In-Home Detox for Heroin Addiction

Overcome Your Heroin Addiction With In-Home Detox

Whether a person has recently developed an addiction or has had a long-standing issue, heroin addiction recovery is possible. Our addiction recovery program starts with home heroin detox. The detox process removes all heroin from the body to wean the patient’s body from its dependency on this drug. Detox helps the body begin the healing process and helps prepare the patient for therapy or counseling that is part of their complete addiction recovery plan.

Home Detox For Heroin: What to Expect

Here’s what patients can expect from heroin detox with Concierge MD:

• Initial evaluation: Our medical director assesses the patient’s medical history, heroin use history, existing prescription medication, and other preexisting health factors.
• Full examination: We perform a full examination as well as lab tests. This information helps us build a complete picture of the patient’s health so that we can create a custom detox program tailored to the patient’s specific needs. This examination also gives us a baseline to help gauge the patient’s progress through our detox program.
• Consultation and building the detox plan: After we have analyzed the examination and lab test results, our medical director consults with the patient to create a customized at-home detox plan. This plan is designed to complement the patient’s overall health, lifestyle, medications, and addiction recovery goals.
• The home detox process begins: One of our in-home detox nurses arrives at the patient’s home at the start of the program. During the program, one of our nurses will be onsite 24/7 with the patient. Medications may be used to help manage withdrawal symptoms and improve the patient’s comfort during detox. The nurse will monitor the detox process and adjust medications as necessary, as well as make changes to the detox plan if needed. The nurse will also monitor the patient’s sleep and nutrition since these can be influenced by withdrawal symptoms.
• Ongoing monitoring and lab tests: Our nurse monitors the patient’s blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and respiration rate to track the patient’s overall health during detox. The nurse may also perform periodic lab tests as determined by the patient’s detox plan. This information helps us build a clear picture of the patient’s progress during the detox process so that we can quickly adjust the plan to match the patient’s changing needs.
• Post-detox heroin rehabilitation services: After the patient has successfully completed the home detox program, Concierge MD provides further at-home support services to address heroin use triggers and help the patient develop healthy coping techniques to prevent relapse.

Concierge MD offers the same care and quality of an inpatient rehab clinic, all in the comfort of the patient’s home. We carefully develop every care plan to not only help patients achieve their addiction recovery goals, but also maintain results that last.

What is Considered a Heroin Addiction?

Heroin is an illegal opioid that is made from morphine. As a painkiller, heroin binds to opioid receptors in the brain, where it particularly influences feelings of pain and pleasure. Heroin can be injected, sniffed, smoked, or snorted. Regardless of the method of use, heroin is a highly addictive substance. Addiction happens when the user becomes dependent on the effects of this drug.

Heroin addiction can be very dangerous because of the high risk of overdose, during which their breathing slows or stops altogether. According to the CDC, 42 people die every day from a heroin-related overdose. There are several ways that a person can overdose on heroin, including:

• After prolonged use, a user can build up a tolerance to this drug, meaning that a person needs increasingly larger doses to achieve the desired effect. At a high enough dose, heroin can cause a potentially fatal overdose.
• A person can also overdose when they use an unknown amount of heroin, such as when the drug injected directly into the bloodstream.
• A person can overdose when they engage in ‘polysubstance abuse’ – or, using multiple types of drugs or alcohol. Heroin is a depressant that slows a person’s breathing and heart rate, so use alongside other depressants such as alcohol or barbiturates increases the chance of overdose.
• Heroin can be purchased illegally as a pure substance, but depending on its source, it may be cut with additives such as sugar, flour, laundry detergent, caffeine, and others. These additives can increase the risk of overdose or other adverse effects on the body.

It’s important to call an ambulance immediately if you suspect a person has overdosed on heroin. Coma, slipping into and out of consciousness, a bluish tint to nails or lips, and shallow breathing are all signs to call an ambulance immediately.

The cravings and withdrawal symptoms that come with heroin detox can be difficult to overcome because the body has become dependent on the effects of the drug. When a person stops or cuts back on the amount of heroin used, withdrawal symptoms begin quickly – sometimes within just a few hours following the last use of heroin.

Heroin withdrawal symptoms include:

• Cold flashes with goosebumps
• Diarrhea and/or vomiting
• Restlessness
• Severe heroin cravings
• Severe muscle and bone pain
• Sleep problems
• Uncontrollable leg movements

Heroin withdrawal symptoms are one of the biggest factors in causing a patient to relapse. Medically managed detox can help not only improve a patient’s comfort during detox, but it can also increase the chance of successfully completing detox. Whether a patient has had heroin addiction for months or years, recovery is possible. Concierge MD can help with our full suite of in-home addiction detox and rehabilitation services.

Signs and Symptoms of Heroin Addiction

According to the CDC, the biggest risk factor for developing a heroin addiction is having an addiction to prescription painkillers. Most people with heroin addiction use one or more additional type of drug. A change in a person’s normal habits is one of the first signs that a person may have developed a drug addiction.

Signs a person may have a heroin addiction include:

• Anxiety
• Irritability or mood swings
• A person exhibits withdrawal symptoms (restlessness, insomnia, etc,.)
• A person starts to use another substance, such as a prescription opioid, alcohol, or other type of drug
• A noticeable change in attendance of work, school, or other personal obligations
• Disinterest in or withdrawal from typical activities, hobbies, and interests
• Continued use of heroin despite potential career or personal consequences
• Excessive sleepiness, drowsiness, or nodding off
• Slow movement or cognition
• Track marks visible at the injection site, which may be between the toes, on the interior of the elbow joint, the back of the hand, or the inner thigh
• Pupils that are constricted (“pinpoint pupils”) regardless of the amount of light in the room or outdoors
• Needles, razor blades, spoons, glass pipes, cigarette lighters, and other heroin-related paraphernalia are present in the person’s home

Heroin use can have both short and long-term side effects on the body.

Short-Term Effects
Since heroin binds to opioid receptors in the brain, the most immediate short-term effect is an intense feeling of pleasure or euphoria. Other short-term effects may include the following:

• Dry mouth
• Heavy feeling in the arms and legs
• Nausea and vomiting
• Severe itching
• Cognition changes (difficulty thinking or remembering)
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Slow or irregular heart rate
• Drifting into and out of consciousness/semi-consciousness

Long-Term Effects

• Insomnia
• Collapsed veins (people who inject the drug)
• Damaged nose lining (people who sniff or snort the drug)
• Infection of the heart lining and valves
• Abscesses (swollen tissue filled with pus)
• Constipation and stomach cramping
• Liver and kidney disease
• Lung complications
• Mental changes
• Mood changes
• Sexual dysfunction (men)
• Irregular menstrual cycles (women)
• Tolerance (the need for a greater dose to achieve the same effect)
• Cognition changes, such as memory issues, difficulty making decisions, changes in reasoning skills