A Summary of Alcohol And Drug Withdrawal Symptoms Timeline
There is a fundamental question that many people struggling with addiction want to answer right at the start of their recovery journey: how long does it take to detox?
Going through detox is the first step in breaking an addiction, but it can feel intimidating to look ahead at a potentially long and difficult journey.
On this page, we’d like to provide you with the answers needed to understand what you can expect during detox. It’s a great idea to go through the detox process with the support of a team of medical professionals, so contact Purpose Healing Center today to talk about our services. We have helped countless individuals move past drug addiction and would love to do the same for you.
What is the Detox Process and What is Detox All About?
The term “detox” is simply short for detoxification. This is the process of clearing out addictive substances from the body after prolonged use. It’s possible to go into detox on your own, or you can work with a formal drug detox program to take on this challenge.
After a period of using drugs or alcohol, the body gets used to what those substances do. That is called a physical dependence. If your body is dependent on drugs or alcohol, there are sure to be physical symptoms experienced when you stop delivering the substance to your system.
Many different types of symptoms can result during the detox process. For some, the symptoms will be mild and relatively easy to manage.
For others, they will be brutally uncomfortable, and can even lead to life-threatening complications. Getting through detox doesn’t mean the job of breaking an alcohol or drug addiction is done, to be sure, but it is a necessary first step and a foundation for what is to follow.
A General Substance Abuse Detox Timeline
The rest of this page will be focused on the timeline you can expect to encounter when detoxing from various different drugs, or from alcohol.
First, however, we are going to start by presenting a general timeline that will help you understand what can be expected as you get started.
Early Withdrawal Symptoms – 6 – 24 Hours
This first stage is when you begin to have symptoms after stopping the use of a substance. Symptoms will typically start to appear within hours, but it could take as long as a day for you to experience withdrawal symptoms. The first signs will typically be things like irritability, restlessness, and cravings for the substance you are attempting to quit.
Peak Withdrawal – 24 – 72 Hours
The worst of the drug cravings and alcohol withdrawal symptoms you are likely to experience will come in this one to three-day range. Intense drug cravings often happen now, especially because you know using those drugs could provide relief from the severe discomfort you are feeling.
Any underlying mental health issues that have been driving your addiction may be strongly felt at this point, as you fight the temptation to go back and escape your specific withdrawal symptoms.
Tapering Off – 3 – 7 Days
Withdrawal symptoms may continue to exist for a week or more after you quit. Your symptoms will be easing during this time, which will be a welcome change, but it will take even longer to completely alleviate withdrawal symptoms and be able to focus solely on long-term recovery.
With severe withdrawal behind you, but a long journey ahead, there may be mixed emotions running through your mind during this period.
Post Acute Withdrawal – Weeks to Months
Most or all of the physical withdrawal symptoms will have subsided by this time. However, psychological symptoms can continue to cause issues, such as mood swings.
Ongoing cravings are still to be expected during this time, as well, which is why having a plan to receive formal treatment at a rehab facility is so important. The outcome you want to avoid is making it through all of the severe withdrawal symptoms of detox only to relapse shortly thereafter and have to start all over again.
How Long Does it Take to Detox from Alcohol? An Example Alcohol Detox Timeline
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be some of the most dangerous and should always be treated with respect. Within the first few hours after your last drink, symptoms like anxiety, headaches, and nausea are likely to set in.
In the one to two-day range, you’ll end up facing symptoms like sweating, insomnia, stomach pains from alcohol withdrawal, and an elevated heart rate.
The most severe symptoms can be expected from 48 to 72 hours. At this point, the risk of a condition known as delirium tremens arises. This can be a life-threatening condition in some cases, so you will ideally be under medical supervision at this time to get any care you might need urgently.
As you get into the 4 – 7 day range after quitting alcohol, the symptoms will gradually ease, although things like mood swings and sleep issues can linger.
How Long Does it Take to Detox from Marijuana? A Typical Marijuana Detox Timeline
Unlike quitting a substance like alcohol, marijuana withdrawal symptoms are not usually life-threatening, and they might not be as powerful or uncomfortable as with some other drugs. That doesn’t mean you can take this process for granted, however. You still need to manage withdrawal symptoms and have a plan for how you’ll get through the coming days.
Between 24 and 72 hours after your last use of marijuana, you will likely have problems with sleep, irritability, and anxiety. You might also not feel like eating. Once you are a week beyond your last use, the symptoms will be at their highest, with strong cravings and vivid dreams commonly reported.
These symptoms of withdrawal will begin to taper off after around 2-3 weeks, although how long it stays in your system could be up to two months or more if you have been a particularly heavy marijuana user.
