Congratulations for making a very bold move in your life. If you have been using heroin avidly or if you are addicted to heroin and would like to discontinue all forms of use then there are a few things you should take into consideration before you do quit. First and foremost is “Why are you quitting?”. Are you quitting to prove to a friend or loved one that you can take charge of your life? Are you quitting because of a drug screen at work is forcing you? Are you quitting because your spouse is going to leave you if you don’t? If you are, well, then you’re quitting for all the wrong reasons. You have to quit for yourself, you must come to a realization that there is a better life after heroin use and a better you. Forcing yourself, or somebody forcing you to quit will only lead to potential relapses because there is this lack of natural ‘drive’ when you do something for yourself, to better yourself.
Detoxing from heroin can be the most painful detoxification that a drug addict can experience. Severe physical withdrawal symptoms await for those who quit. Rest assured, there are several methods out there to help you along way.
Inpatient Care, Treatment Centers, and Rehab Centers
This method is one of the best routes to take if you are serious about Medical Detox heroin. The main goal of an inpatient treatment center for addiction is to make sure patients are fully abstained from any form of opiate at all times for however long the withdrawal process lasts. In this heroin treatment method, users are taught to live a drug-free life and aim to re-spark the zest for life once again. Inpatient treatment is a very critical heroin detox method as patients are closed off from the rest of the world while they focus on getting clean, this is both very beneficial and even therapeutical for some patients because it gives them a break from all the chaos while they cope with the new feelings of being heroin-free. Along with withdrawal support, patients are taught coping strategies and social tips to help better reconnect with the outside world and to find happiness and be healthier once they leave the hospital or rehab.
Taking Methadone to “Ease” off Heroin
Methadone is a synthesized opiate used to help wither off heroin while withdrawal and craving diminished as opposed to discontinuing use all together. Methadone is a long-acting opiate that is designed to stay in the system for 24-48 hours. This is very beneficial in that heroin addicts use more frequently then what methadone can accomplish in just one dose. Methadone works very similar to other painkillers such as Vicodin and Oxycontin and is a very effective form of treatment when used to treat opiate addiction.
When prescribed methadone, the patient will come into the methadone clinic once a day and will be closely monitored by a doctor to make sure an adequate amount of methadone is being administered while also making sure no other medications are being thrown in the mix. Methadone is usually dispensed in liquid form,but can also be in pill or water form.
Many benefits are in taking Methadone, most notably is when a person is on a correct dose, he does not feel “high”, rather he feels normal again with subsiding withdrawal symptoms so that he can live a productive life. Methadone is also considerably cheaper then actually buying heroin on the streets, sometimes spending up to hundreds a day. It’s optimal because Methadone only needs to be taken once a day opposed to other opiates which need to be taken every several hours to avoid withdrawal.
Rapid Detox for Heroin Addicts
Because of modern medicine and technology, this method for detoxing heroin exists. Of all other methods, this seems to be the most productive and fastest way to detox your body completely free of opiates. Preformed in a hospital or detox center, this procedure is done by licensed a medical practitioner.
The procedure goes like this: You walk into the rapid detox center and are first introduced to anesthesia. While you are under the effects of anesthesia, doctors will give you prescription medications to rapidly flush the system clean of all opiates. From start to finish, this procedure takes about 4 hours and when you wake up after the anesthesia wears off, you should feel no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. However, there have been few cases where people would report just mild withdrawals.
There are some downfalls to rapid detox however. Prices for this procedure reach up to even if you are willing to reach in your pockets, take into consideration that some patients have died due to complications from the medications that are used to help flush out your system. Although rare, there has been reported six deaths at one particular New Jersey detox center out of their 2,350 patients over a seven year period who underwent the same rapid detox procedure as the victims.
