Can You Stop Using Heroin on Your Own?
While it’s possible to stop using heroin alone, most experts strongly advise against it. The withdrawal symptoms and cravings associated with heroin can be severe and potentially dangerous. Attempting to quit cold turkey without proper medical supervision can lead to severe health complications or relapse.
This article discusses the challenges of quitting heroin, the importance of seeking professional help, the benefits of medication-assisted treatment, the risks of stopping alone, and the role of professional support in managing heroin addiction.
The Process of Quitting Heroin
Quitting heroin abruptly can trigger intense withdrawal symptoms and carries a high risk for relapse. Professional support and comprehensive treatment approaches are essential to keep the person safe and lower the risk of relapse.
Withdrawal symptoms may be physical and psychological and can vary in intensity, depending on addiction severity. Side effects of withdrawal typically include intense cravings and may be accompanied by the following:
- Physical symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, sweating, chills, fever, and tremors.
- Psychological symptoms include anxiety, agitation, irritability, insomnia, and depression.
The timeline for heroin withdrawal can vary from person to person but generally begins within 6 to 12 hours after the last dose and peaks around the second or third day. Symptoms often subside within a week, although some psychological and emotional effects may persist.
Below is a typical timeline, with the first 24 hours the most challenging.
- Days 2-4: Symptoms peak.
- Days 5-7: Symptoms begin to subside.
- Days 8-14: Symptoms may linger but usually become less severe.
Managing Withdrawal Symptoms
Medically supervised detox keeps you safe during heroin withdrawal by providing constant medical monitoring and intervention to manage potential complications. Healthcare professionals assess your overall health, monitor vital signs, administer medications to alleviate withdrawal symptoms, address any medical emergencies that may arise, and ensure your physical well-being throughout the detoxification process. This level of supervision helps lower the risks associated with withdrawal and ensures your safety during this critical phase of recovery.
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is often used to manage withdrawal symptoms and to alleviate anxiety.
The benefits of MAT include:
- Reduces Withdrawal Symptoms – Medications such as methadone, buprenorphine, or naltrexone can help alleviate withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
- Minimizes Relapse Risk – By reducing cravings and blocking the euphoric effects of opioids, MAT can help individuals avoid relapse.
- Improves Treatment Retention – By addressing the physiological aspects of addiction, medications can help individuals stay engaged in treatment longer, increasing the likelihood of successful outcomes.
- Reduces Harmful Behaviors – MAT has been linked to decreased risky behaviors associated with heroin addiction, such as injection drug use and engaging in criminal activities to obtain drugs.
- Allows for Holistic Recovery – MAT is often combined with counseling, therapy, and other support services, creating a comprehensive and holistic approach to recovery.
- Saves Lives – MAT has been shown to reduce the risk of opioid overdose and associated fatalities. Medications like naloxone, often used in MAT, can reverse opioid overdoses, potentially saving lives in emergencies.
It’s important to note that the effectiveness of MAT can vary depending on the individual, and it is best used as part of a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to specific needs and goals.
Committing to a healthy diet, regular exercise, and practicing mind-body techniques such as yoga and meditation can help manage withdrawal symptoms and support long-term recovery.
The Risks of Quitting Heroin Alone
Quitting heroin alone can be dangerous, as severe reactions can arise during detox. Professional oversight is critical to promptly identify and manage any potential medical complications during withdrawal, ensuring the individual’s safety and well-being.
The Mayo Clinic warns to avoid stopping heroin or any opioid cold turkey as symptoms can be severe. By quitting use under a doctor’s supervision, you can gradually reduce (taper) the drug, which minimizes risk and discomfort.
Potential risks of quitting heroin on your own may include:
- Medical complications such as dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, difficulty breathing, and seizures.
- Psychological complications such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
- Overdose. Once you quit using heroin, even for a few days, you lose tolerance to your usual dose. If you relapse and resume using the same amount, you can overdose.
Why Seek Professional Help?
Seeking professional help is critical in managing a chronic disease like heroin addiction. Healthcare providers can offer evidence-based treatments, comprehensive care plans, ongoing monitoring, and support, all of which are essential for long-term recovery and reducing the risks associated with the disease.
Reasons why seeking professional help is crucial include the following:
- Safer – Professional treatment offers a safe and supervised environment where you can detox more comfortably and receive medical attention when needed.
- Access to counseling and therapy – Professional counseling and treatment will help you identify and address underlying issues that may have contributed to your addiction and may increase the risk of relapse if unresolved.
- Support from peers – Professional treatment offers the opportunity to connect with others in recovery, providing a supportive community to help you stay on track.
Professional Treatment Options
In addition to medically supervised detox and MAT, professional treatment options for heroin recovery include counseling and therapy, residential or outpatient programs, support groups, and aftercare services, all tailored to address the physical, psychological, and social aspects of addiction and promote lasting recovery.
Inpatient treatment means the person lives at the facility for several weeks or months in a highly structured environment. This option is suitable for those with a severe addiction.
An outpatient setting may be appropriate for those with a less severe addiction. With outpatient treatment, the person attends a treatment program but lives at home, allowing them to continue working or attending school if desired.
