Heroin Addiction Help

November 5, 2025

7:30 pm

Heroin addiction treatment

Heroin addiction help can mean different things to different people. For some, it is maintaining on a substitute prescription, for others it is a detox: For some it is both.

While no one can ensure what they buy on the street is what they have paid for, there are inherent risks involved in substitute prescribing. However, these are mitigated by having a no cost discussion with one of our in house clinicians who will also provide a free referral for you to any centre in the country.

Not all rehab centres provide help for heroin addiction, but let’s first look at what heroin is, why it is addictive, why you should not simply stop using it and why professional input is essential for recovery.

Call and speak to an experienced addictions clinician at Find Me a Rehab for free and confidential advice and referrals if you need Heroin Addiction Help. We offer Heroin Addiction Help UK.

Heroin Addiction Help

Recovery from addiction to heroin is possible. Many of the support staff in rehab centres are in active recovery from heroin addiction. There may be bumps in the road but a life free from the constant seeking out of the next fix, not having to lie and cheat, even steal from family and friends to pay for it is always preferable. Much better for a fox to be navigating alleyways in the early hours than someone trying to score.

What is Heroin and Why is it Addictive?

Heroin is an opioid derived from the Opium poppy. It is used, medically, for pain in terminal illness and is not uncommon in a hospice or end of life care in a hospital as Diamorphine. It is sometimes used in childbirth and when treating heart attack patients.

When you take an opioid, the drug is recognised on opioid receptors in the brain. All medications, drugs and alcohol work by either opening or closing chemical channels (or semi opening or closing them). Heroin is no different and opens up channels that , in turn, release dopamine which produces a feeling of euphoria. This is why you don’t feel pain and hence why it is used for medical purposes.

When you use heroin the opioid receptors become far less sensitive. Furthermore, your brain will find it increasingly difficult to get pleasure from any other chemical other than Heroin. When you stop, a phenomena known as noradrenergic neuron hyperactivity occurs: This is what causes the physical symptoms of withdrawal.

When an individual uses heroin for an extended period, their opioid receptors become less sensitive. The brain has an increasingly difficult time getting pleasure from anything other than the drug. This is one of the main reasons why heroin is so addictive. In short, you develop a tolerance to Heroin. This means you will need more and more to have the same effect as the amount you started with.

Due to the extreme cravings you are likely to experience if you quit by yourself, you are likely to accidentally overdose by trying to take a sufficient amount to satisfy your cravings.

Heroin addiction treatment

What is the Treatment for Heroin Addiction?

In the UK there are two majorly used prescribed medications that are used for substitute prescribing in the treatment of heroin addiction: Methadone and Buprenorphine.

Both are opioids but work in slightly different ways. As they are both opioids they are also used in pain control. It is not uncommon to see methadone used in hospices for end of life cancer care, especially for bone cancer.

Whichever medication is used, the science is quite straightforward: Get the patient feeling comfortable then reduce, over a period of time to zero. Both work on the same receptors as Heroin, though there method of action, on the receptor sites, is not the same.

Call and speak to an experienced addictions clinician at Find Me a Rehab for free and confidential advice and referrals if you need Heroin Addiction Help. We offer Heroin Addiction Help UK.

Heroin Addiction Help

Previously, there have been other medications used for the treatment of heroin withdrawal, such as Lofexidine, but this is no longer available. Symptomatic detox programmes, when medication is provided merely to try and control withdrawal symptoms rarely work and our clinicians do not recommend them.

The internet is awash with false and misleading information about Methadone and Buprenorphine. Most of the information is about as reliable as websites which believe Elvis lives on the moon and Bruce Lee works in Tesco’s. Our in-house clinicians have decades of experience prescribing these medications and can give you an honest opinion without charge. They will also make a referral for you, to a centre of your choice, at no cost.

How Long Does a Heroin Detox Take?

