Jump to information about our heroin addiction treatment program at Bow Creeks addiction treatment center.
HeroinHeroin is a highly addictive drug and is the most widely abused and most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants. Pure heroin, which is a white powder with a bitter taste, is rarely sold on the streets. Most illicit heroin is a powder varying in color from white to dark brown. The differences in color are due to impurities left from the manufacturing process or the presence of additives. Another form of heroin, "black tar" heroin, is primarily available in the western and southwestern U.S. This heroin, which is produced in Mexico, may be sticky like roofing tar or hard like coal, with its color varying from dark brown to black. Heroin can be injected, smoked, or sniffed/snorted. Injection is the most efficient way to administer low-purity heroin. The availability of high-purity heroin, however, and the fear of infection by sharing needles has made snorting and smoking the drug more common. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) researchers have confirmed that all forms of heroin administration are addictive.
Health Effects
The short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after taking the drug. Intravenous injection provides the greatest intensity and most rapid onset of the initial rush that users experience. Intravenous users typically experience the rush within 7 to 8 seconds after injection, while intramuscular injection produces a slower onset of this euphoric feeling, taking 5 to 8 minutes. When heroin is sniffed or smoked, the peak effects of the drug are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes.
In addition to the initial feeling of euphoria, the short-term effects of heroin include a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and heavy extremities. After the initial euphoric feeling, the user experiences an alternately wakeful and drowsy state. Due to the depression of the central nervous system, mental functioning becomes clouded. Additionally, breathing may be slowed to the point of respiratory failure.
After repeatedly using heroin for a period of time, the long-term effects of the substance begin to appear in the user. Chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, and liver disease. Additionally, pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may also result in the user.
One of the most significant effects of heroin use is addiction. With regular heroin use, tolerance to the drug develops. Once this happens, the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity or effect that they are seeking. As higher doses of the drug are used over time, physical dependence and addiction to the drug develop.
Within a few hours after the last administration of heroin, withdrawal may occur. This withdrawal can produce effects such as drug craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, and vomiting. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week.
In addition to the effects of the drug itself, users who inject heroin also put themselves at risk for contracting HIV, hepatitis C (HCV), and other infectious diseases. Approximately 70-80% of the new HCV infections in the U.S. each year are among injection drug users.
Street heroin is often mixed with various substances, including sugar, starch, quinine, and sometimes, strychnine or other poisons, causing an added danger to using heroin. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at a great risk of overdose or death.
For further Information from The White House Drug Policy go to www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
Heroin addiction treatment at Bow Creek Recovery Center
Heroin is a very addictive drug and users have persistent desire for the drug called cravings. The withdrawal symptoms can be severe and painful. Heroin addiction and use causes physical symptoms, which include nausea, panic, shallow breathing, and insomnia. Users get together in heroin houses or shooting galleries to use the drug and as time goes by they need higher does of the drug to get the same effect. Heroin enters the brain so rapidly and this causes the highly addictive aspect of heroin use. With regular heroin use tolerance to the drug occurs. As higher doses are used and physical dependency increases, then heroin addiction is the result. Once a state of physical dependency has occurred, the body has become used to the drug being present, and severe withdrawal symptoms will likely occur if the use of heroin is stopped or the amount decreased. Once the body has adapted to the need for heroin severe withdrawals can occur just hours after the last use of heroin. It is very difficult to withdraw from heroin, and attempts to do so fail most of the time, because the symptoms of the withdrawal can be so overwhelming and painful. To prevent the withdrawal symptoms, the heroin addict will use more and more of the drug and do anything to get it. Heroin use has grown and the purity of the drug on the streets has increased. This means that the heroin that is available today is far stronger than in the past, and easily creates a severe addiction. Since many people inject heroin, it is a leading cause of the HIV/AIDS virus and hepatitis problems that we see today.
There are many forms of heroin addiction treatment. Many heroin addicts go to outpatient clinics, that use methadone as treatment. These are usually 30 day programs in which methadone is given, in order to stop the symptoms of withdrawal. What we know at Bow Creek Recovery Center is that if you are addicted to heroin and use a 30 day methadone program, that the chances of your success are very minimal. During that time you have not really addressed the issues that are behind the heroin addiction. You have also more than likely not changed your group of friends who are also users or the places that you hang out such as shooting galleries. We have found that there is a better form of heroin addiction treatment, and that is residential heroin rehabilitation in a private rehab center. In a residential setting, such as what we offer at Bow Creek Recovery Center, you receive exclusive drug treatment. We are a very small 5 bed facility. Therefore, you receive a significant amount of one-on-one treatment, to address the painful life experiences that have lead to your heroin addiction. Our heroin addiction therapy includes, group therapy which is very intimate, with lots of time for you to look at your personal issues and find support from the other members of group. You will not get lost in our small group as you would at other heroin treatment facilities that have many clients. We have a very caring and dedicated staff to support you in your personal heroin treatment. Because we are such a small facility you will find that the addiction help, support and caring that you receive from our staff is beyond comparison. Bow Creek Recovery Center is here for you. What we intend for you is for you to find that joyful, healthy being who got lost in the painful feelings that came from past experiences, and lead to your choice to use heroin. We believe in fun and laughter. So many times as you have lived this life of addiction, you have lost the you, that can find joy and excitement in life. href="http://www.addictiontreatmentrehab.com/treatment_program_admissions.html">
We are here to help you with recovery therapy, that includes joy and laughter as well as recovery from the pains that have controlled your life. Our goal, is to help you open doors to your true self, and to step forward into the great possibilities that you hold.
Another form of treatment for heroin addiction, that we support at Bow Creek Recovery Center is healthy eating and nutrition training. We open the doors to heal your body by eating right. We also give you the opportunity to learn how to eat right, when you go on to the new life that you have created for yourself at Bow Creek Recovery Center. Our nutritionist comes to the facility to offer you a new understanding of nutrition and food. We have a personal trainer who comes to the facility to offer an exercise program to strengthen your body. She is very dedicated and our clients love working with her. We also have an exercise machine for you to use. As your body becomes clean of the heroin it requires this opportunity to gain in strength, flexibility, and health.
We also work closely with a methadone clinic in the Treasure Valley so that you may receive methadone during your treatment if that is what the best course of treatment is for you. The methadone clinic will bring the methadone to our facility while you are with us to learn new behaviors that will support you to let go of your heroin addiction. We are the only residential rehab facility to allow the use of methadone during treatment in the Treasure Valley area.
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