Withdrawal Drugs

On the 14^th of October 2019, a true story of cocaine withdrawal appeared on the New Yorker online magazine. It was the chilling chronicle of a teenager (8 years ago) who got hooked to cocaine and other narcotic drugs. He went through a hell of substance abuse and dependence disorder before coming into the Detox and rehab programs. Today he is reportedly sober and enjoying his freedom from drug dependency problems. The true story has a powerful message to convey to those who want to give top priority to sobriety in life.  Hope is still alive and calling, no matter how deep the addicts have fallen.

Cocaine Withdrawal – It is Not a One Man Game

Cocaine withdrawal symptoms can be grouped into many categories that include physical, psychological, cognitive, and behavioral disorders. They are also known as defects of characters. Now, the question is did they appear after the addiction started or did they exist before.

Withdrawal problems may start once the addict tries to quit on his own without any help. The probability of success depends on how long, strong, and destructive his addiction has been. Youngsters who just tasted cocaine once or a few times may find it easy to stay away from it for a considerable time. What about those who have hopelessly got hooked?

Drug Dependence – A Crutch for Support

What makes people get addicted to cocaine? What makes them feel they can’t live without it? Cocaine dependency syndrome is stated to be a physical and mental disorder that directly invades the brain and attacks Dopamine, a neurotransmitter and a hormone that is responsible for the creation of euphoria feelings after getting bombarded by cocaine molecules. The physical craving for cocaine could result in many symptoms like

• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Nervous disorder
• Physical tremors
• Feverish feelings

The psychological withdrawal symptoms could be

• Depression and anxiety
• Fear of the unknown
• Hallucination
• Deep-seated resentments
• Self-pity

Cocaine Withdrawal Treatments – Physical and Psychological Healing

Physical dependence is something that can be overcome once the addict gets Detox at the treatment center. The doctors can eliminate the toxic elements and waste from cocaine from the body using medications and IV treatments. The recovery back to a healthy life could take about six months to one year, provided the recovering patient (formerly called addict) manages to stay sober and follows a nutritious food plan with a healthy lifestyle.

Psychological healing is something that takes a long time to happen. It is for the simple reason that an addict’s mind is twisted in thinking. He has done bizarre things during the “Active Using Days” that has left scars of self-destruction deep in his mind.

The imprints won’t go away so soon and they keep lingering for decades, in some cases for a lifetime. Rehab and psychotherapy could be the right method of healing for the patient. He can also follow the 12-step program to keep himself sober and sane one day at a time.

Heroin withdrawal symptoms can start within the first 24 hours of abstinence from consumption. Physical symptoms are immediately visible and they may have long term impacts on the health of the addict. Psychological symptoms can be slow to detect, but their impact can be far more destructive than physical symptoms. Heroin-withdrawal timeline depends on the duration, intensity, and volume of intake over the years.

Heroin Addiction Saga –Ultimate Damage Impact

Years of drug abuse can destroy the physical health of an addict beyond repair. Needle affiliation can lead to the disappearance of nerves from the hand surface forever. Addicts have often injected heroin into their groin to keep the euphoria unleashed. With their body turned into something better than a skeleton and a mind that is almost dead, they go on living with only one purpose. It is to find ways of getting the next dosage of a drug into their body and brain.                 

Heroin Withdrawal Symptoms – Physical and Mental Crisis

Physical symptoms of heroin withdrawal may start within a day after abstinence from using. Some of the most critical symptoms could b

• Chronic muscle pain
• Constant feeling of fatigue
• Lack of hunger or overeating syndrome
• Intense palpitations
• Feverish feeling
• Insomnia and more

Psychological symptoms can be experienced only by the addict, but its impact will be primarily on the family members.

• Restlessness
• Irritation
• Discontentment
• Resentments
• Paranoid dreams
• Hallucinations

Some of the addicts have gone to the level of seeing things and hearing sounds that never exist. Ghost voices continue to haunt them wherever they go. Some of the addicts have gone to the extent of jumping off their widows and ramming into fast-moving vehicles due to the intense feeling of hallucinations.

