Author: Alex Thompson

Heroin: Effects, Addiction, Withdrawal Symptoms, and Treatment

People who are addicted to the drug have to use it daily to avoid withdrawal. The longer that they use heroin, the more addicted they’ll become. It may give you a rush of good feelings when you use it, but you can overdose if you take too much of it. If your heart rate and breathing slow too much, you may die. But if you’re going to take heroin, there are steps you can take to lessen the chances of serious health consequences, including overdose or death.

Always call 911 or seek medical help if you think someone is overdosing. Emergency responders are there to save lives, not turn you into the police. Most states (except Kansas and Wyoming) have Good Samaritan Laws that legally protect people who get medical help for someone who is overdosing.

Behavioral Therapies

Heroin is an opioid drug that is derived from the natural opiate morphine. Heroin addiction is treated similarly to prescription opioid addiction because it belongs to the same class of drugs. Medication-assisted treatment is offered by some addiction rehab centers, clinics, and individual treatment providers. The availability of this type of treatment across the U.S. varies. Heroin addiction can be effectively treated with medication and behavioral therapy, also known as medication-assisted treatment. This requires living in a treatment facility for a predetermined period of time.

Treatment Options for Heroin Addiction

Medication and other substance use treatments can help ease drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms that come with ongoing heroin use. Overall, it’s important to always remember the lessons that you learn during heroin addiction treatment. Maintaining recovery may be easier as time passes, but you should never let your guard down. Patients may also receive a medication-assisted treatment, such as methadone or buprenorphine, to help them taper off of heroin. This type of detox is referred to as medically supervised withdrawal.

Articles Related to Heroin Addiction Treatment

With treatment and support, thousands of people recover from heroin addiction each year. Heroin detox is one of the first steps toward recovery from addiction. This phase of treatment helps individuals overcome withdrawal symptoms in a safe environment. A variety of effective treatments are available for heroin use disorder, including both behavioral and pharmacological (medications).

Medication-Assisted Treatment For Heroin

Within a detox program, health professionals can provide treatment for symptoms of heroin withdrawal, which can begin within hours of a person’s last use. Comprehensive rehab for addiction includes detox, medication, therapy, support groups and aftercare planning. Long-term residential care provides the best foundation for recovery. Prenatal care may lessen the chances your baby will have serious health problems from your heroin use. But newborns with NAS typically need medical treatment to lessen symptoms. Your doctor may give your child drugs such as morphine or methadone to ease them off heroin safely.

Dual Diagnosis Rehab For Heroin Addiction

Then, for several hours, you may feel as if the world has slowed down. Some people who use heroin say you feel like you’re in a dream. In the U.S., use of pure heroin is highest on the West Coast and areas east of the Mississippi River. This includes cities such as San Diego and Seattle along with Boston, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. Heroin is a drug that comes from a flower, the opium poppy, which usually grows in Mexico, Asia, and South America.

What Happens After Heroin Treatment

Approaches such as contingency management and cognitive-behavioral therapy have been shown to effectively treat heroin use disorder, especially when applied in concert with medications. Contingency management uses a voucher-based system in which patients earn “points” based on negative drug tests, which they can exchange for items that encourage healthy living. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is designed to help modify the patient’s expectations and behaviors related to drug use and to increase skills in coping with various life stressors. An important task is to match the best treatment approach to meet the particular needs of the patient. Detox and maintenance medications treat the physical symptoms of drug addiction.

Residential rehab programs also offer residential care, but not all offer medical or detoxification services. Spring Hill Recovery Center is located in western Massachusetts, and provides evidence-based addiction treatment in a residential setting. Spring Hill focuses on treating substance use and co-occurring disorders, emphasizing a comprehensive approach to recovery that includes both evidence-based and holistic therapies. Heroin’s side effects may be as well-known as its positive effects. The drug is notorious for its potential to cause addiction, its painful withdrawal symptoms and its ability to cause death by overdose.

People who use heroin want to want to get their money’s worth. If they swallow the drug, some of the heroin will be metabolized and leave the body before it reaches the brain. People often take heroin in more dangerous ways so a larger dose of the drug reaches the brain. People use heroin to get high because heroin affects parts of the brain that control pleasure and relaxation. Bayer actually marketed heroin as medication to treat cough in the early 1900s.

1. Certain drugs are easier to get addicted to, including heroin and other opioids.
2. Heroin is an opioid drug that is derived from the natural opiate morphine.
3. Detox programs for heroin addiction provide a safe and supportive treatment environment to help people taper off heroin or stop using heroin all at once.
4. Dual diagnosis rehab, also known as integrated treatment, is a specialty treatment program that offers both mental health and substance use treatment.
5. Over time, you may lose the ability to control your actions or make good decisions.

All, however, are safe for long-term use and can be effective for promoting continued participation in treatment and positive recovery outcomes. Heroin addiction can often co-occur with other types of addictions and mental health disorders. People who have co-occurring disorders can benefit most from a dual diagnosis rehab program.

It will probably include medication and behavioral therapy. Experts say this medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the “gold standard” of care for people who have heroin addiction. While they’re taking a maintenance medication, they can attend counseling and therapy. They can find a job, go to school and form healthy relationships with people who don’t use heroin.