The global pandemic has had both immediate and long-term effects on our everyday lives. We are all still experiencing the fallout from the pandemic in our personal lives and our professional lives. One area that has seen a deep impact has been addiction treatment. During lockdown and stay-at-home orders, many struggling with a substance use disorder found they couldn’t easily access the care and support they needed. As a result, addiction treatment became a challenge.

Fortunately, professional facilities like Pines Recovery Life Detox made it a point to provide access and get individuals the care they needed. Another group of people affected was those who had a dependency on drugs or alcohol but had yet to reach out for help. Unfortunately, the crisis caused many of these individuals to experience sudden withdrawals having no more drug fix. Our team at Pines Recovery Life Detox can help individuals struggling with drug or alcohol addiction find the support and resources they need to heal.

Drug Supply is Diminished

For addicts who are in the grip of their addiction, these tighter controls increased law enforcement presence, and new travel restrictions can mean that their sources for supplying their drug of choice have run dry as well.

When countries close their borders and crisis measures are put into place, suppliers in other countries may view that as too risky and choose not to take the chance, choosing instead to sit on their supply until things loosen up again and the crisis passes. The same can be said when states and cities place lockdown orders on their citizens and begin enforcing those orders. As a result, the movement of illegal substances drops dramatically, and that drop will quickly trickle down to the street supplier that an addict relies on for their fix.

Something very similar happens to legal substances. Medical supplies are diverted in times of crisis. Other legal substances can disappear in panic buying. An addiction that was once so easy to feed can suddenly be satiated because a prescription cannot be filled or a shelf lays bare.

Consequences of Addiction

While these situations showcase much deeper issues and problems, an addict isn’t going to care about that. Why? When a supply runs out, that addict cannot just do what you do when the store doesn’t have your favorite brand of cheese. They can’t just get a different variety or shrug their shoulders and think, “Ah well, maybe they’ll have it next week.”

Without the substance to satiate the addiction, their body will begin to detox. But, unfortunately, this detox does not discriminate in its severity. It will hit someone just as hard and horribly inside their colonial mansion as it will someone hunkered down under an overpass. Fortunately, Pines Recovery Life Detox specializes in drug and alcohol detox, offering programs addressing:

Benzo detox
Cocaine detox
Heroin detox
Meth detox
Methadone detox
Opiate detox
Codeine detox
Fentanyl detox
Hydrocodone detox
Morphine detox
Oxycodone detox
Prescription drug detox
Suboxone detox

Detox can be very dangerous if left unmanaged. This is especially so if detox is happening while the addict is alone and unsupported. A forced detox is even more dangerous. Unfortunately, this is the reality that many addicts are facing right now.

How Soon Does Withdrawal Start?

Depending on the substance that someone is struggling with, the withdrawal symptoms will begin at different times. Also, an individual’s unique physiology will affect the timeline. However, there are some common withdrawal symptoms and times:

Heroin: Withdrawal begins within 12 hours of the last dose, peaks within 24-48 hours, and lasts a week to up to a week (with some symptoms sometimes lasting months).
Prescription opiates (such as Vicodin, OxyContin, methadone, and morphine): Withdrawal starts in 8-12 hours for most prescription opiates, peaks in 12-48 hours, and lasts 5-10 days usually. Methadone withdrawal begins within 24-48 hours, peaks in the first few days, and lasts 2-4 weeks.
Benzodiazepines (such as Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, and Ativan): Withdrawal may begin within 1-4 days, peaking in the first two weeks. In some cases, protracted withdrawal can last months or even years without treatment.
Cocaine: Withdrawal starts within hours of the last dose, peaking in a few days and lasting from a week to 10 weeks.
Alcohol: Withdrawal usually begins between eight hours of last drink up to a few days after drinking, peaks within 24-72 hours, and can last a few weeks.

What “peaking” means depends on the severity of the addiction. Some peaks can be somewhat manageable, but most will be unbearable, with some being deadly.

During times like these, unwanted or wanted, detox is inevitable. It is essential to seek out help with the impending detox as soon as you or your loved one becomes aware that you (or they) will no longer be able to feed their addiction. A cutting edge detox facility, like Pines Recovery Life Detox, will be able to guide you through your symptoms, take away their adverse effects, ensure that you are well both medically and mentally, and bring you out on the other side of the detox stronger and more well equipped to face your addiction and overcome it.

Find Help for Addiction at Pines Recovery Life Detox

Even if your intention is not to overcome your addiction and your sudden detox is completely involuntary, Pines Recovery Life Detox is here to help you move through your detox safely and healthily. And truthfully, many who do this come out on the other side with a newfound commitment to sobriety. That sober journey that happens after detox and rehab is something we also specialize in and are very happy to help you achieve.

A last note on this. Some addicts, when faced with these sorts of desperate situations, do things that they would have never thought themselves capable of doing. Robbery, violence, etc. An addiction is a horrid beast.

Call us today if your addiction is putting you into just such a crisis. We’re here for you with a safe, secure environment, free of judgment, full of hope. Reach out today at 800.263.3869, or contact us online.

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