13 Dec How In-Home Detox Can Help With Heroin Addiction

A heroin addiction happens when a person becomes dependent on this drug. Whether the addiction is recent or longstanding, rehabilitation is possible, and at-home heroin addiction treatment can help.

How In-Home Heroin Addiction Rehab Can Help You

Heroin addiction occurs when a person becomes physically and psychologically dependent on the effects of this drug. Heroin addiction can impact personal relationships, career, and short and long-term health. Heroin overdose can even lead to death in some cases. Treating heroin addiction is most successful when managed by a medical professional.

Elite Home Detox assesses every patient’s situation, medical history, and lifestyle to develop a rehabilitation plan designed around the patient’s unique needs.

What to Expect From At-Home Heroin Addiction Rehabilitation

Here’s what patients can expect from our heroin addiction rehabilitation program:

• Initial evaluation of the patient’s overall health and medical history.
• Full examination of the patient, as well as lab tests as determined by our medical director. This information enables us to develop a treatment plan around the patient’s exact health needs. This exam also establishes a baseline to help us gauge a patient’s progress through heroin detox.
• Building the patient’s addiction rehabilitation plan after our medical director analyzes the results of the examination. We collaborate one-on-one with patients to develop a treatment plan customized to the patient’s health, lifestyle, and addiction recovery goals.
• Heroin detox, the first and most important step in the addiction recovery process, removes all traces of heroin from the body and gradually weans the body off its dependency on this drug.
• Periodic monitoring during heroin detox may include lab tests that help us accurately evaluate the patient’s progress and make changes to the detox plan if needed.
• Following detox, we provide additional services such as therapy, coaching, or counseling to address long-term behavioral habits in order to help patients avoid relapse.

How To Recognize A Heroin Addiction

A change in a person’s normal behavior or routine is one of the first signs that a person may have developed an addiction. In addition, heroin-related paraphernalia, such as needles, razorblades, and spoons are another significant sign that a person has developed a heroin addiction.

According to the CDC, the biggest risk factor for developing a heroin addiction is having an addiction to prescription painkillers, with most people who have a heroin addiction using one or more type of drug.

Signs a person may have a heroin addiction include:

• Anxiety
• Irritability or mood swings
• A person exhibits withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness or insomnia
• A person uses another substance, such as a prescription opioid, alcohol, or another illicit drug
• A change in attendance of work, school, or other personal obligations
• Disinterest in or withdrawal from typical interests and activities
• Continued use of heroin despite potential career or personal consequences
• Excessive sleepiness, drowsiness, or nodding off
• Slow movement and/or cognition
• Visible track marks at the injection site, which may be on the inner thigh, between the toes, on the interior of the elbow joint, or the back of the hand
• Pupils that are constricted regardless of the amount of light in the room
• Heroin-related paraphernalia such as needles, razor blades, spoons, glass pipes, cigarette lighters, and other items present in the home

Heroin withdrawal symptoms are one of the biggest reasons a person relapses. When a person stops or cuts back on the amount of heroin used, withdrawal symptoms can begin within a few hours.

Heroin withdrawal symptoms include:

• Cold flashes with goosebumps
• Diarrhea and/or vomiting
• Restlessness
• Severe heroin cravings
• Severe muscle and bone pain
• Sleep problems
• Uncontrollable leg movements

Whether a patient has had heroin addiction for months or years, recovery is possible. Medically managed detox can help make detox safe and comfortable for both the patient and the patient’s family. Elite Home Detox brings our full suite of in-home addiction detox and rehabilitation services directly into our patients’ homes.

Heroin Abuse and Addiction Facts

Heroin is an illegal opioid that is made from morphine. Heroin binds to opioid receptors in the brain, where it affects both pain and pleasure. Heroin can be injected, snorted, or smoked. Regardless of the method, heroin is highly addictive. Addiction happens when the user becomes dependent on the effects of heroin.

Heroin addiction can be very dangerous because of the high risk of overdose, during which time a person’s breathing slows or stops altogether. According to the CDC, 42 people die every day from a heroin-related overdose.

