Withdrawal of Heroin

It is not uncommon for a heroin user to develop a physical dependency to the drug. A physical dependency occurs when the body becomes accustomed to having the drug present. Without the drug, it will start going into withdrawal until the drug is reintroduced into the body. This is where it is difficult for heroin users to kick the addiction. The withdrawal symptoms from heroin are pretty intense and when a user does not have proper medical and supportive care during the withdrawal stage, it is unfortunately too common for them to use again.

When a heroin user abruptly stops using, he or she will start feeling withdrawal symptom as soon as 3 hours after the last use. Think about that for a minute. If they begin to experience withdrawal symptoms as soon as three hours after the last use you can see why a heroin user would do whatever it took for them to stay “medicated.” The symptoms that begin to occur three hours after last use can include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey”), and kicking movements (“kicking the habit”). The cold flashes with goose bumps is where the term “cold turkey” was derived from and the kicking movement is where the term “kicking the habit” was derived from.

The craving for the drug increases as time past with the peak of the major withdrawal symptoms occurring between 48 and 72 hours after the last administration of heroin. It takes a good week and sometimes more for the withdrawal symptoms to subside but a user can experience lingering persistent symptoms for up to a month after the last use.

On a better note, the withdrawal of heroin is considered less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate withdrawal. However, for a heavy heroin user in poor health, withdrawal symptoms can be occasionally fatal.

The crave for heroin can persist years after drug cessation. This is why it is so important for a user to have a strong support system. Triggers such as stress, people and places the user once associated with the use of heroin, and things associated with the drug can bring on a more severe craving.

If you need help, are struggling with an addiction, or know of someone who is, please contact A Better Tomorrow today. We are here to help.
http://www.abttc.net/
Phone: 800.971.1586
Fax: 800.401.8464
24 Hour Addiction HelpLine
Tel. (800) 396-9389 (7 days 24 hours)
e-mail: info@24houraddictionhelp.com
http://www.24houraddictionhelp.org/

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Heroin Facts

Black Tar Heroin
Close-up Picture Of Heroin

Heroin is an opiate drug synthesized from morphine. It usually appears as a white or brown powder or as a black sticky substance referred to as “Black Tar Heroin.”

Heroin users will inject, snort, or smoke the drug to give it a rapid delivery to the brain. Regardless of method used for administration of the heroin, all can lead to addiction and cause other serious health issues.

When heroin enters the brain it converts into morphine effecting the receptors involved in the perception of reward and pain, and the opioid receptor in the brain stem that deal with automatic processes such as breathing, blood pressure, and arousal. The most common heroin overdose involves the suppression of the respiration.

Those who inject heroin feel a immediate rush followed shortly by dry mouth, warm flush of the skin, heavy feeling limbs, and a clouded mental functioning. This is followed by a “nod phase” where the user will alternate between a wakeful and drowsy state. Other methods of delivery go through the same sequence except not all will experience the initial rush. Heroin users develop a tolerance for the drug and will have to use more to achieve the same effects they once experienced on a lesser amount of heroin.

Heroin abuse is associated with many serious health conditions such as:
• fatal overdose
• spontaneous abortion
• particularly in users who inject the drug—infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis
• collapsed veins
• infection of the heart lining and valves
• abscesses
• liver or kidney disease
• Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health of the abuser as well as from heroin’s depressing effects on respiration
• Street heroin often contains toxic contaminants or additives that can clog the blood vessels leading to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain, causing permanent damage to vital organs.
• physical dependence


If you need help, are struggling with an addiction, or know of someone who is, please contact A Better Tomorrow today. We are here to help.
http://www.abttc.net/
Phone: 800.971.1586
Fax: 800.401.8464
24 Hour Addiction HelpLine
Tel. (800) 396-9389 (7 days 24 hours)
e-mail: info@24houraddictionhelp.com
http://www.24houraddictionhelp.org/

Feel free to follow us on Facebook and Twitter too!
Facebook: facebook.com/ABTomorrow
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ABTomorrow