The number of people addicted to heroin is growing every year at a very high rate. According to CDC, about 8200 Americans died from overdose of the drug in 2013. In comparison to 2002, this number was four times higher. People between the age of 18 and 25 account for the most addicted group of people. In most cases, people who are addicted to this substance are usually addicts of prescription opioid drugs.
Since the rate of addiction has skyrocketed, many treatment centers have also been opened to offer assistance to addicts. When one goes to a heroin treatment center for help, detoxification is usually the first cause of action taken. For the best results, detoxification is done and supervised by a physician. Various strategies are used to achieve full withdrawal including lifestyle changes, support groups, therapy, and medication.
An addiction causes a lot of pain and takes a lot of time to withdraw from. How long one needs to withdraw completely takes a variable amount of time that depends on factors such as chemical change caused in the brain and level of addiction. The discomfort caused during withdrawal can be eased through prescription medications. The medications ease the transition from substance dependence to substance-free body.
Heroin is an opiate drug. That means that it works by suppressing some central nervous system functions such as temperature regulation, respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. The substance increases the level of the chemical responsible for pleasure in the brain by binding to opioid receptors. This causes a rush of pleasure, while withdrawal causes the opposite.
How painful the withdrawal process is determined by how dependent the brain is to the substance. It also depends on how much chemical change has occurred to the brain as a result of the addiction. For those who had a mild addiction, the symptoms they experience include sweats, chills, nausea, excessive yawning, abdominal cramps, bone and muscle aches, and tearing. Those with moderate addiction experience diarrhea, tremors, fatigue, goose bumps, restlessness, agitation, vomiting, and lack of focus.
When one is addicted strongly, they also experience severe withdrawal symptoms. Severe addiction is associated with drug cravings, depression, muscle spasms, insomnia, hypertension, impaired respiration, and anxiety. Normally, withdrawing is not a life-threatening process, but the medical and psychological symptoms that follows may be a threat to life. Addicts commonly commit suicide, which makes it advisable to never try withdrawing without the assistance of a doctor.
Several medications have been invented to help addicts with withdrawal. Some of them include Methadone, Buprenorphine, and Naltrexone. Methadone is a slow-acting opioid agonist. It is usually taken orally so that it can dampen the pleasurable feeling of being high while preventing withdrawal symptoms. This medication has been in use since the 60s and is considered effective, especially in cases where other medications have failed to be effective.
Buprenorphine is one of the partial opioid agonists available in the market. Its mode of action involves relieving drug cravings and in addition, it does not have any life-threatening side effects similar to other opioids. The mode of taking is oral or sublingual.
Since the rate of addiction has skyrocketed, many treatment centers have also been opened to offer assistance to addicts. When one goes to a heroin treatment center for help, detoxification is usually the first cause of action taken. For the best results, detoxification is done and supervised by a physician. Various strategies are used to achieve full withdrawal including lifestyle changes, support groups, therapy, and medication.
An addiction causes a lot of pain and takes a lot of time to withdraw from. How long one needs to withdraw completely takes a variable amount of time that depends on factors such as chemical change caused in the brain and level of addiction. The discomfort caused during withdrawal can be eased through prescription medications. The medications ease the transition from substance dependence to substance-free body.
Heroin is an opiate drug. That means that it works by suppressing some central nervous system functions such as temperature regulation, respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. The substance increases the level of the chemical responsible for pleasure in the brain by binding to opioid receptors. This causes a rush of pleasure, while withdrawal causes the opposite.
How painful the withdrawal process is determined by how dependent the brain is to the substance. It also depends on how much chemical change has occurred to the brain as a result of the addiction. For those who had a mild addiction, the symptoms they experience include sweats, chills, nausea, excessive yawning, abdominal cramps, bone and muscle aches, and tearing. Those with moderate addiction experience diarrhea, tremors, fatigue, goose bumps, restlessness, agitation, vomiting, and lack of focus.
When one is addicted strongly, they also experience severe withdrawal symptoms. Severe addiction is associated with drug cravings, depression, muscle spasms, insomnia, hypertension, impaired respiration, and anxiety. Normally, withdrawing is not a life-threatening process, but the medical and psychological symptoms that follows may be a threat to life. Addicts commonly commit suicide, which makes it advisable to never try withdrawing without the assistance of a doctor.
Several medications have been invented to help addicts with withdrawal. Some of them include Methadone, Buprenorphine, and Naltrexone. Methadone is a slow-acting opioid agonist. It is usually taken orally so that it can dampen the pleasurable feeling of being high while preventing withdrawal symptoms. This medication has been in use since the 60s and is considered effective, especially in cases where other medications have failed to be effective.
Buprenorphine is one of the partial opioid agonists available in the market. Its mode of action involves relieving drug cravings and in addition, it does not have any life-threatening side effects similar to other opioids. The mode of taking is oral or sublingual.
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