Tag Archives: Heroin abuse

Addicted brain

Brain vulnerability to heroin infections

September 9, 2016
Brain vulnerability

Brain vulnerability to heroin infections is real and getting brain health efficiency for addiction treatment begins with establishing a healthy brain communication network flows

Brain vulnerability to heroin infections: Different avenues through which heroin attacks

The brain vulnerability to heroin infection is one great concern that many people are yearning to understand. And for sure most people have realize that addictive drugs affect the body, but they always fail to realize that the effects of heroin on the brain can be very devastating. According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center this will all starts when the heroin users takes their first dose of heroin. This will put the roller coaster in motion and sets them up for long term addiction to heroin. Remember that the initial rush of euphoria is produced by a flood of powerful opiates being sent to the brain eventually becomes the new bar for feeling good. Over time, the brain comes to demand the same level of extra opiates in order to pass that communication to the body that everything is fine. Without the extra boost of opiates, the brain shifts into panic mode, and alerts the body that more opiates are needed in order to feel normal.

Brain vulnerability to heroin infections: Heroin addiction alterations to the brain

It is very sad that we all want to live well yet we often don’t do what will make us live the life we desire. The brain being one of the pillar organs of good health is left exposed yet we claim to know that when the brain is healthy the whole body is too. Because of heroin abuse figurative changes has occur to the brain over time. This is one of the most profound effects heroin has on the brain, because it is essentially permanent if the heroin addict has abused the drug for several years. Doctor Akoury further explains that a normal person has a certain level of dopamine produced on a regular basis that is trickled out to their brain so that they can simply feel normal as they go about their business. For example, after and during vigorous exercise, the body is slowly releasing small bits of this natural dopamine to the brain, so that the person can feel better in spite of their hard work which is also a basic, biological survival mechanism.

Brain vulnerability to heroin infections: Dangers of heroin to the brain

When an addict starts using heroin every single day, such person’s brain is basically saying that “hey just a minute here, and then the body communicates that it is being constantly flooded with extra opiates and dopamine, so there is no need for it to produce any more naturally by itself as it should normally. I am getting all that I need and more.” Over time, if the heroin addict continues doing heroin for years, they are simply training their own body to stop all natural dopamine production. Because heroin addiction is so dangerous and has so many risks involved with long term use, most heroin addicts never make it to this end stage where their body has ceased making natural dopamine. In such cases, drug maintenance therapy with synthetic opiate is recommended. Finally this phenomenon should demonstrate the power heroin use can have which is why to need to seek for help from the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center.

Brain vulnerability to heroin infections: Different avenues through which heroin attacks

 

 

 

 

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drugs-alcohol-addiction-treatment

Exposing heroin and opium effects

September 7, 2016
Exposing heroin

Here is the way out of exposing heroin and opium addiction effects to human health

Exposing heroin and opium effects: What is Heroin and Opium?

Before we can settle into the discussion of exposing heroine and opium effects, we want to first understand the definitions of the two substances. A lot has been said about heroin across the globe and one very important point is that heroin like all other substances of abuse has got nothing beneficial to human health. They can only be associated with disasters like poor health, suffering and death to the extreme further begging the question “what really are these dangerous and devastating substances?”

Heroin is derived from the morphine alkaloid found in opium and is roughly 2-3 times more potent. A highly addictive drug, heroin exhibits euphoric (“rush”), anxiolytic and analgesic central nervous system properties. Heroin is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and as such has no acceptable medical use in the United States. Pure heroin is a white powder with a bitter taste. Most illicit heroin is sold as a white or brownish powder and is usually “cut” with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine. It can also be cut with strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death and that is why exposing heroin effects is very necessary. Another form of heroin known as “black tar” may be sticky, like roofing tar, or hard, like coal. Its color may vary from dark brown to black. Heroin has some funny street names include smack, H, skag, junk, brown sugar, horse, and black tar.

The opium definition

Opium is also a highly addictive narcotic drug which comes in dried latex form from the opium poppy seed pod. Customarily the pods which have not ripened are slit open and their sap seeds out and dries on the outer surface of the pod. The product realized will be yellow-brown latex, which is then scraped off of the pod; it is bitter in taste and contains varying amounts of alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, thebaine and papaverine.

