Heroin Rehab Center in West Virginia

Heroin use no longer dominates exclusively in urban areas. Several suburban and rural areas communities near Chicago and St. Louis have reported increasing amounts of heroin seized by officials as well as increasing overdose deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse alone is $78.5 billion a year. This includes the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and the involvement of the criminal justice system.

In the late 1990s, drug companies assured the medical community that opioid pain relievers would not be addictive to patients. Healthcare providers began to prescribe them at increasing rates. This led to widespread misuse and diversion of these medications before it became clear that they were highly addictive.

Opioid overdose rates began to rise:

• 808,000 people reported past-year heroin use in 2018.
• Poison control centers report that 5,300 children were accidentally exposed to heroin and fentanyl in 2018.
• In 2018, the rate of heroin-involved opioid deaths was 7 times higher than it was 9 years before.

As a result, heroin addicts are at risk for infectious diseases. Substance abuse treatment aims to be the bedrock for heroin addiction.

As mentioned earlier, heroin is an illegal opioid. The appearance and texture of heroin range from white powder to brown powder, to black tar. Heroin can be snorted, smoked, or injected.

Originally made from morphine in 1874, heroin was created by a chemist at The Bayer Company of Germany in 1895 and introduced for medical use in 1898. The chemist was attempting to create a less addictive substitute for morphine and gave the new drug the name heroin for its supposed heroic qualities.

Unfortunately, the chemist later discovered that heroin is, in fact, two to three times more potent than morphine and absorbs rapidly into the brain, making it extremely easy for one to develop withdrawal symptoms, and ultimately, a heroin addiction.

Individuals that suffer from heroin addiction describe the high that the substance gives them as a feeling of being “covered in a warm blanket, where worries are gone.” (Bhandari, 2018). Because of how pleasant the initial high sensation that heroin use causes one to feel along with how potent heroin is, it is very easy to develop a heroin addiction.

Heroin can be smoked, snorted, or injected directly into the user’s veins. Injecting heroin is the most popular way to take the drug since it’s the quickest way to feel the drug’s high.

Sadly, injecting heroin is the most dangerous way to use the substance as well. This is because the risk for overdose is greater as well as the risk of developing an infection from using dirty needles. Treatment at a heroin rehab center would help a person stop abusing the substance. This, in turn, would also help a person avoid developing infections due to heroin use by injections.

It doesn’t matter how heroin gets into your body; it gets to your brain quickly. After using it only one or two times, it may be difficult to keep yourself from using it again. Thus, soon after many people start using heroin, they start to experience heroin withdrawal symptoms whenever they are not using the substance, or just minimizing their use of the substance. In fact, heroin withdrawal symptoms are notorious.

Most users of heroin are aware of the deadly risks that they take when using the drug yet are unable to discontinue using it. Why? Heroin addiction is extremely powerful. Therefore, people usually require professional medical intervention at heroin rehab centers to overcome it and learn how to manage it.

Heroin binds to receptors in the brain to release the chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is then used by your nervous system to send messages between nerve cells. This plays a part in how we experience pleasure and pain. It may cause you to think and move slowly as the whole world seems to slow down around you, as the opioid receptors are sensitive.

Experts in the field of drug use and addiction treatment attribute the increase in heroin use with the rising street costs of prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin, which are also opioids. People in the market for a stronger, less expensive opioid receive both of these attributes.

Drug dealers have also been lacing heroin with a much more dangerous and potent substance called fentanyl. Fifty to one hundred times stronger than morphine, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is being found in more and more supplies of heroin. Heroin withdrawal symptoms are already horrible enough, so one can only imagine how insufferable heroin withdrawal symptoms are when one has been using heroin laced with fentanyl.

Heroin addiction treatment educates patients about the health functions behind drug abuse. Your local addiction treatment center can host events to highlight the benefits of receiving heroin addiction treatment.

Withdrawal symptoms for people who first quit using heroin may be quite severe. Heroin addiction rehab can settle the fever within though. During detoxification, medications are used to ease substance cravings and any painful withdrawal symptoms that frequently cause people to relapse. Medically supervised detox is recognized as the first phase of addiction treatment.

