The final minority detox is the rapid/ultra-rapid opiate detox; known as the Asturian method, UROD, Detox 5 or the Waissmann Method. This is in theory another "magic detox", but frankly it scares the hell out of me. Essentially you are heavily sedated, or put under anaesthesia, a nappy seems to be involved in many places, injected with opiate antagonists (naloxone or naltrexone) and wake up cured. Searching bulletin boards I have found horror stories, and the odd success story, although no one has claimed it painless as the providers do. The one suggestion here is, if you are considering it, do some research on the individual clinic you plan to use. Quality of care seems to vary widely. Post treatment there is usually a course of oral naltrexone, or a surgical procedure (under local anaesthetic) to deposit a "naltrexone implant" that will, in theory, render any attempted use of opiates futile by stopping them from working. The implant works for about 4 to 6 months. I've not come across much information about the merits of the implant over the naltrexone tablets, but it seems to me that if you were going to go down this path, the naltrexone implant is a far better solution than the tablets. Many people simply stop the tablets for a day or so, and then relapse. Most of the clinics I've come across that use naltrexone tablets insist on a "responsible person" to supervise the daily taking of them. But that would be little use when it came to an addict with a desire to use his or her drug of choice. I've heard stories of implants being ripped out, but the only details I could found were "very rare but has occurred" (from a power point presentation at the 2007 National Drug Treatment Conference. It has some information on the procedure, including gory images). The cost is also very high. With naltrexone, however administered there is also the danger of people taking stupid doses of opiates to "challenge" the blockade, and especially doing this in combination with other drugs.
I have a friend (still using) who tried this and described a scene of semi-lucid horror, which I have also heard elsewhere. On a scientific note I quote from the following Clinical Policy Bulletin (full text)
There is no scientifically-based evidence in the medical literature to substantiate that UROD is safe and effective as a clinical detoxification treatment. There is a reported risk of serious adverse events, including death with the use of anaesthetics, making the risk:benefit ratio of this detoxification procedure unacceptable. Besides direct causality associated with inadvertent anaesthetic overdose, there is also the risk of indirect causality related to possible aspiration and choking from emesis that may occur when an anaesthetized or heavily sedated individual is detoxified while asleep.
As this is something that is only going to be attempted under medical supervision, I shall leave interested readers to get professional medical advice. Bear in mind this is an expensive product, so make sure to get some impartial advice, rather than simply take the recommendation of the institution offering this detox modality, especially in light of the possibility of death mentioned above.
I have a friend (still using) who tried this and described a scene of semi-lucid horror, which I have also heard elsewhere. On a scientific note I quote from the following Clinical Policy Bulletin (full text)
There is no scientifically-based evidence in the medical literature to substantiate that UROD is safe and effective as a clinical detoxification treatment. There is a reported risk of serious adverse events, including death with the use of anaesthetics, making the risk:benefit ratio of this detoxification procedure unacceptable. Besides direct causality associated with inadvertent anaesthetic overdose, there is also the risk of indirect causality related to possible aspiration and choking from emesis that may occur when an anaesthetized or heavily sedated individual is detoxified while asleep.
As this is something that is only going to be attempted under medical supervision, I shall leave interested readers to get professional medical advice. Bear in mind this is an expensive product, so make sure to get some impartial advice, rather than simply take the recommendation of the institution offering this detox modality, especially in light of the possibility of death mentioned above.
