Damiana Withdrawal and Detox

Damiana Info

• Damiana Addiction and Abuse
• Damiana Symptoms and Warning Signs
• Damiana Treatment and Rehab
• Damiana Withdrawal and Detox

A wild shrub found in the West Indies, Central America and Mexico, damiana is used to treat various conditions and can be inhaled to achieve a slight ‘high’. Some researchers believe that smoking its leaves has similar effects on the brain as those of cannabis. The substance goes by many different names, including turnera aphrodisiaca, Rosemary, old woman’s broom, Mexican damiana, damiana aphrodisiaca and damiana herb, among many others.

Historically, it has been used as an aphrodisiac and to treat conditions such as constipation, nervous upset stomach, depression and bedwetting. It is also thought to help boost both physical and mental stamina, and might help promote weight loss and treat sexual problems.

Like many other herbs that are smoked, it is possible to get dependent or addicted and withdrawal symptoms are likely to follow if you try to stop using the drug or drastically reduce your doses. The best way to deal with withdrawal is to detox in a professional setting under medical supervision in order to enhance your safety and comfort during withdrawal.

What Is Damiana Withdrawal?

The longer you use drugs in high doses, the more tolerant you become to the effects. That means you would need more of the substance in order to achieve similar effects to what you used to get with smaller doses. When your body can no longer compensate for the absence of the drug on its own, you have become physically dependent.

Withdrawal occurs when you drastically cut down use or suddenly stop using a substance upon which you have become dependent. The symptoms of withdrawal can vary widely, depending on factors such as how long you have been using, the amount of doses you have been taking, whether you have an underlying condition and your biological makeup, among others.

The symptoms of withdrawal may be psychological or physical and are often a combination of both. Physical symptoms tend to last only a week or a few days while psychological symptoms such as dysphoria or depression can last for weeks or even months in a phase of withdrawal known as post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS).

During withdrawal, you are likely to experience depression of any functions stimulated during drug use or over activity of functions that were suppressed. In order to prevent withdrawal symptoms from being too severe, you may be placed on a tapering schedule or given medications to help provide relief.

The Phases of Damiana Withdrawal

There are two major phases of withdrawal; acute withdrawal and post-acute withdrawal. The acute phase of withdrawal occurs when you have just stopped using the drug and lasts a few days or about a week. During this time, you experience the worst of withdrawal as symptoms peak in this phase.

The onset of withdrawal may start within 12 hours or more after your last dose. You may experience symptoms such as sweating, restlessness, muscle aches and runny nose, among other symptoms.

The peak symptoms follow the onset of withdrawal and can be the most uncomfortable part of withdrawal. In medical detox, you won’t have to deal with extreme discomfort as you may be placed on a tapering schedule or given medications to ease the symptoms.

Post-acute withdrawal symptoms may follow acute withdrawal, especially if you have abused the drug for an extended period of time. This phase of withdrawal is characterised by psychological symptoms and may last many months, however, the symptoms are not likely to be as severe as they were in the acute phase.

Damiana Withdrawal Symptoms: What to Expect

Withdrawal tends to bring with it rebound effects such that any physiological functions suppressed by damiana will increase in activity again while any functions rendered overly active by the drug will become less active again.

Your experience of withdrawal will differ from that of the next person based on factors such as duration of use, heaviness of doses and biological makeup, among other factors. However, there are some commonly experienced symptoms which may occur in your case, including stomach pain, flu-like symptoms, sweating, aches and pains, nausea and vomiting, among others.

Withdrawal tends to start a couple of hours after your last dose, usually within the first 12 hours or so. The symptoms then peak sometime afterward; anywhere between the next 12 to 48 hours. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, they may last a week or more, fading completely over time.

What is Damiana Detoxification?

Detox refers to the process by which your body rids itself of the drug toxins stored in your system. It may also be described as the interventions applied in a clinical or non-clinical setting to manage acute intoxication and symptoms of withdrawal. While detox is different from substance abuse treatment, it is the first true step toward treatment and recovery.

Detoxification is centred around managing symptoms of withdrawal in order to ensure a safe and relatively comfortable withdrawal process. It serves to prevent and manage the uncomfortable, painful or even potentially fatal consequences resulting from the sudden removal of damiana.

Since detox does not address the cognitive, psychological, social and emotional issues associated with addiction, it cannot be considered a full treatment plan. Experts recommend following up with therapy once the process of detoxification has been completed.

The evaluation stage is the point at which the physician assesses and diagnoses your addiction. While the major goal is to identify the addiction and level of use, evaluation is also useful for determining any underlying psychological or medical conditions that may cause complications.

The stabilisation stage follows with the aim being to reach a state when you are free of drugs. It is at this point that you are placed on a tapering schedule and given medications to help with symptoms.

The final stage of transition is aimed at fostering entry into addiction treatment. Detox is not a complete course of treatment; therefore, it is important to undertake further treatment to address the other aspects of addiction.

Why Detoxification at Home can be Harmful

If you intend to detox at home, you may be considering a detox kit; however, such kits are dangerous and can make you worse off than when you started. Kits are based on various philosophies, with some requiring you to conform to certain religious standards or change your entire lifestyle, and others requiring that you take daily supplements for an extended period of time.

