Heroin Addiction Rehab

Did you know our own founder Dr. The Hill’s Program Director entered heroin addiction rehab? Heroin addiction rehab was an integral part of his recovery. Heroin is a highly addictive, illegal and illicit drug that is bought and sold on the black market. Jargon for heroin includes “smack,” “junk,” “H,” “horse” and “skag.” It is a drug derived from the painkiller Opioid Pain Medication, which is derived from an Asian poppy plant. We offer inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services for people battling with heroin substance abuse. It’s not easy, but we can help. We have spent decades overcoming heroin addiction. Learn more about our heroin treatment center.

Heroin Abuse Patterns

Recent trends in heroin use reflect a shift from intravenous use to snorting or smoking the drug. When users are not shooting the drug directly into their bloodstream, they perpetuate the myth that snorting or smoking heroin reduces its potential for addiction. Jason Gluckman, addiction expert author on ezinarticles.com, defines drug abuse/addiction as the compulsive and habitual misuse of any drug for a number of purposes, such as:

• Achieving calming or euphoric effects
• Escape reality i.e. “checking out”
• As a route toward eliminating anxiety
• Dulling symptoms of depression
• To increase social proclivity in order to feel comfortable in social situations and seeking the drugs to the extent that the cost becomes unreasonable in comparison to the gain.

Thankfully, heroin rehab centers have been created as entities intended to restore hope, health and recovery to clients suffering from addiction. Holistic rehab centers boast a multifaceted approach to treatment – addressing the spiritual, emotional and physical effects addiction wreaks on the addict.

Heroin Addiction Rehab Treatment – Initial Assessment

Heroin addiction rehab centers begin with a basic evaluation of each patient to gain basic knowledge about their history of abuse as well as their personal lives. Once the initial health assessment is completed, rehabilitation staff members design a treatment plan in conjunction with client input. Both parties work together to draw up a treatment plan that incorporates daily individual and group therapy sessions, and sober activities that are chaperoned by a resident assistant. All aspects of the upcoming treatment plan are outlined clearly so that all parties are on the same page while the patient undergoes heroin withdrawal.

Part of the initial health assessment at a rehabilitation center involves a physical examination, blood and urine tests, and a visual screening of the patient. Medical professionals have experience working with heroin addicts and have a keen eye for assigning a severity level to the patient. Variables taken into consideration include age, number of years using, amount used per week, family history, and any underlying mental disorders.

Heroin Detoxification

Our heroin detoxification center is located in Los Angeles California. We have high end inpatient and outpatient facilities. We take insurance and can help you detox from heroin and get drug treatment for heroin addiction. While attending a heroin rehab center like The Hills Treatment, the addict must discontinue using the drug heroin. In order to safely and effectively wean the addict off of heroin, many drug treatment programs utilize opioid maintenance treatment in order to facilitate the detoxification process. Opioid maintenance treatment prescriptions are a narcotic derivative that suppresses receptors in the brain responsible for triggering opioid receptors. These receptors have been compromised via illicit drug use. Opioid maintenance treatment prescriptions are a temporary solution conducive to the long-term goal of weaning the addict off of all narcotic drugs. Throughout the detox process, opioid maintenance prescriptions doses are continuously decreased in order to get off opiod maintenance altogether. In some cases, Naltrexone and/or LAAM are administered to heroin addict patients as detoxification tools. They require lower dosages and are administered less frequently than opioid maintenance treatment prescriptions, so these need to be accompanied by intensive counseling and therapy in order to keep the heroin addict abreast of their own process and keenly aware of the long term plan.

Dual Diagnosis For Heroin

Dual Diagnosis – In treatment, particularly inpatient treatment, it is common for heroin addicts to discover they may also have an underlying case of depression, bipolar disorder, or some other illness. The process of self-discovery is very enlightening for an addict as it often helps explain away many behaviors and symptoms that once baffled the addict. For instance, John Smith has been at a drug rehabilitation center for his heroin addiction a little over two weeks. At the end of the second week, he is presented with his official dual diagnosis: clinical depression in combination with a substance abuse problem. He now understands that he has the disease of addiction as well as a serious mental health disease – depression – and his previous actions begin to make sense to him. He realizes that much of what he had viewed as character defects, flaws, weak morality, deficient will power, and bad karma, are now attributed to a clinical dual diagnosis for which he can reconcile. Throughout his recovery process it will be vital for John to keep his dual diagnosis in check so he stays active in his own recovery.

Heroin Addiction Rehab Statistics

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, over 30 million people per year in the United States admit suffering from a drug and/or alcohol problem. Aside from this statistic, there are a number of those suffering who sustain an attitude of denial. Thus, this number drastically underestimates the total number of people facing addiction in a given year. Of the 30 million total people, a very small minority of users seeks treatment. About 1.2 million people out of the 30 million admit to considering themselves a candidate for treatment but never actually followed through.