And now back to exposing the effects of opium and heroin in both the short-term and the long-term, can be overwhelming in a number of different ways. The euphoria experienced in the short-term can overtake the senses, making the patient incoherent, unresponsive and unable to focus. In the long-term, the health effects can erode major organ systems and cause infections that can be life threatening. The good news is that when you schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, you will be attended to professionally in all your addiction related concerns.

Exposing heroin and opium effects: Short term effects

The short-term effects of opium and heroin are generally the reason why people use opiates in the first place. This is when you experience the high or euphoric rush associated with the drug.

  • Less than 10 seconds after intravenous injection, opiate users will feel a rush while an intramuscular injection provides a high in less than 10 minutes.
  • For those who snort or smoke the drug, the euphoria takes up to 15 minutes.
  • Other short-term effects of heroin and opium include dry mouth, a warm feeling, and heavy arms and legs.
  • When heroin is cut with poisons or dangerous drugs like Fentanyl or when too much heroin is taken, a short-term effect of the drug can be overdose or death.

Exposing heroin and opium effects: What is Heroin and Opium?

 

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drug addiction treatment

Understanding heroin presence in your life

September 2, 2016
Understanding heroin presence

Understanding heroin presence in your life will enable you to take the rehabilitation path

Understanding heroin presence in your life: Indicators of heroin addiction

It is always said that knowledge is power and that luck of it is the basis of many problems we are facing today. With that background, we want to be as informative as possible so that by the end of this article, you will be able to make informed decisions about substance abuse. For better understanding heroin presence in your life, doctor Dalal Akoury is sharing with us some of the questions tailored into helping individuals be on top of any possibility of heroin addiction. How you respond to the questions below will give a very strong indication about your position with heroin. Like for instance how would you respond to the following?

  • Do you isolate yourself when using heroin? In other wards you are avoiding people when using heroin, does that describe you? That should help you in understanding heroin presence in your life.
  • Have you ever used more heroin than you planned? If you have records of usage it will be helpful however you can also evaluate this by auditing your spending on heroin. Has it been constant or has it been fluctuating?
  • Has your heroin usage interfered with your job or school? Take stock of how many times you have lied to be sick and stayed off duty or if you have not been meeting your assignment deadlines inconsideration.
  • Do you find yourself concealing your heroin usage from others? Interesting, are you proud of this habit?
  • Are you experiencing financial difficulties due to your heroin usage? You may not realize this if you have more than enough to spend but evaluate from your spending how much is going into heroin account, in other word has it become one of the item you spend on heavily?
  • Has your heroin usage caused problems with your partner/spouse or family? Take a closer look at your present and your past before you got into heroin, are you still faithful in that relationship? How often do you hide certain information from your family? Dig deep in your past and respond honestly.
  • Do you wish you could stop using heroin and find that you are unable to quit? Many times users are very frustrated with their habits and are struggling to quit but because they are deeply hooked they are unable. Does this describe your situation?
  • Have you experienced legal difficulties from your heroin usage and yet you continue to use? Of course heroin is illegal and the authorities will not let you go without being punished. You may have escaped once or twice but will you escape forever?
  • Do you consume the entire amount of heroin you have and then immediately desire to get more? And have you become extravagant all over sudden?
  • Have you failed to cut down or quit heroin entirely? You know this is an illegality and probably you have been making effort of quitting but you keep meeting resistance and challenges. Does this describe you?
  • Do you wish you had never taken that first hit, line, or injection of heroin? In your years of addiction, somewhere along the way have you had any regret however small?

Understanding heroin presence in your life: Indicators of heroin addiction

 

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Addiction

Disturbing heroin addiction realities

September 2, 2016
Disturbing heroin addiction

Disturbing heroin addiction realities requires all of us embrace healthy lifestyle for the whole family

Disturbing heroin addiction realities: Understanding the drug as it is

Having discussed the question how do I know if I have a heroin problem in the previous article, we want to take time and discuss the remaining three in this article to appreciate the effects of heroin addiction and treatment. Again we are going to be relying on the expert opinions from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury’s care. Dr. Akoury is also the founder of the facility and has been in the medical practice for well over two decades making her to be one of the most experienced medical doctors when it comes to drug addiction and other areas of concern.

 

  1. How Do I Know if I Have a Heroin Problem?
  2. What is Heroin and how is it Used?
  3. Effects of Heroin Use
  4. Treatment for Heroin and Opiate Addiction

What is heroin and how is it used?

