Posts Tagged ‘Opiate Addiction’

Opiate Detox and Heroin Facts

Saturday, August 13th, 2011
Gabriel Killian asked:


Opiate detox and what to expect. Heroin facts, effects and dealing with opiate withdrawal symptoms. Drug addiction resources and information.

The process of opiate detox can be extremely unpleasant for someone who is not prepared. Proper eduction about such drugs as heroin and other opiates can help in dealing with a variety of opiate withdrawal symptoms. Knowing the heroin fact and the effects of opiate addiction can give insight and enable a smoother recovery. Below are heroin facts as well as other opiate detox facts that can provide someone with some comfort when dealing with the various opiate withdrawal symptoms.

1. Opiate Detox – The process of opiate detoxification varies from person to person. Generally, opiates stay in your system for just a couple of days. The hardest part of the opiate detox as far as opiate withdrawal symptoms are concerned are usually the worst during the first 3 days. For those attempting to detox at home, it is highly suggested that you clear your calendar for up to four or five days at the least. During this time, it is extremely important that one stay hydrated and sleep as much as possible, although sleep may be harder at times. The key to recovery is rest. what happens more often than not is that while a user in on an opiate, they tend to rely on that opiate more than they realize, pushing themselves further and further, getting less sleep, less calorie intake and letting the drugs take the place of good health habits. When an individual gets off of the drugs, they no longer can rely on that drug to push them further, thus can increase the negative opiate withdrawal symptoms beyond what would normally take place.

2. Heroin Facts – If you are a heroin addict, or even an opium addict for that matter. The manner in which you take the drugs is going to affect the longevity of opiate detox and the severity as well. Those who shoot the drugs are going to suffer probably the strongest withdrawal symptoms, smoking second strongest and ingestion third. It may be a good idea to switch the manner in which you currently use sometime before the detox to ensure a smoother heroin detox. Also before the detox, get plenty of sleep, eat well and stay hydrated. The better you take care of yourself now, the better you’ll be during the withdrawal symptoms.

3. When going to a outpatient clinic, you may be required to pass positive on a drug test before you are prescribed any medication for recovery. Keep this in mind beforehand as it may be a useful resource to have rather than quiting cold-turkey. There are a few methods used to help those during a period of detox and most of them work quite well. Get a doctors opinion on which method is best for you.

4. Get a list of resources before hand. Visit websites, print information, get phone numbers and so on. If you are going through this alone, it is an excellent idea to have phone numbers, websites and a number of resources ready in case you need to contact them. At the bottom of this article is a link to an opiate addiction help website that may be able to give you such phone numbers and information as well as at-home programs that are guaranteed to help.

5. Get a book or home program to help you through your heroin detox or any other kind of opiate detox you may be going through. Programs or books such as these provide you with on-demand information and resources fro experts who can really help you make it through the rougher times. They may cost some money, but will save you thousands in the long run. Don’t take a chance on doing it a worse way. Make the transition as easy for you as possible, you deserve it. Having a book or program might just give you the insight and inspiration you need to really make a change.

6. Stay positive. This may be harder at times, but having a positive attitude can really make a difference when dealing with addiction recovery, withdrawal symptoms and opiate detox. Try to be the best person you can and free yourself of those negative self-defeating thoughts that make life so hard.

These tips are just a few ideas to get you through the hardest of times during opiate detox and withdrawal symptoms. Knowing the heroin facts and heroin effects among various other opiates can make the change as less painful as possible and you will come out a better person.



Subxone Milwaukee

A Brief Information Guide On How Methadone Works In Heroin Addiction Treatment

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Todd Lange asked:


Methadone is definitely the most popular medication used for heroin addiction treatment in the United States today. This medication has been in use since over three decades and still remains widely used, despite the emergence of the more convenient buprenorphine in recent times. When it comes to opiate addiction treatment, which includes heroin and morphine, methadone is the drug of choice in most treatment centers of the nation.

Let us understand the method of addiction treatment for heroin using methadone.

How does Methadone act in Heroin Addiction Treatment?

Methadone is an opiate just like heroin is. When the person is provided a dosage of methadone, the substance will act on the same centers of the brain that heroin does. For that reason, the person will feel a tremendous reduction in the craving for heroin. As long as the person is on methadone treatment, there will be no craving for heroin felt.

Hence, the main principle of using methadone for heroin addiction treatment is to mitigate the person’s craving for heroin, which in turn can help the person come out of the heroin dependency. Effectively, the person’s craving for heroin is replaced by a regular and controlled usage of methadone. For this reason, methadone treatment is usually called as methadone maintenance treatment because it maintains the craving for heroin at a particular level and then gradually diminishes it.

Another that it does, apart from reducing the person’s craving for heroin, is that it effectively blocks the high that heroin can produce. Hence, when a person uses methadone, they will not be able to feel the euphoria created by heroin even if they use the drug. This can help them overcome the temptation for using the substance completely.

However, it must be remembered that methadone is an opiate itself. For that reason, there is a very strong chance that methadone can cause an addiction for itself in the person. In fact, this is supposed to happen because this is the entire premise of the heroin treatment. That is the reason methadone treatment is supposed to be given in a controlled manner and only by a treatment provider who is well experienced in the methadone treatment. The addiction for methadone remains, but the intense urge for heroin is slowly phased out with the methadone treatment.

What is the Dosage of Methadone used in Heroin Addiction Treatment?

The dosage of methadone might depend on the nature of the person’s addiction and from one treatment center to another; however, the general dosage that is prescribed to the person is once a day. When it is taken once, the dosage is enough to repress the effects of heroin withdrawal for about one day. That means, within this period, the person will not feel the craving for heroin. Being a maintenance medication though, methadone will need to be taken the next day around the same time again or the person may again start feeling the effects of withdrawal.

Gradually though, this dosage is lowered. The patient is constantly monitored during the entire length of the methadone treatment to check how the person is responding to the treatment. As the person’s craving for heroin reduces, slowly the amount of methadone that is provided to the patient is also lowered. This is brought down marginally at first and when the person comes to a stable level, that amount of methadone dosage is maintained for the further course of the treatment. However, it will be a long time before the medication of methadone is completely stopped for the person.

Why is Methadone always provided in an Inpatient Treatment Program?

Methadone is an addictive substance. That is one reason why its treatment should always be monitored. If not, there is a chance the person will develop an inclination for using methadone for recreational purposes. The second reason is that methadone can react drastically with some other prescription drugs that the person might be using. In some cases, this interaction can have fatal repercussions. In order to avoid such drastic eventualities, it is necessary to constantly monitor the methadone treatment.

Methadone treatment for heroin addiction is a very sensitive form of treatment with many chances of going wrong if the right kind of care is not taken. That is why this treatment is always provided in an inpatient detox program so that the progress of the treatment can be monitored. In some people methadone is contraindicated, such as in pregnant women. Such points also need to be taken into consideration.



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