Heroin Addiction Treatment & Recovery Program

As addiction deepens and heroin use becomes a daily habit, the signs of heroin use will become more blatant, causing a deterioration in physical appearance and behavior.

The indicators of serious heroin abuse include:

• Needle marks and bruising on the arms (if injecting)
• Constantly running nose or nosebleeds (if snorting/sniffing)
• Formation of non-healing abscesses on the skin
• Heart troubles and chronically low blood pressure
• Frequent illnesses or infections
• Liver or kidney problems
• Insomnia or excessive daytime sleeping (or an alternating cycle of both)
  
  

On the behavioral side, the telltale signs of long-term heroin dependence include:

• Constant lying and evasiveness
• Neglect of parenting, workplace, or other life responsibilities
• Stealing to get money for drugs
• Frequent run-ins with law enforcement (arrests for DUI, stealing, violence, etc.)
• Extreme mood swings
• Aggressive or erratic reactions to stress or disagreements
• Missing appointments or other important events, usually without explanation
• Inability to stop using, despite promising to do so
  
  

Under standards prescribed by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), qualified clinicians can diagnose an opioid use disorder, including heroin addiction, if certain distinctive symptoms are present.

The list of diagnostic symptoms includes:

• Heroin consumed more frequently and in larger amounts than intended
• Efforts to decrease or control heroin use that prove to be futile
• Heavy time investments in obtaining, using, or recovering from heroin use
• Intense, persistent heroin cravings
• Neglect of duties at work, school, or in the home directly connected to heroin abuse
• Continued use of heroin despite social or interpersonal problems
• Social, recreational, or occupational activities sacrificed because of heroin use
• Recurrent heroin use in situations where it causes physical danger
• Continued heroin use despite deleterious effects on physical and psychological health
• The buildup of tolerance for heroin
• Experience of withdrawal symptoms

Six or more symptoms indicate a severe addiction, four or five a moderate addiction, and two or three a mild dependency.

When heroin addiction remains undiagnosed and untreated, the odds of heroin overdose rise significantly, as users will consume more and more of the drug until their body can no longer handle the stress.