Heroin is a drug made in a lab with components from the Asian poppy plant. When consumed, heroin becomes morphine. The high associated with heroin can cause users to become dependent on the drug. Below, you will find more information about the long and short term heroin effects. Plus, you’ll see how an individual therapy program at Promises Behavioral Health can help you overcome your heroin addiction.
Short-Term Heroin Effects
Ingesting heroin has several short-term effects. First, heroin changes into morphine as it enters the brain. The morphine gives clients a “high”—a rush or elated feeling. How much heroin the client consumes and how fast it goes into the brain determines the intensity of the high. As the high subsides, the client may feel a warming of their skin, a heaviness in their arms and legs, and a dry mouth. Severe itching, vomiting, and nausea may also occur soon after. Once these effects wear away, the client may feel tired for the next few hours. The heart slows down, mental facilities become cloudy, and breathing may slow to the point where it is life-threatening. In fact, slow breathing can lead to irreversible brain damage and cause the client to fall into a coma.
Long-Term Heroin Effects
There are also long-term effects associated with heroin use. For instance, the brain’s structure may change with long-term use. Heroin use can also lead to imbalances in the hormonal system. Furthermore, long-term abuse can destroy the brain’s “white matter.” This can seriously affect a person’s ability to make decisions, respond to stressful situations, and regulate behavior. Physical dependence and a high amount of tolerance also develop with long-term use. With physical dependence, a client feels a need for heroin, and withdrawal may occur when he or she stops using it. Tolerance builds as the body gets used to the presence of the drug in the system. Therefore, more heroin must be ingested to achieve the same high.
Heroin Withdrawal Symptoms
Withdrawal symptoms are among the long and short term heroin effects. They are common in clients who stop using heroin abruptly. These symptoms may include diarrhea, insomnia, restlessness, leg movements, bone and muscle pain, cold flashes with goosebumps, and vomiting. These symptoms may become intense within 24 to 48 hours, then lessen after about a week. Some clients experience withdrawal symptoms for months.
Promises Behavioral Health
At Promises Behavioral Health, we can help you stop the cycle of abuse and end the long and short term heroin effects. We offer a wide variety of programs, including:
- Medical drug detox centers
- Outpatient drug rehab centers
- Eating disorder treatment centers
- Drug rehab for professionals
- Men’s addiction treatment centers
- Women’s addiction treatment centers
We also offer many services to meet the individual needs of clients who suffer from the long and short term heroin effects. These include:
- 12-step support groups
- Acupuncture therapy program
- Anger management therapy program
- Art therapy program
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy program
- Cognitive Processing Therapy program
We also provide a couples’ counseling program, a craniosacral therapy program, a Dialectical Behavior Therapy program, an EMDR therapy program, equine-assisted psychotherapy, and a family therapy treatment program.
Please contact us if you have any questions about the long and short term heroin effects, our programs or facilities. We are eager to help you get started down the road to recovery.
Conquer your addiction. Create the life you always wanted.
You don’t have to let addiction control your life any longer. Let us help you overcome your heroin addiction by entering one of our excellent treatment programs at Promises Behavioral Health. Call us at 844.875.5609 so that we can help you get treatment.
