At South Florida Detox Center , we understand that every patient has a unique journey toward addiction recovery. Our drug treatment centers in West Palm Beach provide customized solutions to help patients break free of addictions. Your customized treatment plan will begin with a visit with one of our physicians. Our physician will perform a thorough examination and assess your medical history. They will then explain your drug abuse treatment options.

Your customized treatment program can include medications designed to ease the process of drug withdrawal and reduce your risk of a relapse. Our patients often find success with Suboxone treatment. Each individualized treatment program also includes additional screenings and tests, along with assessment guidelines for each follow-up visit. We will continually discuss your progress in reaching your goals and you can also receive referrals for other services as they are needed. These outside services might include substance abuse counseling, acupuncture, and massage therapy.

Heroin is a type of opioid drug that users may inject, snort, or smoke. With any of these methods of drug delivery, heroin rapidly reaches the brain. Because of this rapid and strong high, users are placed at a high risk of drug dependence and life-threatening health hazards. Heroin is among one of the most addictive and dangerous illegal substances. Its severe withdrawal effects mean that it is particularly difficult to break a heroin addiction simply by going “cold turkey”. Individuals who are struggling with an opiate addiction near West Palm Beach can find the help they need to safely get through drug detox at an outpatient treatment center. The sooner a heroin addict goes through opiate detox and works toward addiction recovery, the less chance he or she has of suffering the risks of long-term heroin use.

Drug Dependence

One of the dangers of continued heroin use is the development of drug dependence. Drug dependence involves the onset of withdrawal symptoms when the drug is no longer in the body. A heroin user may begin to experience withdrawal effects within just a couple of hours of their last use. These symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, chills, sweats, stomach cramps, and muscle spasms, along with anxiety and sleep disturbances. Without medical help, the symptoms of withdrawal can prevent a user from successfully quitting the drug.

Intravenous Use

Heroin users who inject the drug intravenously (IV) place themselves at risk of blood-borne diseases. It’s not uncommon for heroin users to share needles, which allows for the transmission of hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis can result in severe liver damage. Users who inject the drug are also at risk of developing abscesses under the skin and cellulitis infections, which can also result in necrotic tissue, limb amputation, and systemic infection. Additionally, long-term heroin users may develop collapsed or scarred veins.

Overdose Risk

The risk of a fatal overdose is particularly high among heroin users because the concentration of the drug can vary so widely. In other words, a user who is accustomed to relatively impure heroin may unknowingly receive a injection of less diluted heroin. In these cases, an overdose can easily occur, causing loss of consciousness, suppressed breathing, delirium, low blood pressure, and even death.

Heroin addictions are serious problems that require intervention and substance abuse treatment in West Palm Beach. One of the reasons why this drug is so dangerous is that it is highly addictive. Drug dependence can develop rapidly and users invariably need increasing amounts of the drug to attain the same effects. The unpleasant withdrawal symptoms that occur with reduced drug intake tend to prompt users to simply continually return to the drug.

You can hear more about the dangers of heroin by watching this video. It offers a quick breakdown of how heroin affects receptors in the brain to suppress pain signals and produce a feeling of well-being. This expert also explains why heroin users are so susceptible to environmental triggers and which health problems may cause death in drug addicts.

Opiate detox is a necessary first step toward addiction recovery. It can be particularlydifficult to initiate opiate detoxification because of the severe withdrawal symptoms which accompany the process. Fortunately, medications such as Suboxone make detoxification much easier. If you or a loved one has been struggling with an addiction to opiates, you should consider visiting one of our drug treatment centers located in Sunrise to discuss treatment with Suboxone.

Suboxone Inhibits Withdrawal Symptoms

When opiates leave the body, an addict can experience mild to severe symptoms that may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping. Muscle aches, hot and cold sweats, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, and insomnia are also possible. These uncomfortable symptoms prompt many addicts to return to using drugs again to obtain relief. As an alternative, when an individual instead uses Suboxone, the buprenorphine in the medication will attach itself to the opioid receptors in the brain. It serves as a substitute for the opiate to convince the brain that opioids are present in the body. Essentially, the vast majority of withdrawal symptoms which are normally experienced have now been eliminated.

It Does Not Result in Euphoria

Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, rather than a full opioid like heroin or oxycodone. This means that when the drug attaches to the opioid receptors in the brain, it does not produce the pleasurable feelings of euphoria or a high that an opiate would produce. Suboxone treatment allows users to safely get through opiate detox without experiencing the intense physical craving for their drug of choice.

It Includes Safeguards Against Abuse

When using medications to treat drug dependence, it is only natural to be concerned about the potential for abuse of the prescribed drug. One of the ways Suboxone guards against abuse is that those who a prescribed Suboxone do not feel euphoria when they take a dosage. Another safeguard built into the drug is the “ceiling effect.” This means that even if a user takes more Suboxone than the prescribed dosage, he or she will not get high from the additional dose. Suboxone includes the drug naloxone in addition to buprenorphine. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that can bind to the opioid receptors in the brain. When the drug is used correctly, naloxone does not have any significant effect. But if someone tries to abuse Suboxone by injecting or snorting it, the naloxone rapidly travels to the opioid receptors, displaces the buprenorphine, and triggers severe withdrawal symptoms. These are all very effective safeguards.