Heroin Addiction Advice

Heroin is one of the most highly addictive opiates known today. Heroin, like other opiates, is derived from the opium poppy. In the body, it works as a depressant, slowing down the activity of the brain and causing drowsiness. Heroin is also described as creating a pleasurable “high” for the user. Heroin is available in many forms, including white powder or black tar. Street heroin is very rarely pure, and it is often cut with household products such as cornstarch, or sometimes even other narcotics or poisons. It can be smoked, snorted, or injected.

Symptoms of Heroin Abuse

The symptoms of heroin abuse vary depending on how long the individual has been using, how much they have been using, and how often the use. Early symptoms are similar to other depressants, such as drowsiness, loss of coordination, decreased breathing and heart rate, and slurred or slow speech. The longer a person has been dependent on heroin, the more intense the cravings become, and more heroin is required to create the desired effect.

A trademark of long time heroin abusers is the presence of “track marks” along veins. These scars are damaged tissue, a result of shooting heroin directly into the bloodstream with a syringe. Some heroin addicts will inject the drug in a covered area of the body to hide their addiction from family, friends, and coworkers. Long term heroin addicts also experience more severe symptoms, ranging from collapsed veins at injection sites to liver disease or pulmonary disorders. Heroin users who inject the drug also run the risk of contracting diseases (such as HIV or hepatitis) from using shared needles.

Heroin Withdrawal

After repeated use, the body develops heroin dependency and must have heroin in order to function. If an addict suddenly stops using heroin, the body has a violent reaction which often leads the user to take heroin again as a release from the pain of withdrawal. The most violent withdrawals last up to seven days or more, but the craving for heroin does not immediately decrease. Violent and sometimes fatal withdrawals are one of the reasons that seeking heroin detox rehabilitation is highly encouraged for people seeking to overcome an addiction to heroin.

Heroin Addiction Treatment Options

A heroin abuser has many options when seeking treatment for his/her addiction. These treatments can be short or long term, residential (inpatient) or outpatient, individual or group, luxurious or functional. Longer treatment programs tend to have higher success rates, but finding support after heroin addiction treatment is also very important.

Sometimes family and friends may decide to stage an intervention, attempting to persuade the heroin addict to admit to his/her addiction and seek treatment for that addiction. This intervention sometimes leads to the addict entering a treatment program, but other times the heroin abuser may not attempt treatment because they do not want to admit to having a problem, either out of shame or simple denial.

Heroin Addiction Help

Suffering from heroin addiction or watching a loved one suffer from heroin addiction is painful. You are not alone. We want to help you overcome your addiction and regain control of your life. We are available 24 hours a day and our number is toll free, so call us today.