Heroin Addiction Help In Orange County
There are several heroin treatment options that are available. These can be the crutch that an addict needs when they are searching for a way to break free of their drug dependency.
Although the most successful forms of treatment tend to occur early in the addiction process a tailored program can be designed that will address an individual’s particular addiction problems. Assistance can vary from inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient detox, holistic approaches, and more.
Outpatient and In-Patient Drug Treatment Options
Detoxifying an addict, helping them identify the reasons for their addictions and teaching ways to cope without using drugs are all elements of drug rehab programs. A person has the opportunity to look for an intervention option that best meets their personal needs as well as their budget.
Many of the heroin treatment programs are offered on an outpatient basis. This allows the client to continue with a normal life while being treated for their drug addiction. For highly motivated addicts that still have some stability in their lives this can be one of the best treatment options.
Orange County residential heroin treatment options are also available, but these involve more money and time. Individuals with heroin addictions will reside at the facility of their choice where they will receive the treatment that will help them break free of their crippling drug dependency. People with a high level of dependency, history of relapses or those surrounded by enablers and co-dependents may have better success in this type of heroin treatment setting.
If you need advice on a specific program that treats heroin addictions you can find information online. Almost every community has some type of free help available for those with heroin addictions.
Methadone Helps Addicts Beat the Odds
One of the best known medications prescribed to heroin addicts is Methadone. This pharmaceutical agent has now been in use for more than three decades, and it is still one of the most effective treatment options. A person remains completely functional while they are receiving daily doses of methadone treatments.
Researchers first discovered that this man-made opiate could stop the symptoms that accompanied heroin withdrawal. These symptoms ranged from itching and trembling to hallucinations and seizures. Although the symptoms are at their worst for only a few days, the pain and misery of heroin withdrawal is too tough for most people to overcome on their own.
The most intense withdrawal symptoms would begin when a person tried to beat their heroin addiction without any assistance. This withdrawal technique was known as ‘cold turkey’.
Trying to overcome the craving for heroin and fight off these symptoms simultaneously would often result in the addict giving up and searching for a quick ‘fix’ of heroin as soon as possible. There have even been some instances when an individual would die while trying to quit heroin by going the ‘cold turkey’ route.
By using methadone an addict can battle through the withdrawal process and not have to deal with the withdrawal symptoms. A single dose of Methadone can last for 20-24 hours and it also blocks out those euphoric highs that are produced by heroin.
This means that even if an addict relapses and uses heroin while taking methadone the drug will not have the same effects. The blunting of the heroin euphoria makes it much easier for an addict to overcome the craving for this street drug.
Alternative Heroin Treatment Medications
Levo-alpha-acetyl-Methadol is another synthetic medication in the opiate family. Many of the heroin treatment programs have been using Levo-alpha-acetyl-Methadol as part of their drug rehab process since the early 1990s. This particular pharmaceutical has a rapid onset of action and it can last in the bloodstream for as long as 3 days.
Instead of having to take a dose of Methadone each day the dosing for this drug is only 3 times a week. This means that LAAM (levo-alpha-acetyl-methadol) is appropriate for use with inpatients or outpatients. Most addicts who are given LAAM will experience only minimal withdrawal symptoms and the drug has few side effects.
Buprenorphine is yet another of the heroin treatment options available to addicts. The effects of this particular drug will block the cravings for heroin and eliminate withdrawal symptoms but it is milder than LAAM or Methadone. The weaker effects created by Buprenorphine can treat the addiction problem but rarely creates the overdosing problems that have been seen with the use of Methadone.
Antagonists
Drug antagonists such as Naltrexone or Naloxone are viewed as shorter term heroin treatments. Yet these medications have specific purposes because they can be used as antagonists to treat an opiate overdose or used as opiate blockers in a drug rehab setting.
Naloxone is not as long lasting as Naltrexone, which is a heroin treatment option that can last for 24-72 hours. Halfway houses and Orange County detox facilities frequently use Naltrexone to help drug addicts conquer their addiction.
Changing the Mind Set
Behavior therapy, cognitive behavior interventions, counseling, contingency management techniques and other psychologically based measures are also used to treat heroin addictions.
It has been discovered that heroin treatment that provides proper medication and psychological intervention will have the best chance of success. With desire, motivation and appropriate drug rehab programs even long term heroin addicts can overcome their dependency on this illegal drug. An Orange County psychologist is often consulted for assistance in treatment planning.
