Heroin is a highly addictive opioid drug derived from morphine, a natural substance extracted from the seed pod of certain poppy plants. In appearance, it is a white or brown powder or resembles a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. Users generally inject, snort, or smoke the drug.
Heroin enters the brain quickly. Like many other opioid drugs, it binds to opioid receptors in the brain and creates a rush of euphoria. The production, distribution, and use of heroin are subject to severe legal penalties in most parts of the world.
Despite its illegality, many people still use heroin and become addicted to it. Addiction can have a detrimental impact on their lives, but it is possible to recover from heroin use and addiction. Sivana Rehab is a world-class treatment centre in Bali that can offer people the support they need to recover from drug use.
Why Do People Use Heroin?
People use heroin because of the high that it can give them. This rush of euphoria can reinforce addictive behaviour and compel people to use heroin again and again.
But another reason is that people have pain that they need to manage. Opioid drugs are incredibly potent pain relievers, and a person may not have access to painkillers other than heroin, so they may not have a choice in whether to use them or not.
What are the Symptoms of Heroin Addiction?
The main symptom that would indicate that a person is addicted to heroin is an inability to control their drug cravings. A person who has Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), which is an addiction to opioid drugs like heroin, will use heroin or other opioids even if they suffer adverse effects as a direct result of their drug addiction.
Another symptom of OUD is preoccupation. A person who is addicted to heroin will think about heroin constantly. They will spend inordinate amounts of time acquiring or using heroin. This can cause them to neglect their personal hygiene and their health. They may also incur financial problems due to the cost of maintaining their substance use.
This preoccupation with heroin use can also cause people to neglect their family and friends, which can often leave them feeling isolated.
Heroin Addiction Treatment
Our treatment for heroin dependence seeks to comprehensively address a patient’s use of the drug and other opioids. Some of our treatment options include:
What are the Long-Term Effects of Heroin Use?
A major effect of long-term heroin use is tolerance, which is when the body becomes acclimated to the drug, and its effects are dulled as a result. When a person develops a tolerance to heroin and other opioid drugs, it can cause them to take more drugs to achieve the desired effects. This can increase the risk of heroin overdose.
Chronic heroin use can often lead to changes in the brain, which can result in problems with decision-making, regulating behaviour, and stress response. This can lead to a diminished ability to feel pleasure without the drug.
Because heroin is so often injected, long-term heroin users are at risk for transmissible diseases such as HIV or hepatitis. This is because sharing needles and other drug paraphernalia is a common practice among users.
Aside from sharing needles, heroin can make users vulnerable to communicable diseases in other ways, as long-term heroin use can weaken the immune system.
Long-term heroin use can also affect a person’s mental health in profound ways, as it can cause a person persistent anxiety or depression.
Another effect of chronic heroin use is dependence. This is when a person becomes physically and mentally dependent on the drug. Dependence can complicate treatment as people who are dependent on heroin may suffer withdrawal symptoms if they are unable to take heroin.
What Happens After Detox?
Detox is just the first step in treatment. After a person goes through detox, they begin their personalised treatment programmes. This can include going to residential treatment or beginning an outpatient programme.
Patients will typically begin the behavioural therapies mentioned above. They may also begin holistic treatments to help manage stress and recover comprehensively.
Many people in recovery are also taught to make lifestyle changes. Heroin can have profound effects on a person’s health, and the lifestyle changes that many people are encouraged to make, such as eating a balanced diet, being more mindful, and exercising regularly, can help support a person’s physical recovery from the effects of opioids.
There is also medication-assisted treatment. Under this treatment programme, a person can take medications such as buprenorphine or methadone to help them in their recovery. Methadone, in particular, can help reduce cravings.
Heroin Withdrawal Symptoms
Heroin withdrawal symptoms can be severe and distressing. These symptoms typically begin within a few hours after the use of heroin and reach their peak within one to three days.
Common symptoms include intense cravings for the drug, painful muscle and bone aches, and restlessness. Individuals can also experience insomnia and have trouble getting to sleep. Gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting are also common, which can result in dehydration and discomfort.
Sweating, chills, and a runny nose are also possible symptoms that people may experience. Psychological symptoms of withdrawal can include anxiety, irritability, and depression, which can be so overwhelming to the point of debilitating.
These withdrawal symptoms can vary in intensity and duration depending on the length and intensity of the person’s heroin addiction, as well as their overall health.
Start Treatment for Heroin Addiction Today
Opioids are addictive, but people don’t become addicted to them out of nowhere. A common scenario in opioid addiction is that a person suffers from pain. They go to a doctor, and they’re prescribed opioid medication. It relieves their pain.
But then their prescriptions run out, and they can’t get them anymore legally. So they turn to illicit substances like heroin to continue managing their pain or because they’ve become addicted to the effects of taking opioids. In some cases, it can be both.
The origins of a person’s substance use do not change the need for treatment. Sivana Rehab can provide that treatment, and we do so in a tropical paradise. Our treatment has helped many people retake control of their lives.