Heroin Addiction: Outpatient Drug Rehab

Heroin, also called dope and smack, is an illegal and highly addictive opioid narcotic that is derived from the drug morphine. Morphine is a naturally occurring drug that is extracted from the seeds of some types of poppy plants. 

Heroin can usually be found as a white or brown powder, or it can also be a black sticky substance which is known on the streets as “black tar heroin”. The use of heroin and other opioids in the United States is a serious problem and is becoming more problematic as time goes on. Heroin is the most abused opioid, and it is also one of the most rapidly acting, which is one of the reasons why it can quickly lead to both overdose and death.

So many ways to abuse

It can be abused in several different ways. It can be smoked, snorted, or dissolved within the water and then injected directly into a vein. Heroin then rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier and leads to feelings of euphoria and happiness, which can increase its addiction potential. 

The fast delivery of the drug to the brain can also lead to complex health issues. Because it is sold on the streets, heroin can be cut with other substances such as baking soda. 

Diluting the purity of heroin is a way that dealers can increase profits, however, this can have deadly consequences for users, as they are unable to know how pure the drug is, even if they repeatedly buy the drug from the same dealer. 

Heroin overdose often leads to shallow breathing, convulsions, coma, and death.

Over time, with regular use, heroin use develops a tolerance that requires more heroin in order to produce the same high. Eventually, this tolerance will lead to the user requiring more drugs to feel the same effects. 

If you are concerned that a loved one is using heroin, consider sending them to outpatient drug rehab. Outpatient drug rehab is a way that you can get help for someone that you care about.

Signs and symptoms of heroin addiction

People that abuse heroin will often display several different signs and symptoms, but not all heroin abusers will react to the drug in the same manner. Symptoms of heroin abuse vary depending upon genetic makeup, length of abuse, the amount of heroin used, and usages of other drugs and alcohol. 

Some of the most common symptoms of heroin abuse include:

An increasing amount of time spent alone. Heroin users often begin to spend more time by themselves, as the effects of the drugs cause them to become lethargic. When they are not under the effect of the drug, heroin users want to spend time by themselves as they will likely be in withdrawal.

Lying about drug use. Heroin users often lie about whether they are using the drug. If they get found using it, they will then go on to lie about how much of the drug they are using. Often, it is impossible to ascertain how much a heroin user is using until they no longer have access to the drug, and withdrawal begins. 

At this point, heroin users who have been using large amounts of the drug will likely have far worse withdrawal symptoms than heroin users who have not been using much of the drug.

Wearing long sleeves, even in summer. Intravenous drug users often have track marks on their arms from injection sites. To cover up these marks, they often wear long sleeves, even when the weather is hot.

Engaging in illegal activities. To fund their drug use, heroin users often become engaged in criminal activity. This could range from theft to more serious crimes such as robbery or drug dealing.

Increased sleeping. The effects of heroin can make someone sleep for increasingly long periods of time, as the drug can often make users fall asleep.

Strained personal relationships. Someone who is using heroin often becomes unable to maintain personal relationships due to their frequently reckless behavior.

Slurred speech. Another effect of heroin is that it can often cause users' speech to be slurred. If you can no longer understand what your loved one is saying, and they are showing several other symptoms in this list, it is possible that they are using heroin.

Decreased mental focus. The effects of heroin often lead to a lack of ability to sustain mental focus. This is caused both by the use of the drug and by withdrawal symptoms associated with heroin use. Users often also report an inability to solve problems. Again, this can be both caused by the use of the drug and by withdrawal.

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Remember, if someone you know seems to be suffering from the ravages of heroin use, outpatient drug rehab can help.