Medication-assisted treatment works to provide medical assistance to patients that are detoxing and recovering from withdrawal from substances such as heroin. Be transparent about your medical history before receiving medication-assisted treatment. Medication-assisted treatment is commonly offered at addiction treatment centers.

Heroin withdrawal symptoms can last up to a week or more depending on the frequency, amount, and potency of the heroin that was used. Heroin withdrawal symptoms can begin as soon as between 6-12 hours since one’s last use of the substance. The peak of heroin withdrawals lasts between 1-3 days. Post-acute withdrawal symptoms may occur.

Heroin withdrawal symptoms can be incredibly uncomfortable but they are not life-threatening. It’s important to avoid quitting your heroin addiction cold turkey though to safely overcome heroin withdrawal symptoms. A heroin rehab center could provide a safe environment for change.

There are many effective behavioral therapy techniques that can help treat opioid use disorders. The heroin addiction treatment process is evidence-based, which is a staple for substance abuse treatment.

The heroin addiction treatment process is useful in both outpatient and residential programs. Behavioral therapy offers a window into the mental health of patients, sometimes a first for them. This highlights the importance of a treatment program.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse recognizes the role behavioral therapy plays within a heroin addiction treatment program. A local mental health services administration should be a resource. Counselors can point you in the direction of a heroin rehab center.

People who relapse are more susceptible to overdose. This is because a dose of heroin you used before relapsing may now be fatal. A single relapse is enough for a person to refuse addiction treatment at a heroin rehab center.

Acute withdrawal symptoms can be an early indication of heroin addiction. Pre-existing mental health issues can be a risk factor for relapse. Mental health issues should be handled with care and support, and the assistance of mental health services administrations.

A sober life requires a support system outside of a treatment program. Treatment providers usually offer a relapse prevention plan that can help prevent heroin relapse.  Despite the challenges, there are ways to change patterns to prevent heroin relapse. A relapse prevention plan can provide scenarios for you to rewrite the urge to abuse heroin and other opioid drugs.

Support groups for heroin addiction can be an insightful backbone for a sober life. Support groups for heroin addiction allow people to connect their journey of heroin addiction to others. Heroin addiction treatment centers typically offer support groups for regular heroin addiction meetings.

An overdose occurs when a person uses enough heroin to cause a life-threatening reaction or death.  A treatment program might be the key after a heroin overdose.

Heroin overdoses have risen in recent years, doubling between 2010 and 2012. Data from 2018 shows that every day, 128 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, FDA-approved Naxolone devices deliver higher blood levels of Naxolone than the improvised nasal devices. The National Institute also suggests that families with loved ones with opioid addiction should have Naxolone nearby.

When a person overdoses, their breathing slows or stops, decreasing the oxygen to the brain. If the victim doesn’t die, this can have short- and long-term mental effects on the nervous system, including permanent brain damage.

In 2019, The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that nearly 50,000 people in the United States died from opioid-related overdoses. Although heroin addiction is a serious condition, it doesn’t have to be permanent or even long-term, especially through a treatment program. It is a treatable disease. If you are seeking help for yourself or someone close to you, act now. It is not necessary or recommended to wait to “hit rock bottom.”

The recovery process is not linear but possible. Drug abuse does not have to be a seal for your fate. There is scientific evidence that combining medical and therapy-based treatments can give you the opportunity to recover at a treatment program and lead a healthy life.

Drug abuse can be managed through your patience. Heroin addiction treatment works as a valuable resource. New federal rules have been enacted governing confidentiality and disclosure of substance abuse patient records.

Harmony Ridge Recovery Center is located in the Mid-Ohio Valley in Walker, West Virginia.

Surrounded by 50 acres of lakes and forest land, it is the perfect place to begin a journey of any type. Our comprehensive treatment programs will set you up to succeed on your journey to recovery.

If you are ready to change your life, contact us today. We have a 24-hour helpline waiting to hear from you.