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Detoxing from Heroin: Home Remedies to Support Medical Treatment



When someone is addicted to an opioid, they may be physically dependent on the drug and go through withdrawal when they cease or reduce their use. Rather than enter medical detox, some people may turn to home remedies for opioid withdrawal.


There are many holistic and alternative methods that can aid in opioid detox and withdrawal. While they may be touted as standalone home remedies, they are best used as adjunct methods and combined with a medical detox program. Some of these methods include:




Detoxing from Heroin: Home Remedies



Medical detox can help individuals to reach levels of physical stability safely, so they may continue on with a complete substance abuse treatment program that can address their behavioral, emotional, and individual needs with therapeutic, supportive, and pharmaceutical methods. While the idea of home remedies for opiate withdrawal may be tempting, at-home attempts are rarely successful and can be risky. Seek professional help for the best chances at long-term recovery.


Anyone who wishes to stop taking opioids should seek help from a specialist doctor. They can provide medications to support a person through the withdrawal process. At the same time, people can use some home and natural remedies to manage their symptoms, such as staying hydrated, meditation, and distraction techniques.


Oftentimes, replacement medications are needed as well as medical intervention to ensure the safety and comfort of the individual detoxing. For all opiates, including prescription painkillers and heroin, medical detox is recommended. An opioid inpatient treatment program that offers medical detox can provide the most effective care to ease the discomfort that comes from opiate withdrawal.


If you or a loved one are struggling with dependency on opiates and want to avoid a traditional rehabilitation facility, you may be wondering how to safely detox at home. Read on for more information about treating detox symptoms at home and 5 opiate withdrawal home remedies that can help you.


Home remedies for dope sickness can help someone who chooses to avoid professional treatment in order to attempt to detox at home. While there is no at-home-cure for heroin withdrawal symptoms, there are ways to increase the chance that an at-home detox is a success.


If your friend or family member want to detox from heroin in a safe, supportive and effective environment, call The Recovery Village and speak to a representative. Detoxing at home is not recommended. Heroin withdrawal is challenging and doing so without proper medical supervision can make it riskier and harder than it needs to be. The best way to help is by convincing your loved one that professional treatment is the best option. Set your loved one up for success and have them reach out to a representative today.


The attraction is understandable. We would all rather deal with health issues in the security and privacy of our own homes, and handling things on their own provides addicts with a sense of control over the situation. Additionally, drug treatment often carries with it a stigma of personal shame and weakness which can prevent some people from seeking help in a professional setting.


All home withdrawal methods suffer from the same basic flaws. The biggest is the lack of medically trained, professional supervision. An individual in poor health or with other health complications needs qualified attention to assure their comfort and safety during withdrawal.


Lack of a support group during and after drug detox is another issue. Relapse is always a danger, but poses a greater risk in an unsupervised setting. This is because some home and natural detox remedies can alter body chemistry in ways that can make a relapse physically dangerous.


While some people do succeed in long term addiction recovery from home remedies and other medication-assisted therapies, the willpower and stamina involved are immense. Most addicts suffer multiple relapses as a result, as well as the health consequences that accompany them.


For initial detox, there will be a lot of options to choose from. Some people prefer to detox at home while others will need medical detox, and still, others will prefer to do a more natural food and supplement-based detox.


Over-the-Counter Medications: Some of the withdrawal symptoms that result from going off opioids can be treated with over-the-counter medicines. People often experience diarrhea, nausea, body aches, and cold-like symptoms while detoxing. Carefully monitored doses of medications that address these conditions can make a person feel much better.


Opioid drugs form some of the most severe addictions known to man. For this reason, withdrawal from heroin or prescription painkillers can become intense, prompting certain individuals to take matters into their own hands. The success of at home withdrawal methods are limited and can leave an individual facing severe health consequences. It is best to detox in a facility with the assistance of medical professionals.


