[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”HEROIN WITHDRAWAL” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Heroin is a powerful street drug that acts quickly to affect the user’s brain. It floods the body with dopamine, depleting the body’s resources. If the user has developed an addiction and built up tolerance, the symptoms can be excruciating.
WHAT IS HEROIN
Heroin is derived from the seeds of the opium poppy, a plant grown in Mexico, South America, and Asia. In its pure form, it is white and highly potent. Cut heroin usually has a brown tinge and added impurities like sugar or starch. Black tar heroin is black and tar like or hard, like a rock.
The drug works by traveling through the body quickly and attaching to receptors in the brain. It then floods the body with dopamine. Users report a rush of sensation and joy. When the effects wear off, the user is left to face withdrawal or use more of the drug.
THE SYMPTOMS
The effects of withdrawal usually become evident around 12 hours after the last dose. While the symptoms are not life threatening themselves, they can lead to life-threatening situations like suicide or overdose.
Withdrawal has been described as being in a constant depression that will not lift. It has been coined the “super flu” because of the feelings of misery similar to that of a bad flu. Some of the symptoms include:
- Cold sweats
- Depression and anxiety
- Loss of appetite
- Unstable moods
- Muscle cramping
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Seizure
These symptoms usually peak one to three days from the last use and gradually subside five to seven days later. Some symptoms may persist but in a milder form. For long-term heavy users, it may take weeks or even months for the symptoms to subside, a condition known as post-acute withdrawal syndrome.
FINDING TREATMENT
The best option for a heroin addict to overcome withdrawal is to get help from a treatment center. There are two basic types—inpatient and outpatient. An inpatient facility with a withdrawal program is best for treating heroin withdrawal.
Many drug addicts also have mental disorders like depression, ADHD, or bipolar disorder. Finding a dual diagnosis treatment facility treats the addiction, the mental disorder, and that offers a withdrawal program will provide the greatest results.
Heroin is a powerful drug that causes painful withdrawal symptoms, and finding a facility that offers a withdrawal program will offer the best chance at success on the road to recovery. If you or a loved one is battling with heroin addiction, enlist the help of a professional today.
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