Monday, July 30, 2012

How Does Heroin Addiction End



George had been missing for three days. His mother sat by the phone hoping to hear from the search party. Across the room the minister was breathing a prayer. George had been a member of his church, having started attending at the age of eleven. He was a quiet sort of boy who minded his own business - was moody at times.

At the age of fifteen he started running around with the wrong crowd. It was at a dance that one of his friends put a "joint" of marijuana in his hand and told him to drag on it. At first he was scared and refused. But when he saw everyone else doing it - he tried it. The smoke swirled through his head. In five minutes he was dancing like a demon -he forgot his problems - he even forgot about God.

The next day he wanted to try it again. Big thrill "great kick - really packed a wallop. This time it chased away the blues. That night he was deathly sick - head throbbing, vomiting - he had to have another joint of "grass." This was the first step toward a life of addiction.

He was now smoking one after another. Often six and seven at a time. But even seven joints didn't "bug" him anymore. The pusher said he felt sorry. He pulled out a small cellophane bag containing a fraction of an ounce of pure, white heroin. "Just sniff it up your nose," he was told. "You'll stay high for two days. Its better - cheaper not habit forming. Marijuana is kid stuff. Try some "horse." He took his first free sniff out of curiosity. It was everything the pusher said it would be. He felt like a king - his conscience didn't bother him. He was fearless - he had a feeling of superiority.

The next day George was looking for another "deck" of heroin. It cost him a lot this time. Three weeks of sniffing was all he could take. The thrill was wearing off. His friends were all "skin popping." They claimed it was a quicker fix and that it conserved the powder. His buddies had "the works." When he first saw them "drilling" with the needle he was upset. It was his turn - but he chickened out. A friend drilled him. It knocked him out. When he awoke - he sat "goofing" for two hours.

It was soon costing a lot each day to keep him high. He could no longer borrow as he owed everyone in the neighborhood. He began to work "angles."  He sold all his clothes at the pawn shop. Just twenty-two years of age - he refused to believe he would ever be a drug addict. He even hated the sound of it.
It was late that same night when his mother was called to the morgue to identify him. The funeral will long be remembered. His body was wrapped in asbestos with only his face showing.
If this is the life that you are facing, it almost always ends with a casket and devastated loved ones identifying the body at the morgue.  You have the power to prevent your life ending this way.  Contact us at Above It All Treatment Center and let us start you on the road to getting your life.  Our personalized plans are designed with you in mind.  We are here for you.  All it takes is for you to make the first contact.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Heroin Addiction And Your Rehab Options






Unfortunately, we're all too familiar with the devastating consequences that a Heroin addiction can have, for both the addicts and those close to them such as friends and family. Our top priority is to permanently liberate addicts from of all the suffering and problems that are caused by Heroin addiction, which we do by providing the very best drug intervention services and rehab treatments.

Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as "black tar heroin." Although purer heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk or quinine. Street heroin can also be cut with strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death. Heroin also poses special problems because of the transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles or other injection equipment.

I cannot stress how important a holistic body detox cleanse is if you have been using drugs, especially impure drugs like heroin. Some of you are probably thinking how is doing this going to help me with my substance addiction? Well, let me just say you will learn more here soon. Basically in the first step it will help get your body free from a variety of junk and toxins that may have been accumulating from years of drug abuse in an unhealthy manner.

Above It All Treatment Center offers an affordable substance abuse treatment program, at our drug rehab center for heroin abusers and addicts to help them begin the recovery process. The first step to recovery begins with the realization that the cycle of addiction can be broken. Above It All Treatment Center offers you a choice of treatment options from holistic  to 12 step programs.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

New Wave of Heroin Addiction



While new regulations and law enforcement efforts have significantly reduced the supply of prescription drugs, they have inadvertently driven many users to another type of opiate that is cheap, powerful and perhaps even more destructive—heroin. Across the country, experts are seeing abuse of heroin at striking levels. “It’s an epidemic,” said Dr. Joe Gay, director of the regional addiction and mental health clinic Health Recovery Services, who has studied patterns of drug use in Ohio. A flood of cheap heroin from Mexico, which is now one of the leading sources of the drug to the United States, is another reason for the return of the scourge.

