The number of people addicted to heroin is growing every year at a very high rate. According to CDC, about 8200 Americans died from overdose of the drug in 2013. In comparison to 2002, this number was four times higher. People between the age of 18 and 25 account for the most addicted group of people. In most cases, people who are addicted to this substance are usually addicts of prescription opioid drugs.
Given the high rate of addiction, many centers for treating addiction have been established to offer help to those who need it. When one visits a heroin treatment center, the first thing to be done is detoxification. Detox is done under the careful supervision of a physician to ensure that proper results are achieved. The full treatment involves the use of a wide range of strategies, which include therapy, support groups, medication, and lifestyle changes.
It can be a very long and painful process to withdraw from an addiction. Certain factors which include severity of addiction and chemical change done to the brain determine how long one needs to withdraw from an addiction completely. The process is usually uncomfortable although certain medications can be prescribed to ease the discomfort. With the medications prescribed, the body adjusts gradually to functioning without the substance.
Heroin is an opiate drug. That means that it works by suppressing some central nervous system functions such as temperature regulation, respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. The substance increases the level of the chemical responsible for pleasure in the brain by binding to opioid receptors. This causes a rush of pleasure, while withdrawal causes the opposite.
How painful the withdrawal process is determined by how dependent the brain is to the substance. It also depends on how much chemical change has occurred to the brain as a result of the addiction. For those who had a mild addiction, the symptoms they experience include sweats, chills, nausea, excessive yawning, abdominal cramps, bone and muscle aches, and tearing. Those with moderate addiction experience diarrhea, tremors, fatigue, goose bumps, restlessness, agitation, vomiting, and lack of focus.
When one is addicted strongly, they also experience severe withdrawal symptoms. Severe addiction is associated with drug cravings, depression, muscle spasms, insomnia, hypertension, impaired respiration, and anxiety. Normally, withdrawing is not a life-threatening process, but the medical and psychological symptoms that follows may be a threat to life. Addicts commonly commit suicide, which makes it advisable to never try withdrawing without the assistance of a doctor.
Several medications have been invented to help addicts with withdrawal. Some of them include Methadone, Buprenorphine, and Naltrexone. Methadone is a slow-acting opioid agonist. It is usually taken orally so that it can dampen the pleasurable feeling of being high while preventing withdrawal symptoms. This medication has been in use since the 60s and is considered effective, especially in cases where other medications have failed to be effective.
Buprenorphine is classified as a partial opioid agonist. It acts by relieving drug cravings and does not produce dangerous side-effects like other opioids. It is taken sublingually or orally.
Given the high rate of addiction, many centers for treating addiction have been established to offer help to those who need it. When one visits a heroin treatment center, the first thing to be done is detoxification. Detox is done under the careful supervision of a physician to ensure that proper results are achieved. The full treatment involves the use of a wide range of strategies, which include therapy, support groups, medication, and lifestyle changes.
It can be a very long and painful process to withdraw from an addiction. Certain factors which include severity of addiction and chemical change done to the brain determine how long one needs to withdraw from an addiction completely. The process is usually uncomfortable although certain medications can be prescribed to ease the discomfort. With the medications prescribed, the body adjusts gradually to functioning without the substance.
Heroin is an opiate drug. That means that it works by suppressing some central nervous system functions such as temperature regulation, respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. The substance increases the level of the chemical responsible for pleasure in the brain by binding to opioid receptors. This causes a rush of pleasure, while withdrawal causes the opposite.
How painful the withdrawal process is determined by how dependent the brain is to the substance. It also depends on how much chemical change has occurred to the brain as a result of the addiction. For those who had a mild addiction, the symptoms they experience include sweats, chills, nausea, excessive yawning, abdominal cramps, bone and muscle aches, and tearing. Those with moderate addiction experience diarrhea, tremors, fatigue, goose bumps, restlessness, agitation, vomiting, and lack of focus.
When one is addicted strongly, they also experience severe withdrawal symptoms. Severe addiction is associated with drug cravings, depression, muscle spasms, insomnia, hypertension, impaired respiration, and anxiety. Normally, withdrawing is not a life-threatening process, but the medical and psychological symptoms that follows may be a threat to life. Addicts commonly commit suicide, which makes it advisable to never try withdrawing without the assistance of a doctor.
Several medications have been invented to help addicts with withdrawal. Some of them include Methadone, Buprenorphine, and Naltrexone. Methadone is a slow-acting opioid agonist. It is usually taken orally so that it can dampen the pleasurable feeling of being high while preventing withdrawal symptoms. This medication has been in use since the 60s and is considered effective, especially in cases where other medications have failed to be effective.
Buprenorphine is classified as a partial opioid agonist. It acts by relieving drug cravings and does not produce dangerous side-effects like other opioids. It is taken sublingually or orally.
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