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The scientific name for heroin is diamorphine. It is extracted from the dried milk of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Diamorphine does not naturally occur in opium poppies but is manufactured from morphine, a natural opiate. Of all the opiates, heroin has the most addictive potential. The heroin rehab group counseling is part of a multi-step process in drug rehabilitation.

Effects

After the initial euphoria, followed by feeling calm and relaxed, diamorphine makes the user feel drowsy. Their pupils constrict, speech becomes slurred, attention is impaired and the user feels detached. It may also result in headache, vomiting and mood disturbances. This is a Class A drug, meaning that even possessing it is illegal and may lead to a prison sentence. Being illegal, it is manufactured in less than controlled conditions and cut with any number of obnoxious agents in varying proportions. It is impossible to predict what strength is being supplied and it is easy to overdose.

Short Lived

The initial high does not last long. This means that several doses are required to reproduce the initial buzz. Tolerance builds up rapidly, leading to larger and larger doses. Soon, increasing amounts are required just to avoid experiencing the unpleasant and seriously painful withdrawal symptoms. Soon, the body becomes so severely gripped by the drug that bigger and bigger doses are needed not to feel euphoric, but just to feel an approximation of what the user remembers as ‘normal’.

Bodily Damage

Paradoxically, despite being dependent on the drug, it has many negative effects on the body. It can damage the blood vessels, leading to thrombosis and abscesses, which can go on to become gangrenous. Gangrene can spread to the brain, bones and heart and can also lead to amputation of a limb. A leading British scientific journal rated diamorphine the single most harmful of twenty popular recreational drugs, both in terms of its addictive potential and the amount of physical damage it produces.

Withdrawal

Users who don’t die from an overdose or from one of the other serious complications of using the drug may decide they have had enough and to clean up their life. Stopping on their own can be next to impossible because of the painful effects of withdrawal. Common symptoms include headache, vomiting, shakes, sweats and severe muscular pains.

Medication

Some users find it very helpful to visit a detox center to get help with getting the drug out of their system. Here, they may be prescribed drugs like methadone to wean themselves off of diamorphine. Others elect to go ‘cold turkey’ and simply stop using without the benefit of medical support.

Life After Detox

Having done the heroin medical detoxification, their next step is exploring life without drugs. One of the major benefits of opting for a residential center is the ability to remove themselves from the physical and environmental conditions that promoted their former drug using lifestyle. Here, they can also learn how to function alongside non-users of drugs.