Heroin Withdrawal

Heroin is of course a highly addictive drug, and the problems as well as the horrendous heroin withdrawal symptoms associated with heroin abuse are but beginning. Heroin is known on the street by many fanciful names including skag, mud, junk, horse, dope, brown sugar, blacktar, big H, junk, ska, big H and smack.

It is processed from morphine, thus it is a depressant that also inhibits the nervous system. It can come in many colors, ranging from pure white to black. A number of ways can be used to take in heroin, for it can be snorted, smoked or injected directly into the user’s veins.

Physical addiction withdrawal can take many forms and it can happen within hours of taking the last dose to those who have taken more and more heroin to reach the “rush” that they were looking for. The common heroin withdrawal symptoms involve muscle and possible bone pain, uncontrolled kicking movements, cold flashes that are accompanied by tremendous goose bumps, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia and tremendous restlessness.

Some people exhibit all of those symptoms all at once, which usually leads to an ambulance ride to the hospital where they try to save the person’s life. Often though, the person is not found when exhibiting these symptoms, and thus may frequently die while in the throes of these major withdrawal symptoms.

One of the incontrovertible realities of heroin use is that the majority of heroin addictions are brought on by the user themselves. This happens when the “normal” site where they’ve obtained heroin before is suddenly either out of heroin or has been permanently closed down by the local police. Thus the addict must find a very quick replacement for their regular “dealer.”

This means that although they may not have been truly clinically addicted before, the change in the purity of the new heroin fix is going to be substantially different than what their body has been accustomed to. If the previous heroin that the person took before was not as potent or strong as what is purchased today, a dependency is almost guaranteed, and heroin withdrawal will then happen, or the person suffers an overdose, referred to as an OD on the street.

If the user’s body has become accustomed to a regular dose of heroin, then heroin withdrawal will follow a different path. In this case, the actual withdrawal symptoms may last even 31 weeks after withdrawal or longer. The patient’s blood pressure, body temperature as well as the pulse rate, and pupil diameter will most probably be affected.

There are also some behavioral changes, such as having a vastly augmented propensity for sleep and there may be some highly negative changes in the way that the patient feels and the moods associated with how the patient feels. There are a number of drugs that can help the heroin withdrawal including the use of decreasing doses of such long-acting opiates like methadone.

I suggest you check out my other guide on teens and drugs and teens and alcohol

Heroin Withdrawal

Related Articles: