Heroin Does Not Discriminate

Drug addiction doesn’t discriminate amongst its victims. In fact, addiction to drugs affects people of all ages, genders, socioeconomic levels and classes. It’s easy to make assumptions about those who struggle with addiction; the most popular assumption to make is that they are lacking willpower and mental fortitude. This just isn’t the case. Addiction is a life-threatening disease that literally alters brain chemistry.

Two approaches to heroin addiction rehabilitation are generally taken. The first is to substitute heroin use with a longer-acting opioid such as methadone or buprenorphine. The doses of these drugs are slowly reduced over time. Studies have shown that methadone treatment is safe for heroin dependency patients who are pregnant. The second approach uses benzodiazepines to suppress the anxiety that is associated with heroin withdrawal. This approach is used with caution, since benzodiazepines are also an addictive drug, whose withdrawal causes many more fatalities than heroin itself. Some addiction rehabilitation programs offer detox under anesthesia – where large doses of opiate-blocking drugs are administered to an anaesthetized patient. Rehabilitation programs for heroin almost always include a behavior change component, which is needed to help users devise strategies to combat the addictiveness of heroin.

Given its extremely addictive properties, many reformed heroin addiction patients will return to use the drug. Heroin use in newly-detoxed patients is particularly dangerous, since tolerance to heroin rapidly decreases. Doses that may previously have been acceptable to the user may, after detox, be lethal.

At Above It All Treatment Center, we care what happens to you.  That is why we provide a detailed examination of you, your life and your addiction so that we can provide you with a personalized plan that will assist you on the road to a successful recovery.  Contact us today and see what we can do to return you to a successful and rewarding life.