Heroin Detox and Withdrawal: How Long Does It Take?
What to Expect in Heroin Detox
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the symptoms of heroin withdrawal are considered the hardest ones to endure. Heroin and prescription opioids create a physical dependency, and users experience severe illness when they go a length of time without taking a dose.
If attempting to stop using heroin on your own, complications may arise that lead to fatal injury. To prevent this, many individuals seek heroin treatment through medical detox at inpatient treatment programs at residential treatment centers to help with the initial withdrawal and detox phase. These facilities provide trained professionals who are available 24/7 to provide medical care, monitor your progress, and alleviate your discomfort as much as possible.
During your stay, you will be kept hydrated and comfortable, and medications can be administered to lessen the severity of the physical symptoms you are experiencing.
Heroin Withdrawal Symptoms
It is possible to become addicted to heroin after one use, and users can begin to feel withdrawal symptoms within six hours of their last dose. It usually starts with painful muscle aches and feelings of anxiety and agitation. These symptoms can intensify, and other ones like panic attacks, insomnia, shaking, and diarrhea can arise.
The most dangerous part of heroin withdrawal is vomiting. This is where users are at risk for dehydration. They can also accidentally inhale stomach contents and asphyxiate. This is why it is strongly recommended to undergo opioid addiction treatment through a rehab program that specializes in heroin detox. The recovering user will also experience severe abdominal cramping, sweating, and shivers during this time.
Once these physical symptoms begin to alleviate, they continue to decrease. Then individuals are left to deal with less severe symptoms caused by the neurological changes to the brain that heroin use causes. These can include anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, insomnia, and irritability.
Heroin Withdrawal Timeline: How Long Does Heroin Detox Take?
The process of drug detoxing from heroin can vary in intensity depending on how long the drug was used, and the amount is taken each time, but the most severe physical symptoms typically last one week. The muscle aches and mental discomfort from craving the drug begin once the effects of the last dose wear off and intensify over the next 48 hours to include shaking and diarrhea.
The third and fourth days of the withdrawal are the worst, with painful abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, sweating, and shivers. It is incredibly difficult to sleep throughout the beginning stage, known as acute withdrawal.
After the peak in intensity, physical symptoms gradually decrease, and recovering users begin to feel “normal” about a week after their last dose. Many recovering users, especially those who have been using for years, can experience post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) for months after their last dose. Heroin directly interrupts the neurological pathways in the brain, so depression and anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and feeling irritable are common after heroin withdrawal.
If going through withdrawal at a heroin detox center, they can administer medications that will ease the discomfort of the physical symptoms you will be experiencing.
Why Choose Novo Detox for Heroin Addiction Treatment?
The Novo Detox Treatment Center is a residential rehab that specializes in detox programs to let you begin your journey to full recovery. We are staffed 24/7 to facilitate same-day admissions, so you get the help you need when you require it.
Thanks to our high staff-to-patient ratio, your detox will be medically supervised around the clock during your stay. We also pride ourselves on the safety and comfort of our facility and promoting health in all areas by offering holistic healing approaches and healthy organic sourced food for your meals.
Once you complete detox, our treatment center supports 30, 60, and 90-day inpatient treatment programs and the option to continue treatment through an outpatient program. Our inpatient, outpatient, and aftercare treatment programs focus on dual diagnosis of any co-occurring disorder to identify underlying mental health issues that lead you to need treatment from substance abuse. This process involves accessing multiple treatment therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, individual therapy, and even family therapy if this is identified as a need in your addiction recovery treatment plan. We will also work on developing and establishing skills you can take with you and apply in your new healthy lifestyle of recovery to ensure relapse prevention. Call us at (844) 834-1777 today to learn more about heroin detox and withdrawal treatment.