Physical Symptoms – Worst scenario of Nervous Disability

The cracking down of the central nervous system can cause tremors in the entire body, especially in the legs and hands. He can’t hold a cup of coffee without spilling it all over. Climbing stairs looks like a punishment because of shaking legs. He may fear the prospect of a simple task like crossing a busy road over the pedestrian lane for the risk of being run over by a fast-moving vehicle.

Personal Hygiene – Ignorance beyond Incorrigible Habits

Some forms of drug withdrawal may make the addict physically drained of the energy to the core. He may not able to perform his personal hygienic activities like going to the toilet and taking a shower. Physical hygiene can be complete disarray and his room may look like unclean garbage.

Unbalanced Appetite – Weakening Body and Brain

Some of the addicts may find their appetite to be completely dead while others may eat piles of food with no control. The causes could be attributed to getting that sense of going into the oblivion without any awareness of reality around them.

Mental withdrawal Symptoms – Restlessness is the Key

An addict’s mind has always been abnormal in many ways during his active using years. Now he is trying to stay away from heroin, the mind becomes restless. Looking for that elusive feeling of instant gratification, the mind is never free. Some of the heroin addicts may turn into what they think and believe to be soft alternates. It could be marijuana or alcohol.

The substitutions can only lead back to the heroin addiction relapse within a short time. Many of them have taken an overdose of OTC cough medicines, tried eating pain relief creams, or tried to gulp down bottles of turpentine oil or other liquids.

These narrations may seem to be exaggerations to those who know little or nothing about heroin withdrawal symptoms. But anyone who has experienced the rock bottom of addiction, the narration can be normal or even less than what he might have done.

Psychological Symptoms – Hallucination is Only the Beginning

An addict can see things and people that don’t exist in reality. He may hear voices from the walls and ceilings. He always has an incorrigible feeling that someone is out to get him and there is no escape for him. The constant feeling of fear could drive him to commit acts of insanity that could also result in crimes at times.

Fear can be from known sources or unknown and unseen also. He may often shutdown his room and may lock himself inside so that nobody knows he is inside. Most of the people he may fear could be his boss, colleagues, and bill collectors.

Constant feeling of restlessness could be due to discontentment and dejection. He is always driven by a constant urgency to get things done, but he is also haunted by a feeling of procrastination and lethargy. A normal person may be shocked to see how two opposing characters can exist within the same person. For the addict who has undergone all the trips, the split personality syndrome is normal.

Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome – Mind is always in Dilemma

An addict who is going through heroin withdrawal period suffers from Jekyll and Hyde syndrome in everyday life. Going down to the basics, he may not be able to choose between brushing his teeth first and drinking his coffee first. When this kind of dilemma reaches to the serious issues of life, he may commit a blunder that could be beyond redemption.

Heroin induced depression could be a natural part of his drug withdrawal syndrome. Sometimes he may want to purposely stay depressed so that he may get an excuse to convince himself for the next “joint” or the “shot” that he may wish to have. There are so many other withdrawal symptoms that a whole big novel can be written about him.

Heroin Withdrawal Treatments – Light is within the Tunnel

Fortunately and by the grace of higher power, there is still hope through Detox and rehab programs. The addict can overcome withdrawal symptoms through streamlined medications and post medication heroin addiction rehabilitation. If he is willing to keep his sobriety intact, he can find many support and recovery groups that he can reach on a phone call.  

Opiate is a derivative of opioids that are natural or synthetic forms of pain relievers and healers from the medical perspective. What is a natural opiate? It is the derivative from the opium poppy plant. There are different forms of opiate-like morphine, thebaine, and many others used for medical treatments. However, the treatments can lead to addiction and subsequent opiate withdrawal problems.  

Opiate for Treatments – Healing of Pain and Trauma

The primary use of opiate was to suppress chronic pain in the body of recovering patients from surgery, trauma, and chronic diseases like cancer. It is not only for the healing of pain from the wounds and internal injuries, but also to disconnect the feeling of pain from the brain cells. The purpose is to protect the side effects of traumatic pain like paralysis and probable permanent disability.

The main benefits of opiate as medication during treatments come from its ability to block the neurotransmitters from carrying the signals of pain from the affected parts to the brain. The benefits can be as follow.

