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Heroin Addiction FAQ

What is Heroin Addiction?

Heroin is an opiate based drug that is either snorted or shot intravenously, and when it is used regularly over a relatively short period of time, heroin addiction results. Contrary to popular belief, no one form of heroin use is more addicting than another. Over time, heroin addiction will result no matter how you ingest the drug.

What are the Effects of Heroin Addiction?

When you are under the influence of heroin, you will experience effects that include a “high” that manifests as a “nod” or a prolonged subdued yet euphoric state. You may also feel nauseous and/or constipated, but while the high is in effect, you will feel no pain.

In the long-term, however, the effects of heroin addiction are somewhat more gruesome: bacterial infections, abscesses, collapsed veins, blood borne diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C, heart valve and heart lining infections and rheumatologic issues. Overdose, of course, is also a possible effect of heroin addiction as is death.

As for the social, mental and emotional effects? Those are practically boundless. The relationships and opportunities lost due to heroin addiction are impossible to measure.

What are the Risks of Heroin Addiction?

The risks of heroin addiction are many:

  • Contracting HIV or Hepatitis C if using dirty needles or sharing needles
  • Heroin overdose
  • Tolerance to the drug that requires that you take more and more to achieve the original high
  • Spontaneous abortion if pregnant
  • Heroin withdrawal symptoms if you should miss a dose or try to quit on your own

The depression that comes along with heroin addiction can be overwhelming and makes quitting even harder. It’s a crippling part of heroin detox that often keeps people in their addiction long after they want to stop.

How Can I Tell if I’m Addicted to Heroin?

There are a few different defining characteristics of heroin addiction that can help you answer that question. For example, do you find yourself craving the drug, thinking about it, how it feels to get high, constantly figuring out where to get the next dose will come from? If you miss a dose, do you experience the onset of withdrawal symptoms like muscle and bone aches, profuse sweating, nausea and vomiting, insomnia and fatigue, irritability and more. If you don’t get a dose of heroin quick enough, these symptoms increase for days until they are unbearable. This is a sure sign of heroin addiction.

Heroin Addiction Treatment at Orchid Recovery Center

If you or someone you love are suffering from heroin addiction, Orchid Recovery Center can help. We provide a comprehensive heroin rehab for women who are struggling with heroin addiction. Starting with heroin detox methods that address the physical issues of heroin addiction, we follow up with heroin addiction treatment that addresses the problems that women specifically experience that may have triggered their addiction issues, as well as the problems that cropped up as a result of heroin addiction. If you have any questions about heroin addiction treatment for women at Orchid Recovery Center, contact us today.

Further Reading

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