  • Stories have emerged of people using vitamins, supplements, and alternative medicine such as acupuncture to treat the effects of heroin detox at home. According to the Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine journal, there is not a significant body of evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of these methods.Coming out of this trend are detox drinks that have been marketed as potential ways of staving off the worst of withdrawal symptoms. Such drinks are presented as being \u201call-natural\u201d and are preferable alternatives to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications that reduce joint pain or anticonvulsant drugs that treat seizure-related withdrawal. Multivitamin drinks, for example, purport to replenish nutrients that are lost due to diarrhea, vomiting, and a loss of appetite. Products such as vitamin C supplements that help reduce blood pressure are sold over the counter at drugstores, or they are available at specialty supplement stores.Some products, such as milk thistle, N-acetylcysteine, and alpha-lipoic acid, go so far as to claim they can restore full functionality to organs and systems damaged by drug abuse.Questions remain about the safety of using these materials to detox from heroin at home. In 2008, the Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology journal wrote that the liquid extract of passionflower, taken with clonidine (for blood pressure regulation), could reduce insomnia and anxiety in patients experiencing opioid withdrawal. But researchers also warned that the side effects, such as dizziness and nausea, were signs that some strains of passionflower could still contain chemicals that could harm the liver.The larger question remains: Are detox drinks and supplements safe for home-based heroin withdrawal? There is still very little evidence-based research on that, and what research has been conducted suggests that patients are better served if they detox under medical supervision. Additionally, patients should check with a doctor before consuming detox drinks. While being ostensibly \u201cnatural,\u201d the body is very weak following addiction and during detox, and the chemicals in detox drinks could cause unintentional reactions.Experts recommend that if you really want to take detox supplements, you should do so after your detox process has finished. Supplements should not be used as a primary resource during detox, but instead to help rebuild your strength and nutrition after completing detoxMental Health Daily notes that patients should not take detox drinks or supplements without the explicit approval of a healthcare provider, and even then, not everyone will benefit from the products. As with any other drug, detox drinks have their own recommended dosages, so taking too much, or combining different supplemental products, can have harmful interactions with a recovering body system.Ultimately, if you are looking for ways to safely detox from heroin at home, you must make yourself as comfortable as possible. You will need distractions to take your mind away from the physical and psychological effects of withdrawal. You will need a trusted and knowledgeable family member or friend to stay with you, or at least to check in on you, as you detox.Stay away from anecdotal stories and urban legends online. Do activities that will boost your body\u2019s endorphins (such as laugh, have some chocolate, get some exercise, and fresh air). Opioids mimic the function of endorphins, but to a much more powerful extent, effectively replacing them. This is the mechanism by which people are unable to feel pleasure without heroin. Rebuilding endorphin production helps users break the dependence and expectation of heroin.\u201cEven if you choose to detox from heroin at home, don\u2019t do it alone. Get support from people you know; tell people you trust that you are going to quit cold turkey. When the process becomes incredibly difficult, they can offer moral support and help, and they can call 911 if you become incapacitated.\u201dYou should also consider calling for a doctor if you become dehydrated or malnourished as a result of your detox; if the detox leads to suicidal ideation, respiratory problems, rapid heart rate; or if you have other medical conditions that become complicated as a result of the withdrawal.Detoxing from heroin at home is possible, but it\u2019s incredibly dangerous. In most circumstances, you are much better off going to a treatment center for help. Many facilities have payment plans to help every person get the treatment they need, and there are several programs available that will work with you on paying off the cost of your treatment.Additionally, a treatment center will connect you with counseling, therapy, and aftercare support to ensure that the hard work of detox continues into psychological and social rehabilitation. Without those, your chances of staying sober over the long term are very low.To better understand why detoxing from heroin at home is not safe, it is necessary to briefly look at what heroin is and how it works. Heroin is derived from the chemical compounds in the opium poppy; this origin means that it works on the opioid receptors in the brain and the central nervous system. This is why heroin and other opioids have painkilling effects when consumed.The opioid receptors, as part of the opioid system, play a major role in the regulation of pain. The neurochemical connections in the system are also responsible for how people experience pleasure and the anticipation of pleasure.This is why, historically, the seeds of the poppy plant were used in religious and medical rituals, and it is why heroin and other drugs based on the compounds of the poppy plants are so effective in treating pain and inducing feelings of happiness and