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Polysubstance abuse occurs when an individual consumes two or more addictive substances at the same time. This can be illicit and licit drugs. Illicit drugs will include any drug that is illegal, does not have any medical use for that individual, and can pose a risk to the health of the individual. Cocaine addiction and heroin addiction are both examples of illicit drugs and these can be dangerous to the individual.
The patient can also take licit drugs that can become addictive. These are not necessarily illegal but they are going to still affect the mind and the body and can become addictive if the individual takes them in high amounts or long-term. For example, alcohol is a licit drug, but people can get addicted to the drug. Marijuana is also licit in some states, but it is very addictive and often requires treatment.
When the individual uses multiple drugs, whether it is illicit or licit, it can change the chemistry in the brain and can cause an addiction that is hard to fight. Even some of the prescription medications that the individual takes can cause side effects and an addiction if the individual is not careful.
Polysubstance abuse is going to cause a lot of harm to the health of the patient. There are higher risks of severe side effects, overdose, and even death when the patient is dealing with two or more drugs at the time. When this happens, they need to consider inpatient polysubstance rehab to help them deal with these addictions.
Someone who is a poly addict is an individual who is addicted to more than one substance. This can include prescription medications or another option at the same time. These two substances will affect the body and the mind, making it hard for the patient to get better on their own. They will need to work with an inpatient polysubstance rehab. Through treatment, medical professionals will be able to look at the condition of the patient and help them recover from both addictions.
There are different types of drugs that will often get abused together at the same time. For example, heroin combined with some other opiates, like methadone, heroin combined with cocaine, cannabis combined with alcohol and stimulants, and combining alcohol with cocaine. This type of addiction can happen in all of the drugs that the patient takes though and if they are addicted to more than one drug at a time, it is a polysubstance abuse.
Before the patient decides to go to an inpatient polysubstance rehab, you will need to recognize some of the signs of this type of addiction. The exact symptoms of this type of abuse is going to vary depending on the two drugs that are used and how they interact with one another. Some of the common symptoms of this type of abuse include:
The individual who uses more than one substance at a time and abuses them may also start to isolate from their family and friends, they may start to borrow or steal money to help pay for their drug use, have trouble with being stable in their job and their emotions are all over the place, and they have a lack of concern for their own hygiene at all.
When these symptoms are noticed, the patient may have used the two or more drugs for a long time and they need help right away. There are different treatment processes available, but inpatient polysubstance rehab is the most efficient, providing the patient with a chance to fight off the addiction and feel better when they recover.
When the patient first enters into the polysubstance inpatient rehab facility, they will go through all of the inpatient steps to help them work through the addiction. During the admittance period, they will fill out all of the paperwork and ensure that everything is organized before they enter. A medical professional will talk with the patient to learn more about which drugs are used, how the patient uses them, and how long these substances were used in the first place. This allows them to create an individualized medical treatment plan for each patient.
With that done, the patient will enter into the inpatient drug detox program. The patient will need to undergo detox to get both chemicals out of the body and help them to be open and ready to work through the rest of the therapy that they need for recovery.
Since there are two types of substances that the patient is addicted to, it is often safer for them to do this in the inpatient polysubstance center to ensure they have constant medical supervision and help in case something does go wrong with their treatment and during the detox. This makes it safer and more effective than doing it on their own.
During the medical detox, the patient will have 24/7 supervision. This will make sure that they get constant monitoring of vital signs. If something does start to show up wrong, then prompt action can occur to keep the patient safe. In addition, there are times when the medical team will administer medications for the patient to make sure that the withdrawal symptoms are easier to manage. For example, many patients may receive an anti-nausea medication to help deal with intestinal upset or an antidepressant to help with mood fluctuations.
In certain instances, the patient may need to go on a long-term maintenance medication. Some patients may come into the residential polysubstance rehab after misusing a painkiller that their doctor gave them. The medical staff at the inpatient polysubstance rehab will be able to provide painkiller medication that is not addictive to help the patient heal and get better.
