Heroin Addiction Sarasota FL
Heroin addiction has had an overwhelming resurgence in recent years. At Sarasota Drug Rehab, they can provide you with help in finding comprehensive heroin addiction treatment programs to help those suffering from this condition. If you or someone you love is struggling with heroin addiction, call today at (877) 804-1531.
Heroin is an extremely addictive illegal drug that is a member of the narcotic family. It is derived from the legal prescription pain medication morphine, which itself is derived from a natural substance contained in the seedpods of poppy plants. Because the drug originally comes from the poppy plant, it is also known as an opioid or opiate drug.
This drug comes in different forms based upon the chemical processing that it undergoes and the impurities that remain in the finished product. The pure form of this drug is rare and looks like a bright white powder. More common forms come in sticky black or brown solid bricks or as a brown or blackish powder. This drug also goes by many names on the street including chiva, smack, horse, thunder, dragon, and big H.
Why is Heroin Addictive?
Heroin has a potent effect on the nervous system and brain. This potent effect, among other things, stimulates the release of dopamine (the chemical that makes a person feel pleasure and euphoria) and blocks pain receptors in the brain making a person able to feel no pain at all while under the influence. After only a single use or sometime a few uses, the body stops releasing dopamine or blocking pain receptors without receiving a signal to do so from heroin when it enters the body. This means the brain and body are chemically dependent on the drug and are addicted.
How is it Used?
Pure heroin (white heroin) is more commonly smoked or snorted. Other powder forms that are darker in color may still be smoke or snorted, though the user will mostly likely dissolve the powder in water or melt it down to make it injectable directly into the vein. The solid, sticky heroin is almost always melted down to inject intravenously.
What are the Effects of Abuse?
- Extremely slow breathing
- Euphoria
- Temporary relaxation/calm
- Disorientation
- Lack of concentration or focus
- Perceived itching underneath the skin
- Mental fogginess
- Extreme weight loss
- Very slow heart rate
- Sudden death
- Nausea
- Constricted (small) pupils
- Heart failure
- Sepsis (infection in the blood)
What are the Treatments for Addiction?
Heroin addiction is first treated with detox to get the drug out of a person's system. The withdrawal symptoms associated with this drug are particularly grueling, especially if a person attempts to detox by quitting cold turkey. With the help of a medical detox facility, the withdrawals and dangers of the process can be reduced through the use of prescription narcotic drugs and their antagonists (drugs that counteract narcotics). These medications help to gradually wean a person from the effects of heroin and thus make detox more successful and less uncomfortable.
Detox is immediately followed by individual and group therapy to delve into the reasons behind a person's heroin abuse and subsequent addiction and to develop coping strategies for the future to stay sober. Drug treatment may also include equine therapy and art therapy to help patients understand and recognize their emotions and how they affect both the individual experiencing them and the people around them. Other treatments such as restorative yoga or chiropractic care may be utilized as needed or desired.
Heroin addiction is tough, let the experts at Sarasota Drug Rehab, find you the right rehab or treatment facility for you, call them today at (877) 804-1531 and find the help you deserve.