Accelerated Neuro-Regulation (ANR) is an innovative treatment that targets the root cause of opioid dependence by re-regulating the endorphin-receptor system. In contrast, rapid detox is a medical procedure that speeds up the elimination of opioids. ANR is not rapid detox—and there are plenty of differences between these two treatments.
In this ANR vs. rapid detox comparison guide, we will compare these two opioid dependence treatments and find out why rapid detox is considered outdated and controversial.
ANR Treatment vs. Rapid Detox Treatment
The main difference between ANR vs. rapid detox is that Accelerated Neuro-Regulation (ANR) has a defined therapeutic goal encrypted in its name; it re-regulates the endorphin-receptor system, addressing the neurobiological causes of opioid dependence.
Rapid detox, meanwhile, doesn’t have a clearly defined therapeutic goal and endpoint. It merely flushes opioids out of the system without treating the root of opioid dependence. Therefore, it has a very high risk for relapse.
A study conducted by Forozeshfard et al. found that all participants of the randomized clinical trial relapsed within six months after undergoing ultra-rapid opiate detox. Moreover, 75% of them relapsed within just one month after receiving the treatment, which shows that rapid detox has a staggeringly high relapse rate.
Meanwhile, the success rate of ANR is exceptionally high, as this innovative treatment eradicates opioid dependence at its root. As such, it eliminates cravings and opioid withdrawal symptoms, along with the risk of relapse.
Another key difference between ANR and rapid detox is that ANR is safe. Since it is always tailored to each patient and only performed in an ICU setting of accredited hospitals by board-certified medical professionals, it demonstrates a high safety profile and doesn’t lead to complications.
Rapid detox, on the other hand, is a one-size-fits-all procedure that doesn’t consider individual needs and differences. It is often performed in questionable locations with subpar equipment and conditions.
Unsurprisingly, complications like severe withdrawal symptoms, heart failure, and respiratory issues aren’t uncommon with rapid detox.
Worse yet, this treatment can be life-threatening; since it doesn’t eliminate withdrawal symptoms, it may lead to suicidal ideation, relapse, and opioid overdose, which can be fatal if not treated on time. Tragically, there have been cases where people have died after rapid detox.
The Cost of ANR vs. The Cost of Rapid Detox
While ANR costs $19,500, the cost of rapid detox varies widely between different facilities and may go up to $24,000.
Undergoing opioid addiction treatment can be a major financial investment; the last thing you want is for it to go to waste. However, one thing you should keep in mind when choosing between ANR vs. rapid detox or another treatment is that the price of an opioid treatment program doesn’t always reflect its value.
Although some rapid detox centers may offer the treatment at a hefty price, it doesn’t make it any safer. It still comes with considerable health risks and doesn’t guarantee lifelong recovery.
Medical procedures, especially in the US, can be quite costly, reflecting the high standards of care, expertise, and safety required. If a procedure is offered at an unusually low price or a clinic provides a price match, it’s important to be cautious. Often, such pricing indicates that there might be compromises on quality and safety. Ensuring the highest standards for medical procedures is essential for your health and well-being.
Whether you choose a more affordable or pricier rapid detox treatment, there’s a high probability you’ll relapse and need to undergo the treatment once again.
This isn’t the case with the ANR treatment, as it negates the risk of relapse. Therefore, it is a much better investment than rapid detox.
Moreover, the cost of ANR treatment includes:
- Pre-admission preparation appointments
- A personalized procedure and treatment plan tailored to your medical history and needs
- In-patient hospitalization in a fully accredited and licensed health facility
- Private room
- 24/7 care and monitoring by expert medical staff
- Follow-up appointments after discharge (optional)
ANR is classified as an elective procedure, meaning it is a non-emergency service requiring scheduling and payment in advance. Neither federal health insurance programs, such as Medicare or Medicaid, nor commercial insurance companies currently cover the cost of the ANR opioid dependency treatment.
Nonetheless, we believe that everyone, without exception, should have equal access to top-quality medical care, regardless of their financial situation or other individual factors. For this reason, we offer several financing options to anyone in need that can minimize the economic burden and help you cover the cost of treatment.
What Is Rapid Detox, and How Does It Work?
Rapid detox, also known as ultra-rapid opioid detox (UROD) and anesthesia-assisted rapid opioid detoxification (AAROD), is a medical procedure that quickly removes opioids from the system. It is performed under general anesthesia by administering an opioid agonist, such as naloxone, to trigger withdrawal symptoms and speed up the withdrawal process.
Rapid drug detox promises to treat opioid dependence painlessly and within a very short time, which is the biggest selling point of this treatment. The entire rapid detox procedure, including hospitalization, usually lasts no more than 48 hours.