Rehab is not just about detox: That is a vital, but small element of treatment. Rehab is about far more. It is about delving into why you became addicted in the first place. It will address unresolved trauma, untreated mental health conditions, family dynamics and prepare you to deal with the stress and strain of life for when you go home: Essential for relapse prevention.

Heroin Addiction Help

No reputable centre would ever consider taking a patient for a opioid detox for less than 4 weeks. In very rare circumstances: Two weeks. The reason for this is that a very short detox may leave you still craving and put you at very serious risk of overdose and death due to loss of tolerance.

What About an Injection for Heron Detox?

Buprenorphine (Subutex) is now available in an injection form known as Buvidal. This means that, instead of taking tablets or drinking Methadone you can detox by injection. The pathway to detox with Buvidal starts of with a test dose of oral Buprenorphine just to ensure you are not sensitive to it.

Ordinarily, you would have an injection, lasting a week, then another one, weekly, for a further three weeks. You can then have a monthly one. The science as to how you come off Buvidal is relatively untested but, in practice, you either reduce the dose, reduce the frequency of the injection, switch to oral tablets, or simply stop the injections and the drug will wear off, over a period of time.

With Buvidal/Buprenorphine/Subutex you need to be in withdrawal before you start using it. This is due to the way the drug works on the brain. If you are not in withdrawal when you commence treatment, it will put you into withdrawal. That complicates matters and is unnecessary.

Signs and Symptoms of Heroin Withdrawal

If you simply stopped taking heroin by yourself you would experience the following:

  • High body temperature
  • Severe muscle aches and pains
  • Chronic diarrhea, runny nose, sweat and tears
  • Painful stomach cramps
  • Persistent nausea and vomiting

How Long Will Heroin Withdrawal Last?

Heroin is a short acting drug. This means that, in as little as six hours after your last use, you will begin to experience withdrawal symptoms. These usually peak by day three but can last for up to 7 days. However, some people experience weeks or months of withdrawal symptoms, known as post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) which can last for up to six months. This is due to the brain adjusting to the changes.

Symptoms of PAWS include:

  • Low mood
  • Irritability
  • Extreme agitation
  • Chronic low energy levels
  • Poor memory
  • Lack of concentration
  • Insomnia
  • Not able to experience pleasure from anything

Home Detox For Heroin Withdrawal

It would be nice if you could stay at home, take a few pills and recover from heroin addiction: It very rarely happens. The problem is that the cravings can be completely overwhelming. Your loved ones, friends and family, despite their best intentions, simply won’t be able to provide the support you need. In a rehab, at 2AM when you can not sleep and all you can think of is scoring heroin support staff are there to pick you up and get you through.

While Hollywood depicts people locking themselves in a bedroom with a sick bucket, something to drink and toilet paper, going “cold Turkey” can be extremely dangerous. Not only will you run the risk of overdose when you succumb to the cravings, you can die of dehydration.

Heroin addiction treatment

Rapid Five Day Heroin Detox

Our in-house clinicians absolutely discourage anyone from doing this. The process involves heavy sedation and large doses of an opioid antagonist (blocker). The problem is that such treatment does not provide any therapy, aftercare or assurance you will not be free of cravings at the end of the five day period.

While this approach was popular in the 1990’s it has , thankfully, fallen out of fashion and is very cost prohibitive

How Can Find Me a Rehab Help?

When you call or email us you will be speaking with an experienced addictions clinician who has decades of experience treating patients addicted to heroin. Our clinicians work in prisons, private hospitals, NHS commissioned services, statutory local authority outpatients and rehab centres. They can give you all the information you need on treatment plans for heroin addiction. We never charge for clinician advice or referrals.

Call and speak to an experienced addictions clinician at Find Me a Rehab for free and confidential advice and referrals if you need Heroin Addiction Help. We offer Heroin Addiction Help UK.

Need help finding the right rehab for you or a loved one? Get in touch today and take the first step toward recovery.

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