Drug Facts • Opioid Addiction

October 31, 2022

Speedballing is a technique that combines two powerful illegal drugs: heroin and cocaine. They have opposite effects: heroin is a depressant, while cocaine is a stimulant. The push-pull of these two drugs can seriously damage your brain and body.

In particular, you might suffer from dangerous oxygen deprivation. Cocaine, with its stimulating effects, forces your body to need more oxygen to sustain the increased activity. Heroin, on the other hand, has depressant effects which slow down your heart rate and breathing. With that, your body cannot get the extra oxygen it needs. You will exhaust your oxygen supply quickly, and oxygen deprivation will soon set in. If you don’t get immediate medical attention, this is potentially fatal.

If you have an addiction to speedball, it’s wise to seek professional help. Detox is the first step.

Read on to find out how much a speedball detox program usually costs.

How much do I have to spend for detox?

Most drug detoxes average $1,000 to $1,500 for the entire procedure. A number of factors influence the cost, namely:

• The severity of your addiction: The worse your addiction is, the more medical care and attention you need. Doctors’ and other medical staff’s fees would go up in this case.
• Medications: You may need to take some medications to ease withdrawal symptoms. This way, your detox can be more tolerable. The more medications you are prescribed, the higher the cost of detox.
• Medical staff fees: Different doctors have varying professional fees. If you have doctors who happen to be specialists, their fees may be higher. Also, the more staff are attending to you, the higher the costs go.
• Detox setting: If your detox happens in a more prestigious hospital or rehab facility, the fees are higher.
• Length of detox: The longer your detox takes, the higher the fees. This is particularly true for cases of polydrug abuse, such as speedball addiction.

The price range of detox is not easily affordable. In fact, many people with a speedball addiction opt out of treatment because of the enormous cost. Thankfully, there are ways to help you pay for the cost of treatment.

What if I cannot afford detox?

Most of the time, you will not have to shell out the full cost of speedball detox. You can take advantage of the benefits from health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, sponsors, or charities that offer treatment at much lower costs.

Health insurance

If you have private health insurance, your policy will cover drug addiction treatments including detox. Since the Affordable Care Act was passed into law in March 2010, health insurance providers were required to cover mental health services.

Different insurers have different amounts of coverage. It’s best to check with your insurance provider first to find out how much they will cover.

Also, note that not all rehab centers and addiction recovery professionals are in-network with your insurer. This is another thing you have to check. Rehab providers that are out-of-network may not be covered; if they were, coverage is smaller.

With the help of your health insurance policy, you won’t have to pay a lot of money out of your own pocket for treatment.

Medicare or Medicaid

Certain individuals qualify for federally-funded healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. These programs are usually for the benefit of senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and those living under the federal poverty line.

Your home state may also offer additional financial help or impose further qualifications. Ask your local health office for more details.

Additionally, it’s also best to ask your rehab center if they accept Medicare or Medicaid. Not all centers have the same coverage from state and federally-funded health insurance.

Sponsors

Certain rehab providers may help match you with people willing to pay for the cost of your treatment. Or you could ask for help from family and friends to help you pay for it. Either way, sponsors can lend big helping hands in financing your treatment.

Charity rehabs

Some organizations offer drug rehab services either at reduced costs or completely free. These are excellent choices if you are really tight on budget and have no health insurance coverage.

The challenge is in finding these charity rehab centers. They are few and far between, so you may have to travel far from your home.

Another thing about these rehabs is they operate on limited budgets. Their staff may not be the most qualified addiction recovery providers. Their equipment and facilities may not be up to date as well. The quality of their services may not be comparable to paid rehab centers.

You may also face long waiting lists for these rehabs, as many other financially-strapped patients also need the same services.

Is speedball detox worth it?

You may be hesitant to spend money on detox because of the high cost. This is a legitimate concern. That kind of money does not come by easily.

But consider the greater costs you can rack up if you decide not to get professional help. Addiction will control your life, so you will not be able to perform your best at work. Eventually, you can get fired from your job and lose your main source of income. You may even get into debt to finance your drug habits.

Drugs like speedball are often bought in the black market. With this comes the tendency to get involved in criminal activity. If you get caught, you could face thousands of dollars worth of legal fees and fines.

Hospitalization is another thing that may cost you more in the long run. You could face injuries or serious health problems because of your addiction. The more often you get into hospital, the costlier it would be for you.

In comparison, spending about $1500 for detox is a lot less money compared to the scenarios above. Consider it an investment that will allow you to live a drug-free life later on.