Medical Detox Program (Detoxification)

Upon entering Waypoint Recovery Center, each client undergoes a medical exam that provides a detailed look at the person’s usage history. In many cases, detox will be recommended before entering the main recovery program to help rid the body of toxic substances.

What is the typical length of length of detoxification?

The length of detoxification and medications required to safely detox depends upon several factors, such as length of usage, most recent use, and what type of substance is used. Detox typically lasts up to 10 days. This is followed by residential treatment, family services, and outpatient therapies. Waypoint does offer a detox-only program for those who do not feel they can commit to longer-term treatment.

Our medical detox facility offers personalized care with medically assisted detox for alcohol, opiates, and benzodiazepines. Waypoint can also assist in helping an individual safely detox off Methadone within certain levels.

Hosted on our nationally recognized residential treatment facility on a beautiful 58-acre campus located in Cameron, South Carolina (convenient to I-26 and I-95), our dedicated, caring, and compassionate nursing staff and recovery associates provide 24/7 supervision for clients to ensure a safe and comfortable recovery experience.

What can I expect when I enter a detox program?

When a person enters Waypoint Recovery Center for substance use disorder treatment, the first order of business is a thorough medical examination and nursing assessment. That exam includes a detailed look at the person’s usage history—how long they have been using drugs or alcohol, at what levels, and how recently. In many cases, our recommendation will be that the individual go through our medically supervised detoxification program before entering the primary recovery program. Doing so increases the likelihood that treatment will lead to lasting sobriety.

What is detox?

Detoxification (or “detox” as it is often called) is intended to free the body of toxic substances so that a person can start fresh without drugs or alcohol in their system. Many times, individuals struggling with substance use try to stop taking drugs or drinking alcohol on their own. While that it is a noble goal, it is often extremely difficult to accomplish due to the experience of withdrawal symptoms. Those symptoms—which are the body’s way of objecting to the sudden lack of a substance it has come to depend on—frequently include strong cravings that many people simply find impossible to resist. Worse yet, some withdrawal symptoms can lead to serious negative outcomes including, in extreme circumstances, death.

A person who wants to quit using drugs or alcohol can find themselves in a kind of trap. They know they should stop using substances that are having increasingly negative impacts on their life and health. They find that efforts to stop using those substances also lead to negative impacts on their life and health. It is the kind of situation for which the phrase “stuck between a rock and a hard place” was coined.

What is medically assisted detoxification?

This is where medically assisted detoxification comes in. At Waypoint Recovery Center, we provide personalized, medically assisted detox for alcohol, opiates (like oxycodone, hydrocodone, and fentanyl among others), and benzodiazepines (often called “benzos” and including alprazolam/Xanax, clonazepam/Klonopin, and diazepam/Valium).

The detoxification process helps a person weather the storm of withdrawal symptoms so that they do not go back to drugs or alcohol before they can pursue a full course of treatment for their substance use disorder. But that does not mean there are no challenges to face during the detox process. In fact, the Waypoint medical team constantly monitors those we serve for a range of symptoms that might indicate a need for intervention.

What are the symptoms of withdrawal?

Those symptoms may include (but are not necessarily limited to):

• The onset of feelings of anger, aggression, anxiety, and/or suicidal tendencies
• Changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and/or the responsiveness of a person’s pupils
• A temperature more than 100.4 degrees
• Abdominal pain and/or gastrointestinal bleeding
• Heightened reflexes
• Hallucinations
• Insomnia

The Waypoint Recovery Center team has the experience and expertise necessary to help those we serve to make it through the detoxification process successfully—no matter what challenges may arise. Our dedicated, caring, and compassionate nursing staff and recovery associates provide supervision 24 hours a day, seven days a week for clients to ensure a safe and comfortable recovery experience.

While the length of time spent in detox varies from person to person (and is influenced by the kinds of drugs that were being taken and for what period), most individuals can expect to spend 10 days.

Why a 10-day detox?

Waypoint offers a 10-day Detoxification Program called Foundations for Recovery. Based on the idea that detox is not considered treatment, this program is designed to provide patients who choose to come to Waypoint only for detox a basic “foundation” to begin their recovery journey. The program is designed to allow patients to develop a basic understanding of the disease of addiction, goals for treatment, introduction to the 12 steps, and start working on the skills they will need in the next phase of treatment and after discharge.

Since most patients are not always feeling their best while detoxing, the program schedule is designed to be less intensive in terms of the material covered. The program format will be through groups, reflection, and time to identify their individual goals and what they want to accomplish once they actually begin treatment.

At the time of admission, each patient will be assigned a primary counselor who will begin working with them to complete assessments, provide one weekly individual counseling session, and updates to referral sources and families.

In addition to a primary counselor, Foundations for Recovery is facilitated by a “Recovery Coach” who also has clinical training and is familiar with the recovery process.

The average length of stay for detox is up to 10 days. Even though a patient may be finished with the detox medication protocols, they still experience withdrawals and cravings and usually benefit from gaining basic addiction disease education.

Detoxification is primarily a way to safely stop the use of alcohol or drugs under medical supervision. Foundations for Recovery provides more than just a basic detox for individuals who are not willing to commit to longer-term treatment through the Waypoint short-term program or full treatment options.

What happens after the detox process?

As the detoxification process ends, Waypoint staff will ensure that the individual is well-positioned to succeed in the next steps of the treatment process. That may include strongly encouraging the individual to stay in treatment if they are feeling over-confident about their sobriety after detox. Detoxification is, as a rule, the beginning of the road to lasting sobriety rather than the end.

Detox Only?

Many individuals believe that if they come for “detox only” they will be able to successfully maintain and continue their sobriety without the benefit of additional treatment. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Most individuals who only come for detox only typically wind up coming back for longer-term treatment.