Heroin is generally injected, snorted, or smoked. Usually, an individual suffering from heroin addiction may inject up to 4 times a day. The greatest intensity and quickest receipt of euphoria is provided by intravenously injecting the heroin, which is felt within 7 to 8 seconds; intra-muscular injection provides a slower onset of euphoria–generally within 5 to 8 minutes. Snorting or smoking heroin usually produces effects within 10 to 15 minutes. Still, researchers agree that all types of heroin administration are addictive.
The most frequently used method of heroin administration is injection. In many areas of the country, heroin injection is reportedly increasing, while inhaling heroin is decreasing. There are some individuals, however, who claim to only smoke or inhale heroin because they feel that these methods of administration are less likely to lead to heroin addiction.
The shift in heroin abuse patterns has brought about an even more diverse group of users. Higher purity heroin is more suitable for inhalation, and in recent years, its availability and decline in prices have increased heroin’s appeal to new users who are reluctant to inject.
Heroin abusers generally admit to feeling a surge of pleasurable sensation (a “rush” like no other). The powerfulness of the rush depends on how much of the drug is taken and how rapidly it enters the brain and bonds with the natural opioid receptors. The reason why heroin is especially addictive is because it enters the brain so swiftly. Upon entering the brain, the user feels a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and a heavy feeling, which may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme itching. Many addict claim heroin addiction right after the first use.
After the initial effects, heroin abusers will be drowsy for several hours. Due to heroin’s effect on the central nervous system, the brain’s function becomes clouded. Cardiac function slows; breathing can also become extremely slowed, sometimes causing death. Because the amount and purity of heroin is hard to decipher on the street, heroin overdose is very possible. However, it is known that one of the most hazardous long-term effects of heroin use is heroin addiction.
Addiction is a chronic disease where relapses are prominent; the addiction is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use. Over time, heroin abusers spend excessive time and energy trying to locate and using the drug. Once addicted, the heroin abusers’ main concern in life is finding and using drugs. Heroin literally changes their brains and their actions.
Withdrawal from heroin may start within a few hours after the last time the drug was taken. The symptoms are profound: restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps, and leg movements. Major withdrawal symptoms of heroin addiction reach their peak between 24 and 48 hours after the last dose of heroin; these symptoms diminish after about a week.
A heroin addict with the desire to win his battle against heroin can do so with the proper support. Additionally, by visiting a treatment facility, she can be assigned to a treatment program where she can receive the care needed to stay on the path of sobriety.