Drug detox is a licensed, medically supervised stay of a few days to two weeks where a nurse watches over you around the clock and your prescriber eases withdrawal with medication, so you come off opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants or other drugs safely and as comfortably as possible.
Detox is the first step. When it ends, you move straight into treatment with the same team, with no handoff and no gap.
Call admissions now. We verify your insurance on the call and tell you what is covered, what is open this week and which program you qualify for.
Who needs medical drug detox?
You need medical detox if you use every day, if stopping makes you sick, or if you are coming off opioids, fentanyl or benzodiazepines.
Three signs carry the most weight:
- You use first thing in the day, or need to use to feel normal
- Going without leaves you sick, sweating, aching, anxious or unable to sleep
- You have tried to stop on your own and the first days beat you
Any one of them is enough. Benzodiazepines and opioids in particular need medical care to stop, and using more than one drug at a time makes detox something to do with a team around you, never alone.
Which drugs do we detox you from?
We detox you from opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants, alcohol and most other drugs, including more than one at once.
- Opioids: heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone
- Benzodiazepines: Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, Ativan
- Stimulants: cocaine, crack, methamphetamine
- Alcohol, covered on its own page: alcohol detox
Your plan starts from what you have actually been using, how much and for how long. Admissions asks about all of it on the phone so the team is ready before you arrive.
How long does drug detox take?
Five to ten days for most opioids, longer for a slow benzodiazepine taper, and a few days for stimulants.
How long yours runs depends on the drug and how long you have used it.
Opioids. Withdrawal from short-acting opioids such as heroin starts within about 12 hours of the last dose, and from methadone within about 30 hours, as MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine’s guide to opioid withdrawal, sets out. With medication, the hardest part passes within the first week.
Benzodiazepines. Your prescriber steps these down slowly and never stops them at once, which the FDA’s safety warning on benzodiazepines requires prescribers to plan for. Your prescriber sets the taper to your dose, and it carries on into your next level of care when you need more time.
Stimulants. Coming off cocaine or meth brings exhaustion, low mood and long sleep for several days. Detox here is about rest, food and keeping your mood steady while your body catches up.
Which medication do we use in drug detox?
Your prescriber chooses medication for the drug you are coming off: for opioids, buprenorphine eases withdrawal and cravings, and for benzodiazepines, a slow taper of a longer-acting benzodiazepine steps you down.
For opioids, buprenorphine settles the aches, sweating and cravings within hours of the first dose, and it can carry on into medication-assisted treatment after detox if it suits you. Your prescriber adds comfort medication for sleep, nausea and muscle aches as you need it.
For benzodiazepines, the taper is the treatment. Your prescriber converts your dose to a steady, longer-acting medication and lowers it on a set schedule, checking how you are doing at each step.
For stimulants, there is no single withdrawal drug. Your prescriber treats the sleep problems, low mood and anxiety directly.
What happens in drug detox?
A nurse checks on you on a schedule day and night, your prescriber adjusts medication to how you are doing, and your case manager plans your next step from day one.
On arrival, a nurse takes your history and your medical team sets your withdrawal plan. You have a bed, meals that are easy on your stomach, plenty of fluids and somewhere quiet to sleep. When symptoms come in waves, someone is already there to adjust your medication, so you are never left riding it out.
As you feel steadier, you start meeting your therapist and joining short groups. By the time detox ends, you already know your team and your next step.
Is detox or rehab right for you?
You need both: detox gets you safely off the drug, and rehab keeps you off it.
Detox treats your body. Rehab treats the addiction: what led to using, what pulls you back, and how to live without it. Leaving after detox alone is when relapse hits hardest, which is why detox here moves you straight into the next level of care.
What happens after detox from drugs?
You move straight into treatment with the same team, at the level your assessment points to.
That is a live-in stay in drug rehab, a partial hospitalization program with full days of treatment while you sleep at home or in sober housing, or intensive outpatient around work and family. There is no new intake and no wait between detox and treatment. Discharge planning starts on your first day, and when treatment ends you keep a place in our alumni program.
Who treats you in drug detox?
Nurses on site around the clock, a prescriber who sets and adjusts your withdrawal medication, a therapist and a case manager.
The nurses check on you through the day and night. Your prescriber reviews your plan daily and changes it as you change. Your therapist starts the work of treatment as soon as you are ready. Your case manager takes care of your employer, leave paperwork and the plan for what comes next.
Does insurance cover drug detox?
Yes. Most major plans, including Cigna, Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield, cover medically supervised detox from drugs.
Insurers class detox as medically necessary care, so nearly every plan covers it. Because a detox stay is short, admissions finishes the benefits check and authorization the same day you call.
What you pay depends on your deductible, whether we are in network with your insurer, and your share after that. Admissions checks your benefits for free on the first call and tells you the number before you arrive. If you have no insurance, admissions sets out self-pay options.
How much does drug detox cost?
Your cost is your deductible and your share of the bill after it, and admissions tells you the exact number on the first call.
With insurance, most of what you pay comes down to how much of your deductible you have already met this year and whether we are in network with your plan. Out of network, we tell you the gap in dollars before you decide. Without insurance, admissions gives you the self-pay cost for detox and for each level of care after it.
We charge nothing for the call or the benefits check, and you are not committed to anything until you choose an admission date.
Is drug detox safe and comfortable?
Yes. Medication, rest, food and a nurse who checks on you through the night keep detox as comfortable as it can be.
Withdrawal is easier with people around you who know what each symptom means and what to do about it. Your medication follows how you feel, not a fixed schedule, so you are not waiting hours for relief. You have your own bed, quiet time and someone to talk to at three in the morning if you cannot sleep.
What you tell us stays between you and your care team, and HIPAA covers every word of it. Your employer learns only what you choose to share, and your case manager can file leave paperwork for you.
Is our drug detox licensed?
Yes. We run a licensed medical detox, and we set your level of care with the ASAM criteria, the standard addiction medicine uses to match you to treatment.
A prescriber signs off every plan, a nurse checks every dose, and your team reviews your progress daily. That is what lets us step you into the right treatment the day detox ends.
How soon can you start drug detox?
The same day you call, whenever a bed is open.
When withdrawal cannot wait, admissions runs a short assessment on the phone, verifies your insurance and gives you an arrival time. If you are travelling in from out of town, we help plan the trip so you arrive straight into care.
How do you start drug detox today?
Call admissions now. We verify your insurance on the call and tell you what is covered, what is open this week and which program you qualify for. If detox cannot wait, we bring you in today whenever a bed is open.
