Medically Reviewed By: Kimberly Langdon M.D.
Vitamin supplements can be very helpful in supporting detoxification from cocaine.
These supplements are essential to restoring vitamins and minerals that are often depleted through health neglect because of substance abuse.
Why Vitamin Supplements Are Used During Cocaine Detox
Vitamin supplements are used during cocaine detox to promote recovery.
Nutrition has usually been neglected through the course of cocaine addiction, which can lead to vitamin deficiencies.
So, vitamin supplements are used to replace levels that have been depleted over the months or years of drug abuse.
Certain vitamins can even have a direct impact on the damage caused by cocaine use.
For example, Vitamin D has been known to have a restorative effect on your nervous system’s dopamine centers and neurotransmitters, which can help with cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Effects Of Cocaine Addiction On Vitamin Deficiencies
Cocaine use can often lead to poor eating habits. Because the drug is a stimulant and an appetite suppressant, most people who use cocaine will eat at irregular times.
Often, they rely on one meal for long periods. Usually, this meal has carbohydrates and fat but excludes vegetables and fruit, which are natural sources of vitamins and minerals.
As a result, by the time they begin the detox process from their substance use disorder, they experience malnutrition.
Common Supplements Used During Cocaine Detox
Many supplements are used in a typical cocaine detox program, which can be applied to deficiencies and cravings created by other drugs as well.
Some of these vitamins even relate specifically to the withdrawal effects of alcohol abuse, since alcohol detox can often accompany cocaine detox.
Multivitamins
Many (though not all) of the vitamin supplements listed below can be found in a multivitamin supplement, which aims to restore deficiencies of groups of vitamins in those who take them.
In lieu of dietary changes (which are hard to make in the first days of detox), a multivitamin can help mitigate cocaine’s side effects.
B Vitamins
B vitamins are useful in helping the body create energy from sugars. This function can be hampered by cocaine substance abuse.
For example, Vitamin B12 has been found to be lower in people addicted to methamphetamine (which is a stimulant like cocaine).
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is helpful in combating fatigue and depression, which often occur after extended periods of using cocaine, during drug detox.
Vitamin C is also an antioxidant that breaks down free radicals, or any harmful molecule from things like cigarettes or illicit drugs.
Magnesium
One of the harmful effects of cocaine is damage to muscle tissue over long periods of time.
Magnesium is a mineral that supports muscle and nerve function. Magnesium supplements can even have a mild sedative feeling as a result of relaxing muscles.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are another supplement that can support healthy brain function during drug detox.
Depression can often accompany withdrawal and detox, and Omega-3 has been shown to counteract depression.
Protein
One of the things that are lost with a poor diet is protein. Protein is significant in repairing muscle tissue, and it also makes enzymes and hormones which cocaine disrupts.
Calcium
In detox, calcium can be effective in helping muscles build and contract. Significantly, it also plays a role in regulating your heart rhythm, something that cocaine causes to be irregular.
How Supplements Are Administered During Cocaine Detox
When you detox in a program that is medically monitored, you are given supplements at appropriate times. Sometimes, these supplements can be administered in liquid form to make them easier to digest.
Also in a detox program, you can begin to eat regular meals and build healthy nutritional habits and regain the weight lost due to cocaine’s appetite suppression.
Treatment Options For Cocaine Addiction Following Detox
After you go through detox guided by medical professionals, you then need to go through an outpatient addiction treatment program to help you deal with your drug addiction.
Treatment programs for cocaine focus on evidence-based treatment to deal with the issues that motivate addiction.
Find Substance Use Disorder Treatment At Bedrock Recovery Center
You can find a treatment program for you or your loved one today at Bedrock Recovery Center. Call our helpline, and we can guide you to our comprehensive cocaine treatment options.
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- National Library of Medicine: National Center for Biotechnology Information https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8114851/
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- National Library of Medicine: National Center for Biotechnology Information https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6305445/
- ScienceDirect https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2251729413000050