Medical Detox Program
Our medical detox program at Wellbridge gives you a safe, medically managed place to get through withdrawal, with medication to control symptoms and nurses watching your vitals around the clock. We handle the physical side of stopping alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines or stimulants so that withdrawal is treated as the medical event it is, not something you white-knuckle alone. Located on Long Island, our medical detox center is private, quiet and roughly 90 minutes from the city area.
What Our Medical Detox Program Involves
A medically supervised detox stay follows a predictable order, and we walk you through each step before it happens. This is medical withdrawal management, which stabilizes your body first; the deeper therapeutic work belongs to the residential and outpatient programs that follow.
- Intake and medical assessment: labs, EKG, key signs, full medication and substance history, and a screening for co-occurring mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety or trauma.
- Physician medication orders: our medical director and addiction medicine physicians write an individualized protocol within hours of admission, not a one-size-fits-all taper.
- Monitored detox around the clock: nurses score your symptoms using the CIWA-Ar scale for alcohol and the COWS scale for opioids, adjusting medication as those scores move.
- Discharge planning from day one: your case manager builds the next level of care while you are still in acute detox services, because the handoff matters more than the paperwork.
Who Needs Medically Managed Withdrawal
Alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal can be fatal, which is why both belong in a supervised detox facility rather than a bedroom. Roughly 3 to 5 percent of people in severe alcohol withdrawal develop delirium tremens, and untreated cases carry a meaningful mortality risk according to SAMHSA’s clinical protocols on detoxification.
Opioid and stimulant withdrawal is rarely lethal on its own, though dehydration, cardiac strain and severe depression make clinical detox services with medical monitoring the safer choice.
Call us the same day if any of these apply to you and you’re interested in our medical withdrawal management:
- Daily heavy drinking, or a prior withdrawal seizure or episode of delirium tremens
- Long-term benzodiazepine use, including prescribed Xanax, Klonopin or Ativan
- Polysubstance use, especially alcohol combined with opioids or sedatives
- Pregnancy, seizure disorder, liver disease, or unstable cardiac or blood pressure conditions
- Active suicidal thinking or a psychiatric diagnosis that destabilizes when you stop using
How Long Detox Takes, by Substance
Most stays in our withdrawal management program run 3 to 7 days, with benzodiazepine tapers running longer. Timelines below are typical ranges, and your physician adjusts based on your scores and history.
- Alcohol: symptoms begin 6 to 12 hours after the last drink, peak at 24 to 72 hours, and generally resolve by day 5. Seizure risk is highest in the first 48 hours.
- Opioids: short-acting opioids peak at 36 to 72 hours and ease within 5 to 7 days; methadone withdrawal can stretch past 10 days.
- Benzodiazepines: acute symptoms last 1 to 2 weeks, and a medically supervised taper may continue for several weeks to prevent seizures.
- Stimulants: the crash lasts 2 to 4 days, with fatigue, heavy sleep and depressed mood often lingering for 1 to 2 weeks.
Some people experience post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS): sleep disruption, irritability and mood swings that come and go for weeks or months. We prepare you for that honestly rather than promising you will feel normal on discharge day.
Medications We Use During Detox
Medication is the main thing separating a medical detoxification program from quitting cold turkey. Our physicians select from an established formulary and adjust doses daily.
- Buprenorphine and methadone for opioid withdrawal, and as the starting point for ongoing medication-assisted treatment
- Lorazepam or phenobarbital for alcohol and sedative withdrawal, dosed against CIWA-Ar scores to prevent seizures
- Clonidine for sweating, agitation and blood pressure spikes
- Gabapentin for anxiety, restlessness and sleep, plus anti-nausea and anti-diarrheal medication as needed
- Naltrexone after stabilization, to reduce cravings for alcohol or opioids
What Happens After Detox
Detox resolves physical dependence, and relapse risk peaks in the days immediately after discharge, so we never treat medical stabilization detox as the finish line. Patients step down from our program into residential treatment at the same medical detox center, then into PHP, IOP, outpatient MAT or sober living as they stabilize.
Start Detox This Week
Call our team at Wellbridge to verify your insurance and confirm your spot in our safe detox program, or submit the verification form and we will call you back with your covered benefits.
Cost, Insurance and Verifying Your Benefits
Inpatient clinical detox services in the New York area typically run $700 to $1,500 per day at private facilities, which puts most 5-day stays in the $3,500 to $7,500 range before insurance. Detox is usually covered as medically necessary care, and we are in-network with several major carriers, which lowers your cost to a deductible and coinsurance.
If we are out-of-network with your plan, we can often pursue a single case agreement at our medical detox center so you pay closer to in-network rates. A benefits check takes about 10 minutes by phone and requires only your member ID and date of birth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does medical detox take?
Most patients complete physician supervised detox in 3 to 7 days, with benzodiazepine tapers sometimes running 2 weeks or longer. Your length of stay depends on the substance, daily amount, years of use and any medical complications found at intake.
Is medical detox covered by insurance?
Yes, most commercial plans cover detox as medically necessary care, often leaving you responsible only for a deductible and coinsurance. We verify benefits in about 10 minutes and tell you the expected out-of-pocket number before you admit.
What is the difference between medical detox and rehab?
Detox lasts days and manages physical withdrawal with medication and nursing; rehab lasts weeks and addresses the behavioral and psychological drivers of addiction. Detox and stabilization services addiction patients receive first are the entry point, not the full course of treatment.