Heroin is an illegal, semi-synthetic drug processed from morphine, a substance extracted from the opium poppy. It is used as a recreational drug for the intense feelings of relaxation and euphoria it induces. Heroin is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as a black, sticky substance known as “black tar heroin.” Most street heroin is “cut” with other drugs or with substances such as sugar or starch. Heroin can also be cut with poisons like strychnine.

Heroin is usually dissolved and injected, or the powder is snorted or smoked. All forms of heroin are psychologically and physically addictive, and a tolerance to the drug builds quickly. IV or intramuscular heroin use poses special problems because of the potential for transmitting infectious diseases. Over the past decade, researchers have observed a shift in heroin use patterns, from injection to snorting and smoking. With this shift comes an even more diverse group of users.

Disturbing heroin addiction realities: Effects of heroin use

Short-Term Effects: Soon after administration, heroin crosses the blood-brain barrier. Users report feelings a surge of intense pleasure (a “rush”). This is usually accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and a heavy feeling in the extremities. Nausea, vomiting, and severe itching may also occur. After the initial effects, the heroin user will typically be drowsy for several hours. Mental function is clouded by heroin’s effect on the central nervous system. Cardiac function slows. Breathing also slows sometimes to the point of death. The following are some of the short term heroin effects:

  • Euphoria
  • Depressed respiration
  • Flushed skin
  • Clouded mental functioning/sedation
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Suppression of pain
  • Infectious diseases

Long-Term Effects: One of the most harmful long-term effects of heroin abuse is addiction itself. Addiction is a chronic disease, characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite negative consequences, and by changes in the brain. Heroin also produces profound degrees of tolerance and physical dependence, which contributes heavily to abuse. Painful withdrawal symptoms occur if use is reduced abruptly. The following are some of the long term effects of heroin:

  • Addiction
  • Problems with the heart, liver and kidneys
  • Overdose Risk
  • Infectious diseases, for example, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis
  • Collapsed veins
  • Abscesses (at injection sites)
  • Arthritis and other rheumatological problems
  • Infection of heart lining and valves
  • Depressed lung function

We will be discussing the last bit of treatment in the next posting and you don’t want to miss that. In the meantime, you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury should you have any concern about this discussion or any relating to any kind of addiction.

Disturbing heroin addiction realities: Understanding the drug as it is

 

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hypnotherapy

Quitting heroin addiction effectively

September 2, 2016
Quitting heroin addiction

Quitting heroin addiction is very important, general heroin effects to human life can be very frustrating and depressing

Quitting heroin addiction: Being on the right healing truck

Before we continue into greater length in quitting heroin addiction, the primary objective of this article is to bring hope to all heroin addicts and not to condemn them. We started by asking “how well do you know heroin drug?” in the previous article and up to that point I want to inform you that if all the answers you are giving are pointing to the wrong direction of heroin addiction, you are on the right track of making the right decision. A decision for health and good life and doctor Akoury and her team of experts are very much ready and willing to help you do through this difficulty. AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center team of experts are only waiting to hear from you primarily to help you in the recovery process. All you need to do is to schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury and that which you have not been able to solve alone, will be professionally addressed. As you consider making that good decision, let us continue highlighting the indicators of heroin addiction in their question forms.

  • Have you continued to use heroin even after you experienced an overdose?
  • Do you fear other people will find out about your heroin usage?
  • Are you preoccupied with getting heroin when you do not have it?
  • Do you have to use larger amounts of heroin to get the same high you once experienced?
  • Has anyone ever told you that you may have a problem?
  • Have you ever lied or misled those around you about how much or how often you use heroin?
  • Do you use heroin at work or in the bathroom in public facilities?
  • Have you ever hocked something in order to buy heroin?
  • Are you afraid that if you stop using heroin that you will not be able to function?
  • Do you find yourself doing things that you are ashamed of in order to purchase heroin?
  • Have you ever stolen drugs or money from family or friends in order to buy heroin?

Finally if your answer to any of these 22 questions is “Yes” then you need help. You don’t have to answer all of them yes; just one is enough to indicate the heroin problem. Like I have indicated talking to doctor Akoury will be the starting point and by the end of it your life will change for good leaving you to enjoy life without regrets. The remaining three concerns will be addressed in the next article, so stay on the link and get the best of health information.

Quitting heroin addiction: Being on the right healing truck

 

 

 

 

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