Why can’t we put people who are struggling with addiction in a coma for the physical withdrawal symptoms?
I know that they still have to go through the mental aspect of coming clean, but can’t we lessen the suffering by putting them in a coma for 30 days until everything is out of their system? From my understanding, it takes 21 days to make or break a habit.
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I have glasses and don’t want to get Lasik eye surgery to live without them it would be nice but for me even the small risk of eye damage isn’t worth it.
Medical induced comas are much riskier in terms of brain damage while subjecting someone to explosive to addictive drugs I’m the process.
This is also ignoring the extreme amount of resources that would be going into this person. I don’t think facilities that could do this would appreciate a 30 day patient that needs to be fed through tubes and constantly kept tabs on.
Anesthesia is not to be taken lightly. There’s a reason why in any good surgery there is a dedicated specialist doing nothing but monitoring your levels of juice, and that’s not including whatever drugs you are supposed to be weaning off of.
It’s easier and safer to ween someone off slowly from their drug of choice to avoid drug withdrawals. Doctors can prescribe Methadone to ween patients off of opiates like heroin and benzodiazepines for alcohol. Addiction is a neuropsychological disease that doesn’t go away after 21 days or once you are clean.
Comas are extremely sanitized in fiction. They’re not something you do lightly, they’re the hail mary when all other hope is lost.
According to Wikipedia, expected side effects of induced coma include but are not limited to reduced gut health, low blood pressure, low potassium, bed sores and muscle weakness. Coma patients also typically need catheters and ventilators installed which are quite unpleasant and bring additional risks of infection. This is all before getting into the more rare complications which can include things like heart issues and permanent brain damage.
A medical coma is not something to be undertaken lightly. Medically induced comas are used for brain surgery or in cases of traumatic brain injury where the patient will die if they can’t slow the brain function down to buy time.
The patient is given specific drugs (barbituates or benzodiazepines, both of which carry their own side effects and potential addiction and overdose risks) in order to slow their brain function down to the point where they cannot remain conscious. Recovery from the coma is also risky, as permanent cognitive impairment may result.
If your concern is simply about drug addiction, you would not introduce another addictive substance into the mix or risk much more severe complications.
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