Made from morphine, a natural substance found in the poppy plant, heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder. Heroin can be injected, smoked or snorted, and heroin abuse is a serious problem in the United States. Heroin is not used medicinally or legally in the United States.
Effects of Heroin Use
There are numerous short and long-term effects of using heroin including the following:
- Abnormal skin sensations and skin infections
- Twitching, trembling and convulsions
- Constipation, nausea or vomiting
- Pupil constriction and impaired vision
- Sleepiness and nodding off
- Decrease in heart and breathing rates
- Mental cloudiness, instability and mood springs
- Menstrual problems, fertility issues and diminished sex drive
- Nightmares and hallucinations
- Liver disease
Major health problems from heroin include miscarriages, heart infections and death from overdose. People who inject the drug also risk infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.
Heroin Treatment Solutions
The best heroin addiction treatment involves finding the best heroin rehab experts. These professionals will have extensive experience with heroin addiction recovery and will be able to help recovering users do the following:
- Learn to live without substance abuse
- Become independent in their life
- Learn healthy ways to deal with stress, cravings and triggers
To achieve these goals, heroin rehab experts will create a customized treatment plan that includes some of the following among other recovery resources:
- Medically supervised detox services. Although heroin withdrawal symptoms are very rarely dangerous, the detox period is physically and emotionally challenging. Medically supervised detox services ensure the safety of recovering users and provide support and symptom relief during this time.
- Medication. Drugs are available for form of opiate substitution therapy in which you switch from heroin to a less potent prescription opiate that allows you to function normally during the early stages of recovery. Medications used for this process include the following:
- Methadone is well tolerated and does not damage any of the body’s organs or systems even over a long period of time. However, methadone is not an easy drug to quit using and often leads to a secondary or replacement addiction.
- Buprenorphine is also used to replace heroin and reduce drug cravings or symptoms of heroin withdrawal. Suboxone is less easily abused than methadone, and eventual withdrawal from the drug is easier than from methadone. However, people who had very heavy heroin habits often need to take the stronger drug methadone to feel relief.
- Naltrexone is often used to help people stay abstinent but does not reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms.
- Behavioral therapies. Behavioral therapies include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and contingency management among others. These therapies combined with pharmacological therapies are recommended by the National Institute on Drug Addiction (NIDA) as the most comprehensive treatment plan.
- Support groups. After leaving a structured treatment program, participation in support groups has proven to be useful in the recovery process because the person can do the following:
- Access viable drug-free social support systems
- Make sober friendships
- Discuss issues in recovery
- Share with others who understand the recovery journey
Get Help for Heroin Abuse
What makes a treatment solution effective is that it meets your unique needs. Let us help you make one of the most important decisions of your life. We can help you explore your options for treating your heroin addiction, so please call our toll-free helpline today. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about heroin rehab solutions. We are here to help.
