Are you battling a dependency on heroin? Heroin use has increased dramatically over the last 30 years. Some studies point to the rampant availability of prescription opioids in the late 90s. Other studies attribute the increase to broader availability on the street, low cost and high purity. In fact, the increase in purity is said to have created a new type of user that prefers to inhale or smoke the drug rather than inject it. Unfortunately, choosing to inhale or smoke heroin doesn’t make it safer. Heroin was responsible for 3,026 deaths in New York in 2022, and it’s estimated that 1.1 million people use heroin across the US, according to the NIH. If you’re one of the 1.1 million people who are dependent on heroin, you don’t have to continue searching for your next dose or constantly trying to come up with the funds to purchase the drug. You can choose to get help and detox from opioids while learning how to live a drug-free lifestyle. Let’s take a look at the detox timeline so that you know what to expect.
Table of Contents
Typical Heroin Detox Timeline
Detoxing from heroin can take as long as two weeks, and the stages are broken down into three phases. The first phase is early detox. The second phase is peak detox and the last phase is called late detox. Individuals can expect to experience all three phases and to be in detox for about two weeks before moving on to their inpatient or outpatient program.
- Early Withdrawal – Between six and 12 hours after the user’s last dose, he or she will enter what is known as early withdrawal. This phase is characterized by feelings of anxiety, difficulty sleeping or insomnia, and muscle aches. These symptoms are typically considered mild.
- Peak Withdrawal – Peak withdrawal starts between one and three days after the user’s last dose of heroin. The severity of the symptoms tends to increase during this phase and can include nausea, vomiting and a strong desire to use heroin again in order to eliminate the feelings of sickness.
- Late Withdrawal – Late withdrawal typically starts between five and seven days after the user’s last dose and can last through day 10. Symptoms usually start to decrease during this phase. However, many people report experiencing lingering discomfort and exhaustion or fatigue.
| Withdrawal Phase | Time After Last Dose | Symptoms | Severity |
| Early Withdrawal | 6 to 12 hours | Anxiety, difficulty sleeping or insomnia, muscle aches | Mild |
| Peak Withdrawal | 1 to 3 days | Increased severity, including nausea, vomiting, and a strong desire to use heroin to alleviate sickness | Moderate to Severe |
| Late Withdrawal | 5 to 7 days (lasting up to day 10) | Symptoms start to decrease; lingering discomfort, exhaustion, or fatigue reported by many | Decreasing, but can persist |
Factors Affecting Detox Duration
When going through detox, it’s important to understand that everyone’s experience with quitting heroin is different because everyone’s usage, history and health are different. Let’s take a look at the factors that can affect the severity and length of time someone spends in the detox phase.
- How Long the Individual Has Used Heroin – Individuals who have used heroin for a long period of time tend to have more severe withdrawal symptoms.
- The Size of the Heroin Dose – Individuals who take larger doses of heroin or do heroin more frequently tend to have more severe withdrawal symptoms.
- The Individual’s Health – Individuals who have co-occurring disorders, like a mental health issue or more than one addiction, tend to have more severe symptoms.
- The Amount of Medical Support the Individual Received During the Detox Phase – Getting medical support while detoxing can help prevent serious side effects and make the process go smoother.
Common Withdrawal Symptoms
When an individual is dependent on a substance, the body and brain start to rely on it in order to function. When a person stops using that substance, it can lead to unwanted side effects called withdrawal symptoms, and the symptoms aren’t just physical. They can temporarily affect the way the individual thinks and feels too.
Psychological Detox Symptoms
Individuals who are going through heroin withdrawal often say that they feel mentally foggy. They might have trouble thinking of certain words, or they may feel mentally slow, like their brain is moving through quicksand. The individual may also have difficulty focusing, and they may become easily agitated or frustrated. The individual may feel restless and have trouble sitting still. Additional psychological symptoms include feeling anxious and/or depressed.
Physical Detox Symptoms
Physical symptoms can include having diarrhea, an upset stomach and experiencing nausea to the point of vomiting. The individual may complain of bone and muscle aches. They may get cold chills or sweat excessively. They may yawn and feel very tired or fatigued. Individuals who are trying to abstain from heroin may also experience high blood pressure, an increased heart rate, muscle spasms or uncontrolled movements.
What Are Cravings and Why Is Understanding Them Important During Detox?
Drug cravings are prevalent during the detox phase because the individual is just beginning their drug-free journey and learning how to do everyday tasks without any chemical aids. A craving is an abnormally strong and urgent desire to use a substance again, even though consuming that substance could result in negative consequences, like harming the individual’s health. In the case of heroin, it could also result in an overdose or poisoning, especially if the heroin is cut with rat poison, prescription pain pills or fentanyl.
The good news is that individuals can choose to go into a detox program that offers medical supervision. This can help control the cessation symptoms.
Importance of Medical Supervision
Recovering from OUD starts with not taking any more heroin. At that point, the heroin will naturally leave the body. However, it also results in side effects, and some of those symptoms can be severe. In order for the individual to stay safe and preserve their health, it’s recommended to enter a program that has medical supervision.
Why Detoxing Alone Isn’t a Good Idea
Individuals who forego medical supervision could be risking their health. That’s because some people get opioid withdrawal syndrome. Opioid withdrawal syndrome is extremely serious. Symptoms include trouble breathing, experiencing seizures and falling into a coma.
Benefits of Getting Medical Supervision
Going through heroin detox with medical supervision may lead to better outcomes because the individual’s withdrawal symptoms are managed. This helps the individual focus on their recovery rather than how bad they feel or how much they’d like another dose of heroin.
Medical professionals can also administer medications that can help with the withdrawal symptoms. Common medications that are used in the treatment of opioid addictions or opioid use disorder (OUD) include buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone.
- Buprenorphine – This medication was developed in the 1960s as a way to treat OUD as well as pain. It is a Schedule III medication.
- Methadone – Methadone is an opioid antagonist that’s been in use as an addiction treatment since the 1960s. Its brand names include Dolophine® and Methadose®. It’s typically taken orally. Methadone helps reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings. It is a Schedule II medication.
- Naltrexone – Naltrexone is not an opioid, like buprenorphine and methadone. Instead, it blocks the effects of opioids while reducing cravings.
When an individual opts to receive medical care while detoxing, they are increasing their odds of completing their drug treatment program and lowering their risk of relapsing.
Conclusion
Detoxing from a substance may not be pleasant, but it is a necessary part of the process. After all, in order to live a sober life, you must first let your body rid itself of the heroin, and having a professional medical team monitoring you can make the process safer and more tolerable. At Long Island Interventions in New York, we offer medical detox for opioid use disorder. In addition to treating heroin addiction, we also help people who are dependent on codeine, fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone and tramadol.
If you’re ready to detox and start the process of recovering from your OUD, give us a call today!
Published on: 2024-10-31
Updated on: 2024-10-31