How Long Does it Take to Detox from Cocaine? A Typical Cocaine Detox Timeline
The primary challenge when quitting cocaine use is psychological. The cocaine withdrawal symptoms aren’t usually too strong from a physical standpoint, but the tremendous drop in mood when coming down from cocaine use can be overwhelming.
That drop will usually happen just hours after the last use of cocaine. This is generally when someone who is addicted to the drug will use it again. If you are attempting to quit, it’s going to be important to find a way to make it through this stage, and having the help and support of others is key.
Severe symptoms will continue for 1 – 3 days. Those symptoms often include depression and strong cravings, and you may have trouble sleeping. When you reach 4 – 7 days, the symptoms should lessen gradually, although you may find that some lingering symptoms, including depression, continue for weeks or even months.
How Long Does it Take to Detox from Ketamine? A Typical Ketamine Detox Framework
With ketamine addiction, physical symptoms in detox will be less severe than with opioids or alcohol, for example. With that said, you still can’t take the ketamine detox process for granted, and withdrawal symptoms may still occur.
After 1-2 days from the last use, issues like anxiety and agitation may occur. Cravings will also begin, which will pull you back toward ketamine use. The peak of the symptom timeline is at 3-5 days since last use for most people, and you may experience sweating, mood disturbances, and overall restlessness.
Once a week or more has passed, the physical symptoms should fade, but your psychological cravings can persist for some time.
How Long Does it Take to Detox from Opioids? The Typical Opioid Detox Duration
Opioids are among the most difficult substances to detox from due to the severity of the symptoms most people experience. To give you a better understanding of what to expect in this process, we need to break opioids down into two smaller categories.
Short-acting Opioids
Heroin is the primary example of a short-acting opioid, and if you are trying to break a heroin addiction, symptoms are likely to arise as soon as six hours after the last dose. Initially, symptoms will include problems like muscle aches, a runny nose, sweating, and anxiety.
As you reach the 3-5 day range after your last dose, the symptoms can be expected to peak and will include intense cravings, diarrhea, and vomiting. Symptoms usually start to ease at the 6-7 day point, but cravings to return to the use of the drug will remain strong for weeks or months to come.
Long-acting Opioids
This category includes drugs like fentanyl. Unlike the short-acting opioids such as heroin, withdrawal symptoms are going to take longer to kick in with the long-acting drugs. So, if you have been addicted to fentanyl, you’ll probably start to have physical symptoms after less than a day, and at most 1-2 days of ceasing drug abuse.
Once the withdrawal symptoms begin, they’ll follow a similar timeline to what was outlined above. Initial symptoms like muscle aches and sweating will give way to intense cravings, chills, and insomnia, as the days move along in the addiction recovery process. Because the symptoms of withdrawal when quitting opioids can be so powerful, a medically supervised detox is highly recommended.
How Long Does it Take to Detox from Meth? How Long Does Meth Detox Last?
The word “crash” is often used when describing a meth detox. Within 24 hours after the last use, you will likely go through powerful fatigue, feelings of depression, and more.
Then, when you reach 2-3 days, you may have intense cravings, irritability, and anxiety. The symptoms may start to lessen around day four, although depression can linger for some time.
Why Professional Detox is Safer
Trying to go through any kind of detox on your own is very difficult. The physical and psychological symptoms are hard to navigate without doctors and mental health professionals on your side.
Here are four reasons to use professional help for withdrawal management as you attempt to break severe addictions.
Medical Supervision
If for no other reason, consider using a professional detox to keep yourself safe. Certain symptoms of withdrawal can be life-threatening, especially when cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure arise. Opioid withdrawal symptoms, along with alcohol withdrawal symptoms, can be particularly dangerous.
Use of Medications
Access to medications is another great reason for a medical detox. Getting through a few days of detox with the help of the right prescription medications can make a world of difference.
Emotional Support
There is no getting around the fact that this is going to be a difficult and uncomfortable experience. Having access to emotional support during detox is invaluable and can be the difference between making it through and relapsing over and over again.
Bridge to Ongoing Treatment
Dealing with substance abuse is a lifelong battle. Even after you get through the peak symptoms of withdrawal, there will be plenty of work to do over the long haul. After getting medical attention for the detox, you can then move directly into treatment to hopefully leave this addiction in the past for good.
Find Support to Quit Substances in Safety at Our Medical Detox
There is no question that detox is a difficult process. But you can make it through to the other side, and you don’t have to go into this experience alone.
Instead, you can partner with Purpose Healing Center to have a qualified, supportive team in your corner at all times.
Our Phoenix detox and Scottsdale detox settings offer a safe, controlled way for you to confront your substance use disorder. And, since we accept AHCCCS as well as most insurance policies in-network, you don’t have to worry about finances being a hurdle to getting the care you need.
Prioritize your mental and physical health and give us a call confidentially today to get started!
480-579-3319