Over time, a user can build up a tolerance to the effects of heroin. As a result, a person needs higher and higher doses to achieve the desired effect. At a high enough dose, heroin can cause an overdose that can potentially lead to death.

Overdoses can happen in several ways, including:

• Using an unknown amount of heroin, such as when the drug is injected directly into the bloodstream.
• ‘Polysubstance abuse’, which involves using multiple types of drugs (including alcohol). Since heroin slows a person’s breathing and heart rate, depressants such as alcohol or barbiturates increases the chance of overdose.
• Heroin that is cut with additives such as sugar, flour, laundry detergent, caffeine, or other drug that can increase the risk of overdose.

It’s important to seek medical attention immediately if you suspect a person has overdosed on heroin. If a person slips into and out of consciousness, has a bluish tint to nails or lips, or exhibits shallow breathing, call an ambulance immediately.

Short and Long-Term Side Effects Of Heroin Addiction

Since heroin binds to opioid receptors in the brain, this drug produces an intense feeling of pleasure. However, heroin use can have both short and long-term side effects on the body.

Short-term side effects include:

• Dry mouth
• Heavy feeling in the arms and legs
• Nausea and vomiting
• Severe itching
• Difficulty thinking or recalling information
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Slow or irregular heart rate
• Drifting into and out of consciousness

Long-term side effects include:

• Insomnia
• Collapsed veins (people who inject the drug)
• Damaged nose lining (people who sniff or snort the drug)
• Infection of the heart lining and valves
• Abscesses (swollen tissue filled with pus)
• Constipation and stomach cramping
• Liver and kidney disease
• Lung complications
• Mental changes
• Mood changes
• Sexual dysfunction (men)
• Irregular menstrual cycles (women)
• Tolerance
• Cognition changes, such as memory issues, difficulty making decisions, or changes in reasoning skills

Related:

• How Does Opioid Withdrawal Look And What To Expect
• How Does In-Home Detox for Opioid Addiction Work?
• Can You Overdose From Opioids And How To Handle It?
• How To Recognize Opioid Addiction And What Are Your Treatment Options?
• How To Detox From Demerol
• How Does In-Home Detox for Cocaine Addiction Work?
• How Does In-Home Detox for Benzodiazepine Addiction Work?
• How Does In-Home Detox for Heroin Addiction Work?
• How To Detox From Fentanyl
• What To Expect From Medically Assisted Detox

In-Home Heroin Addiction Recovery with Elite Home Detox

Elite Home Detox brings the services of a traditional rehab clinic directly into the patient’s home. Since every patient’s circumstances and needs are different, we develop every treatment plan to the individual’s needs.

In-home heroin addiction recovery is a modern solution for today’s busy schedules and lifestyles.

Personalized attention

Unlike traditional addiction clinics that have one-size-fits-all programs and group therapy, in-home rehab offers our patients dedicated, one-on-one attention. We are with our patients every step of the addiction recovery journey to ensure a safe rehabilitation with results that last.

Elite Home Detox provides a 24/7 onsite medical professional to monitor the patient, make changes to the treatment plan as necessary, answer questions, and coach the patient through detox.

Convenient and private

Inpatient and outpatient clinics require patients to travel to get treatment. Not only do the costs of frequent travel add up, but the amount of travel itself takes away from the patient’s time and daily routine. In-home addiction rehabilitation works with the patient’s schedule to minimize schedule disruptions without compromising the quality of care.

Although some people may benefit from the group support and therapy found in traditional rehab clinics, others prefer the privacy of one-on-one support. Elite Home Detox brings our rehab services directly to our patients for their convenience, privacy, and comfort.

Comprehensive, quality care

There are many lifestyle and environmental factors that can contribute to a person developing an addiction to heroin. These same factors need to be addressed during rehab for a successful recovery. From detox to counseling and lifestyle coaching and more, Elite Home Detox offers the same services and quality of care as traditional rehab clinics.

Our medical team is experienced with helping patients through detox and addiction recovery, and every program is overseen by our medical director to ensure quality care.