Despite people’s best intentions, however, use of heroin can quickly become a habit. This is due primarily to heroin’s effect on users’ brains. Looking at how heroin works makes it easy to understand why people use the drug more frequently than they had intended.

How Heroin Works in the Body

The human body produces certain chemicals that are known as endogenous opioids. These chemicals help people handle pain and are involved in other processes like hunger-regulation and mood-control.

Biological chemicals work in the body by binding to specialized receptors in the cells. Heroin and other opiate drugs bind to the same receptors and thus can produce similar effects. Through a chain-reaction involving the inhibition of the neurotransmitter GABA, they also increase the amount of dopamine produced.

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter most closely tied to feelings of pleasure and reward. The body uses dopamine to reinforce certain activities, like eating, that are important for survival. When dopamine is increased, the body learns to repeat certain activities. Heroin affects dopamine levels, and thereby reinforces addiction.

Heroin has another property that also increases its addiction potential; it penetrates the brain more quickly than other opiates. The quick mechanism of action helps the brain strongly associate the action with the result.

The Body’s Response to Heroin Addiction

The very first time that heroin is used, dopamine is increased and the body learns to use the drug. There is also another biological process which begins to take place. The human body is always attempting to maintain homeostasis, or balance; so, when it senses that neurotransmitter levels are unusually high, it reacts by decreasing the amount produced or by making receptors less sensitive. This is why drug tolerance occurs. Users need to take higher doses of the drug than they previously did in order to overcome the body’s adaptations and resistance to the drug’s effects.

Drug tolerance can quickly lead to drug dependence. Dependence occurs because the body adapts to heroin’s effects to such an extent that when the drug isn’t present, neurotransmitter levels are unusually low. This causes withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings. Drug dependence goes hand-in-hand with addiction. People are addicted to heroin when they continue to use it despite negative consequences.

When people begin to use heroin habitually, they may believe that it’s a conscious choice on their part, or that it’s a habit similar to other habits, like biting nails or watching a certain television show. It’s highly likely, however, that there is more involved and that the process leading to physical dependence and addiction has been set in motion.

Heroin Addiction Help

If you’ve developed a heroin habit and need help breaking it, give our toll-free helpline a call. Our helpline is staffed 24 hours a day with counselors who understand the grip that heroin can have. They can answer your questions about treatment options, including checking your insurance coverage for you, if you’d like. Call today.

What Does Heroin Detoxification Involve?

Heroin rehab will begin with a physical detox process. Detox removes the drug and its toxins from the patient. Detox may be accompanied by withdrawal symptoms such as the following:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Nausea
• Insomnia
• Aches and pains
• Fever

Detox should only be performed under the supervision of a medical professional who can monitor progress and deal with any complications that arise. When people attempt to quit heroin cold turkey or without professional help, they often resort back to using simply to relieve the pain and discomfort of detox.

What Happens during Heroin Rehabilitation?

Detox is only the first step of the heroin rehab process. Once a patient has completely rid heroin from his or her system, he or she can move on to treating the non-physical side of addiction. Recovering heroin users will receive treatment that tackles any underlying causes of addiction such as co-occurring mental or emotional disorders. Counseling and therapy sessions will teach patients how to restart their lives without the use of the drug. This portion of rehab can give patients the mental and emotional healing that they need in order to fully recover from the pain that addiction has caused.

After completing a rehab program a person will have received the help needed to live a fulfilling and healthy life that is free from heroin addiction. Rehab provides patients with the best chance at finding lasting recovery from addiction.

What If I Hate Heroin Rehabilitation after I Start?

You have options when choosing a heroin rehab program. Not all rehab centers are the same, and you can find the one that will match you as an individual and meet your needs as a recovering heroin user. Rehab services can be inpatient or outpatient, and some centers offer luxury amenities as a part of treatment. A person has full control over the rehab center he or she attends. If you are concerned about signing up for a program, you can tour facilities before choosing to begin a program. If a person’s true goal is to recover from heroin addiction, rehab is the only choice. Rehab is a place where a troubled addict find treatment help with no judgment, shame or feelings of guilt. A person is given the opportunity to get life back on track, and rehab provides former heroin users with a fresh, clean start.

What If I’m Alone during Heroin Rehabilitation?

Getting rehab help does not mean a person has to go through recovery alone. When recovering individuals begin rehab, they will discover that they are surrounded by a warm and caring staff whose only goal is to assist patients in achieving their recovery goals. Counselors and therapists will become trusted confidants to patients, and other patients will become supports and friends. While in rehab a patient may feel more comfortable in his or her skin, because every patient and staff member understands the challenges involved in heroin addiction and recovery. Special bonds are formed in rehab while sharing similar struggles and common experiences. Rehab also allows patients to stay connected and include their loved ones in the healing process. Some programs offer family counseling and therapy sessions.

What Happens If I Can’t Stay Clean after Heroin Rehabilitation?

There is always the possibility of relapse once a person leaves heroin rehab, but this should not prevent a person from seeking help. Relapse is only a temporary setback on a person’s road to recovery. If a person experiences a minor setback after rehab, he or she only has to reach out for help to receive it.

Find out if Heroin Addiction Recovery Is Right for You

If you ready to find a heroin rehab program that will assist you in recovery, please call our toll-free number today. Our rehab counselors are standing by 24 hours a day to help you find the rehab program that is right for you or to simply listen to your concerns about getting addiction help.

