The OPIOSTOP treatment
process in detail
Details of the treatment process with OPIOSTOP
The desire for abstinence is not enough: drug addiction is not a question of wanting or not wanting, but a chronic disease in which the body demands the addictive substance - if it does not get it, it reacts with painful physical withdrawal symptoms.
The goal of drug therapy is to free the patient's body from opiate addiction in the long term. With the help of OPIOSTOP treatment, this procedure can be massively shortened and painful withdrawal symptoms can be almost completely avoided. Here is the most important information about the drug withdrawal process with OPIOSTOP.
Phases and duration
OPIOSTOP is fundamentally different from conventional withdrawal and, accordingly, the drug treatment process is completely different: no classic detoxification, significantly fewer withdrawal symptoms and, above all, no insatiable craving for the opiate.
The drug withdrawal process according to OPIOSTOP can be roughly divided into seven phases: Information and counseling, final interview, withdrawal under anesthesia, rest and recovery, transfer to hotel, recovery at home and aftercare.
Phase 1: Information, consultation and evaluation
Before
Prior to treatment, you will receive detailed information about the procedure from P. Manndorff, MD, and her team. We will be happy to answer all your questions and provide detailed information about the process and procedure of drug withdrawal with OPIOSTOP.
By means of interviews, all substances consumed, any secondary diseases as well as drug intolerances and allergies are recorded in detail. If necessary, your motivation for treatment and any accompanying psychiatric illnesses and stumbling blocks will be addressed in a psychiatric screening. Your psychosocial background, important biographical data and resources in your environment for the follow-up treatment are also recorded. Of course, the entire OPIOSTOP team is subject to medical confidentiality.
Phase 2: Final Interview
Day 0
On the day before you are admitted as an inpatient, you will have a final consultation at Interlaken Hospital with Patricia Manndorff, MD. There will be a final health check before the procedure, a final assessment of your suitability and the final planning of the treatment. Everything, from the medical procedure to the aftercare, will be individually tailored to you. The last meal before the procedure is at 6:00 pm the night before the treatment.
Phase 3: Safe withdrawal under anesthesia
Day 1
The drug withdrawal itself takes place as a medical procedure under general anesthesia. Drug withdrawal under anesthesia puts tremendous stress on your body, but it saves you from a long, anxiety-filled, and painful time filled with withdrawal symptoms.
At 7:00 a.m. you enter the Interlaken hospital sober. This is followed by a phase until 12:00, during which your organ systems are calmed by regular doses of medication and prepared for the coming withdrawal.
At 12:00 you will be transferred to the intensive care unit and anesthesia will be started. This is followed by physical withdrawal with two to three cycles of medication, individually dosed to you. This will take approximately 5-6 hours.
During anesthesia, your clinical condition and changes in your levels are constantly monitored, observed and reassessed. Treatment is individualized to you and evaluated on an ongoing basis. During this process, withdrawal symptoms that the body exhibits in response to the opiate blockade are also consistently treated under anesthesia so that blood pressure and heart and respiratory rates are within normal ranges. Treatment safety is high, with P. Manndorff, MD, and certified nurse specialists continuously at your bedside.
The anesthesia will be terminated around 6:00 pm. You will then remain in the intensive care unit for another two hours for monitoring. During this time, you will be cared for directly by the intensive care or anesthesia specialist nurses. Patricia Manndorff, MD, will also monitor you continuously on site.
Around 8:00 p.m., you will be transferred back to the normal ward. You will be accompanied by a sitting guard throughout the night. This means that any side effects can be treated directly. The anesthesia nurse and Dr. Patricia Manndorff, MD, are available to you on call during the night.
Phase 4: Rest and recovery in the hospital
Day 2
The second day is spent resting and recovering and treating the gastrointestinal problems that often occur. You will begin drinking and eating and may take short walks. From the afternoon you can receive visits from relatives and friends again. If you wish, a meeting with the doctors from the psychiatric clinic can be arranged for you in case you need psychological help.
Phase 5: Transfer to the hotel
Day 3-4
As soon as you have recovered somewhat from the operation, you will leave the hospital and spend two days in the booked hotel in Interlaken, accompanied by a person you trust. The accompanying person is necessary to motivate you to physical and mental activities as immediately as possible. This accelerates the production of endorphins and thus your well-being, because the balance between opiate and receptor is reached earlier. An OPIOSTOP doctor will visit you several times during your stay at the hotel and consult you by phone to check your recovery and well-being.
Painful withdrawal symptoms are expected to be minimal with this therapy. However, the body needs to recover from the medical procedure and is weak accordingly. Nevertheless, spend as active days as possible: walk in the fresh air and exercise often.
As an alternative to staying in a hotel, inpatient psychiatric care is also possible. This can take place at the Interlaken Hospital in the inpatient setting of psychiatric crisis intervention or close to home.
Phase 6: Recovery at home
Day 5-14
After about two days, you may leave the hotel and return home, but please take at least two more weeks off for therapy. You will still feel weakened at the beginning, will not yet sleep sufficiently and will show great sensitivity, as feelings, sensations, smells and tastes will be experienced in a completely new way after withdrawal.
Furthermore, the focus is now on a balanced, nutrient-rich diet and physical activity: this calms the gastrointestinal tract and boosts the production of endorphins (happy hormones) - both of which have been thrown out of balance by opiate use and need to be re-established.
After two weeks, you will have stabilized sufficiently to be able to return to your daily work routine.
Phase 7: Aftercare and establishing a drug-free life
From day 15
After withdrawal, fixed follow-up examinations take place with your family doctor or Dr. P. Manndorff, MD. The follow-up examinations are regular and close-meshed at the beginning, later on every two to three months as required.
For follow-up treatment, you will still need to take opiate blockers in tablet form for about a year - this is to maintain the receptor blockades in the brain and serves to prevent addictive pressure (craving). Opiate blockers themselves are not addictive, but treat pre-existing addiction. The medication can be slowly reduced after about 12 months and eventually discontinued altogether. Only then is treatment considered to be over and you have made your way to a drug-free, carefree life.
Help & Contact
Are you interested in opiate withdrawal under anesthesia? Then get in touch with OPIOSTOP, we will be happy to answer all your questions and support you on your way out of drug addiction.