According to the Justice Department, the drug is showing up in new areas, including upscale suburban towns where heroin was once rare. Suburban father Randy Mayer explains his attitude before his daughter got addicted, “There was never a thought that ever entered my mind that I would ever lose a child through addiction.” He continues, “Watching this thing grab her and not let go, I mean, it was a horrible time.” Teens emphasize the difficulty of avoiding heroin when its use is so prevalent. “It’s just hard being young and staying clean,” says Holly Yates of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “I mean this town; it’s just, like, that’s all that’s here.”
Yates started using painkillers in the ninth grade, at parties and hanging out with friends. The pills were everywhere, easy to get and cheap. By the time she was 18, she was abusing oxycodone, Percocet and other pills every day. Then they stopped being enough. 


“My cousin, she was into heroin and I started hanging out with her,” said Yates, a hazel-eyed 20-year-old. “She told me about it, and I was like, ‘I want to try it.’ The first time that I shot it up, it was like, ‘Where has this been all my life?’”


If you are one of those who have become trapped by the addiction to heroin, we can help. Contact Above It All Treatment Center and let their professionals design a personalized recovery program just for you.  Once implemented, it will set you on the road to a full, relapse free recovery.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Are You Battling Heroin Addiction?



Battling with heroin addiction isn’t a rare thing. Thousands of people in this country struggle with it, yet out of that number only a fraction of them succeed and ever get the treatment they need.  Heroin addiction is not only a damaging and painful experience for the individual addicted to the drug, but also the people in their lives, including family, friends, and loved ones. 

Heroin addicts entering recovery are very often in a debilitated condition after months or years of not taking care of their personal needs. The nutrition provided as soon as the person walks in the door of a drug rehab facility begins to heal the damage and make it possible for withdrawal symptoms to be lightened somewhat.

As with all addictive substances, it is easy to get addicted to heroin but it's not so easy when a person wants to stop using it. Heroin will wreak its vengeance in the form of "dope sickness," severe flu-like symptoms with deep muscle and bone pain, sweating, vomiting and nausea. Heroin withdrawal is bad enough to prevent many people from being able to face getting clean and sober again. Heroin addicts may feel that they are trapped in a never-ending cycle of having to find heroin, smoke it, snort it or shoot it, experience the high and then find more before the high ends in relentless cravings.

A patient must first undergo detoxification, because heroin rehab can only begin after a patient has completely removed all traces of heroin from their body. The best heroin rehab centers offer their patients heroin detoxification immediately followed up with long-term behavioral health therapy for the mind. At these leading heroin rehab centers patients learn the coping mechanisms they will need to help them counteract any urges and temptations they may encounter after they have successfully completed their heroin rehab.  

The best quality heroin rehab centers will have: licensed medical staff to safely detox their patients from heroin, behavioral health counselors trained in drug addiction therapy to provide education and understanding of the behavioral aspects of heroin addiction, and finally referrals of outpatient support after individuals have successfully completed the heroin rehab program.

At Above It All heroin treatment facility, we provide our  patients with the immediate detoxification that they need and then design a personalized treatment plan that will lead them into a lifetime of relapse free recovery.  Contact us today and find out how we can help you.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Would Your Teen Use Heroin ?


If you think your teen would never touch heroin, think again. A recent SAMHSA study found that an alarming 40 percent of teens don’t perceive any great risk in trying heroin once or twice, and almost 19 percent of teens don’t perceive any great risk in trying heroin once or twice a week. Unfortunately, heroin is a highly addictive drug that can quickly produce physical dependence and whose strength varies from dose to dose, leaving users vulnerable to overdose each time they use it. If your teen is using heroin, it’s important to recognize the problem and seek treatment right away. 

Drug abuse destroys lives. For adolescents, this destruction can be even more severe and far-reaching. Studies show that people who become chemically dependent at an early age are more at risk for developing addictions that are very resistant to treatment and have a higher likelihood of developing other substance abuse problems and relapsing later in life. Heroin rehab can save your teen from a lifelong battle with addiction.

