Generally speaking, withdrawal from heroin and other opiates may occur as early as a few hours after the last use. The withdrawal symptoms of heroin addiction include:

•  drug craving
•  restlessness
•  muscle and bone pain
• insomnia
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• sweats and cold flashes

Major withdrawal symptoms of heroin addiction and other opiate addictions peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose. Without proper medical care seizures or convulsions can occur. The good news is that an addict can usually complete heroin detox or opiate detox within five and seven days.

Choose Inpatient Heroin Detox or Opiate Detox Programs

Heroin detox and opiate detox can be a very challenging process both physically and emotionally. It is my opinion that anyone undergoing heroin detox or opiate detox, should do so in drug rehab programs or addiction treatment programs that specialize in medical detox programs. All heroin detox programs should be medically monitored, complete with 24 hour nursing, able to dispense medications as needed and directed by a physician trained in addiction medicine (addictionologist).

Ongoing Addiction Treatments

Even after heroin or opiate detox is complete, many people require ongoing addiction treatments, therefore heroin detox should take place within one of many drug rehab centers or addiction treatment programs. Drug rehab programs provide a smoother transition from heroin detox and opiate detox programs, which are medically driven, into a clinically driven level of care within the drug rehab.

Structure is Key

Another reason we feel that heroin detox should be provided within the confines of drug rehab programs or addiction treatment programs is due to the structure they provide. Many people attempt heroin detox on an outpatient basis. While outpatient heroin detox can work for some, most addicts require the structure of inpatient detox programs to deal with the cravings and keep them away from their environment, old friends and access to opiates.

While in the grips of heroin or opiate addiction, addicts are often involved in high risk activities. By undergoing opiate detox or heroin detox in drug rehab centers, addicts receive a comprehensive physical examination. This will help identify any medical problems that are present and need to be addressed. This examination process is begun in detox and ongoing support is available if a person transitions into drug rehab.

After spending time interviewing several interventionists and intake counselors from various drug rehab treatment programs, I have come up with the top 5 reasons why an intervention would fail:

1. Failure to use a Professional: This may sound pitch for interventionists, but the plain fact is that most family members are not accustomed to confronting and addressing problems easily amongst themselves. They may carry guilt from the past, bring up unresolved and unrelated issues and the entire situation may turn into a screaming match which results in nothing but pain for everyone. Interventions can get so ugly that the exact opposite effect occurs, that the addict refuses help and swears off his family and jumps deeper into his own self-destruction.

Many drug rehab programs have staff trained to facilitate an intervention, or can refer you to one. These individuals guide the intervention towards the ultimate goal, which is to get your loved one to a drug rehab treatment center. They bring an unbiased opinion to what is bound to be an emotional and difficult situation for those involved and are able to see things far in advance and can lead the way towards success.

2. Wavering from the Determined Goal: Ultimately, you want your loved one to check into a drug rehab. Treatment is the only option if you are even considering an intervention, not meetings or to let him do it on his own. Do not lose focus on this once the intervention starts and make sure that all involved are willing to do what it takes to make this happen. Sometimes the addict will shift blame to other family members and try to take on the role of a victim. This can be a powerful tool of manipulation as there may be truth or guilt connected to it. Once this happens, family members start to negotiate with the addict or doubt themselves. This will have disastrous effects on the success of the intervention.

Regardless of what “dirty laundry” may come out on the table, the fact of the matter is that the addict is the one that needs help the most and although everyone may have problems in life, the addict is the one who the focus must be on. He may do or say terrible and hurtful things to get our of the intervention and back onto drugs and that must not happen.

3. A Family Divided: Involve all members of the family in the intervention planning, providing they are there to help. Ensure that everyone who will be attending is in agreement with the ultimate goal of getting the addict to a drug rehab treatment center. If one family isn’t on board, he may secretly tell the addict about the intervention in advance or may take sides with addict, thus weakening the argument for treatment and ensuring a failure. If the family members doing the intervention are bitter towards each other, the addict can turn the entire meeting into a circus of finger-pointing in order to escape the situation.

There must always be an ultimatum which is: Drug Rehab Treatment or nothing. This can be difficult for a mother who doesn’t want to “see her baby on the street” or a father who knows his son or daughter “can’t survive on their own”. If the addict knows that the parents will cut him off but the grandparents will ALWAYS take him in no matter what, the leverage is lost. If all family members have the same goal in mind and stick together, the better chance the intervention has of succeeding. After all, the idea is to HELP the addict, right? Enabling someone to continue their lifestyle of self-destruction is hardly help but a silent condoning of it.

