Withdrawal Symptoms Associated With Substance Use
By UHUEGBU CHIOMA OBIANUJU
Substance use disorder is a disease that affects a person's brain and behavior which leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medication. Substances such as alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and nicotine are examples of drugs. When one becomes addicted to these drugs, it becomes very difficult to discontinue them even if they cause significant harm to the individual. An individual begins to build a tolerance to those drugs when they begin to need higher or larger doses of the drug to get high or to feel good, making it increasingly difficult to go without using the drug. An attempt by the person to stop using these substances at this time is met by certain symptoms and an intense craving that may be difficult to live with, this is called the withdrawal symptoms. Drug withdrawal is therefore the process that the body goes through when the individual tries to stop taking drugs or is unable to consume drugs for whatever reason. For some, these unpleasant symptoms may be very fatal. These symptoms can also vary from each substance to substance. They can be categorized into physical and psychological symptoms.
The Physical Withdrawal Symptoms May Include; Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, muscle and bone pain, high temperature and/or chills, fatigue and exhaustion, restlessness, vivid, unpleasant dreams, flu-like symptoms, headaches, heart palpitations, excessive sweating, shaking and shivering
The Psychological Withdrawal Symptoms May Include; Depression, anxiety, paranoia, insomnia, panic attacks, confusion, irritability and agitation, difficulty focusing or concentrating, intense cravings for the drug, shortterm memory loss.
There is severe substance use withdrawal which is known as 'delirium tremors (DTs). DTs can prove to be very fatal and their symptoms include; Rapid heart rate, elevated body temperature, extreme confusion, uncontrollable shaking/shivering, visual and/or auditory hallucinations, seizures
factors may cause the type and severity of the withdrawal symptoms people may experience. They are; The genetic make-up or family history, the duration one has been abusing the substance, the type of substance the person is using or is addicted to level of one's physical and mental health.
The ingestion methods, for example, oral, injecting, swallowing, etc. Usually, injected, snorting and smoked substances would cause more acute withdrawal symptoms than substances taken orally.
As for the duration of the drug withdrawal process, the individual may begin to experience the first symptoms within the first 24 hours of not taking the drugs and can get worse over the next 48 hours. However, the withdrawal symptoms will gradually begin to improve as the body adapts to being without drugs, and the entire withdrawal process can last for up to seven days.
Conclusively, while withdrawal can be a temporary experience, it is of importance to access professional help and support during this time to help you better manage the withdrawal symptoms with an intensive medically assisted withdrawal drug detoxification program in a safe and comfortable environment.