Other substances will not be as severe and the medical staff may choose to let the patient detox without anything other than some monitoring. For cocaine, this is the most common course of action. The medical staff will have the patient stop cold turkey and then monitor how well the patient does until the process is done. For other types of medications, especially with benzodiazepines, the medical team will choose to do a tapering approach. This helps the patient to slowly withdraw from the medication and can make it easier to work through the addiction, and much safer, than stopping it all at once.
Due to the unpredictability that comes from the patient withdrawing from more than one substance at a time, it is likely that they will get continued medical monitoring the whole time. This ensures that if something goes wrong with the addiction and the withdrawal, the patient will still have the care and attention that they need.
Depending on the two substances that are used, the medical team may decide to withdraw the patient from one substance at a time. This will slow down the detox process, but it will help to lessen some of the symptoms that the patient has through withdrawal. Other times, they may detox from both substances at the same time.
The exact symptoms that the patient will experience depends on which drugs they will misuse. The combination of the drugs will also factor into the type and severity of the withdrawal symptoms. The patient may experience symptoms that range from mild all the way to severe, so it is important for them to listen to the advice of their medical professional and use caution when it comes to this detox.
The amount of time that the patient will spend in detox will depend on the method of detoxing that is used. If the medical team decides to just detox from one of the substances at a time or chooses to go with a tapering process for one or both of the substances, the detox can take longer. For the cold turkey method, the symptoms are more severe, but it does allow the detox to finish faster and the patient to enter into the therapy portion of their treatment a little sooner.
When the patient is done with detox and has become stable enough, their medical team will allow them to enter into the therapy portion of their treatment. This is an important time for the patient. They will enter into several forms of therapy to help them manage the addiction in the future. This is a good time for the patient to learn more about addiction and fight off some of the negative behaviors that have taken over their lives and made it difficult for them to heal and get better.
A combination of individual and group therapy is often used in residential treatment for polysubstance abuse to help the patient. During individual therapy, the patient will focus on understanding their addiction and learning the proper coping mechanisms to ensure that they avoid addiction later when they leave the treatment facility. CBT is a common therapy option that patients can utilize in this treatment center, but there are other options that the medical team may decide to use too.
Group therapy is also encouraged for patients. This is a time for the patient to meet others who are dealing with a polysubstance addiction at the same time. They will learn more about this type of addiction and what has worked the best for these patients too. This is also the time when they can form some of their support group, the support that they will need to help them maintain sobriety and more after the treatment is done.
Some patients will also need to go through special training while at the inpatient polysubstance rehab. This allows them to learn how to cope with some of the conditions that may have caused the addiction in the first place. If the patient has struggled with chronic pain, the patient may learn how to properly manage the pain through stretches and exercise or be given medication that is non-habit forming to help. If depression is the underlying cause, they can work through some of the issues with depression and may utilize medications that work naturally with the brain.
Since the treatment plan is individualized to each patient, they will need to work with their medical team to come up with the best steps to help out during the treatment center. Whether they spend 30, 60, or 90 days in the treatment facility, they will spend the whole time focusing on the addiction and recovery to be prepared when they go back to their daily lives.
Treatment does not end the second the patient leaves the facility. Recovery is a lifelong journey and the patient will need to continue working on their recovery when they leave. The techniques and tools that they learned while at residential polysubstance rehab will help with this. The patient will also have access to a good aftercare plan to help them out.
This aftercare plan will include options like continued therapy, medications for other issues that appeared during treatment, and support groups. These may include 12-step programs. This will provide the patient with time to continue working through their addiction and staying away from both drugs that they were addicted to before.
There are many great inpatient polysubstance rehab facilities to help you get over the addiction to more than one substance at a time. This takes some specialized care to help the patient get through the addiction and make sure that they can maintain sobriety for the long-term. With a good detox program, therapy, and the right support group, the patient can find relief from their addiction and improve their lives. Browse through our listing of inpatient drug rehab centers below to find our near you:
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