Heroin Addiction Help Guide

Heroin withdrawal affects both the body and the mind.  While each person’s experiences are different, there are symptoms which most people experience to some degree.  Most symptoms are the reverse of what one experiences while using the drug.

Physical symptoms can begin within hours, and usually end within a week.  Psychological symptoms can last much longer.  A point to keep in mind is while all of the symptoms will eventually end, sobriety can last forever.

Here are some of the key points to keep in mind:

1)    Digestive system

2)    Fluids

3)    Sleep

4)    Pain

5)    Mood

6)   Heroin Cravings

7)    Getting through withdrawal

8)    Suboxone medication

First, using heroin generally causes the digestive system to stop working properly.  When you are in withdrawal, you are likely to experience diarrhea, along with pains and cramps.  These symptoms can be quite severe.

A second common symptom is loss of bodily fluids.  This includes profuse perspiration, and tearing from the eyes.  Vomiting is also likely to occur.  Your nose may also run profusely.  Between this symptom and diarrhea, you may become dehydrated.  After you have successfully completed the detoxification process, you will need to re hydrate by drinking water and other healthy liquids; furthermore, drug rehabs and treatment centers will often use Gator aid for this because it replenishes the electrolytes.

Sleep disturbances often occur during withdrawal.  You may not be able to fall asleep or stay asleep, or you may have difficulty staying awake.  Many people experience persistent, uncontrollable yawning.
As heroin is a painkiller, expect to feel aches and pains.  They can be in any part of the body, or throughout your entire body.

Mood changes are common when getting drugs out of one’s system.  They can include agitation, depression, irritability, and a general sense of restlessness.  In some cases, these symptoms can be very extreme.  If you detox around friends or family members, these extreme mood swings can be very difficult for them to tolerate.

When attempting to free your body from any kind of drug, you can expect cravings.  This is because both the mind and body have become accustomed to the drug and its effects.  Cravings are one of the main reasons for relapse. One thing you should keep in mind about heroin cravings is that they only last around 7 seconds. What you have to do is to train yourself to do something different when they come like try saying the serenity prayer or you can use what ever you want just as long as you do not use. I used to have to repeat the serenity pray over and over until it became automatic.

This is one reason to not try to get off drugs alone.

While these symptoms are painful and difficult, they can be tolerated if you truly want to reach your goal.  However, the possibility of complications makes asking for help a wise decision.  Physical complications that can occur include having a stroke or a heart attack.  Other complications include thoughts and attempts of suicide.  None of these complications can be dealt with on your own.  Even if you believe your addiction is relatively minor, you could be putting your life at risk.

If you have decided to give up drugs, you have made the best decision for yourself, your life, and your future.  You can take your decision a step further, and seek outside assistance.  Whether you enter a rehabilitation facility, a hospital, or find some other resource, you will be making the entire process easier and safer.  You have the rest of your life to enjoy good health and sobriety.  Begin to prepare yourself by asking for help.  It is not a sign that you are weak.  Instead, it is a positive sign of strength.

How to get through an opiate withdrawal

If you have had enough of the getting and using and finding new ways to get more drugs then perhaps you should consider going to rehab. There you can get the help you need to learn how to quit using heroin and take control of your life again. One thing you may want to keep in mind is what steps you are going to take to get through withdrawal successfully. This can be done in a variety of ways one way in particular would be to decrease the amount that you use each day

This is known as tapering off in the medical field. Here is an example of tapering the amount you use each day, this should prevent any serious side effects of  withdrawing from heroin. One thing you should know about this method is that those that can stick to this regiment are few and far between.
How get through withdrawal

The next option is to kick heroin cold turkey this will be a lot more difficult and I am sure it will not be for everyone. This is by far the hardest way how to stop using heroin but it can be done; in fact, I have detoxed from heroin like this far more times than I would have liked but once is all anyone has to go through it.
Ok then for those that can not afford to go to rehab or absolutely have no other option than to go heroin cold turkey then the first thing I would suggest that you do is get rid of all you’re using paraphernalia. There is absolutely no reason to have it around anymore if you are serious about getting clean.

Next thing you can do is stay awake all day and night a couple of days in advance the idea is that this should help you sleep through the worst of the withdrawal.

I would ask a trusted friend or family member to come stay with you while you go through heroin detox this could possibly make the difference whether you make it through this ordeal or not. They can be there moral support, this will also let the addict know that someone cares about them and that are indeed loved this is very important because a lot of addicts feel they are not worthy of love; furthermore, they also feel no one cares about them. This is the excuse a lot of people frequently use to justify their continued drug abuse.

