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Hooked on heroin! Snatch your life back from the disease of addiction. Treatment works! Call Recovery Connection and speak with a helpline coordinator anytime day or night, 24/7. 1-800-993-3869. We can help you find the right detox and rehab for your needs. All calls are free of charge and strictly confidential.
Heroin is synthesized from opium, which comes from the poppy plant. After entering the bloodstream, it is rapidly converted to morphine by the liver. Morphine is actually the molecule that is responsible for producing the effects of heroin. Repeated use quickly leads to tolerance and addiction. Unfortunately, users believe that if they snort or smoke heroin they can avoid addiction, however it is highly addictive in all forms and has a profound impact upon multiple body systems.
Heroin is Schedule I drug found in powder form. Schedule I drugs are controlled narcotics that have been found to have no medical use by the DEA. Heroin was originally synthesized to be used as a pain killer. It is a fast acting drug that is relatively easy to synthesize and is widely available through illicit means in the U.S. Heroin addiction is currently one of the most prevalent drug problems in the United States. Some countries still produce and prescribe heroin as a pain reliever. However, in the United States it is not available for therapeutic medical use.
While the drug can be snorted or injected, the most common route of administration is injection. The purity of heroin is variable. Sometimes the powder is mixed with powdered milk, sugar, baking soda, local anesthetics, laundry detergent, curry powder, and so on. Because of the inability of the user to predict the purity or strength of the drug, accidental overdose is common. Regular use diminishes the initial pleasurable feelings and the heroin addict will increase his/her use in an attempt to feel the initial high. Eventually, the addict will use heroin just to be able to function without being sick from withdrawal. (source: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/hero.html)
Heroin addiction is quick, intense, and wreaks havoc on a person’s life and the lives of family members, friends, and employers. Sadly, heroin addiction is on the rise among teens. Whether you snort, inject, or smoke it you are playing Russian roulette with your life. According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health at least 3.7 million people engaged in heroin use during that year in the U.S. Most new users were under 18 years of age. Once the body has developed a tolerance for the drug, users will have to inject themselves up to four times a day. “Heroin produces profound degrees of tolerance and physical dependence, which are powerful motivating factors for compulsive use and abuse".
Heroin use, without fail, results in a wide range of negative consequences, impacting everything from your relationships to your health. Time after time, each person trying heroin believes that he or she will have a different outcome, and will be able to control his or her use. Time after time he or she discovers how control while using is impossible.
The range of heroin addiction symptoms are as varied as are the negative consequences of using heroin. To begin with, a person addicted to heroin will have a compulsive need to use the drug. Compulsive drug seeking, which is not a matter of choice but a demand the body makes, leads the heroin addict into risky and life threatening circumstances.
Medical complications of use include collapsed veins, bacterial infections, endocarditis (an inflammation of the lining of the heart chambers and the heart valves), lung infections, Hepatitis B and C infections, skin abscesses, cellulitis (skin infection), pneumonia, tuberculosis, respiratory distress, and stroke.
Unfortunately, heroin users are under the impression that infectious diseases can be avoided if her/she does not partake in sharing needles. But many addicts who snort the powder share a single straw with others contracting hepatitis B and C, which then can lead to liver failure or liver cancer.
Beyond the physical complications associated with heroin addiction, addicts who engage in regular use seem to be involved with violent crimes. Many users experience death over attempting to obtain or sell the drug or face legal problems from buying and selling. Heroin users, like crack cocaine users, seem to have a total neglect of bodily needs, such as eating or bathing. Personal finances will be destroyed, children will be neglected, interpersonal relationships will fall apart, and yet the heroin addict will keep using heroin believing he or she does not need help.
It is not safe to suddenly stop using heroin after addiction has taken hold. Heroin withdrawal symptoms will definitely occur within hours of last use, as it has a relatively short half-life. Medically supervised heroin detox can make withdrawal symptoms and cravings manageable. The speed of onset of withdrawal is directly related to the half-life of the particular opiate that you are using, for how long the use has been present, and the dosages you are consistently taking.
Major heroin withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose. Symptoms resemble an extreme flu, fatigue, nausea and cold sweats. Without proper medical care, dehydration can lead to seizures or convulsion. The good news is that an addict can usually complete heroin detox or opiate detox within five to seven days. But, detox alone will not address the issues underlying addictive behavior. Heroin addiction treatment is necessary to help combat relapse.
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