4. Failure to have an Immediate Plan of Action.Prior to the intervention, make sure you have a plan of action that will actually get your loved one to a drug rehab where he can be treated for his addiction. Often the addict will agree to go to treatment “later” after he “takes care of a few things”. Offer to take care of those things for him so that it is one less thing to worry about. He may make excuses as to why he can’t go now; his job is too important or his school is almost done. In fact, he may convince you that his considerations are valid and it can seem like there really is no way her can go.

However, you must not let that happen. The odds are against him that he will actually make it to the drug rehab treatment center. Have a plane ticket, a ride, and an escort ready to get him there within 24 hours after the intervention takes place. You may be able to stretch this time to 48 hours at the VERY LATEST, but make sure the addict has close supervision the entire time. I spoke to several parents who were devastated after they allowed their child to put off treatment until some “important things” were taken care of, only to find their child had overdosed. Not one of these parents felt that it was worth it to wait to get the addict into treatment and all of them regretted not doing whatever they could to get their child into the drug rehab. Also, none of them foresaw the danger the addict was really in.

5. Inadequate Research of Drug Rehab Treatment. There are many types of drug rehab treatments out there and it is important to research which one will best help the addict in your life. Once you have made a decision, get in contact with the drug rehab treatment center and let them know about the intervention and you can often get some great advice. Have some of their literature on hand during the intervention, so the addict realizes that drug rehab is not prison, but simply a place to change your life.

Every drug rehab program has rules, and rightly so. Learn what they will allow and not allow. For instance, some programs do not allow cigarette smoking. If the addict smokes, this program would not be a good choice. If the intervention is on the right track, having this information immediately available will help speed the process along.

An intervention can seem overwhelming and frightening to the family of an addict and should not be underestimated. However, it can be successful if the reasons above are resolved and the corresponding steps above are followed. There is hope in getting your loved one into a type of a drug rehab treatment program that changes their lives for the better.

Source: Narconan by John Frank

Eventually, we are taking enormous amounts of one or more medications. The “high” just isn’t the same anymore so we might use some other substance to give the medication a “kick.” Some of us turn to alcohol to combine with the medication. Others turn to illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Others begin to steal prescription pads from physicians and forge prescriptions. Whatever the methods, the unmanageability reaches critical stages.

Remember all of those negative feelings we thought the drugs were relieving? Well, now that we are in our addiction, they have returned with a vengeance. Our world now revolves around our medications just the way it did with our chronic pain. We become very lonely. Our medication comes first and we once again alienate ourselves from our loved ones. Shame and guilt set in and our self-esteem lowers even more. Anger, resentments, fear, frustration, depression and anxiety once again dominate our minds. We now need the medications just to feel normal and if we try to stop the medications, we become ill. We have come full circle, and are now prisoners to both our medications and chronic pain.

If you are reading this pamphlet, chances are good you have met the diagnostic criteria for chemical dependency. You only need to relate to three of the following:

For help with drug addiction treatment contact Sunrise Detox.

Benzodiazepines are the most common class of anti-anxiety drugs. They include:

Benzodiazepines are fast acting—typically bringing relief within thirty minutes to an hour. Because they work quickly, benzodiazepines are very effective when taken during a panic attack or another overwhelming anxiety episode. But despite their potent anti-anxiety effects, they have their drawbacks.

Side effects of anti-anxiety drugs

Anti-anxiety drugs like benzodiazepines work by reducing brain activity. Understandably, this leads to side effects beyond anxiety relief.

The higher the dose, the more pronounced these side effects typically are. But some people feel sleepy, foggy, and uncoordinated even on low doses of benzodiazepines, which can cause problems with work, school, or everyday activities such as driving. Some even feel a medication hangover the next day.

Because benzodiazepines are metabolized slowly, the medication can build up in the body when used over longer periods of time. The result is oversedation. People who are oversedated may look like they’re drunk.

Benzodiazepines are also associated with depression. Long-term benzodiazepine users are often depressed, and higher doses are believed to increase the risk of both depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, benzodiazepines can cause emotional blunting or numbness. The medication relieves the anxiety, but it also blocks feelings of pleasure or pain.

Paradoxical effects of anti-anxiety drugs

Despite their sedating properties, some people who take anti-anxiety medication experience paradoxical excitement. The most common paradoxical reactions are increased anxiety, irritability, and agitation. However, more severe effects can also occur, including:

• Mania
• Hostility and rage
• Aggressive or impulsive behavior
• Hallucinations

While rare, these adverse effects are dangerous. Paradoxical reactions to these anxiety medications are most common in children, the elderly, and people with developmental disabilities.  Many times users of benzodiazepines find that they need to enter an inpatient detox center in order to come off of them.

