Symptoms Of Heroin

Addiction is a chronic brain disease that often results in some sort of relapse. Addiction is characterized by inability to control drug use which results in problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships. This disease causes compulsive behaviors such as the need to use drugs despite the many harmful consequences that affect the addicted individual and those around him or her. Although for most people, the initial decision to use drugs is a one time lapse in judgement, the brain is easily affected by these drugs if the person decides to use these drugs multiple times. The changes that occur to the brain over time will cause the addicted person’s ability to resist the intense impulses of drugs to be altered causing the addict to often give into the temptation of these drugs. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. Drug addiction is an issue that many people deal with whether they are the addict or the addict is their loved one; but with a good source of support anyone can over come the challenges and consequences of addiction.

To understand addiction further, it is important to look at how drugs have neurological effects in a human body. Drugs can be ingested in various ways; while some are taken orally, some are smoked (cannabis) while others are injected directly into the blood stream (Heroin). Once in the body, they mainly affect the reward pathway in the brain, known as the dopaminergic pathway, which in turn gives pleasure. Even though all drugs affect the reward and motivation pathways in the brain, their speed depends on the way the drug has been consumed. Over constant use of drugs, the cognitive functions are impaired as the effects become more prominent in learning, memory

After prolonged use, the body becomes physically reliant; the long-term effects of this addiction are synonymous with withdrawal symptoms. Opioid withdrawal is especially difficult since they moderate dopamine; once use is reduced or put to an end, the induced euphoria is as well, and the pleasure centers are often left impaired (Tigerin Peare and drugfreeworld.com). Additionally, one can suffer from restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, and cold flashes, often coinciding with

Heroin provides a rush feeling in the brain which is can be accompanied by the following symptoms; a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and a heavy feeling in the extremities. The following side effects often present themselves nausea, vomiting and severe itching. After the initial effects of heroin have faded, abusers will be drowsy for several hours. With heroin the individual's mental function is often clouded because of the drugs effect on the central nervous system. Long term abuse of the drug can result in respiratory and cardiac functions slowing this are often the cause of death in heroin

Heroin has been a quiet crisis on the rise over the last few decades, wreaking havoc on communities and families. Hesitance to talk about the heroin crisis makes it difficult to fight the growing trend of abuse. According to the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health, the increase of heroin abuse has risen 80 percent since 2002 (Jones). The medical effects of addicts abusing their bodies and neglecting their health are a variety of medical conditions. A short term abuser may experience depressed respiration, distorted mental functioning, nausea and vomiting (Volkow). The long term effects of heroin abuse can be addiction, infectious disease as in HIV, hepatitis B and C, collapsed veins, bacterial infections, abscesses and infection of the heart

Tolerance therefore turns into an addiction by where the body cannot regulate itself without the drug. Addiction is a severe form of substance use disorder (SUD). Along with the symptoms noted with substance abuse, the user now has lost the ability to limit or stop using on their own as symptoms of withdrawal are present if the user attempts to halt use altogether.

“Heroin use results in a massive amplification of dopamine activity (Sherman, 2007)”, which produces intense pleasure. It mimic's the brain’s naturally occurring opioid endorphin neurotransmitter. The chances that heroin use will lead to addiction is associated the speed in which heroin promotes dopamine, the intensity of dopamine effects and the reliability that dopamine effects will occur. It has high activity on opioid receptors, which means that there is a very high intensity of pleasure. It also has near perfect reliability for producing pleasure (Sherman, 2007).

People should know what they are getting themselves in if they are going to choose to go through this bumpy road in life. There are so many consequences that can come from heroin so make sure you are ready to face them. You are harming yourself and the people around you so make sure you inform yourself on what can come from heroin.

All heroin users—not just those who injected 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 feeling of pleasure in users who develop tolerance: instead, these users must continue taking that dug simply to feel normal.

The long term effects of using heroin can become serious and can cause permanent damage. Some things that can also happen is that it is possible for the user to obtain a liver or a kidney disease. It is also a high possibility for the veins in the users body to collapse. Other things that can happen is the tissue of the body can get swollen and the tissue will become filled with pus. Using heroin long term can also lead to muscle and bone pain. It can also cause the persons immune system to become weakened, and it also leads to uncontrollable drug use. In worse case scenario, it can lead to death. The death can be caused by an overdose, a liver or kidney disease, or even if the heroin user catches HIV.

Heroin is a natural substance made from the seed pods of various opium poppy plants grown in southeast/west Asia, Mexico and Columbia. Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. Ways of using heroin are injecting, sniffing, snorting, or smoking heroin. It’s often mixed with crack cocaine; this practice is called speed balling. Effects of heroin are the heart rate increases; you get less sleep, have trouble breathing. The short-term effects of heroin include dry mouth, flushing of the skin, a feeling of heaviness in the arms and legs, nausea/vomiting, severe itching, it slowly clouds your mental functions, and trouble staying conscious.

One of the most devastating side effects of drug addiction and abuse is depression. Depression is the result of chemical imbalance, environmental influence, or a combination of both. Using heavy and very highly addictive drugs as heroin, cocaine, opium and many other will cause sudden mood changes, deterioration of the immune system, nervous breakdowns, unusual flares of temper and many other side effects. Besides physical side effects, drug addiction can create problems in a person's social circles. The person may run into many conflicts with his family and friends, resulting in desire for isolation. This in turn will create more problems since the person will have no social support. Furthermore, drug addiction is a financial strain especially for teenagers. When a person is addicted to drugs he will do anything to obtain money to fulfill his needs.

Withdrawal can set in as soon as 8 hours after previous heroin use, and can include any of the following symptoms: drug craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, kicking movements, goose bumps, and depression (3).

Eventually that addiction leads to drug tolerance. Tolerance is when drug user takes more and more of their drug of choice in order to receive the same type of euphoria feeling they once felt with smaller quantities.

More and more people are sucked into the horrible addiction. An addiction is an actual disease that occurs in the brain. Many times these drugs affect the brain and in result, cause the addiction to occur. More and more there are people coming into the hospital from a heroin overdose, are released from the hospital, go back out, and inject the drug. The drug is so powerful that these individuals do not see what is happening to them as they slowly kill themselves.