The problem with detox kits regardless of what approach they take is they are designed for general use and cannot take your particular situation into consideration. This makes them unsafe and ineffective. You won’t get any medical attention from a detox kit if you have a co-occurring disorder and suffer a complication during detox.

Detoxing at home can easily take a wrong turn if you happen to relapse and begin to use the drug again. The possibility of an overdose is always there, especially since your tolerance level is lowered during withdrawal. An overdose is an emergency and requires immediate medical attention, which may be impossible to get if you detox alone at home and end up in a coma.

Medically supervised detox may take place in a hospital, detox clinic or rehab facility. If you chose a treatment programme which includes both detox and therapy afterward, you will get an all-round treatment to ensure that you can recover fully.

A quality programme will provide psychiatric care, which is helpful for treating mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression. You’ll also get the benefit of an individualised treatment plan tailored to suit your needs. Also, any problematic symptoms will be addressed by means of medicine maintenance. Rehab programmes also include life skill classes, drug education classes, group counselling, individual therapy and aftercare planning.

While medications may not be administered for every single symptom, it will most likely be administered for the more dangerous reactions to withdrawal, such as profound delirium and seizures. Depending on the severity of your addiction and withdrawal, you may not need medications. A tapering schedule which gradually weans you off the herb may be sufficient to keep withdrawal symptoms under control.

Withdrawing from Damiana Treatment Methods and Options

There are various methods and options for treating withdrawal and the best one for you will depend on your specific situation. The most ideal option for you will depend on factors such as whether you have been combining damiana with other drugs, how long you have been abusing the herb, and the dose you consumed when you started detox.

One of the options for detox is the cold turkey method, which means you stop using the drug with no pharmacological assistance. All you get is medical supervision to help in case there is an emergency, so you get to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal however they come. You may not necessarily experience physical difficulty with cold turkey detox, depending on the extent of your substance use disorder.

Another option is medical detox, which involves you stopping use of the substance while you are placed on a short-term medication plan to ease withdrawal. A longer-term plan may involve the use of a tapering schedule aimed at gradually weaning you off the drug over a period of weeks or months. Whatever the method chosen, it is most important that withdrawal is done under medical supervision.

Guided Damiana therapy

Guided therapy involves the practice of meditation under the guidance of an experienced practitioner. It can be a helpful supplemental therapy for more conventional addiction treatment programmes. There are different approaches which can be taken, including by video recording, sound recording, in person or a combination of all these.

In guided therapy, visual imagery is typically used to describe certain images aimed at invoking certain experiences, thoughts or moods. The goal is to subdue and control negative thoughts by helping you focus on sensory features that are representative of positive emotions and experiences.

During sessions, your brain will trigger your body to relax, causing your heart rate to slow down and your breathing to get deeper. The amount of the body’s natural stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, released into the bloodstream will also be reduced, which means symptoms of depression and anxiety will also be reduced. Guided therapy can help you focus on the positive thoughts needed for successful recovery.

Preventing Relapse

The possibility of relapsing is always there after you have completed treatment, but it can be even more of a risk when you have just left treatment and are dealing with cravings. In order to prevent it from happening, you need to understand how it happens because it is a process rather than an event.

Relapse happens in three stages: emotional, mental and physical relapse.

Emotional relapse is the stage when your behaviours and emotions are preparing the grounds for possible relapse even though you are not thinking about using yet. You may experience mood swings, anger and anxiety or may be unable to sleep or eat well. You can pull back from this stage by addressing these issues once they arise.

Mental relapse occurs when you are thinking about using and are debating with yourself about whether or not to use. At this point, you need to stop thinking about relapsing or fantasising about using. Think about how you would feel after relapsing and what could follow. Is it worth it?

Physical relapse refers to the actual act of using and in order to prevent that from happening, you need to stop yourself at the mental relapse stage at least.

Tips to Handle Cravings

Cravings are something you will most likely have to deal with both during treatment and after treatment. It is important to manage cravings because they can lead to relapse if they are brought under control. The most straightforward way to handle cravings may be to focus on the big picture whenever they come. Remind yourself why you need to remain sober and carry a list to remind you if necessary.

You can also take the therapy route; for instance, with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), you will be equipped with various techniques you can use to handle cravings when they pop up. Such techniques may include visualisation, distraction and redirection. It also helps to get involved with a new hobby to keep you occupied.

Urge surging is one technique that may work well for you once you get the hang of it. Instead of resisting the craving, you acknowledge it and accept it for what it is. Paying attention to and describing your sensations and feelings can help you realise that the craving will pass as it only comes in waves. It is also important to try to remove unpleasant memories, reach out to others, practise self-care and know your triggers.

Find a Treatment Centre

There is a good number of addiction treatment centres across the UK and beyond, so you can be certain of finding help for your addiction or that of a loved one. The problem, however, is treatment centres vary and it is not always easy to find the right treatment centre for you, especially if you are searching on your own.

There are a number of factors to consider when looking for a treatment centre, including whether it offers inpatient or outpatient treatment, the minimum duration of stay for treatment, the level of expertise of staff, the standard of the amenities, the philosophy of the treatment centre and the cost, among other factors.

For help finding the right kind of treatment for you or your loved one, endeavour to reach out to a local addiction treatment advisor or reach out to an addiction helpline. They will have helped hundreds or even thousands of people find treatment and so should have the experience needed to point you in the right direction.

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