comfort. Not coincidentally, this is also what makes opioids strongly addictive; the effects are powerfully desirable and very habit-forming.While all opioids work in roughly similar ways, heroin\u2019s chemistry is such that it works much faster, and to a much stronger degree, than other opioids. If the heroin is injected into a vein, the molecules reach the opioid receptors in the brain in only 10 seconds. When this happens, the effects are instantaneous. Users feel an overwhelming wave of euphoria, followed by a sensation of calm and tranquility more intense than any they have previously experienced.The physical and psychological mechanisms of effects can make heroin devastatingly difficult to quit. As with most other substances, users build up a tolerance for the drug; that is, increasing amounts of it are required to feel the same basic sensation (a simple process of the body acclimatizing to the heroin, and then needing more to continue to feel its effects). Not only does the dependence on heroin deepen, but the act of stopping heroin intake becomes more difficult and more dangerous on its own. With so much exposure to such a potent substance, the brain becomes so sensitized to the presence of the heroin that cutting off the supply leaves the user incapable of functioning normally.This process is known as withdrawal. As a user starves the body of heroin, the body and mind react violently, unleashing a wave of physically and psychologically distressing symptoms, including:\n Periods of depression and anxiety\n Flu-like symptoms\n Insomnia\n Diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting\n Pain in the muscles and bones\n Violent mood swings\nHeroin withdrawal is not life-threatening on its own, but it is nonetheless very dangerous. For example, a malnourished user might lose what little nutrients they have due to diarrhea and vomiting, which can cause heart failure and death by starvation. Similarly, a chronic heroin user, or a user who has a history of mental health illnesses, might develop suicidal ideation as a result of withdrawal-induced depression. Additionally, the pain and discomfort of withdrawal might compel a user to go back on their heroin in an attempt at alleviation; this might lead to a lethal overdose, especially if the user increases the dose taken to overcome the symptoms.In many cases, the psychological symptoms of heroin detox will outlast the physical symptoms. Even after the body has stabilized, and supplied with adequate nutrition and rest, therapy and psychological support are needed to address the mental damage done by the withdrawal process. It will also bring to light any mental health problems that might have prompted the initial heroin abuse.The outcome of this is that you will have the necessary coping skills and strategies when the temptation to relapse appears. In addition, ongoing social support (in the form of Narcotics Anonymous or another kind of aftercare program) will ensure that you have the best possible outcome from heroin detox."}]}]}],"about":"Detoxing From Heroin at Home: Is It Possible to Do Safely?","description":"Detoxing from heroin is the first step in the recovery process. It is possible to detox from heroin at home, but it\u2019s not recommended.","reviewedBy":["@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/opioids\/heroin\/detoxing-at-home\/#Article_MedicalWebPage_reviewedBy_Person","image":["@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/opioids\/heroin\/detoxing-at-home\/#Article_MedicalWebPage_reviewedBy_Person_image_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/griselda_perez-150x150-1-150x150.jpg"],"url":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/employee\/griselda-perez\/","name":"Griselda Perez"],"author":["@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/opioids\/heroin\/detoxing-at-home\/#Article_MedicalWebPage_author_Person","description":" Delphi Behavioral Health Group is staffed with a team of expert writers and researchers that are dedicated to creating well-written and accurate content to help those that are seeking treatment find the help they need.","name":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/employee\/staff-writer\/","image":["@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/opioids\/heroin\/detoxing-at-home\/#Article_MedicalWebPage_author_Person_image_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d1f6d96eddca38966cf4183a365c6fb?s=80&d=mm&r=g"],"url":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/employee\/staff-writer\/"],"publisher":["@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/opioids\/heroin\/detoxing-at-home\/#Article_MedicalWebPage_publisher_Organization","telephone":"+18448995777","address":["@type":"PostalAddress","@id":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/opioids\/heroin\/detoxing-at-home\/#Article_MedicalWebPage_publisher_Organization_address_PostalAddress","streetAddress":"1901 West Cypress Creek Rd Suite 600","addressRegion":"Fl ","postalCode":33309,"addressLocality":"\nFort Lauderdale"],"url":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/","name":"Delphi Behavioral Health Group","logo":["@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/opioids\/heroin\/detoxing-at-home\/#Article_MedicalWebPage_publisher_Organization_logo_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Group-143.png"]],"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/delphihealthgroup.com\/opioids\/heroin\/detoxing-at-home\/","datePublished":"2022-03-08T20:36:52+00:00","headline":"Detoxing From Heroin at Home: Is It Possible to Do Safely?"}window.schema_highlighter=accountId: "DelphiBehavioralHealthGroup", output: false Skip to contentDelphi Behavioral Health Group Our ServicesToggle Sub MenuOur Services

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