In 2016, roughly 948,000 Americans used heroin at least once. Additionally, heroin use has drastically increased over the past 10 years, as the number of people who used heroin for the first time doubled between 2006 and 2016. Heroin addiction is chronic, although the heroin addiction recovery rate demonstrates that beating an addiction to heroin is possible with treatment.
With growing rates of opiate, opioid, and heroin abuse, drug overdoses have become the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50. Heroin supplies cut with dangerous additives like fentanyl led to such a noticeable spike in fatal overdoses that President Trump issued an executive order declaring the opiate crisis a public health emergency. Heroin is a dangerous and highly addictive opiate that is illegal, which means that using it is extremely dangerous because its production is unregulated.
The Heroin Epidemic
Heroin is an opiate that is derived from opium. It is also a highly addictive central nervous system depressant that can cause both psychological and physical dependency. Heroin is sold in a powder or solid form, with users either inhaling, smoking, or injecting it. When heroin is inhaled, intoxication starts within 10-20 minutes of use and the effects can last for up to three hours. Smoking heroin produces a more intense effect, although intoxication typically lasts for less than an hour.
Injecting heroin is the most dangerous route of administration and produces an intense high that can last for several hours. When using heroin intravenously, you’re at an increased risk of developing serious infections, such as MRSA and Hepatitis C. Many people who become addicted to heroin previously abuse, or developed an addiction to, prescription opiate painkillers.
When you use heroin, your brain releases a surge of dopamine, which is responsible for the calming and euphoric effects of intoxication. Your brain then links heroin to pleasure and begins to reinforce your heroin use by releasing dopamine when you use and restricting its release when you don’t. Heroin addiction can progress rapidly, especially if you inject it.
Common signs and symptoms of heroin addiction include:
- Track marks
- Sudden weight loss
- Changes in personality and behavior
- Nodding off
- Having sudden and unexplained financial problems
- Pale skin and constricted pupils
As with other addictions, early treatment is the best way to improve your recovery outcomes.
Heroin Addiction Recovery Rate
Although addiction is chronic and incurable, treatment can help you learn how to successfully manage your symptoms and fully recover. The heroin addiction recovery rate correlates with several major factors, such as the length and severity of your addiction and whether or not you completed a heroin addiction treatment program.
Treatment centers can provide heroin detox services, which the heroin addiction recovery rate shows is a crucial part of improving your ability to recover. Since heroin causes physical dependency, you can begin to experience troubling and painful withdrawal symptoms within hours of your last use. Symptoms can make it hard to get out of bed, which is why it’s difficult to avoid cravings without help from a treatment center.
Although the exact heroin addiction recovery rate is difficult to calculate, recovery outcomes are significantly higher when you engage in treatment. Since the heroin addiction recovery rate depends on early treatment, reaching out for help during the initial stages of addiction is paramount.
During inpatient and outpatient heroin addiction treatment, rehabs utilize a combination of evidence-based and holistic therapies to provide you with the support, education, guidance, and tools necessary to recover.
Another important part of heroin addiction recovery rate data is ensuring that the level of care is consistent with the severity of your addiction. In short, the more severe your addiction is, the more likely it is that you need to attend and complete an inpatient treatment program.
Finding the Best Heroin Addiction Treatment Today
The heroin addiction recovery rate proves that recovery is possible, even if addiction can make it difficult to live a healthy and normal life. As your addiction progresses, you can experience damaged relationships, health problems, and a diminished quality of life. The best way to regain control over your heroin addiction is to reach out for help. To find out more about your treatment options, call us today at 8552328211.
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