Heroin addiction treatment that actually works

Heroin is a highly addictive and destructive drug in the opioid family. It is typically injected but can also be inhaled or smoked.

Heroin addiction can have devastating health and societal impact on the user and the user’s surrounding friends, family, and co-workers. Heroin abuse can affect anyone – young, old, wealthy, or disadvantaged.

Anti-addiction medications approved for the treatment of heroin addiction, such as Suboxone (buprenorphine with naloxone) and naltrexone (Vivitrol), act on the same receptors as the addictive drug but are safer and less likely to result in addiction.

That means these medications are able to alleviate many of the uncomfortable physical effects of heroin withdrawal, while also reducing cravings and allowing patients to fully participate in treatment.

Heroin addiction changes the physiology of the brain, creating imbalances in several different neuronal and hormonal systems. Studies have shown chronic heroin use can lead to deterioration of the brain’s white matter, which may affect decision-making abilities and how the brain functions in general. Looking at the data from the latest neuroimaging studies shows us that addiction is a chronic brain disease, and at Enterhealth Ranch and Enterhealth Outpatient Center of Excellence, we treat it as such.

Heroin is in a class of drugs called opiates. Most heroin users start don’t start with using heroin, but rather with opiates in pill form, often with a legitimate prescription such as OxyContin or Vicodin from their doctor or dentist.

Persons who become addicted to these pills find that the pill form of opiates becomes too expensive and harder to get, and sometimes they turn to intravenous heroin because of its easier access and much lower cost. But in these forms, heroin purity is almost impossible to discern, and dosage can be difficult to judge, thus leading to increased addiction, overdose or, even, death.

Long-term heroin addiction has serious health consequences, including:

• Infectious disease (HIV, hepatitis)
• Collapsed veins
• Bacterial infections
• Abscesses and other soft-tissue infections
• Infection of the heart lining and valves
• Arthritis and other rheumatic problems
• Liver and kidney disease
• Lung complications (pneumonia and tuberculosis)
• Brain infections

Heroin users also experience a variety of other medical complications, including hormonal imbalances, insomnia, and constipation. Many suffer from mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and manic depression. In addition, many tragic pre- and post-natal conditions are associated with heroin use during pregnancy, including malnutrition, third-trimester bleeding, hepatitis, intellectual disability, and behavioral abnormalities.

Heroin is a very serious drug, and getting treatment early is incredibly important. Heroin is one of the most difficult drugs to quit using. The body adapts to its presence and develops a strong physical dependence to it, as well as an equally strong psychological grip. Most people begin using to escape other stressful issues in their life. Then, when they try to stop using, those issues remain and often lead to relapse.

Heroin withdrawal symptoms are some of the most severe and uncomfortable of all types of withdrawal, and many users will return to using heroin just to relieve them. Because of the severity of heroin withdrawal symptoms, relapse is very common. Often, when a user relapses, they return to their old dosage for which their body no longer has a tolerance. This can lead to overdose – or even death.

Early heroin withdrawal symptoms include:

• Agitation and anxiety
• Restlessness
• Difficulty sleeping
• Muscle aches
• Increased tearing
• Insomnia
• Runny nose
• Excessive sweating
• Yawning
• Goose bumps

Later heroin withdrawal symptoms are even more intense and uncomfortable:

• • Abdominal cramping
  • Diarrhea
  • Dilated pupils
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Abnormal heart rate
  • High blood pressure
  • Seizures

Symptoms typically begin within 12 hours of the last dose, and peak between 48 and 72 hours. Physical heroin withdrawal symptoms usually subside after about a week.

Heroin withdrawal symptoms usually diminish and can be controlled after about a week of discontinuing use. However, the psychological dependence can remain long afterward. This is why it’s important to seek help through a certified drug addiction treatment program – to assist with both the physiological and psychological aspects of heroin addiction.

The impact of heroin addiction is felt all across the United States and has been identified as one of the most significant drug abuse issues affecting Dallas/Fort Worth and the North Texas region.

• Heroin was the primary drug of abuse for 13% of clients admitted to treatment in Dallas in 2011.
• At Enterhealth, a large percent of our clients need treatment for heroin addiction.
• There were 259 calls to the Texas Poison Center Network involving confirmed exposures to heroin in 2011.
• The 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS) found that 3.3% of Texas high school students reported having ever used heroin.