Though rapid detox is marketed as a safe and effective treatment, this couldn’t be further from the truth. It is associated with various adverse events, some of which—like cardiac arrest—can be life-threatening.
Moreover, since rapid detox fails to address the underlying cause of opioid dependence—the endorphin-receptor imbalance resulting from repeated opioid exposure—it is anything but effective.
As costly as rapid detox can be, it leads to more relapses than recoveries. Although patients are led to believe that they’ll wake up craving- and addiction-free, it leaves people struggling with severe withdrawal symptoms once the medication wears off. It doesn’t provide any additional treatment besides the clearance of opioids.
Opioid addiction is a brain disease; it stems from the neurochemical changes that occur in the brain due to prolonged opioid use. Reversing these changes is vital to ensuring lasting recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD); otherwise, you’ll keep suffering from withdrawal symptoms and cravings even after the treatment, which puts you at a high risk of relapse.
Therefore, regardless of the claims some rapid detox centers make, this treatment cannot cure prescription drug addiction. Since it only rids the body of opioids, it isn’t sufficient to sustain a long-term recovery from OUD.
Risks and Safety Concerns with Rapid Detox
Rapid detox comes with considerable risks and safety concerns, such as severe withdrawal symptoms, side effects, complications, relapse, and even death.
Since it removes opioids without acknowledging and addressing the neurobiological causes of opioid dependence, it doesn’t eliminate withdrawal symptoms, including cravings. In fact, people often experience amplified withdrawal symptoms after the procedure, increasing the risk of relapse.
Relapse after rapid detox is particularly dangerous. Due to lowered opioid tolerance, people may overdose on opioids simply by taking their usual dose. Opioid abuse, such as taking opioids without a valid prescription or snorting crushed tablets to enhance their effects, increases the risk of opioid overdose even further.
Without prompt medical attention, opioid overdose can lead to death or have long-term consequences, such as brain injury.
Besides relapse and overdose, rapid detox can also lead to various adverse events, including the exacerbation of mental health problems and life-threatening medical conditions.
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that AAROD is very dangerous. 5 of 75 patients who underwent AAROD in 2012 experienced severe complications requiring hospitalization, such as sepsis, suicidal ideation, pulmonary edema, electrolyte abnormalities, and cardiac arrest. Worse yet, two patients died shortly after the treatment.
Some side effects commonly associated with rapid detox include:
- Fever
- Coma
- Anxiety
- Paranoia
- Psychosis
- Panic attacks
- Kidney problems
- Pulmonary disease
- Nausea and vomiting
- Respiratory problems
- Hormonal imbalances
- Cardiovascular issues
- Heartbeat abnormalities
- Suppressed thyroid function
Moreover, rapid detox may make it difficult for people with insulin-dependent diabetes to manage glucose levels. A study by researchers from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University found that anesthesia-assisted detox can lead to not only pulmonary edema and suicidal ideation but also diabetic ketoacidosis.
Why Is Rapid Detox No Longer Performed?
In recent years, rapid detox has become less popular. It is no longer performed as widely as it used to be due to the lack of effectiveness, safety risks, and concerns associated with it, as well as advances in opioid dependence treatment. Simply put, rapid detox is considered outdated by today’s standards.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the reasons why rapid detox is no longer recommended:
#1. Ineffectiveness
Rapid detox is not a comprehensive opioid addiction treatment, which is why it isn’t effective long-term. While it manages withdrawal symptoms and compresses the withdrawal process into several hours rather than days or weeks, it does nothing to tackle the root of opioid dependence. Therefore, rapid detox can—and, unfortunately, does—lead to relapse.
Even though it can help some people get off opioids, most patients relapse within months after undergoing rapid detox. Moreover, some people go through this dangerous procedure multiple times only to relapse over and over again. Since it doesn’t restore normal brain function, rapid detox rarely, if ever, yields long-term results.
#2. Safety Risks and Concerns
As mentioned previously, rapid detox comes with numerous safety risks and concerns, ranging from nausea and vomiting to cardiovascular disease and worsening of mental health conditions. Though people struggling with opioid dependence may see it as a quick fix to their problem, in truth, rapid detox can lead to even more problems, some of which have lifelong consequences.
Rapid detox is a risky procedure for everyone, but especially for those with pre-existing health problems, such as liver disease. People who struggle with severe opioid abuse and addiction are also at an increased risk of complications, such as intense withdrawal symptoms.
