Addiction Rehab Help

Archive for the ‘Heroin addiction’ Category

Are You An Addict?

 

Sometimes it isn’t easy to see when we’re looking at ourselves. Denial is common among those who abuse drugs and alcohol and their friends and family may not want to see the problem either. If you think you may be developing a problem with drugs or alcohol, or if you know someone that may be, ask the following questions.

 

Do I use regularly? Or do I use more than other people?

 

Whether it’s several times a day or even just once daily, if you feel that you have to have this drug or drink on a regular basis, you may be dependent.

 

Can I stop using the drug on my own? Have I stopped using drugs or alcohol for extended periods of time in the past several months?

 

Failure to discontinue use on your own is a sign of trouble. Casual users can take it or leave it. Those who are addicted cannot stop using and using the drug occupies their thoughts almost constantly.

 

Do I spend money I don’t have on the drug?

 

If you’re behind on your rent and your bills are going to collection because you spend that money to obtain drugs or alcohol, you need help.

 

Am I engaging in behavior I never thought I would?

 

Addicts often steal, sell belongings and resort to degrading practices such as prostitution in order to purchase drugs.            

 

Do I feel anxious when my supply runs low?

 

Those who are dependent on drugs work hard to keep a constant supply available. Feelings of anxiety or panic and distress often occur when the user realizes that his supply is dwindling.

 

Do I resort to getting high every time I’m faced with a problem?

 

Self-medicating with drugs or alcohol at the slightest provocation may be a warning sign. Almost everyone at one time or another has “had a few too many” when something devastating has happened in their lives. But if you reach for drugs and alcohol every time a problem is the least bit distressing, it may be a sign of addiction.

 

Is all my time focused on getting and using drugs?

 

Typically a drug addict will spend most of his waking hours chasing down drugs so he can get high.

 

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may have a drug or alcohol dependency that needs to be treated. To find a quality drug and alcohol rehabilitation program contact a professional addiction counselor. Not all rehab programs are the same, there are many different methods of treatment and there is not one that is right for everyone.

 

To speak to a professional addiction counselor call 1-877-744-3536

 To speak to an addiction counselor call 1-877-744-3536

 

For more information about rapid detox and to speak to a professional drug and alcohol counselor please call:1-877-744-3536

 

 Finding the right “Drug or Alcohol Rehabilitation Center” for your loved one is not an easy process, you search the Internet and call center after center and all you hear is "we are the best Rehabilitation Center for your loved one." Every place you call is "The Best" if you listen to the sales people from the centers. Make no mistake these people for the most part are "Sales People" and they are paid to get you into that specific program.

 

What is heroin?

      Heroin is a highly addictive and rapidly acting opiate (a drug that is derived from opium). Specifically, heroin is produced from morphine, which is a principal component of opium. Opium is a naturally occurring substance that is extracted from the seedpod of the opium poppy.

      Individuals of all ages use heroin–data reported in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicate that an estimated 3,091,000 U.S. residents aged 12 and older have used heroin at least once in their lifetime. The survey also revealed that many teenagers and young adults have used heroin at least once–76,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 and 474,000 individuals aged 18 to 25. Heroin use among high school students is a particular problem. Nearly 2 percent of high school seniors in the United States used the drug at least once in their lifetime, and nearly half of those injected the drug, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey.

        The appearance of heroin can vary dramatically. In the eastern United States, heroin generally is sold as a powder that is white (or off-white) in color. (Generally, the purer the heroin the whiter the color, because variations in color result from the presence of impurities.) In the western United States, most of the heroin available is a solid substance that is black in color. This type of heroin, known as black tar, may be sticky (like tar) or hard to the touch. Powdered heroin that is a dirty brown color also is sold in the western United States.

      Heroin is injected, snorted, or smoked. Many new, younger users begin by snorting or smoking heroin because they wish to avoid the social stigma attached to injection drug use. These users often mistakenly believe that snorting or smoking heroin will not lead to addiction. Users who snort or smoke heroin at times graduate to injection because as their bodies become conditioned to the drug, the effects it produces are less intense. They then turn to injection–a more efficient means of administering the drug–to try to attain the more intense effects they experienced when they began using the drug.

           Both new and experienced users risk overdosing on heroin because it is impossible for them to know the purity of the heroin they are using. (Heroin sold on the street often is mixed with other substances such as sugar, starch, or quinine. An added risk results when heroin is mixed with poisons such as strychnine.) Heroin overdoses–which can result whether the drug is snorted, smoked, or injected–can cause slow and shallow breathing, convulsions, coma, and even death. All heroin users–not just those who inject the drug–risk becoming addicted. Individuals who abuse heroin over time develop a tolerance for the drug, meaning that they must use increasingly larger doses to achieve the same intensity or effect they experienced when they first began using the drug.

        Heroin ceases to produce feelings of pleasure in users who develop tolerance; instead, these users must continue taking the drug simply to feel normal. Addicted individuals who stop using the drug may experience withdrawal symptoms, which include heroin craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, and vomiting. Heroin users who inject the drug expose themselves to additional risks, including contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne viruses. Chronic users who inject heroin also risk scarred or collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and liver and kidney disease.

 

For help finding Heroin Addiction Treatment call 1-877-744-3536

 

A Chicago-area study found that heroin use is at epidemic proportions in the region, with emergency rooms seeing more heroin-related visits by suburban teens, the Chicago Tribune reported March 29.The eight-month study, conducted by researchers at Roosevelt University in Chicago, found that more people visited Chicago-area emergency rooms for heroin use compared with other metropolitan areas.

In 2002, federal statistics showed that the Chicago area had 12,982 heroin-related emergency-room visits, the most in the nation for the fifth consecutive year. Kathleen Kane-Willis, a researcher at Roosevelt’s Institute for Metropolitan Affairs, said her study found that heroin users in the city are mainly minorities and older, while those in the suburbs are white and younger. The study also showed that the number of teens from suburban Cook County entering drug-treatment facilities for heroin more than quadrupled between 1995 and 2002.

On the other hand, treatment admissions among teens living in the city declined during the same time period. "Parents need to be educated about this," said Kane-Willis. "They need to know what the signs of use and addiction are. We need to do more research on the new heroin generation to know where their first use is occurring, where they’re buying, how they support their habits."

For help with Heroin Addiction Please call 1-877-744-3536

 

A Chicago-area study found that heroin use is at epidemic proportions in the region, with emergency rooms seeing more heroin-related visits by suburban teens, the Chicago Tribune reported March 29.The eight-month study, conducted by researchers at Roosevelt University in Chicago, found that more people visited Chicago-area emergency rooms for heroin use compared with other metropolitan areas. In 2002, federal statistics showed that the Chicago area had 12,982 heroin-related emergency-room visits, the most in the nation for the fifth consecutive year. Kathleen Kane-Willis, a researcher at Roosevelt’s Institute for Metropolitan Affairs, said her study found that heroin users in the city are mainly minorities and older, while those in the suburbs are white and younger. The study also showed that the number of teens from suburban Cook County entering drug-treatment facilities for heroin more than quadrupled between 1995 and 2002. On the other hand, treatment admissions among teens living in the city declined during the same time period. “Parents need to be educated about this,” said Kane-Willis. “They need to know what the signs of use and addiction are. We need to do more research on the new heroin generation to know where their first use is occurring, where they’re buying, how they support their habits.”

Source: www.jointogether.org