I entered an ultra-rapid, anesthesia-based detox program thinking that I'd be able to fall asleep and wake up cured of my heroin addiction, symptom-free. What I experienced was a painful and futile nightmare that was compounded by the disappointment of the failure of the treatment. I'd been abusing heroin for about three years and withdrawal was the absolute worst part of my ordeal. I was determined to break the cycle, but was also scared to death of the withdrawal I would experience during regular detox. When I discovered this new method of treatment, I thought all of my prayers would be answered. Was there really an option that would enable me to get clean in a pain-free way?

When I awoke I was writhing in pain, and knew immediately that the promise I was told about ultra-rapid detox had failed to live up to the hype. I'd spent a great deal of money on this treatment, and was devastated when I found out it didn't really work for me. After my failed attempt at detox, I was immediately back to using again.

I knew that if I kept going on like this, I'd probably be dead in a year. I finally decided to forget about any type of rapid detox and give the old fashioned type of professional medical detox a try. After my bad experience with rapid detox, the biggest appeal of choosing the old proven type of detox was knowing that I would be able to tell my doctors what I was feeling in real-time.  I would not need them to guess what I might be going through while I was under anesthesia and then wake up to a world of pain and sickness again.

Everything about my detox experience was so much better when I went to a traditional detox center, including the actual facility where I underwent my detox treatment. There was no offer of any quick fix or magic pill to get me to stop using heroin. They informed they use a cohesive and time-tested treatment formula that blended responsible and medically supervised detox with their inpatient rehab program. I'm not going to say that detox wasn't hard, but their medical staff were very compassionate while making me feel as comfortable as possible. I was impressed with their level of  skill they demonstrated and how promptly they would respond to any of my concerns. Once I completed detox, I knew the hardest part was over, and I actually forwarded to starting their customized course of counseling and rehab treatment.

It has been over two years since I made the mistake of attempting ultra-rapid detox and quickly relapsing back to heroin. I found out the hard way that there are no shortcuts that will work consistently for most patients when it comes to detoxification from drugs and alcohol.