Menu Close
cropped-evoke-wellness-favicon-logo-512x512-1.png

Build a foundation for lasting recovery

What Does Heroin Do to You?

Experimenting with Heroin is as dangerous as running in front of a moving train. Heroin is an extremely potent drug, and very small amounts can kill a person. Heroin is an opioid that is a central nervous system depressant. CNS depressants slow the breath and heart rate. When someone first uses Heroin, they will vomit and feel very sluggish and may appear as though they are sleeping. It is very dangerous to try Heroin alone or to ignore someone first using it. They or you may look asleep but might be dying. Physical tolerance to the effects of Heroin takes months to develop. Addiction, however, happens immediately.   What Does Heroin Do to You?

How to Tell If Someone is High on Heroin?

Anyone high on Heroin will look very sleepy. The phrase ‘nodding off’ is partial to the language that heroin addicts use to describe someone who is high. People on Heroin are often groggy and will also have very little patience and be cranky. Another indication that someone is on Heroin is that their voice will be hoarse, and they will be scratching their body as though it itches. These reactions are a result of the depressant effect on blood circulation in the skin cells and slower breathing processes that affect the voice. The most obvious sign of heroin use is the constricted pupils.   People who use Heroin will have what is called ‘pinned eyes’ all the time. They will look as though they are dead in the eyes. 

Why Is Heroin So Dangerous?

Medically speaking, the effects of Heroin can be compared to a narcotic pain reliever. Opioid drugs all contain morphine. Prescription pain killers affect a person the same way that Heroin will. Opioids sedate the body, and the heart and lungs slow down. People on it will appear tired and sleepy, and essentially they are. While they are on Heroin, their body is resting in an unnatural way. Although Heroin gives their body plenty of pain-killing relief, which makes them high, they are asking for trouble. Heroin mimics the brain chemicals that regulate pain. Once a person abuses it, their brain stops producing its own pain regulators called endorphins.   The lack of endorphins is why people addicted to Heroin get violently sick if they do not use Heroin. Heroin withdrawals cause extreme suffering. They are the reason heroin addicts can’t get clean. 

What Are the Long-term Effects of Heroin?

The National Institute on Drug Abuse completes advanced research about Heroin and other opioid drugs and how they affect the brain and body. The long-term effects of Heroin are severe and cause the person to lose control of their behaviors over time.  

Repeated heroin use changes the physical structure and physiology of the brain, creating long-term imbalances in neuronal and hormonal systems that are not easily reversed. Studies have shown some deterioration of the brain’s white matter due to heroin use, which may affect decision-making abilities, the ability to regulate behavior, and responses to stressful situations. Heroin also produces profound degrees of tolerance and physical dependence. With physical dependence, the body adapts to the presence of the drug, and severe withdrawal symptoms occur if use is reduced abruptly. (NIDA

Evoke Wellness offers personalized heroin detoxification with strong medications to reverse withdrawal symptoms. 

How to Approach My Loved One Who is Using it?

The first concern of anyone who is addicted to Heroin is how to help them get clean without detox symptoms. They are not lying about the physical suffering they endure when they run out of Heroin. The first thing they need is to be admitted into a medically supervised heroin detox program. They will need to remain in the detox for ten days up to two weeks to get clean. The next priority is to go to treatment. 

Evoke Wellness Provides Medications Upon Arrival at our Heroin Detox Center

We provide expert care and therapy for heroin addicts. Each patient is seen by a medical doctor once they arrive and are prescribed safe opioid replacement medications. But don’t wait for the addiction to go away. Heroin steals years of people’s lives and usually ends up killing them. We have the solution, and we will take care of your loved one today.  Call us now for priority admission and chat or email for more information.