What is Heroin Use Disorder?

heroin-addiction-treatment-options-at-IOP-drug-rehabs-Austin-and-withdrawal symptoms are explainedHeroin addiction treatment options are available at our rehabilitation center in Austin, Texas. Heroin is well known as one of the most addictive substances, as someone can feel the need to use it again after just one or two uses. As an opioid, it affects the opioid receptors in the user’s brain and body’s nerve cells by delivering a feeling of euphoria. Heroin can be injected, smoked, snorted or sniffed.

Heroin use disorder leads to very serious short-term and long-term damage, from slowing your mental function to potentially overdose. Patients generally experience a difficult period of withdrawal when they try to stop using heroin.

But there’s good news, too: Oakvine Recovery Center can help you recover. Our professional staff creates custom treatments that help you step on the road to recovery and stay there.

What are Symptoms of Heroin Abuse?

Heroin has a number of symptoms specific to the ways in which users ingest it and the effects on their minds and bodies. Things to look for include:

  • Needle injection marks on their bodies. These occur most frequently in the arm, but some users inject heroin between their fingers and toes as well.
  • New tattoos to hide injection marks.
  • Similarly, paraphernalia such as syringes, rubber tubes or belts, lighters, spoons and small metal or glass pipes can signal heroin abuse.
  • A sleep appearance with dilated pupils.
  • Slowed movements and reaction times.
  • The tendency to invent excuses to run pointless or irrelevant errands to hide their heroin usage.

What are the Long-Term Effects of Heroin Use Disorder?

Our IOP drug rehab program has seen the long-term effects of heroin abuse. Heroin users are at higher risk of overdose in comparison to other substance use disorders, but even those who survive can be afflicted with long-term effects such as:

  • HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Heroin users may catch one or more of these diseases from sharing needles or from failing to practice safe sex while they’re high.
  • Deterioration of brain matter. Heroin abuse can damage the white matter in the user’s brain, which affects decision-making and how a person manages his/her behavior.
  • Neuronal and hormonal imbalances. Likewise, heroin abuse can change both the physiology and the physical structure of the user’s brain, causing long-term imbalances.
  • High tolerance. Heroin use disorder is accompanied by developing extreme tolerance to the drug, causing the user to seek higher and higher doses.
  • Physical dependence. Prolonged heroin abuse will lead to strong dependence, which causes extreme withdrawal symptoms when the user tries to quit.

What are the Withdrawal Symptoms?

Typically, a person suffering from heroin use disorder will experience the worst withdrawal symptoms within the first 24 to 48 hours and up to a week of stopping usage. However, the worst cases of heroin abuse may lead to withdrawal for months. These symptoms include:

  • “Cold turkey,” which is cold flashes and goosebumps
  • Restlessness, often accompanied by twitchy leg movements
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Pain in muscles and bones
  • Diarrhea and upset stomach
  • Insomnia
  • Severe cravings for heroin

How do you Treat Heroin Addiction Treatment?

Oakvine’s heroin addiction treatment center takes pride in finding the right substance abuse addiction treatment plan for each of our patients. We customize our heroin recovery treatments based on your usage, symptoms, and other life context. Some of the plans we will consider are:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy. Designed to change behaviors related to abuse, this treatment helps the patient recognize and manage triggers.
  • Contingency management. We help the patient stay heroin-free by providing motivational incentives for doing so.
  • Family therapy. Because the power of heroin use disorder often causes the patient to abandon family members in favor of finding more heroin, we help repair relationships and help the family understand how better to help.
  • Group therapy. We also enable conversations and shared experiences with other patients recovering from heroin use disorder.

Contact our Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Center Now

Are you or someone you care about suffering from heroin use disorder? Oakvine is ready to help. We’ll make sure to fully understand the patient’s usage patterns and the problems these have caused so that we can tailor a treatment plan that works. You can start recovering as soon as today by calling us now at (877) 255-6890.