Heroin addiction is a growing public health concern across the country. In the past, heroin was known as a drug commonly found in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods and alternative subcultures. Today, that is no longer the case. Heroin use is found in all walks of life and every corner of America from Kansas farmland to small North Dakota towns and big cities, coast to coast. Business executives, high school students, and young IT professionals have all fallen prey to heroin addiction.
Over the past decade, the number of drug overdose deaths related to Heroin has rapidly grown and shows no sign of decline. Heroin laced with illicitly manufactured fentanyl has contributed to the potency of the drug and caused a significant rise in overdose deaths. If you or a loved one has a heroin addiction, it is imperative that you get help. It is literally a matter of life and death.
Here at Wavelengths Recovery, we know how difficult this challenge can be. We are committed to helping every client overcome their addiction and putting them on a path to reclaiming their lives. Let us show you the way to a better tomorrow. Call us now!
Heroin Affects Your Brain
Heroin, an illicit opioid, enters the brain quickly. It slows down the way you think, reaction time, and memory. Over the long term, repeated heroin use can alter the way the brain functions, increasing the risk of developing an addiction; someone addicted to heroin will continue to seek and use the drug despite negative consequences.
Short-Term Effects of Heroin Use
People who use heroin report feeling a “rush” (a surge of pleasure, or euphoria). However, there are other common effects, including dry mouth; warm flushing of the skin; heavy feeling in the arms and legs; nausea and vomiting; severe itching; clouded mental functioning; going “on the nod,” a back-and-forth state of being conscious and semiconscious.
Long-Term Effects of Heroin Use
People who use heroin over the long term may develop: insomnia; collapsed veins for people who inject the drug; damaged tissue inside the nose for people who sniff or snort it; infection of the heart lining and valves; abscesses (swollen tissue filled with pus); constipation and stomach cramping; liver and kidney disease; lung complications, including pneumonia; mental disorders such as depression and antisocial personality disorder; sexual dysfunction for men and irregular menstrual cycles for women.
Heroin Use: The First Time Can Be Fatal
Substances like fentanyl are sometimes added to heroin. These additives clog blood vessels leading to the liver, lungs, kidneys, and brain and lead to inflammation or infection. Powder sold as heroin combined with these additives also creates a high risk of fatal overdose. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug overdose deaths involving heroin rose from 1,960 in 1999 to 15,482 in 2017.
What Does Heroin Look Like?
Heroin can be a white powder or dark brown powder. It also comes in the form of a black tar-like substance. Heroin dealers often mix in other substances, such as sugar, starch, or more dangerous chemicals like fentanyl. Pure heroin is dangerous as well, despite the common misperception that it is safer. Common names for heroin include big H, horse, hell dust, and smack.
Heroin Addiction Treatment is Available
Here at Wavelengths Recovery, we provide a wide range of heroin addiction treatment plans including medicines and behavioral therapies that are effective in helping people stop heroin use. It’s important to match the best treatment approach to meet the particular needs of each individual client. This may include medicines that help with the withdrawal process. Medicines commonly used to help people stop using heroin include buprenorphine and methadone.
Additionally, our behavioral therapies for heroin addiction include methods called cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational therapy, trauma-focused therapy, and a host of other treatment modalities. These behavioral treatment approaches are especially effective when used along with medicines.
Our mission is to help you overcome addiction and its path of destruction, operating from an each-one-teach-one model. Our holistic programs, combined with an expert team of addiction treatment specialists, counselors, nutritionists, and others will help you get back to the person you once were before heroin took control of you or a loved one’s life. Wavelengths is a place where active participants can work with us to get their lives and their health back.
Don’t try to kick your heroin habit alone. We are here to help. Contact an addiction specialist now and put the pieces of your life back together.
Wavelengths’ Huntington Beach Heroin Rehab Centers
Wavelengths Recovery has years of experience treating those addicted to heroin. Our Huntington Beach heroin rehabilitation programs have helped many finally break free from the cycle of relapse.
These Rehab Centers in Huntington Beach are tailored to provide a recovery experience that will help you start your recovery strong.
