Heroin is well known for being among one of the most addictive drugs . The only way to ensure that you will never develop an addiction to this drug is to never try heroin at all. Once a heroin addiction develops, it is difficult to overcome without medical help. Drug treatment centers in West Palm Beach urge users to get help for heroin addiction. Going through opiate detox and the accompanying withdrawal symptoms is made easier with the use of certain prescription medications such as Suboxone to ease the effects of withdrawal. During treatment, our drug treatment center can refer the recovering addict to other essential community services such as counseling and support groups.

How Heroin Is Administered

The method of administration plays a role in its addictive nature. While administering heroin in any manner can lead to addiction, some methods result in a faster entry of the drug into the bloodstream and subsequently into the brain. Heroin users may smoke or snort the drug and they may even use it as a suppository. Injecting heroin is the fastest way to introduce the drug to the bloodstream and it results in a rapid, intense sense of euphoria. Injecting the drug is also the quickest path to heroin addiction.

How Heroin Releases Dopamine

Heroin, which is a semi-synthetic opioid drug, triggers the brain to release a flood of dopamine when the drug binds to the opioid receptors in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter. The rush of dopamine is responsible for the intense feeling of euphoria that heroin users experience. These opioid receptors are located in the regions of the brain that are associated with pain perception and the feeling of reward. As a result, users remember the experience of taking heroin to be extremely pleasurable, which contributes to drug cravings.

How the Brain Changes

The nucleus accumbens is a grouping of nerve cells in the central part of the brain. This region is particularly susceptible to being flooded with dopamine when the brain receives heroin. When the nucleus accumbens is repeatedly flooded with dopamine, the nerve cells essentially become worn out and exhausted due to over-stimulation. In response, the brain inhibits the release of dopamine, which means the heroin user has trouble experiencing pleasure from any sort of behavior, including heroin use. Over time, the opioid receptors in the brain also begin to die off. These changes in the brain cause intense cravings for the drug as heroin addicts desperately try to feel euphoric again.

It isn’t always easy to tell if a loved one has a heroin addiction . Individuals with drug dependence in Sunrise tend to be very secretive about their drug abuse. However, there are signs and symptoms you can watch out for. Individuals with addictions may display physical symptoms, be diagnosed with medical problems, and have troubling behaviors. If you do notice the possible signs of drug addiction in your loved one, it’s important that you reach out to a drug abuse treatment center right away.

Physical and Mental Signs

Some of the physical indicators of a heroin addiction can include flushed skin, constricted pupils, and slow breathing. Your loved one may have nausea and vomiting, and suffer from constipation. Shortly after injecting, snorting, or smoking the drug, the individual may seem “dopey,” have poor memory, and have cloudy thinking. He or she might lose control and experience deterioration in decision-making skills. It’s common for heroin users to drift in and out of wakefulness.

Medical Problems

Heroin use can cause life-threatening medical problems. Your loved one may be diagnosed with an infectious disease spread by shared needles, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis. Heroin addicts who abuse the drug on a long-term basis tend to develop liver, kidney, or heart disease, and they may be diagnosed with permanent organ damage. Stroke can occur, and pregnant women who abuse heroin may suffer a miscarriage. If the baby survives, he or she is likely to be underweight and will display signs of withdrawal after being born.

Lifestyle Changes

Quite often, family members and friends identify drug addiction in a loved one when that person abruptly makes unusual lifestyle changes . He or she may withdraw from previously enjoyed social activities. The individual may avoid friends and family members, and begin to hang out with new friends. Heroin addicts who inject the drug tend to wear long-sleeve shirts year-round to hide the needle marks. They are unlikely to fulfill obligations with regard to work, school, or relationships, and they may develop very poor personal hygiene.

Heroin addiction is a serious problem in the U.S. Heroin is derived from morphine which is extracted from the Asian opium poppy plant. Drug dependence can occur when heroin is sniffed, injected, or smoked. Users continue to abuse heroin because the initial rush provides a feeling of relaxation and detachment. Eventually, many people turn to drug treatment centers in West Palm Beach because addiction recovery from heroin is difficult to manage without help from an experienced detox physician

If you or a loved one has been abusing heroin, medically supervised opiate detox can help. You’ll learn what the potential long-term health effects are and you’ll discover that the average heroin addict spends $80 to $200 per day on the drug. Detoxification with us isYou could also watch this brief video to find out more about this dangerous drug.

Addiction is a disease that causes significant physical, psychological, familial and societal problems. Many people struggling with heroin addiction want to quit, yet they cannot physically and mentally do so on their own. It is not uncommon for a heroin addict to avoid reaching out for help because of the mistaken belief that inpatient rehab is the only option. There is no need to spend weeks inside a facilty. In fact, many people with drug dependence can successfully go through opiate detox near Sunrise on an outpatient basis. At an outpatient facility, an addiction recovery specialist can help patients learn what to expect from the detox process and how they can conquer common obstacles to beating addiction. This can all be done from the comfort of your own home.

Defining the Onset of Withdrawal Symptoms

The symptoms of heroin withdrawal tend to initiate within the first eight to 12 hours after their last use of heroin. The worst of these symptoms may occur in about 48 to 72 hours. Although after this point, many physical symptoms may still linger for weeks. Some heroin addicts also experience post-acute withdrawal symptoms which tend to be milder but may linger for a few months.

Recognizing the Symptoms of Heroin Withdrawal

The symptoms of heroin withdrawal occur in stages . The early symptoms include muscle aches, anxiety, agitation, increased tearing of the eyes, and runny nose. Insomnia, sweating, loss of appetite, irritability, and low blood pressure that may cause dizziness are other possible symptoms. As time passes, the heroin addict may notice new withdrawal symptoms, such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramping. Many individuals also experience post-acute withdrawal symptoms such as problems with stress management, drug cravings, difficulty concentrating, and emotional instability. They may have trouble thinking clearly and interacting with other people. Although these symptoms tend to be mild, they become problematic because many linger on for months on end.

Learning How to Avoid the Symptoms of Withdrawal

Heroin withdrawal is unpleasant although it is not life-threatening. Unfortunately, the fear of going through withdrawal does prevent many heroin addicts from addressing the problem. There is a way to avoid or significantly reduce these unpleasant symptoms while also reducing the risk of future relapse. Heroin addicts can go to an outpatient drug treatment center in Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach County or Port Saint Lucie to begin treatment with Suboxone. Suboxone is a medication that tricks the brain into believing that heroin is present and this is why it inhibits most withdrawal symptoms.