When is it safe to stop using without medical help - specifically which substances should we be most concerned about for this and at what level of use? What would a medically monitored detox entail?
When is a medically monitored detox needed?
Alcohol dependence and addiction may occur, developing into the disease of alcoholism. Withdrawal can be fatal. A medically-supervised detox is recommended. Medical detox, will give you various comfort meds and monitor you . Seizures can happen with alcohol withdrawals.
Benzodiazepines aka Benzo’s are also another drug you should not go cold turkey with as, like alcohol seizures can occur .
ashleykm3
#3
Good question @Jane. I think there’s no one clear answer here, and a lot of this depends on several factors, including age, the length of time using the substance, the individual’s personal history… etc. Like @Kris_Perry_Long mentioned, withdrawal can absolutely be fatal. If the substance dependency is pretty strong, and there have been adverse reactions to withdrawing to the substance in the past, it might be a good idea to do a medically monitored detox so that the individual can endure the smoothest possible recovery.