Effects of Heroin Use on Physical Health

Heroin use, even on an occasional basis, is very dangerous. The most obvious danger associated with heroin use is overdose. In high enough doses heroin can stop your heart and kill you. This can occur in first-time users, especially since they will not know how much they can take. Overdose occurs with regular users of heroin who have developed a tolerance for the drug and need to use higher doses to achieve the desired effect. The amount needed to get high and the amount needed to cause an overdose will become closer and closer together.

Heroin is an illegal street drug, so its purity is inconsistent. Heroin is typically adulterated or “cut” with other substances of varying toxicity. Injecting these unknown chemicals directly into your veins can cause a host of health problems. Users will become accustomed to diluted heroin, and, if they acquire heroin of greater purity, they can overdose using what appears to be the same amount of the drug that they have safely used in the past.

Intravenous injection of any substance without medical supervision is an extremely dangerous practice that can result in serious health consequences and possibly death. Collapsed veins and potentially fatal infections of the veins and heart are common among intravenous drug users. Reusing needles can lead to infection. Sharing needles can lead to the transmission of dangerous infectious diseases such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.

Heroin’s Potential for Addiction

Heroin is extremely addictive. Actual physical addiction may require regular use, but psychological addiction to the effects of heroin can occur after even limited exposure to the drug. Both physical and psychological addiction are difficult to overcome. The withdrawal symptoms associated with detoxing from heroin can be harrowing making it extremely difficult to quit. Addicts get to the point where they continue to use heroin not to feel good but to avoid feeling intensely bad. This stage is known as “maintaining.” Detoxing from heroin is a potentially dangerous process that should be conducted under medical supervision. This ensures that recovering users remain safe and that relapse during the early stages of recovery is not possible.

Questions about Heroin Use?

If you have any questions about heroin use or treatment for heroin addiction, call us. We can talk with you about your concerns, or we can help find the best treatment options available. Our number is toll free, and we are available 24 hours a day. Please call now.

Anyone Who Abuses Heroin Can Become Addicted

Stereotypes of heroin addiction have appeared widely in movies and pop culture. These characterizations can make heroin addicts less likely to seek treatment because they do not want to be associated with these images. According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 3.7 million Americans will use heroin at some point in their lives and each heroin addict can spend up to $150-$200 a day to support the abuse.

Causes of Heroin Addiction

The following are potential causes of heroin addiction:

• A family history of alcoholism or drug addiction can contribute to a one’s propensity toward addiction. Children of addicts can often develop the same insecurities, depression, or anxiety that made the parent susceptible to addiction.
• Bi-polar disorder, clinical depression and schizophrenia can often appear as co-occurring disorders that coincide with addiction. Those with mental health issues may turn to heroin to self-treat their symptoms, often without a professional diagnosis.
• Unhealthy levels of stress and the inability to cope with daily life can lead one to turn to drugs.
  The media often offers mixed messages about drug use, glorifies drug culture and glosses over the negative effects of addiction. Heroin has been featured in many films and professional treatment is rarely shown as an answer to addiction.

Treatment Options for Heroin Addiction

Rehab programs that are specifically tailored to treat opiate addiction can help heroin addicts find recovery. Professional rehab facilities offer individualized treatment programs based on your personal needs and history. Medically supervised detox is also available to help minimize painful withdrawal symptoms.

Depending on the level of physical dependence, a maintenance drug such as methadone may be prescribed to slowly wean a heroin addict off of the drug. Another method of treatment involves an opiate antagonist such as naltrexone, which blocks opiate receptors and inhibits the drug from providing a euphoric effect. Treatment strategies such as this are usually most effective when the recovering addict is highly motivated to stop using.

Finding Help for Heroin Addiction

Heroin is a powerful drug that can have serious and lasting consequences. The counselors on our toll-free helpline are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you may have about heroin addiction and treatment. The sooner you seek recovery, the sooner you can regain your health and begin your addiction-free life. Please call now.

Risks of Quitting Heroin without Professional Assistance

When a person stops using heroin, the body experiences withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms from heroin are physically and psychologically painful. These agonizing effects are what make it nearly impossible to get clean without professional assistance. Common symptoms of heroin withdrawal include the following:

• Constant cravings
• Intense pain in muscles and joints; heightened sensitivity to pain
• Severe mood swings consisting of depression, dysphoria, suicidal thoughts, grief and guilt
• Emotionless feeling, lethargic, slowed metabolism, tiredness and insomnia
• Muscle spasms, chills, shivering, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pains
• Hallucinations, DTs (delirium tremens)

Detox from heroin is a complex process. Without professional assistance many people face extreme health complications or resort back to using to avoid the pain felt from withdrawal.

How Heroin Rehabilitation Works

People put themselves in the best possible position for recovery when they attend rehab. Rehab professionals are experts in the field of addiction and can provide 24 hour supervision. They can ease detox pain by slowly tapering patients from the drug and administering medicine whenever appropriate. This can greatly minimize patient’s discomfort and risk of complication.

The psychological aspect of addiction is the hardest part to overcome. Without quality, comprehensive treatment, heroin addicts do not get the mental and emotional healing that they need in order to recover. If a person does not address these psychological issues related to addiction, he or she is likely to relapse. To prevent this a person needs help that involves counseling, therapy, life coaching and more. Only through rehab can a person find the answers to end an addiction for good.

Heroin Addiction Help

The horrors of addiction can end once a person seeks help. Without quality rehab treatment, addicts are vulnerable to life-threatening health risks and will most likely never reap the benefits of long-term recovery. If you want to put an end to your heroin addiction, rehab is your only option. Call our toll-free helpline now to speak to the experts in addiction treatment. Our counselors are here 24 hours a day to help you get started with your recovery. Please, get help now.