Like with all of the advancements in any field there are always going to be controversies and philosophical battles. Most of the time, unfortunately, these battles and controversy are due more to pride and ego-based reasons than for any public good. This is never more true than with medical advancements and breakthroughs. It is easy to be cynical and say that it is all about money, but sometimes these charges do stick, so to speak. If our system here were to be challenged by another model, the cracks would begin to show up in all sorts of areas of our health care philosophy and practices.
Before we get too far off track, let’s direct our attention to one specific treatment for addiction that is rife with controversy; the rapid opiate detox (ROD). This method was introduced some years ago by a practicing physician in Israel. What he proposed was that the way that opiates are stored and bind to the nerve cells in the bodies of those addicted, it makes it extremely hard to do a drug detox. The withdrawal symptoms are often so extreme with these individuals that it actually prevents their progress and ultimate recovery. What this rapid detox method purports to do is flush the body of the opiates that are bound to the receptors.
Why this method is unique is that it is performed under medical supervision and is actually a procedure that requires a doctor’s hand. It could be performed under the direction of a physician as well. How it works is that the patient is anesthetized and is then injected with a mix of medical substances that are like cleaning agents for this person’s nerve cells. The receptor sites are then ‘flushed’. This whole process lasts around 4 hours, then there is a 24-48 hour monitoring process. Hence, this process is also known as a 48 hr rapid detox.
The controversy about this rapid detox stems in large part to whether it is actually doing what it says or whether it is dangerous in some way. This is one of those issues that people in the drug detox environment battle with each and every day. It is something that might be worth considering if you or someone you know is faced with going through a drug detox.