What Kind of Treatment Must Athletes Use After Abusing Drugs?

QUESTION: Every time you read of an athlete hooked on cocaine, they tell you
he must undergo treatment, before he can return to the game. Is this real
treatment, or do they just lock the guy up where he can't get at the drug
until he sweats it out?
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ANSWER: Most treatment centers avoid the "cold turkey" approach you indicate,
and offer real but complicated treatment to rehabilitate any addict. The
process of medical detoxification is a difficult one, because the chemical
imbalance in the patient caused by the drugs is very different and varies
considerably from one patient to another. The fact is that though researchers
have sought to discover a single medication which could be used to effectively
control withdrawal from cocaine dependence, no such medication exists today,
and each patient must be treated as an individual, using various medications
in differing dosages to affect a cure. Many such agents exist; tyrosine,
tryptophan, amantadine, levodopa, bromocriptine and desipramine to name a few.
These medicines are used most effectively to treat other diseases. For
example, levodopa and bromocriptine are used to treat Parkinson's Disease and
amantadine is effective against the Influenza A virus. Once the initial stage
of treatment is over, there is still a long period during which the patient
must be counseled and assisted. This outpatient phase includes psychological
testing, family counseling and education, guidance, and above all urine
testing to verify that no cocaine has been used during this time. Medications
may be used for as long as 4 to 6 months, but even with the best care, high
hopes, and determination, relapses are all too frequent.