As you enter into your heroin treatment, your inner dynamics begin to change. It may not seem like it, but even during your detox period, you have started your self-transformation. No longer are you focusing on doing whatever it takes to obtain and use heroin. Now, you are focusing on the future, one which is sober. To explain this better, it is important to consider the types of treatments you will go through.

One of the best programs for breaking a heroin addiction is the 12 step addiction recovery treatment program.  It provides a structured program to reprogram your inner self to resist heroin and the need for it.  You can find a 12 step program rehab center in Los Angeles CA by contacting Above It All Treatment Facility.  We are here to help you with the finest staff in the Los Angeles area.  Let us help you break your addiction.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Free Reign to Make Any Decision




In life, we are pretty much given free rein in most areas of everyday living.  Free rein is defined as the unrestricted liberty of action or decision.  Most of us have free rein to make any decision or to take a course of action every day.  Some of these decisions or actions will have detrimental consequences and others will not.  Some will have short term effects and others will have long term, and perhaps even fatal, consequences.
Heroin abuse is one of those actions that can have long term, detrimental consequences and can even spread to affect our families, friends and others.  Heroin is an illegal highly addictive drug and its use can lead to some devastating realities down the road.  Heroin is the most abused and fastest acting opiate currently in use.  Usually sold as a white or brown powder that is “cut” with another substance such as powdered milk or sugar but occasionally with strychnine or other poisons to make it stretch further.

Short term effects  of heroin include the a surge of pleasurable sensation, also known as a rush,  and an accompanying warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth and a heavy feeling in the arms and legs and may include some vomiting and severe itching.  After the initial effects, users may experience drowsiness for several hours, clouded mental function, slowed cardiac function and severely slowed breathing, sometimes even to the point of death.

Long term effects of heroin use include a sever addiction that becomes a chronic, relapsing disease, acquiring infectious diseases such as hiv/aids and hepatitis B and C, collapsed veins heart problems and arthritis.  Long term effects can also include jail time for most users at some point.

If you have started down the path of heroin abuse, you may want to use your free rein to seek help early and possible avoid some of the conditions brought on by extended heroin use.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Heroin Abuse – Effects, Symptoms & Recovery



As with most illegal substances, heroin abuse has both negative long and short-term effects. Whether smoked, snorted or injected, the drug will almost immediately begin to affect the central nervous system of the user. In this entry, we will outline some of the more common effects associated with heroin use along with proven recovery and detox options.

Short-Term

Once heroin enters the body, users begin experiencing an intense feeling of euphoria.  Described as a “warm skin flush”, “heavy” limbs and dry mouth, the initial high quickly transitions to a state alternating between drowsy and alert… commonly referred to as “nodding off”. Mental functions become hazy, and a slowed breath rate may even extend to respiratory failure.

Long-Term

Those with prolonged use habits may gradually begin experiencing a number of the effects listed below:

-       Liver disease – Studies show that roughly 70-80% of new hepatitis C infections in the United States can be traced back to sharing of drug needles.
-       Added risk for heart valve and lining infections due to a disregard for sterile needle practices.
-       Kidney disease.
-       Abscesses and skin infections – More commonly in users with collapsed or scarred veins.
-       Pulmonary issues

Overdose

Perhaps the most frightening effect associated with prolonged heroin use is the risk of death by overdose.

Because heroin is illegal, it’s cut and mixture with additional ingredients cannot be regulated. As such, users place themselves at great risk by never knowing exactly how pure or potent the drug is until it is used.

Detox

Though feared by many, the detoxification process found within heroin rehab centers serves to wean addicts from the drug in a safe and healthy fashion. These programs provide patients with medications and 24-hour supervision to help minimize withdrawal symptoms while ensuring a comfortable transition into sobriety.


Help

Those interested in combating their heroin addiction should seek out a reputable heroin rehab facility. From detox to counseling and therapy, these rehabilitation facilities provide addicts with the knowledge, resources and tools needed to overcome their dependency in a safe, healthy and positive manner.

When it comes to choosing a substance abuse rehabilitation, heroin addicts are encouraged to locate a facility that specializes in heroin addiction treatment and recovery. In this way, patients can rest assured that their needs and goals are address in a specific and personalized fashion.