Some patients may experience post-acute-withdrawal syndrome , whereby certain symptoms of withdrawal persist, usually in a weakened form, for up to a year. Detox medication is usually ceased at this time, and patients begin to become much more heavily involved in such treatments as therapy and 12-step groups as their mind and body begin to heal.
This is when symptoms are at their peak and therefore most severe. By this point, all or most of the drugs have left the patient’s body, leaving it unable to function properly. The symptoms that occur at this point are mostly the result of the body struggling to cope with the loss of the drugs.
