rare disorder called Delirium Tremens (DT).

We can use medications targeted at keeping the nervous system and heart muscles relaxed, which can lower potential risk when detox occurs in a clinical setting, as well as therapies aimed at making this process as easy as possible.

One of the most common conditions we treat is addiction to opiates: opioid pain medications, and synthetic versions of these drugs. Many people who struggle with addiction to this class of narcotics start using them for chronic pain or a similar condition — often legally prescribed to them. Opioid pain relievers and similar drugs are highly addictive: dependency can occur within a single, one-month prescription

Opiate withdrawal is of the most difficult because of the severity of symptoms and the cravings many clients experience. Symptoms of withdrawal from opioids/opiates include headache, nausea and vomiting, anxiety and depression, and unbearable cravings for drugs. While withdrawal from opioid pain pills and similar medications

In a clinical setting, we use tapering down of these drugs as well as evidence-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to help make opiate withdrawal more bearable, including anti-nausea medications, and opioid agonists like Suboxone.

Heroin, morphine and a group of synthetic opiates that includes fentanyl and its analogs are highly addictive. Heroin overdoses are responsible for around 15,000 deaths per year, while synthetic opiates like fentanyl contribute to 20,000 annually.

These drugs are powerful central nervous system depressants and it doesn’t take long for addiction to take hold. Often addicts start using pain pills or other lower-strength opioid medications and move onto heroin and similar drugs to cost and availability.

Symptoms of heroin withdrawal are more severe versions of those associated with painkiller detox: headaches, fever, increased cardiac and pulmonary activity, nausea, vomiting and intense cravings. The River Source treats heroin detox with therapeutic drugs and a holistic/naturopathic approach to keep clients healthy and comfortable during this severe withdrawal period.

We supervise and facilitate safe detox for addicts with a variety of substance disorders, including addiction to prescription drugs, various forms of cocaine, marijuana, other hallucinogenic substances, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and more. While these conditions may not be as common as addiction to alcohol or opiates, the team at The River Source works to treat addiction to a wide variety of substances, each with their own sets of unique withdrawal symptoms and treatment considerations.