The opioid epidemic has swept through the nation at an alarming rate since the 1990s. There are many types of drugs involved in the opioid crisis, including prescription medications. However, because it is cheap and easily accessible, heroin is one of the most commonly abused opioids. Heroin use has increased dramatically in women and men across all demographics. If you or someone you love is addicted to heroin, you know how powerful and destructive it is. Next Wind Recovery is a substance abuse treatment center in Florida that can provide the help you need to break the cycle of heroin addiction. Contact us at 201.331.6569 to get the help you need.
Heroin AddictionTreatment Program
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Contact us to schedule a consultation or to make a referral for a loved one. At Next Wind Recovery, we offer high-quality drug and alcohol addiction treatment in a comfortable, supportive environment.
What is Heroin?
Heroin is an opioid made from morphine. Morphine comes from the opium poppy plant. Like other opioids, when you use heroin, it binds to the opioid receptors throughout your brain and body quickly. It immediately impacts your breathing, sleeping, and heart rate increases feelings of pleasure, and decreases feelings of pain.
People who use heroin regularly will start to experience withdrawal symptoms as early as a few hours after their last dose. These withdrawal symptoms can include:
Severe cravings
Uncontrollable leg movements
Goosebumps and cold flashes
Diarrhea and vomiting
Insomnia
Severe bone and muscle pain
Resrtlessness
A heroin rehab center in North Jersey can provide specialized, FDA-approved treatment that includes medication to manage symptoms and cravings.
What Are the Benefits of Heroin Addiction Treatment?
The first step of any addiction treatment program is detox to remove all traces of heroin from the system. Fear of going through withdrawal is often the main reason people addicted to heroin are reluctant to stop. At Next Wind Recovery, we offer a medically supervised heroin detox program designed to meet your unique needs.
Following detox, you will be ready to begin the work to live a life free of addiction. With your individually designed treatment plan, you will learn about heroin addiction in a safe environment that allows you to focus on your recovery. Among the benefits of our heroin treatment program are that you will:
Learn how to break the cycle of addiction
Discover the underlying issues that contribute to your addiction
Learn new habits and coping strategies
Develop a relapse prevention plan
Discover how to repair damaged relationships
Receive therapy for past trauma
Learn to establish healthy boundaries
Heroin Addiction Treatment Is Available in Florida
Understanding how heroin affects the body can help you understand why it is so highly addictive. Heroin attaches to opioid receptors and releases a rush of dopamine that creates instant euphoria. The brain quickly adjusts to the disruption of regular dopamine release and becomes dependent. Tolerance increases rapidly so that you need higher and higher doses to achieve the same effects with each use. Because of this, heroin on its own has a higher risk for overdose than many other opioids. When it is laced with fentanyl, which is frequently the case, this risk is compounded.
The following are common signs that you need to seek professional heroin addiction treatment:
Heroin is preventing you from fulfilling your daily responsibilities
You are not able to stop using heroin despite negative consequences
You have developed a tolerance and need more each time to achieve desired effects
Most of your time is spent finding, using, or recovering from using heroin
You have psychological and physical cravings for heroin
You have withdrawal symptoms when not using heroin
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What are the Signs of Heroin Use?
Signs of heroin use are many. People who struggle with Heroin addiction might lie about their drug use. That lying can extend to where they were, what they did, where their money went, and so forth.
Regular signs of heroin use can, of course, manifest in the form of financial problems. A severe addiction can make it such that all your money gets spent on getting another fix, even if you know that money should be set aside for something else.
There are also emotional and behavioral heroin abuse signs. Some people might have severe mood swings and hostility with no explanation. They might have no motivation, sleep too much, stop hanging out with friends or family, avoid loved ones entirely, and be generally irritable. Other signs include severe weight loss, scabs or bruises with no other explanation, a lack of motivation, increased sleeping, unexplained respiratory infections, and periods of exhaustion followed by periods of hyperactivity.
Short-term heroin abuse signs can include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Poor mental function
- Severe itching
- Flushing of the skin
- Dry mouth
- Heavy limbs
- Vacillating between consciousness and semi-consciousness
These heroin abuse signs indicate it is time to get heroin addiction treatment. Opioids are some of the most addictive substances, and even relatively minor heroin abuse signs can indicate a more severe addiction and the need for professional heroin addiction treatment.
The Long-Term Effects of Heroin Addiction
Long term, not getting help at a heroin rehab center in North Jersey can lead to more serious symptoms of heroin use.
Some symptoms of heroin addiction include:
- Damaged tissue on the inside of the nose from snorting heroin
- Collapsed veins in those from injecting heroin
- Insomnia
- Infections in the heart valves or lining
- Kidney or liver disease
- Constipation or kidney disease
- Irregular menstruation or sexual dysfunction
- Mental health disorders
Studies indicate that long-term heroin use changes the white matter in the brain. This negatively impacts your ability to respond to stress, control your behavior, and make good decisions.
One of the most significant risks associated with heroin use is the fact that it’s purchased illegally on the street, where it is likely to contain additives like powdered milk, sugar, or starch. These additives help drug dealers extend the quantity of product they have the cell at a lower cost. However, each of these additives runs a serious risk of clogging the vessels that lead to your brain, kidneys, liver, or lungs. As such, you risk serious health complications and damage to your internal organs.
Other long-term symptoms of heroin addiction include the risk of overdose. When you take too high a dose, the same components in heroin that slow down your breathing and your brain function can cause them to stop altogether. When this happens, you reach hypoxia, with a decreased amount of oxygen reaching your brain. Hypoxia can result in long-term damage to your nervous system, permanent brain damage, or a coma.
Contact Next Wind Recovery today to learn more about our Florida intensive outpatient treatment programs.