What Happens in the Body With Heroin Addiction

Just why it’s so hard to overcome heroin is easy to see when you look at what the drug does to your body. Over time, your nervous system has adapted to accommodate chronic use of the drug. When heroin first infiltrates your body, your brain’s natural chemistry reacts with heroin’s toxins to create the feeling of heroin euphoria. Other effects include a feeling of heaviness and inability to move, dizziness, nausea, change in skin temperature. You feel tired, and the world seems to no longer exist around you. In effect, you are incapable of functioning either mentally or physically.

Heroin also damages the central nervous system, and may also cause short- and long-term harm to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Many users overdose and die from the drug’s toxic effects, while others suffer severe and permanent damage.

A University of California study of 581 male heroin addicts monitored over 30 years (1964 to 1994) found alarming results. After 30 years, more than half (284) of the original participants, had died. Causes of the deaths: 22 percent died from overdose, 15 percent of chronic liver disease, and 20 percent from suicide or homicide. Of the remaining 43 percent of the deaths, the causes were AIDS, cancer or cardiovascular diseases. What about the 297 addicts still alive after 30 years? The sad truth is that 43 percent of them were still using heroin.

You’ve Made the Decision to Enter Detox – Now What?

Just by entering detox you’ve made a powerful first step. You may have finally hit bottom, due to a combination of physical and emotional consequences of the effects of heroin. Perhaps you had an intervention and that’s why you arrived at detox. The point is that you’re here. Now what?

Some of the immediate effects of detoxification from heroin are those you’re already quite familiar with. Every time your high wore off and you didn’t get your fix right away, your body started to feel some of the withdrawal symptoms. You may have even tried to quit cold turkey – not a good idea, as you well know if you’ve tried it.

Physical withdrawal symptoms include: a 3- to 5-day period of intense anxiety, insomnia, flu-like symptoms, cramps, chills, sweating, diarrhea and goose bumps. Muscles start to tighten and twitch, leading to involuntary spasms or kicking. Psychological cravings for the drug become almost unbearable, impossible to fight. Peak withdrawal symptom severity occurs about 24 hours after termination of the drug, and can last a week or more. Without medication to manage the withdrawal symptoms, the pain can be excruciating. But unless other medical problems exist, detox itself is not life-threatening.

Detoxification under medical supervision alleviates the discomfort of heroin withdrawal, managed by administration of medication – if the patient chooses this method. Using medication, the effects can be minimized or even prevented. Drugs used include methadone, clonidine and buprenorphine drugs like Subutex or Suboxone.

By Suzanne Kane

Ultimately, you want your loved one back. You want that person you love free from drugs. You want that person to live a healthy and productive life. By asking the right question on each of the following areas when choosing a residential drug treatment center, your chances of making this happen for your loved one will increase.

1.Success Rate –
What is the success rate of the residential drug treatment center? Obviously, the higher the success rate, the more likely your loved one will succeed. Ask to speak with graduates of the drug rehab facility or their families. Get real opinions from real people.

2.Methods –
What method does the drug treatment center use? Ask yourself if they are addressing all aspects of your loved one’s addiction, including what led them to drugs in the first place. Methods that only deal with one aspect of addiction are more likely to fail. Remember addiction results from a combination of many factors, including a lessening of morality and integrity and an increasing burden of guilt and shame. The life of an addict includes bad habits, poor health and difficulty facing problems. After speaking with the facility, ask yourself if they are handling not just the psychological aspects, but also the physical and mental aspects of addiction as well. Are they providing practical skills that will help your loved one succeed once the drug rehabilitation program is completed?

3.Services –
What services does the residential drug treatment center offer? This is not only for your loved one, but for you as well. Will they help with legal issues? Will they assist in an intervention? In other words, to what length will they go to make certain your loved one gets the drug treatment they need?

4.Staff –
Who are the staff members at the residential drug treatment center? The best trained staff will have had experience with drug addiction. They will not have learned about it in a book. Are they qualified for their positions? What real-life knowledge do they have with drug addiction? What is their reason for working in this field?

5.Follow-up Program –
What type of follow-up program does the residential drug treatment center offer? This is important. Sending a newly rehabilitated drug addict back into the world without any follow-up can be disastrous. Make sure that there is a program of this type in place. Good programs keep in touch over the phone regularly after one leaves the program.

6.Location –
Where is the residential drug treatment center located? A residential drug treatment center should be protected. Ask how easy it would be for your loved one to leave. Many addicts when first coming off drugs want to leave. Ensuring that this is difficult, while not seeming like a prison, increases the chances that the person will stay to finish.

7.Length –
How long does the residential drug treatment center take? Although the standard program is 28 days, if the residential drug treatment center offers a longer program, it is more likely your loved one will succeed. However, if the residential drug treatment center allows your loved one to work at his or her own pace, without imposing time constraints, your loved one has an even greater chance of overcoming drug addiction.

