»»   RAPID DETOX or RAPID OPIATE DETOX PROGRAMS -- What are they?

Also referred to as 'ultra rapid opiate detox,' rapid detox for opiate based substances and addictions such as heroin, vicodin, methadone, or any prescribed narcotic pain killers.

Other narcotic opiate-based substances that can be treated through the rapid detoxification process include:

• codeine
• dilaudid
• morphine
• percocet & percodan
• lortab
• mscontin
• oxycontin

The rapid opiate detox process is generally conducted in a hospital setting and under general anesthesia. In fact, the process is most often overseen by certified and qualified anesthesiologists and a nursing staff that specializes in such procedures.

While under anesthesia, the patient is administered medications that accelerate the physical reactions to the rapid withdrawal process which can last from 4 to 6 hours.

What might be one of the most effective treatment tools for Oxycontin addiction and dependency is referred to as "anesthesia-assisted rapid opiate detoxification (AAROD). The procedure is designed to bring the patient to an opiate-free state at the brain's receptor level without the painful and oftentimes debilitating withdrawal symptoms.

Also referred to as "accelerated detoxification," AAROD provides a rapid detoxification process, usually between four and six hours, that significantly diminishes the withdrawal discomfort and time.opiates with other drugs. It has proven to be successful in treating dependency on a variety of other opiate-based drugs and medications including, heroin, narcotic pain relief drugs such as Vicodin®, OxyContin®, Lorcet®, Darvon®, Morphine, Demerol®, and Codeine, and methadone.

According to John Epperly, director of Chicago's Midwest Rapid Opiate Detoxification Specialists (MRODS), "AAROD is a safe and effective method to rapidly detoxify the body at the receptor level of active opiates. AAROD detoxifies the body of active opiates in 6 hours or less under the medical care of an anesthesiologist and skilled nurses."

"What many people either fail to realize or understand," said Epperly, "is that it's imperative, even critical that the procedure be conducted in a medical setting equipped with the safeguards and expertise that you would expect with any medical procedure where the patient is put under general anesthesia."

AAROD has been used worldwide for the past 10 years and has shown to provide successful outcomes much higher than traditional methods of detoxification. With AAROD, the patient's withdrawal is greatly reduced in length and severity of withdrawal symptoms. The major effects of withdrawal occur while the patient is asleep and stabilized under controlled anesthesia.

Midwest Rapid Opiate Detoxification Specialists (MRODS) has evolved into the one of the country's leading programs for treating both addiction to and dependency on opiates. What continues to set this program apart from others is its rigorous continuing care after the rapid detox procedure is done.