Behavioral Therapy
Behavioral therapy is an effective and proven approach to heroin recovery. Therapeutic approaches like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) help individuals identify and change destructive thought patterns and behaviors, develop coping skills, address underlying issues contributing to addiction, and create a foundation for long-term sobriety through evidence-based techniques and ongoing support.
Professional help can make all the difference in successfully stopping heroin use by providing medical supervision, managing withdrawal symptoms, offering personalized treatment plans, addressing underlying issues, and providing ongoing support, significantly increasing the likelihood of a successful recovery.
Contact Midwest Recovery Centers today to learn about our specialized Heroin Addiction Treatment program and how we can help you or a loved one recover.
Reviewed and Assessed by
Taylor Brown, B.A.Com., CADC
Tim Coleman, M. of Ed.
Start Your Recovery Now!
Have A Midwest Recovery Centers' Team Member Call You Today.
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Staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Medical
Midwest Recovery Centers believes strongly in a client-centered approach. Substance Use Disorder is not what it was 5 or even 2 years ago. The substances on the street are constantly changing and so are the number of contraindications and fatal threats that substance use imposes on the person suffering. Our Medical team continues to stay up to speed with new advances of evidence-based approaches in treating those with both substance use disorder as well as their co-occurring mental health diagnosis. There are many varying pieces to each client’s situation when it comes to tackling the puzzle of a medical detox, and each step in the treatment planning is carefully selected, reviewed, and communicated for the best possible outcome of each client. We understand that consideration of the medical history, family history, past trauma, past and current substance use are all key indicators to most effectively give each client the best chance at developing a recovery process. Each client may present with a different scope of medical needs whether it’s their blood work or the most effective medications for them. Midwest Recovery Centers is proud to have the finest medical team to meet these individual and specific needs of each client that walks through our doors.
Clinical
When it comes to the therapeutic treatment of patients with substance use disorder, Midwest Recovery Centers believes in a client-centered approach guided by evidence-based practices. Substance use disorder has been identified by the American Medical Association as a disease, but because addiction is a disease that impacts behavior, treatment of this disease is often heavily focused on modifying behaviors and thoughts as well as establishing a new way of life. We place a strong emphasis on educating patients about this chronic illness and empowering them to practice treating it as such. Our clinical team is composed of leading experts in the field. We believe in having a staff as diverse as the clients we serve; from Licensed Professional Counselors to Licensed Clinical Social Workers, our staff is highly trained and educated in not only addiction but the mental health issues and life circumstances that often accompany it. Many of our clinicians have their own personal experience in long term recovery which lends them to an even better understanding of what our patients are experiencing. Our staff is highly skilled in choosing the most effective therapeutic modality for each client’s needs, to give them the best chance of securing the recovery process that will change their lives. Our clinical team understands that this is a family disease. This is why clinicians will offer weekly updates to families as well as concrete tools for families to utilize as they journey through this illness with their loved one. Those tools will be offered by the patient’s individual clinician as well as at our free Family Night on the first Wednesday of each month, offered to anyone in the community.
Our Origin Story
I began Midwest Recovery in honor of my mother, Betty Lou Wallace, who taught me responsibility in life and sobriety.
Mom was born, raised, and lived most of her life in Missouri, a state I'm still proud to call home. She had five children. The youngest were my older brother Don and me.
We knew that the disease of addiction ran in the family, but it wasn't until Don and I grew older that we realized we were falling into addictive patterns. Through it all, Mom was supportive of her children but firm about one principle: whether the disease was inherited or developed through your environment, you were responsible for your recovery from addiction.
"I will be supportive of your recovery but I will not enable your addiction," she was fond of saying.
Ultimately, I stayed sober from 1990 to 1997, when I relapsed. With Mom's support, I was able to get sober again in 2002. Tragically, Don was not so lucky. He passed away in 2005 from complications of an injury and continued addiction.
Mom wanted no parent to suffer from the sorrow and anguish of losing a child, so in 2002, she helped me establish my first treatment center business.
As Mom grew older, she shared with me some lessons she had learned through her affiliation with Al-Anon, a support group for family members of loved ones struggling with addiction. She asked me to stay clean and sober one day at a time and to use the lessons I learned in my own recovery to help others who were suffering.
In 2008, Mom passed away from throat cancer, one day after my six year sober anniversary. I still remember that one of the last times we spoke, she told me she was proud of my recovery.
Mom would be so happy to know that myself, our partners, and our team are carrying on her legacy in her home state. I don't know if my own recovery process would be intact without her and the lessons she shared. So much of what we share with our clients at Midwest began with Betty Lou.
Above all, Mom imparted several teachings that I carry with me every day: that people are inherently good, and if they fall into addiction, this makes them sick, not bad. She taught me to be patient, tolerant, loving, and kind to myself and to others.
Most of all, she taught me that recovery works if we are able to be honest with ourselves about our own behavior. That’s what she helped me accomplish and that’s what we strive to accomplish with every Midwest client.
On behalf of Betty Lou, I thank you for your interest in Midwest Recovery.
Jeff Howard
Start Your Recovery Now!
Have A Midwest Recovery Centers' Team Member Call You Today.
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