• Blocking of opioid receptors
• Reliable and long-lasting healing
• Cure for mild pain to chronic traumatic conditions

Opioid Addiction – Probable Causes and Symptoms

The lie between medication and addiction can be very thin when it comes to opioid drugs. They come in different forms like morphine, tramadol, methadone, and heroin, etc. The FDA approved physicians and psychiatrists may have the license from state and federal governments to administer the FDA certified pain drugs to the patients within a limited dosage for a finite period.

Opiate Addiction Timeline – Variable Factors of Influence

Pain healing opiates like morphine and heroin can have psychoactive ingredients that give a deep sense of euphoria to the brain cells called the dopamine, Mu-Opioid, and other connecting neurotransmitters. The binding can begin within the first few minutes, few hours, or a few days of ingestion. The volume and concentration of the drug can have varying effects on the mind and body of the patient.

Post Treatment Addiction – Street Drugs Replace Prescription Medications

When the patient comes out of the opiate treatment center, he may be still hooked to opioids like heroin. He may switch over to the street drugs from the prescription medications to keep his addiction alive. Since drug addiction is a progressive disease, it may not take much time for him to hit the rock bottom.

Addiction takes its toll on his body and minds sooner than his expectations. Some of the most commonly  visible effects on the patient’s body and mind could be

• Insomnia
• Abnormal weight loss
• Frequent feverish conditions
• Loss of appetite
• Infertility
• Fear, anxiety, and restlessness

These symptoms could intensify overtime when the medication slowly turns into an addiction. At some point, the patient’s body may become so weak that it cannot take any more of the substance. Self-control has utterly failed him and he stands defeated. At this time he may think of stopping his addictions for a lifetime. He may opt for treatments from his physician who may prescribe some sort of sedatives or other temporary craving blockers. His battle with the opiate withdrawal symptoms is about to start now.

Opiate withdrawal Symptoms – Drawing the Battle Lines

Abstaining from opioids can result in several symptoms that could be temporary or long-lasting. The addict’s abnormal body starts showing some of the symptoms like

• Consistent muscle pain
• Frequent palpitations
• Tremors in the nervous system and muscles
• Constant stomach irritation and nausea
• Inability to eat food

The psychological opiate withdrawal symptoms can be more severe than the physical symptoms since they can result in relapses. Some of the most prominent ones could be

• Anxiety and fear
• Restlessness
• Irritation
• Discontentment
• Self-pity

At this stage, he may make several resolutions to quit his addiction forever. But unfortunately, he is unable to make any firm decisions. His will has become so weak that a small disturbance in his mind can send him to the rock bottom of relapse once again.

Fear Factors – Battling the Unknown Enemy within

Most of the addicts may fall prey to an unknown fear of the future during the opiate withdrawal period. They are not sure whether they want to stay sober or go back to using it. They know addiction can kill them or turn them into the doors of insanity. But they can’t live without the substance in their body and the euphoria it gives them within seconds.

Discontentment in Life – Aimless Wandering of Mind

Life becomes colorless, hopeless, and meaningless without the substance. The more he tries to resist the temptation, the greater is its impact on his mind. He may start to change jobs, places, situations, and conditions around him. He hopes to restart using the substance at another place without falling back to old ways of addiction. Every time he attempts, he faces yet another failure and hits the rock bottom over and again.

Opioid withdrawal Treatments – from Detox to Rehab

Beaten and thrashed physically and mentally he may at last knock on the doors of an opiate withdrawal treatment center. Here, he hopes to find a new ray of hope in his dark life. 

Opioid withdrawal treatments start with complete body Detox because he has to overcome the physical craving that is beyond the control of his mind. A typical Detox program may take five to ten days with IVs, pills, and treatments.

Removal of physical craving is only the beginning of a long term recovery program. He has to regain his lost health and hygiene once again. Most of the Detox centers may also have a rehab center for the Opioid addiction recovery program. A typical rehab program may last for 26 to 40 days, depending on his existing physical health and medical conditions.

He may stay sober as long as he is within the Detox and rehab centers. But his mental craving may be still active deep in his subconscious mind. Psychotherapy can be helpful as long as he is willing to keep his sobriety alive for the next 24 hours.

Conclusion

The real acid test of his sobriety awaits his arrival into the world outside the rehab center where there is no control over his wandering mind. It could be the right time for him to enter the 12-steps recovery program willing to stay sober one day at a time.