You should carefully weigh the risks and rewards when choosing an opioid dependence treatment. The main advantage of ANR vs. rapid detox is that ANR doesn’t expose you to any of the risks associated with rapid detox.
#3. Advances in Opioid Dependence Treatment
Today, there are better, more effective, and safer alternatives to rapid detox, so it’s only natural that this high-risk treatment is becoming less popular—and rightfully so.
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which combines opioid replacement drugs with counseling and behavioral therapy, is one of the most popular alternatives for rapid detox.
While it is safer than rapid detox, it requires patients to rely on opioid replacement drugs, such as methadone, for months and even years. Like other traditional treatments, MAT doesn’t treat the cause of opioid dependence.
When it comes to ANR vs. rapid detox and other treatment options, ANR stands out as the most effective and safest method. Developed by Dr. Andre Waismann, it is the only treatment that focuses on the root of opioid dependence instead of its symptoms. It also doesn’t involve any opioid replacement drugs that can also be abused and lead to overdose.
On that note, let’s discuss why you should choose ANR over rapid detox and other treatments in greater depth.
Why You Should Choose ANR Over Rapid Detox
If you’re facing the ANR vs. rapid detox dilemma, rest assured the ANR treatment is your best option. It outshines traditional opioid dependence treatments in terms of safety, effectiveness, and speed.
Here’s why you should choose ANR over rapid detox:
- Safety. ANR is very safe, as it is carried out only by highly experienced board-certified critical care physicians, anesthesiologists, and other medical professionals. We also only work with fully accredited hospitals and medical experts, such as cardiologists, allowing us to safely treat even those with complex health conditions.
- High success rate. The ANR treatment is unparalleled in respect to effectiveness, as it is the first and only treatment that attacks the root of opioid dependence. By restoring the brain to its pre-addiction state, ANR eliminates the risk of relapse. To this day, ANR has helped nearly 25,000 people worldwide reclaim their lives from opioid dependence.
- Consistent quality. One of the most significant differences between ANR and rapid detox is that ANR meets the highest quality standards regardless of your chosen treatment center. Whether you’re getting treated in Brazil or Switzerland, you can rest assured you’ll receive the same level of patient care, safety, and compassion.
- Cost-effectiveness. Unlike rapid detox, ANR is cost-efficient; it facilitates long-term recovery and enables you to forget about the risk of relapse by reversing opioid-induced brain changes. Therefore, it’s a one-time investment into your health and well-being.
- Personalized approach. One of the most compelling advantages of ANR over rapid detox is that ANR offers a personalized approach to opioid dependence treatment. Tailoring the procedure to each patient’s medical history and needs allows us to minimize the risk of adverse effects and achieve unmatched patient outcomes.
Key Takeaways
When it comes to ANR vs. rapid detox, it’s indisputable that ANR is far superior. It achieves the single most important thing other treatments fail to do—modulation of the endorphin-receptor system. Therefore, it doesn’t lead to relapse; after all, ANR is not rapid detox.
Now, let’s summarize what we covered:
- One of the main differences between ANR and rapid detox is that ANR eradicates opioid dependence at its root and negates the risk of relapse, whereas rapid detox merely removes opioids and, more often than not, leads to relapse.
- Some of the greatest risks and safety concerns associated with rapid detox include severe withdrawal symptoms, relapse, and adverse health effects, such as pulmonary edema.
- You should choose ANR vs. rapid detox, as it offers a personalized approach, has a very high success rate, and is significantly safer.
ANR vs. Rapid Detox FAQ
Some common side effects of detox from opioids include nausea, vomiting, fever, and anxiety. You should never detox from opioids without medical supervision, as it can lead to life-threatening complications, such as severe dehydration.
Detox can potentially cause liver damage, as it places significant stress on the liver. As a general rule, rapid detox is not recommended for those with impaired liver function.
On average, the recovery time after undergoing ANR treatment is 36 hours. During this time, our patients stay in the hospital and are monitored overnight. Most of them are discharged the next day after the procedure. For lifelong success, follow our team’s directions and alter your lifestyle as recommended.
ANR treatment really works—we have close to 25,000 success cases and dozens of testimonials demonstrating our success. The basis for ANR’s success lies in its therapeutic goal: ANR achieves neuro-equilibrium by fixing the endorphin-receptor imbalance, facilitating long-lasting recovery without ongoing withdrawal symptoms.
The ANR treatment works by restoring the brain to balance. It modulates the nervous system to decrease the production of opioid receptors. At the same time, it allows the brain to resume normal endorphin production and removes unnecessary opioids.
You can get started with ANR simply by contacting us and booking a free, 100% confidential consultation. Should you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to us—we’ll be happy to help.
