Heroin Detox

Heroin detox is a very painful and hard process. Heroin detox is required to stop the abuse of this substance. Heroin is synthesized from morphine, a derivative of opium, and it is typically used to treat severe pain. However, it is an addictive substance with a disastrous effect for the person who abuses the substance. Heroin can destroy the life of the user, along with their health, family, friends and career. The very first process when a person is in a heroin detox center is to go through heroin detox.

There are three important brain chemicals or neurotransmitters that relate to heroin. Before undergoing a heroin detox it is helpful to understand how heroin affects the brain. First, dopamine helps to control our appetites for food and sex. If a person has large quantities of dopamine they are generally outgoing and energetic. Persons who suffer with Parkinson’s disease and depression are said to have too little dopamine. On the other hand, people suffering from schizophrenia have too much. Heroin causes a release of dopamine. Second, norepinephrin controls the sympathetic nervous system which includes nerves of the body that cannot be voluntarily controlled. This neurotransmitter stabilizes blood pressure so that it does not get too low. The brain’s release of norepinephrin stimulates the fight or flight response. But heroin suppresses the middle part of the brain called the locus coeruleus and therefore provides the user with feelings of safety and contentment. Third, endorphines, which are morphine-like chemicals, used by the body to modulate mood, promote pleasure, and manage reactions to stress. These three chemicals are exaggerated or heightened by heroin use. Withdrawal is the greatest obstacle in heroin detox treatment. Studies show that there is no proof that one heroin detox treatment is more effective than another heroin detox treatment. Relapses continue to occur in numerous heroin detox cases around the world therefore making heroin detox a difficult battle. Statistics show that the average heroin addict will stop and start heroin detox 10 to 25 times in their lifetime.

Heroin Detoxing

Heroin detox is the hardest process that a heroin detox patient may undergo. The heroin detox patient will have withdrawal symptoms. In this case, the patient needs extra nutrients to suppress the withdrawal effects. Heroin detox scares the abuser because of the withdrawal symptoms. This is the hardest phase of the heroin detox process. Withdrawal symptoms during heroin detox include nausea, vomiting, extreme irritability, diarrhea, insomnia, chills, sneezing, runny nose, anxiety, depression and convulsions. The withdrawal symptoms of heroin detox may be present from one to three weeks after the last drug use. In heroin detox, the heroin detox patient is not required to use drugs for medication. Many heroin detox centers provide high quality nutrition, plenty of sleep, and therapies to ease discomfort. This process of undergoing heroin detox in a more natural way is not the only heroin detox option, however. Medications can be administered during heroin detox to help suppress the symptoms of withdrawal. Addiction to heroin is one of the most difficult to overcome. The withdrawal symptoms are agonizing, and the fear of heroin detox often keeps addicts using even if they want to quit. It is impossible to begin the path to recovery in heroin detox without first addressing the intense physical addiction that comes with heroin abuse. It is paramount that someone wanting to do a heroin detox finds a safe, controlled environment in which to undergo the heroin detox. Without the comforts of receiving medications dispersed by a medical professional the temptation to use after heroin detox is far too great. Many heroin addicts have acquired a tolerance from continuous use which causes them to increase usage in order to avoid going into withdrawal. Breaking the cycle of using must be conquered in a facility where the heroin detox patient feels understood and confident that he or she will not suffer during the heroin detox.

After completing heroin detox, the heroin detox center provides follow-up therapies for the patient. Individual and group therapies are provided for full recovery. After the traumatic experiences that they may experience during the heroin detox process, the abuser needs therapies to cope. There may be mental and emotional issues that exist because of the stressful nature of heroin detox. The therapy sessions help to get to the root of the patient’s problem, understand it and come up with plans to avoid using heroin again. In many cases, people use heroin as a way of coping with their problems. If they still have the original problems and refuse to change, then their desire to return to drugs may win out. Statistics show that relapse after heroin detox is very common so a safe, comfortable heroin detox center is the first step to a life free of addiction. When someone suffers from an addiction they do not feel as if they have a choice when it comes to using. Enduring a heroin detox may seem impossible may seem impossible because a heroin detox patient’s nervous system becomes accustomed to chronic exposure to the opioid. Therefore, during heroin detox withdrawal symptoms are inevitable. Even though there have been improvements in medically supervised heroin detox, patient discomfort and high dropout rates during heroin detox still exist today. This has led to the rising popularity of rapid, anesthesia-assisted opioid withdrawal procedures, which have been publicized as a fast, painless way to undergo heroin detox. Studies also show however, that the this heroin detox procedure can lead to risk of death, psychosis, increased stress, delirium, attempted suicide, abnormal heart rhythm and kidney failure.

How to Detox from Heroin

Heroin detox requires admitting that there is a problem, seeking medical help, keeping focus on one’s goal and continuing rehabilitating treatments after heroin detox. All facts conclude that there is no easy solutions and no certainties that a relapse after heroin detox will not occur. The commitment of the heroin detox patient and support through family, friends, doctors or other sources must help the patients through the heroin detox process.