Even addicts who want to quit will be unable because the withdrawal is too horrible, too much pain, and return to the drug is the only way out of that pain. This can bring the addict down a dangerous road.

In my opinion, so many people who have Opiate addictions are so afraid of the withdrawal symptoms, that they’ll continue doing whatever they need to do in order to use. This acts to confuse the brain to the extent that stimulation mimics the heroin, giving the patient comfortable detoxification from the drug, rather than going “cold turkey”. I was given a drug called Buprenorphine, a drug which binds to the same receptors in the brain which heroin binds to, stimulating the opioid receptors. Decades ago, Congress passed legislation that allowed doctors to prescribe medications to addicts that aid in surviving withdrawal. Thankfully there are medicinal options that can be used to provide comfort during the initial withdrawal symptoms. Heroin withdrawal is awful, and while heroin detox isn’t usually fatal, you feel like you want to die. I spent only a few days in detox, where patients get a safe, medically supervised detoxification from their drugs of choice. Until the 9th of December… my whole life changed. I had been to treatment a few other times, however I knew that I would eventually begin use again, I never have really wanted to quit before…. The drug had completely taken over my life, and I needed help to stop using it. I checked myself in there because for the last few years, I have struggled with substance abuse, in particular, I have had a pretty severe addiction to Heroin. On December 9th, 2012 I checked myself into the detox unit at Fairview Riverside Hospital.

Fairview riverside lodging plus program