There are some other things one can to make the withdrawal a little less turbulent; here’s how I would suggest that you go to the drug store and purchase some Motrin. This will work great for headaches and leg cramps because a lot of folks suffer from restless leg syndrome when they discontinue using heroin. While there I would get some Imodium for diarrhea. The actual withdraw process usually takes anywhere from 3 to 5 days with the worst being over in around 72 hours.

Now I can honestly tell you that from my experience that the easiest and most desirable way to quit heroin this is to use suboxone.
Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. It is a depressant that inhibits the central nervous system. Heroin also produces profound degrees of tolerance and physical dependence, which are also powerful motivating factors for compulsive use and abuse.

As with abusers of any addictive drug, heroin abusers gradually spend more and more time and energy obtaining and using the drug. Once they are addicted, the Heroin abusers’ primary purpose in life becomes seeking and using drugs. The drugs literally change their brains.

How to withdrawal from heroin with suboxone

Physical dependence develops with higher doses of the drug. With physical dependence, the body adapts to the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms occur if use is reduced abruptly.
withdrawal symptoms usually peak somewhere between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose. They slowly taper off over the next week. Many symptoms can accompany a very strong need or craving. One in the recovery process may experience restlessness, tremors or muscle cramps.

Some symptoms can be similar to those experienced with other conditions such as the flu including but may not be limited too; Vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, cold sweats along with muscle or bone pain can all be signs of withdrawals. Symptoms such as chest pain, elevated heart rates and blood pressure may occur. Convulsions and involuntary movements may indicate withdrawal symptoms.

Nowadays, worrying about withdrawal is detrimental. When someone makes up their mind to stop using and overcome their Heroin addiction there are prescription medications to help one with the so-called detoxification.  Using medications for suboxone treatment will help to get through the worst of withdrawal from heroin without suffering.

Here are some medications that can be taken:

Buprenorphine, which prevents withdrawal symptoms and works great for many addicts.

Naltrexone, which blocks the euphoric and the analgesic effects. This helps a person abstain.

Cloonidine is effective for withdrawal symptoms.

Benzodiazepines (such as Valium) are recommended. These ease the insomnia, muscle spasms, and anxiety connected with withdrawal from opiates.

If medications do not work then Supportive therapy is a choice. This would include group therapy and counseling. Trained professionals will administer prescription medications to help ease the pain of withdrawal. This normally takes in a rehabilitation center from 3 to 5 days.

OK I have laid out some ways how anyone can get through withdrawal the rest is up to you to which way you want to go. But here’s the catch you will have to take the necessary action to get clean and sober I would suggest that you do not delay!

Just keep in mind not to ever give up trying to stop using even if you have been to rehab a couple times before. It took me a whole lot of years to put together some substantial clean time. It does not have to take anyone as long as it took me. The key to drug addiction recover is massive action without it you are going to relapse its just as simple as that.

Massive action is necessary to overcome drug addiction

If you want to recover from heroin addiction there are certain steps that one needs to follow; for example, massive action is required for anyone who is serious about there recovery from drug addiction. So what do I mean by massive action? Well for one I would suggest that you start writing your steps and go over them with a sponsor. The NA step writing guide is great for this and costs very little. Next thing I would recommend is that you step up your meeting attendance or do some volunteer work or something else you have in mind but the important thing is that you do it. Remember we can only keep what we have by giving it away. Recovery must come first and foremost.

Clean living is a must. It is still better not to use the drug at all. Prevention is better than cure. SAY NO TO HEROIN, before withdrawal and death knock on your door.

 

 

If you are still struggling with trying to get off of opiate drugs like heroin just maybe you are not putting enough action into your recovery program. If this is not your first go around at getting clean and sober  maybe you need to go to rehab or back to rehab. Just do something because if you continue down the road you are going something bad is more than likely going to happen and things will get worse after all addiction is a progressive disease and if it is not arrested the end result is death.

Here are some recovery tips to step up your addiction recovery program 

• Call your sponsor ever day for 30 days and if you do not have one get one
• Another thing you can do is make a commitment to attend 30 meetings in thirty days
• Get to the meeting early and set things up like make coffee put out the recovery pamphlets
• Help new comer maybe pick them up and go to coffee or drive them to a meeting
• Start writing the steps the steps are the key to freedom

All of these things will help you to prevent an unwanted heroin relapse. We have to be vigilant if we are to be successful. I can tell you what happened to me with a couple of years clean and it was not pretty. I slacked off on my meetings failed to keep in touch with my sponsor and other recovering addicts and I used and was out there a year before I was able to get back. Many addicts do not make it back they die of a heroin overdose this in not necessary so Please take action!

Good luck and God bless