8.Price –
How much does the residential drug treatment center cost? Before eliminating any program because of its price, ask yourself this: What are they offering? Look back at the points above and determine what the drug rehab is truly giving to the one you love. Yes, the more it offers, the more likely the price will be higher. However, your loved one will have a greater chance at becoming a healthy productive member of society. How much is that person worth to you?
Choosing a residential drug treatment center can be difficult. Dealing with a loved one suffering from drug addiction is devastating. By breaking the process down into what is important and finding out the answers to the questions above, you will be able to make an informed choice as to which residential drug treatment program can best help you and your loved one. Drug addiction can be dealt with and overcome.
By John Frank

In general, Ultra Rapid Detox is a process of accelerating the detoxification process in patients who are addicted to drugs such as opiates, heroin, and even prescription pain relievers. The Ultra Rapid Detox process should be conducted in a hospital setting while the patient is under general anesthesia. The process needs to be overseen by certified anesthesiologists and a nursing staff that specialize in such procedures. While under anesthesia, the patient is administered medications that counteract the addictive substances. If the procedure is done correctly, the patient awakens from general anesthesia having gone partially through the drug withdrawal syndrome. Depending on how long the individual is under general anesthesia, withdrawal symptoms and physical cravings may be absent or partially absent upon awakening. However, the psychological and emotional aspects of addiction are not treated and, also, the patient hasn’t learned to change their behavior or response to their emotions regarding drugs. Because of this there is a significant risk that the patient will return to drug use shortly after ultra rapid detox.

If you are looking to get clean and stay clean clean then visit Florida Sunrise Detox or New Jersey Sunrise Detox where true medical professionals can assist you in the recovery process.  At Sunrise Detox they will treat you with care and compassion and help you through one of the most difficult times in your life.  You don’t have to detox alone and with the proper care you are more likely to stay off of drugs and lead a fulfilling life!  Sunrise Detox is a renowned  drug treatment facility specializing in detox for heroin, cocaine, alcohol, benzodiazepines and other prescription drugs.

Myths About Ultra Rapid Detox

With Ultra Rapid Detox I’ll wake up completely free from my addiction
Depending on the length of general anesthesia, you may or may not wake up free from the physical cravings of your addiction. In either case, you will still be completely addicted psychologically to the drug that you are addicted to.

I won’t feel any withdrawal symptoms with Ultra Rapid Detox
If you are under general anesthesia long enough, this might be true. However, there is a marked risk of death when one is placed under prolonged general anesthesia. Therefore, more recently “ultra rapid detox” treatments are done where the patient is under for no more than 4 to 6 hours. With shortened general anesthesia there’s a higher likelihood of having residual withdrawal symptoms upon awakening.

Ultra Rapid Detox is safe
Ultra Rapid Detox has higher risks than other detox methods and remains controversial within the medical community. There is a relative lack of scientific research to support the safety of this procedure. General anesthesia carries with it a risk of death and this risk is increased when anesthesia is prolonged. Some facilities will keep a patient under for up to 24 hours. Safety increases when time under general anesthesia is lessened, for example, down to 4 to 6 hours. However, a shorter course of general anesthesia may result in the individual experiencing more withdrawal symptoms upon awakening than otherwise.

Ultra Rapid Detox works!
Despite the wide publicity of Ultra Rapid Detox, there have not been any controlled studies to prove its effectiveness. This lack of scientific support makes it an unproven and controversial treatment for drug and opioid addiction. Ultra Rapid Detox does not treat the psychological, behavioral, and lifestyle aspects of addiction, only the physical addiction and, as time and practice prove, it is these latter aspects which hold the most control over the recovering addict.

Signs of heroin addiction are no different than that of most other opiate addictions, or any addiction for that matter. Here is just a short list of some of the things I have experienced in my own life. If any of these things sound familiar whether it’s in your life or the life of someone close to you, it could be the beginning of a heroin addiction. Addiction is a very serious issue and should be dealt with by medical professionals in the initial withdrawal stages to ensure a safe detox from heroin.

If you feel ill often for long periods of time then you may be going through heroin withdrawal. This can make someone very irritable and lash out to the ones close to them. When heroin is leaving the system it is a very painful and traumatic experience for the addict. Withdrawal can make you sick for days on end and if you must come off the drug, then it is best to do so under the care of a doctor and enter a detox center. Heroin addiction is a serious issue. If you feel you may be addicted please consult a doctor.  A doctor can best advise proper heroin addiction detox treatment. Then later after the drug is removed from the system, then you can think about drug addiction recovery. There are many great treatment centers available that can be visited around your schedule. A 28 in patient treatment may be the best route, but outpatient treatment is also available. 12 step recovery is also a great way to deal with addiction once released from treatment. This way you can have a form of personal treatment when released into the real world.